I would definitely stick with Saxon. Don't try to fix what's not broken! For supplements: You mentioned that you enjoy using the MUS blocks to solidify concepts. Education Unboxed and Crewton Ramone have an abundance of videos on how to use the blocks/rods and turn math into a game. I would really recommend that as a supplement. You could also pick and choose some harder problems from MEP math (free), if your kids are bored from the repetitive drills in Saxon.

Just out of curiosity, what are you planning for Math and Science? I wish you good luck for this school year! I trust that you have weighed this option carefully and will thoroughly enjoy your teaching job. I believe it is a great opportunity for you to follow your passion!

Balance bike! Your son will still fit in with the neighborhood kids, as it takes a much closer look to notice that there are no pedals. Besides learning to balance, your son will also be able to use it on the grass and everywhere else. With training wheels you constantly need someone to help you get "unstuck", and then he will be the odd one out.

We have had to call the mortgage company many times over as well, restructure payments, etc... Every mortgage company deals with your payments differently. Unfortunately you have no way of knowing ahead of time who your mortgage may be sold to.

Here is another thought: If you decide to go with a 30year or 20year, another way to reduce your bottom line, besides paying more principal, is to pay every 25 days instead of every month. For every day that you pay early, you are saving $$ in interest. Plus you have the benefit of being ahead two extra payments per year. Some mortgage companies will accept weekly payments as well. You could get a loan that states you are paying bi-weekly, thus reducing your overall interest and in some cases even the points.

Just FYI, I didn't read all the replies. I never wear makeup and definitely prefer comfortable clothes and sneakers. I run with my kids, bike, climb in trees... Unfortunately I haven't found a way yet to do all these things in high heels :-) That said, my twin boys definitely inherited my husband's taste in clothes. I swear to you, neither one of them EVER wore what outfits I gave them, not even as infants! On occasion, you will find them playing in the mud...dressed in suit and tie!!!

I had the same issue with my twin boys. I finally decided to teach them the American way, but every time I encountered a letter that differed from German cursive, I thought them both ways. I told them "This is how most German kids learn how to write it." Then I just moved on. This way, if we ever move to Germany, they'll expect things to be different and will hopefully have an easier time to adjust.

Oops, old post :-)

I remember reading Stephen King at 12. I got hooked on him for a short time because of a short story collection by him that was in the young adult section. I couldn't remember the name, but after googling I believe it was Skeleton Crew? I can't vouch for it, since I don't remember the stories very clearly. There is a study guide here http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/kinghorror.pdf

I used Hooked on Phonics with my twins, and they are very fluent readers now who won't put their books down unless I threaten them :-) I did tweak the program though: We did not use the computer program at all, only the workbook. These start out with CVC words, no pictures, then a story with black and white illustrations. I did not like the use of sight words, so I made them sound the words out according to the phonics that they had previously learned. It only took 10 minutes a day.

We have the same rules here for my twin boys, no screen time during the week and one hour Friday, Saturday, and Sunday respectively. Do they obsess over it? Yes! Do they whine when they have to turn it off? Yes! Has it gotten better over time? Yes! The longer whatever rule you are trying to enforce is in effect, the more likely your children will learn to cope with it. My boys barely ever ask during the week anymore. On screen days they are not allowed to ask until after 5pm, otherwise they will have to do a chore. All this works pretty ok for the 6-year olds. My Stepson(15) however does not have any restrictions when it comes to screentime. My husband does not believe in setting limits, as this will (in his opinion) just feed the obsession. So my DSS chooses to spend his ENTIRE free time in front of screens. He does not go outside in the summer at all, even though he used to love going swimming. He does not spend time with us and no matter where we go, he chooses to stay home. He plays all night and then sleeps away the entire day. During car rides he plays with portable devices at all times. This results in him not even knowing how to get home if I were to drop him off two streets away from us. I could go on and on, but the negative side effects of unlimited screentime seem to be apparent. Don't get me wrong, my DSS is without a doubt a wonderful, well mannered, very intelligent young man. I do not believe however, that most children and teenagers have enough self control to regulate their time spent in front of a screen. In my opinion, video games especially are highly addictive. You are doing the right thing by setting healthy limits.

There is currently a long thread about the same issue on the afterschooling board. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/501256-help-with-failing-k-long/?do=findComment&comment=5443814

I love the colors you picked, they have a very calming effect. I also liked your writing style, but had major problems reading the words. I am on my phone, so I'm assuming that this is the reason why the quilt patches in the background blend in with the letters, making it very straining on the eyes. Other than that, very nice work!

