:rolleyes:

I read most of her books. Although I haven't recommended them to my dd (who doesn't like any books, sadly), I don't think they are the worst thing a girl taht age could read. I have heard of books these days that would make Blume's books seem tame...Rainbow Party or something like that comes to mind! Blume's books are very interesting and real life, but she does talk about periods, b**bs, mast*rb*tion, etc.

EOG=End of Grade tests, administered in 3rd, 5th and 8th. If you fail, you fail the grade. your next year's class placement is based on your scores. You do get several tries if you fail...but they don't do much to ensure that you pass the next time you take the test! AG=Academically "Gifted" I hate to sound bitter, but I have heard some stories and made observations about how kids get into this program. *All* teachers' kids are in it, all prominent families' kids, etc. I guess we could argue that those kids are just naturally smarter and more apt to get good grades....but I don't buy it. There is also an achievement test that is given a couple of times throughout the years, called the Test of Cognitive Skills. It is just assumed that entering homeschoolers are not qualified and should not be placed in AG. The ONE homeschooled girl I know who did get in did so purely by teacher recommendation. She was well behaved and making As and Bs. According to her mom (who told me), the teacher told the mom that the dd was doing so well in her class and was too well-behaved to be in "regular" classes. So she was put in AG, that simple. Another mom told me that teachers, etc. had told her parents "absolutely want to make sure their kids get into AG because the other classes are terrible." Now, how does a parent *make sure* their kids test gifted or even make As and Bs? My child has ADHD, for example. He may have LDs. He makes poor grades very often, but not for lack of intelligence. He forgets to turn things in, forgets what the assignments are, and has a hard time with rote memorization. Until he went to PS, people thought he was smart, even "gifted." because he was so well-read and has a lot of unique ideas. He plays piano and a mean game of chess. But now that he is in PS and not making good grades, he is grouped with all the kids who make bad grades and most of these kids also have bad home lives, are the ones who smoke p*t and get into trouble with the law, etc. Teachers still say, "He seems so bright" but they shake their heads as to why he "doesn't try to pay attention." Rant over. Sorry to be so long winded and bitter!

That's why I started using the very basic CAT from Seton a few years ago. I wanted to do things my way on my schedule (other companies require degrees or require the tests to be back on a strict schedule and they cost way more than Seton's. Now, i will admit that my ds was traumatized by the EOGs in our NC public schools. I hear all kinds of horror stories about those darn EOGs! Apparently many kids do NOT do well on them, but everyone I know says their kids score high and are in the AG classes to boot. Without the PS specific testing, previously homeschooled kids are not considered for AG class. What's scary is, the majority of dc who *aren't* AG aren't doing very well in school and are behavior problems--just in our experience and from what I hear from other parents in our county. :confused:

ell, I am white. I don't think there are any black ladies who attend our church. My dd and I go to the Mother Daughter Banquet and Christmas Tea almost every year. The MD banquet is usually on a Monday evening. Sat. would not work for us due to sports, etc. I am pretty sure the tea is usually on a Sun. afternoon, as are many baby showers. Now the thing that is making me sad is...why is our church 100 % white?

would consider it, but carefully. My teen son has been very depressed this year. Right now he seems better. I'd do it under careful supervision of a psych. As for natural treatments, I take St. John's Wort myself and it works for minor depression and anxiety very well with no side effects. We all take fish oil now as well.

I agree.....BTDT...our ds suffered for years because I was anti meds. Both of us are feeling the sadness now. :( Here is a really good resource: http://www.additudemag.com

does anyone think that a recent troublesome thread was started by a troll? Just wondering! :confused:

Even if it's "not the first time" it doesn't mean the kid has negligent parents. Some kids are forever doing impulsive things, dangerous things, etc. Maybe she needs help. Maybe she has ADHD or something. Maybe her parents are doing the best they can. You don't call Social Services on people that rashly. You don' t have enough information to judge!

I understand better now what was going on with my ds. he was on Vyvanse for a while, a couple of months. Although it did help a lot, he later wanted desperately to quit it. (he is 15 and was just dxed over the summer) He says it made him have to pee and have stomachaches all the time and that kids made fun of how he acted (more serious and talking a lot, or very quiet, depending, and very slow) Concerta was worse. That was his first med. i think we got him on too high of a dose of Vyvanse; otherwise it might have been good. He is now taking Focalin XR and so far (Day 3) we both are pleased. But it's probably a low dose (5 mg) and may have to be higher.

