A few years ago I was asked to tutor a neighbor's 6th grade son who wasn't doing well in the ps. I started out by skimming through our copy of Alpha Phonics with him and discovered that there were many phonic blends that he didn't know! He had been guessing at the words! I also discovered that he had a very limited vocabulary and couldn't follow what was being discussed around him. His parents had had no idea what the problem was. I would use Alpha Phonics again as an assessment tool to make sure that nothing was overlooked.

Aw, I had never thought of how many years we will be parenting teenagers! Our first entered her teens in 1995 and our last will leave his in 2023......28 years to get it right :) We had 4 teens in 2001 and will have 4 teens again in 2013. I think that they are great, but it is sort of an interesting shift from the dependence of childhood to adulthood. I tell my littles what they are to do and expect them to do it. I ask my teens to do something for me and I still expect them to do it. Sometimes there is some confusion along the way when they think that their compliance is optional. Do you know what I mean? We all have our work to do, teaching, learning, etc. and we would like them to be motivated by a desire to participate fully in the family effort. "Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers" is an interesting read for the parents of teens. Praying for your teens and all of us as we disciple them.:)

Our sons watch their younger siblings and are trustworthy with children. Our neighbors have called on us for babysitters, but when the older girls have been busy and I have offered one of the teen boys the neighbors have been surprised and unsure. The boys have only babysat a few times because girls are the preferred choice. I understand completely and so do the boys. I think that you should know ANY sitter pretty well to leave your children in their care, but the reality is that people often leave their children with a teenage girl that simply comes on a friend's recommendation.

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/Human_Bio/problem_sets/blood_types/inherited.html One of our granddaughters has a different blood type than either her mother or father because she inherited the second allele type from one of them. She obviously was delivered from her mama's womb and looks very much like her papa so the blood type is just interesting in her case. Maybe you have a similar situation?

I have no experience with the procedures, but Vitanica's Slow Flow helps me.

I find them sometimes by Googling "Christian Book coupon code" or "Christian Book free shipping." World Magazine often has an ad with the codes and I think that Focus on the Family has them, too.

My OB has been my best ally with my thyroid issues. She trusts my feelings about the dosage I need and doesn't insist on tests every 6 weeks like my internist demanded! He would only give me one refill and she would give me a year's worth knowing that I would call her if symptoms required a change. It is essential that you have a doctor that will listen to you. Good luck :grouphug:

Blinders :tongue_smilie:

Our dd was diagnosed at 9 1/2 yrs. with type 1 diabetes. Her symptoms were weight loss, excessive thrist, frequent trips to the bathroom, and fruity flu-breath. She had ketones in her urine and the diagnosis was based on the sum of the symptoms I reported and a quick urine test. Her actual blood sugar was 478 at the hospital and at times went over 499. Handwashing before tests is vital for accurate results. Our endocrinologist has an A1c number for us in just a few minutes every 3 months as part of her ongoing care. I can't help but look at the other children with some worry, wondering if they will come down with it also. I have had a couple of them check for ketones when they have flu-breath.

I hear you! I was a tomboy, made mudpies, sifted dirt, and love rocks. One of our girls is nicknamed "Mudpie" :D

Yes! The boys love to climb a tree and sit and listen to birds, watch clouds, sunsets, stars at night, they enjoy art museums, architecture, and more. They also see beauty in mud puddles, oil sheen, and a fine engine :D

Dd says it should be "The Song that Never Ends" :glare:

We use it for the older members of the family after we know if they have a citrus allergy or not. The stuff is terribly bitter and I burned my throat with it once. Saline solution in the nose is much safer and suctioning with a bulb. I hope that Baby is feeling better very soon.

