LOL, we have definitely had our share of sudden unprovoked throw-ups in restaurants and cars! At least now he knows if it is coming.... and I can kind of read the signs too. When he was younger I chalked it up to a super-sensitive gag reflex. I have wondered about an allergy/sinus connection. He gets what I call the "red eyes" a lot. I would think with food allergies it be a more regular occurrence? I'm not sure. He is allergic to pencillin.

It seems like my son (7) throws up for no good reason...meaning he doesn't have a tummy bug or known illness (longterm or short term). It seems like this happens as his body's response to being overtired.....or even a headache (he gets sinus issues). He throws up, goes to sleep and then wakes up fine. He's always sort of been that way. It doesn't happen super-often (maybe once a month? give or take) but I don't like that I can't really pinpoint a cause. Thoughts?

Look for the yahoo group HS-in-HR (Homeschooling in Hampton Roads). It is VERY active (I have to get the digest version) and covers the whole region.

That looks like a great book....wish I'd asked this a couple of months ago !

nice! thanks!

If you have ever taught a class on forensics/detective science I would love to know what your best resources were (internet links, books, etc). I am midway through class preparation for a middle school level class, and feel like I am doing too much from scratch! Surely there have got to be a lot of resources out there from people who have done this sort of class before. Thanks!

I guess I will go it a go and see how she does - I'm certainly in no rush if I need to change course. Thanks for the feedback!

If so, how did it go? My 5 yo meets the criteria listed on the MM website for readiness to start....except for writing. Not sure if I should wait until she is stronger in that dept, or maybe go for it and take it slow. I don't want her overwhelmed. I know MM can involve quite a bit of writing...my son is in 2nd and that is his main complaint.

Just curious. My son can read words that far surpass his ability to spell them. Not worried about it now - he is in 2nd this year so I think that is normal - but I'm wondering around what age kids should be able to spell at the same level they read?

Minecraft Dad is another. The whole family plays together. Very kid friendly.

Non MD professions that might suit her would be microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, pharmacy, or epidemiology. She could do any sort of science in a forensic capacity. If she's interested in medicine at all, I would try to narrow down why she doesn't want to work with patients. In my experience working in healthcare, either you aren't a people person or you prefer a "cleaner" type job. MD jobs where you don't really have to be a people person would be radiology/anesthesiology as you mentioned, but also critical care, neonatal medicine and surgery. Something like sports medicine could be an option if she'd prefer to work with healthy/well type people that doesn't involve sputum or other yucky stuff. [she will have to do all sorts of things as far as treating patients goes in any MD training though, especially as an intern/resident. They get the grunt work no one wants to do.]

Oh wow, this sounds just like my son and just like me! He does so much better if he can just tell me the answer rather than writing it. Less stress for both of us! He seems to focus better if he knows I'm waiting for answer. Sometimes I do it this way, but other times, I think he needs the practice writing his numbers and I make him - but it is a struggle and I have to be write there with him or else his mind goes other places. I have to admit, I feel like I'm cheating a little bit when I'm writing for him though.

I would love to stick with MM but my son is starting to dread it. He's good at math so I don't want him to develop a dislike for it. I suspect it's mostly because he hates writing so I'm going to stay the course for now and see if I can pinpoint if that is the problem before changing ... but in thinking ahead to other options I was not sure about where to even start looking. I never really considered other programs before now. This is all very helpful.

I will have to check out that book. Selecting a math program is turning out to be more complicated than I thought. I'd always considered math to be straight forward and concrete so this is all very confusing! With MM there is not any instructor materials to speak of. If I'm not all that strong in math (granted, we are talking early elementary which I can handle for now) would a program that has an actual teacher's manual help? I never considered that I would need help explaining simple math problems and concepts but maybe I do :confused1:

I have seen a lot of talk on here about math using these sorts of words: spiral, mastery, mental, conceptual....etc. Could someone please help explain what these are and why one would choose one over the other? Do you choose based on your philosophy of math or your child's learning style? Do the various math programs label themselves this way? (e.g., I use MM but don't really remember seeing one of these labels attached to it. Maybe I'm mistaken). I do know that I want to avoid the "Everyday Math" flavor of "new" math. I love MM but I may have to change math in near future.

I love the idea of morning reading and setting out work for them to get started on. I just need something to help "set the tone" for the day. I definitely consider a relaxed morning schedule a perk of homeschooling! But I need to get off that slippery slope into wasting time and being unproductive.

I would love to hear how you get going every day. Could you give me an idea of how you schedule your day? How do you go about your mornings? What time to do you get started? A normal start time for us would be around 10:30 but I'm debating the merits of forcing us all to start earlier. The main reason is I want to be done earlier....but *I* am the one who has a hard time getting my act together in the morning.

In response to hearing from parents about Common Core, she has kept the older version available for purchase. You have to search the site a bit to find it but here it is http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=5KN_LIVE&time=1369251316&lang=en&page=Math_Mammoth_Packages

OK we are in grammar and that's good to know. I'm a hands-on type of book buyer and I hate not being able to leisurely flip through it first.

We just finished MM1. As to not having a teacher guide.... I personally found there were times I was not exactly sure what she was getting at. I think that a couple of lines of "a note to teacher" type of instruction would be helpful on certain things. I think I lot of my problem understanding what she was getting at is just that math seems to be taught differently, in general, than how I learned. While I don't think a teacher guide is necessary for 1st grade, I also know that my son needs to be taught, so I wouldn't say it is something he can do independently without my supervision. My son hates to write and so the volume of problems was cumbersome for him. Many times I made him do it for writing practice more than math practice. He could fly through the problems when he could just tell me the answers but writing them down always took a while. I'm going to stick with it one more year before I do a big reevaluation. It might make a world of difference if we can get over this writing hurdle.

Was the evolution taught as fact or theory?

Thanks...I will check it out!

Hmmm....well, the samples looked good. Thanks for this feedback.

I will have a 2nd grader and K'er this fall, and for the oldest to date, I have basically been sticking to the 3Rs. (although we did read through Apologia Astronomy). I do need to start some history and science with him (them?)this coming year and I'm not quite sure how to approach this. I definitely want to involve my youngest as much as she's able to participate. In looking at science in particular, I'm not sure if I should go with something geared more towards a younger age (K-1) or a bit older. My focus will be on the older child but I want the youngest to participate. How do you all handle this? I'm looking into SOTW vol 1 for history. Not sure about science. I'd planned on BFSU now I'm thinking that might overwhelm me (I don't really like how it's organized). I'm learning I do better with parent-friendly, all-laid-out-for-you type of curricula. But assuming I find the "perfect" science/history, I'm not sure how to handle the age split.

I would like to know your opinions on this program if you have used it. I really really liked the content of BFSU but I need something laid out better for me. This definitely looks more parent-friendly. Thanks!