Here are some resources for you: Additude magazine and website http://www.additudemag.com http://millermom.proboards107.com http://adhdnews.com Delivered From Distraction and other books by Ned Hallowell

I comletely understand because I have been there and still am there to some extent! With my oldest, he was a big challenge and we didn't "believe in" ADHD, so we didn't find out if he had it or not, and we just went round and round about discipline, making all of us miserable. Dh pushed for PS and ds didn't want that. Eventually he went in 7th grade, a very BAD time to go to PS, especially after being out of it since 2nd grade. He did terrible, had lots of academic and bullying problems, hung out with bad kids, got grouped with bad kids and low grade kids, etc. So guess what? He is now on the low track in PS high school and says he doesn't want to be homeschooled because PS is more "interesting." I understand his need to be around more people. He is very sociable. He also is naive and gets involved with kids he shouldn't. You'd think we would learn from this experience. yet now my dh pushes for PS whenever he gets concerned about any problems we are having. Our younger ds acts very ADHD also, but not as irritatingly so as my older one did. THis one is very sensitive so I deal with tears, low self esteen, etc. My youngest, a girl, is the most "hyper" and makes me feel like I am losing my mind most days. But what I see in PS scares and disturbs me SO MUCH I really don't want to put anyone else in and I wish my oldest would come home and do dual enrollement at the community college when he is 16, get a job, etc. There is supposed to be a book called How to Get Your Kid Off the Refrigerator and Onto Learning or something like that. I need to read it myself! I got educated about ADHD and quit reading all the "ADD is a biy myth and conspiracy" books and decided that meds were a real option. We are currently experimenting with them for my oldest and I would not be opposed to my younger ones taking them if need be. We do supplement with vitamins and Omega 3 (nordic naturals), but I don't see a huge difference using JUST those. Our diets are pretty healthy. Exercise and fun are vital for any child, especially ADHD ones, but PS typically does not provide much of that, and they do things like ban tag and punish the kids for not getting done with assignments by keeping them in at recess, so guess which kids are doing work all day and not getting recess at all? I think homeschool is much better, but it can be HARD....trust me....I know!

We've had a few. Usually they see the light eventually. I nearly fell over the other day when talking to my skeptical mom on the phone. Just a while back she was saying it was very important to force my dd to go to PS high school next year. I said she had no interest and didn't want to deal with the cr*p that goes on in PS. She thought I was being ridiculous. Fast forward to last week as I described some of the peer influence and negative things my ninth grade PS son has been ruining his life with lately, My mom said...."He'd almost be better off coming home to homeschool again than do all that nonsense!" I COULDN'T AGREE WITH HER MORE. If he'd give up his need for novelty and "socializaiton" he could come home, do work in his own way, get a part time job, explore his own interests, consider community college.....bu right now he is miserable and making bad grades and flirting with trouble with the wrong crowd....and he doesn't really have all that much fun doing so!

the only brand I like and trust that never causes burping is Nordic Naturals. It is cheaper at Vitacost than anywhere else I believe.

http://www.coolmath.com

Adventure of the Wilderness Family Seven Alone Old Yeller the sequeal to Old Yeller, Savage Sam Little House on the Prairie episodes Waltons

I just came from the grocery store, so I share your pain! :001_rolleyes: Dh makes decent money and yet all he does is complain and worry. It is very frustrating. We have more than many but sometimes we get too focused on what we don't have and how the "Jones'" have this and that that we don't. :blushing: We are living on cash only right now. It is very hard to spell out that I am not "wasting" my $100 or so a week. I get very few groceries for that amount, and I have to use part of it for the ridiculously priced gas. We have two in dance and one taking piano. One is in PS. We do very few formal homeschool activities anymore. (group stuff that involves driving) I have thought about working...but it would impact our family in other negative ways...and that's only if I could get any kind of job that was worth having.

The one I used to have and really liked is "My child is an honored student at home" (a takeoff of the popular "my child is an honor student at...")

How ruse of her! I see much, much worse behavior out of PSed kids!

I'm totally with you on this one! I can't tell you how many times my highly social ds was disappointed by kids who couldn't make time to talk to him because they were totally engrossed in their games. We spent many hrs waiting for my dd's dance classes, and he'd bring a chess board, books, etc. He tried to get kids to play chess with him--always a disaster if they even agreed to play. THey wouldn't know how nor would they try. OR they'd just say, "no, I'm playing Gameboy." This other kid we know can't attend recitals or anything without playing his darn game the whole time.

Goodness, what is the world coming to??? http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHILDRENS_PLOT?SITE=NCGAS&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

One of my finest coupons momemts is when I discovered this coupon last week--buy Sara Lee Bread ($1.79 on sale) and get $2 off milk. The real clincher was that I had two coupons for FREE Sara Lee bread! I got those off tear pads in the store! I always snag the coupons that the register generates when I use the U Scan, too. People always leave their coupons! Dh always finds people's money they left, too!

I would LOVE any tips you have for feeding adolescent boys! I have one that can eat like 2!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

We have a couple stores that do double and even occasional triple coupons. I follow the sales and use coupons for items on sale. It almost always works out cheaper than Aldi or store brand. Yes, it's worth it to me!

It saddens me that so many homeschoolers prefer to blame schools and or parents. merely homeschooling my ds did not "fix" the problem. He always got plenty of fresh air, exercise and wholesome food. We aren't the most lax or the most controlling parents in the world. Fairly "normal", whatever "normal" is. I do think the schools should do more evaluations of LDs. Meds help my ds tremendously, but I suspect there are other issues going on, which I don't think we are ever going to figure out without testing. I still wish we hadn't held out so long before trying meds. They aren't as dangerous as the media hypes them up to be, and putting a child on meds isn't "drugging" them. Please.