Just a word of caution about intervention that is offered to your son. I work as an instructional assistant at a middle school, and many of my friends work in schools also. What I have seen time and time again is that the people working with your son might be very unqualified. There is no training provided for the one-on-one assistants. They get thrown into the classroom, are told 'This is the child you will work with' , and know absolutely nothing about your child or why he needs special help. The so called 'specialists' such as OT, PT, Speach, Reading Intervention etc., get to see the children they work with so infrequently, that they cannot effectively evaluate a child's learning behavior in order to create a learning environment where the children can thrive in. The children are oftentimes underestimated and get left behind even further. I do not want to discourage you OP, but rather enable you to make a decision based on facts (at least when it comes to the school districts in my area). You know your own son, nobody will ever love him as much as you do. Afterschooling him will most likely have a better outcome than any intervention at school ever could. That said, I do strongly agree with previous posters who recommended getting your son evaluated independently. Your family will only benefit from knowing everything there is to know about your son's strengths and weaknesses.

This, of course, isn't always the case. In my state however, the cutoff for kindergarten is in December. This means that some of the kids starting out are only four years old, whereas others are almost six. There is a huge difference in maturity at this age. My kids, who are on the older side, kept coming home complaining about other kids who wouldn't listen. Turns out one of the kids was very young, whereas the other came from a disrupted home. The two of them became friends, which certainly wouldn't have happened if they hadn't been grouped this way by age. This is certainly no scientific evidence, just a one time occurrence, but I keep seeing this pattern over and over. IMHO, I'd rather see my kids be on the mature side of the class.

I tend to agree with the previous posters. You are not doing your son any favors by pushing him to do something that he is not developmentally ready for. You are a great mom, and you didn't do anything wrong, kindergarten should be play based. Besides academic advantages, think about other long term consequences. If your son is the youngest in his class now, he is probably making friends who are socially close to his level. Because of his age, those friends will most likely be the lowest achieving kids in his class. If you were to keep him back, he will make new friends. Those new friends will more likely be at the top of their class. I would want my kids to surround themselves with good kids who are well behaved and who are doing well in school. Hard to explain, but definitely another reason for putting him in preschool now and having him start kindergarten again next year. I don't know if your family does sports, but if he is older and bigger in High School, he will have a much greater chance to be picked for a sports team. Just my two cents...

Sounds like your boys made some good toys to give to other children in need?

I did not read all the replies, so my apologies if there were other suggestions like this. You mentioned that you do not live in your country of origin. I do not know your background, but could it be possible that you are homesick? You may be craving the comforts and traditions you grew up with, trying to replicate the life that could have been. Homesickness can really get you into a deep depression.

When my twin boys were about to turn 4, they insisted for weeks before their birthday that Barack Obama absolutely needed to come to their party! Disclaimer: This had nothing to do with our political direction. They were both merely obsessed with presidents at the time and were quite disappointed that George Washington already passed away.

My kids are in a public school that also enforces the traffic light system. They are very well behaved at school, but when they come home I have to deal with the same type of problems you do. Except that now it's homework time, dinner time, shower time, time to read a book before bed and finally bedtime. I feel that we don't have enough time in the world to enforce consequences and deal with behavior issues that arise at home. Homeschooling may actually make it easier, as you can oftentimes deal with bad behavior immediately. I'm sorry that I don't have much advice, it's just that the grass isn't always greener...

Last week I listened to an episode on NPR about attachment and adoption issues. The story was about a boy who internally blamed his adoptive patents for leaving him in the orphanage until he was seven. He could not emotionally attach to anyone. Fortunately his mom never gave up on him and finally found a therapy that worked. Here is the story: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/317/transcript It was very eye opening for me to listen to. I know that everyone's journey is different, and there is no therapy that heals all, but nevertheless the science behind early attachment in this case sounded very logical.

If MEP clicks with your 8yr old, then I would definitely try to stick with it. I work in a special needs classroom where there is an abundance of distractions, so I do have some ideas for you. While your son is working and you are instructing, have him sitting with his back to the wall, facing the room. Put a divider in front of him (such as a cardboard barrier), so he can only see his own workspace. Secondly, work with him in 10 minute increments, then let him work independently for 5 minutes. Set a timer and check in on him again. Let the littles know that you are not to be interrupted during one-on-one time. If necessary, put blue painters tape on the floor for a visual barrier. Your children will learn not to interrupt during those 10 minute intervals, but it will take time. Your oldest will also learn to work more independently. Finally, when the new baby arrives, let your DS8 know that those 10 minutes are his, and usually won't be interrupted by baby. If baby cries during that time, tell him/her that it's big brother's turn right now. Sounds odd, but your older son will feel reassured and know that you'll stay on task. It will all take some time and effort, but just remember, that you don't have to do MEP all in one big chunk. You can set aside 10 minutes at a time, 2 or 3 times a day.

I've never restricted any books for my kids. However, they recently came home with Captain Underpants, and then with Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I quickly changed my mind about restrictions and told them that they are not to check out any books of that series again!

:party: Wow! I can never find deals like that here!

Thank you!!! I just put the snap circuits light in my amazon cart for $80, but thanks to you I only spent $60!!!