"the main theme or point that Fitzgerald is trying to make - that American idealism and spirituality have been corrupted by material possessions and wealth. Gatsby's dream fails because of his material wealth he must possess to accomplish it. In this respect, Gatsby fails before he even begins - showing the unforgiving nature of a land characterized by Fitzgerald as a wasteland of ashes" Millett "The Great Gatsby" was required reading when I was in high school, but I do not require it. I really disliked the book. I wonder if it was because my own grandparents had wealth, but no happiness? All that emphasis on what is "elegant" seemed rather ugly to me. My parents "played nice" in hopes of inheriting someday and it was all so false and I hated it. Maybe it should hold a place on my "favorites list" because it invokes strong feelings? But, I don't enjoy being depressed. my $.02

We moved the Little Tikes big slide inside, too. The round openings gave us "targets" to toss beanbag animals through. Cardboard box houses and Rubbermaid "boats" lined with blankets or even a pillow fueled imaginative play. A toy kitchen and dolls to fuss over helped pass the time. Even the little boys got exercise pushing stuffed animals around the house in a doll buggy. Another hit with toddlers was a blanket covered card table fort all their own to "read" and play in.

The freshman dorms at Western Oregon University are a nightmare.

I'm so sorry :grouphug: I've had six first trimester losses myself. When I was sure that all hope for the little one was lost, I walked or gardened which increased the cramping and resulted in a complete miscarriage every time...

The kids give each other spelling tests and grade each other's math papers. It helps give my eyes a break. The older dc all learned early to work with the youngest on my worst days. The dc do all the kitchen work...they cook and clean up...the standard isn't as high as when I was head chef and dishwasher, but they are saving my neck and back a lot of pain so I don't give them grief over it. They actually love to browse the recipes, make grocery lists for dh, and cook up new recipes. Dh does nearly all the shopping for groceries on his way home from work. He really doesn't mind! We make education a lifestyle year around and just go with the flow.

We had to choose a name for our home school in California back when home educators registered as private schools. I chose "Four Horizons Christian School" because we had 4 children and they all seemed to be running in different directions! (a dd and 3 ds) So, I guess it was a little family joke and a little reference to my love of maps, geography and exploration. If I were to rename our school now I would probably choose something that fit our location or interests. We were trying to figure out a name for our little piece of ground and came up with "Briery Wood," but it becomes less so all the time as the goats and sheep do their work clearing out the brambles.

Years ago, a neighbor phoned the police to complain that our then 6 year old rode his bike on his dirt! The man was watering the bare dirt and warned my little towhead as he rode by on his bicycle, "If you ride your bike on my yard I will squirt you with the hose." Gregg came home wet and smiling. When he told us about it we wondered if the neighbor was seeing things in the same way our ds was? A while later a very nice policeman was at our door and the neighbor behind him glaring :glare: The policeman smoothed it all over and we apologized, but what a moment when the police are at your door!

One of my uncles taught himself beautiful cursive writing while he was in the Navy on ship with little to do in his off-hours but practice :)

Our youngest filled his own notebook with colored alphabet pages, dot to dot pages, simple counting pages, and his own drawings while the older dc worked. We printed most of the easy pages off from free online sources and our clip art cds. JanBrett.com has free calendar, coloring, and mural pages that complement her books :)

I like what you say :) In my own life, I have to deal with the temptation to go against political correctness on the issue of the acceptance of gay marriages. Please don't bite my head off....my own grandfather was a homosexual who married my grandmother hiding his inclinations and it led to disaster and the damage didn't stop with one generation...I struggle with keeping my opinions to myself on the issue of gay rights and adoption because of my family's experience. Being PC all the time has its own pain.

I have a little Cherokee blood in my veins and I use "the natives are getting restless" and "sitting indian style" myself. No offense taken :D We teach the dc to make little indian noises into their hands when they are babies, too.

"Key to Algebra" books might be helpful. Was she taking the tests all along in the Saxon books? Going back and taking the tests might help you find the place that she got "lost." Key to Fractions and Decimals are also great at drilling the procedures. I offer the dc "Applying Algebra" and "Algebra Quadratic Equations The Easy Way" to supplement the Saxon series. Your dd might need some hands-on algebra examples to fully grasp the concepts.