I was also a swimmer. I used tampons from the very beginning. There was no other option. Why don't you want to use tampons?

If she is heavily addicted to carbs it could be something such as candida overgrowth throughout her digestive system. Candida is present in everyone, but it will start to overgrow with people that have diets high in refined carbs and sugar. If she has had even one dose of antibiotics that can start the whole cascade of events. Once it starts to overgrow, the person will begin to crave starchy foods and sugar even more. And the more the candida overgrows, the more starches and sugar are craved. The fix - get rid of ALL processed carbs and sugar for a few months and take a good probiotic supplement at the same time. At the end of that things should be much more "balanced." A Naturopath would be a great person to see to get advice on this kind of thing and see if it's an issue for your dd.

Tales 2 go (www.tales2go.com) - I use this as "read a loud" time. I just don't have the time for all those read a louds either, and the kids LOVE this option. The computer reads the story, and I can give attention to my little ones. You can try out a free trial for one month.

Definitely take a break. I have one that started blending at 4 VERY SLOWLY, and we have taken several brakes. We push hard for a month or two, and then take a break for a month or two... or even 3. She is usually better after a break, and definitely has never regressed. She just needs time at this point. She is make steady, but slow progress. She will turn 7 next week and is still not reading fluently, but continues to progress SLOWLY over the months and years that pass. My oldest was reading fluently at 4, and my 5 year old has been reading fluently for a few months, so this one is a bit of a puzzle to me. All this to say, a break has never hurt her one bit, and if anything it has helped - her brain just needs more time to "click."

My 9 year old, 4th grader, could successfully read the first 5 sections in your test with no errors. She missed one word in both section 6 and 7. She missed 3 words in section 8. That means a 7th grade level, correct?? My 5 year old (kindergartener) missed 3 words starting in section 3 of your test. On the NRRF she read the first 3 sections with only one or two errors on each section. She started having trouble on section 4. My 6 year old (first grader) cannot pass any section on any of the tests.

Definitely Dancing Bears (by sound foundations) for learning to read. It doesn't get any more open and go then that, and it's outstanding! Not sure what you might want for math. Light in the younger years or rigorous from the beginning? For us we don't start any formal math until later, but Math Seeds is great for making sure they have an understanding of the basics. My Ker and 1st grader both enjoy "playing" with that. Sterling Math facts is a great program for learning math facts.

I think it does depend on the group. I joined a homeschool support group when my oldest was 3. I simply wanted to get to know other homeschoolers and learn more about what was out there (curriculum wise). The group met once a month for moms (an evening meeting), and scheduled field trips throughout the year for everyone (kids and adults). I happily attended the evening meetings, and simply passed on the field trips, as my children were really too young. Anyway, it was a great fit. No one complained about my presence. I'm guessing I could have taken my kiddos on the field trips as well, but that would have been a lot of work for me. I would have had to supervise my small children in a setting that really wasn't ideal for them. Honestly, I've never really thought about it??? I'm not sure how groups work around here. We moved from MI to NM 3 years ago, and we haven't joined any groups here.

Here is a link for Dancing Bears... http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/

7 years old and reading CVC words is really not bad at all. All kids do catch on at different rates and have different learning styles. Honestly, based on everything you have said, I think he's fine. My first dd was fast to learn reading, and so was my 3rd. My second dd has been very different. I see so many differences in how she learns and processes information. Reading has come much more slowly to her, but she is progressing. I think it's the progress that you have to look for. Does he read better now then he did 6 months ago? Does he read better now then he did a year ago? Progress for my second dd has been SLOW, but fairly steady. She started blending her first words (CVC) when she was 4. At 5 she was still only blending CVC words, but a little bit faster and more efficiently. She also learned a few basic sight words. Now at 6 (nearing 7) she can read CVC words well, knows quite a few basic sight words, and can sound out a few harder words as well - words like ship, chop, them, etc. She can read books like Ten Apples Up On Top. It's still a bit of a challenge for her, but she can do it. So, there is progress... slower then I expected, but progress none the less. Personally, the thing that has really helped my dd lately has been Dancing Bears!! I'm sure there are other programs that could have worked as well, but Dancing Bears is so easy to use, and inexpensive too! :-) ETA: Oh, and I have never used anything rule based to teach reading. I just introduce new "sounds" and we practice reading words with those sounds. Rules don't make sense to me. I can't think about a rule and try to sound out a word at the same time! Patterns and letter combinations make more sense. I can sound those out. So - introduce "ar" as the sound "ar" (as in car) and then practice reading words with that sound. Then practice reading a few sentences that have some words with the "ar" sound in it. So, car, shark (assuming they have learned "sh"), bark, bar, barn, far, etc. A sample sentence might be. Can the car start on the hill? And VERY important. Do not move onto another sound until your child has mastered the previous sounds!!!

My 5 and 6 year olds - anywhere from nothing to an hour (they do math seeds at their leisure). My 9 year old - an hour if she's efficient and not distracted. 3 hours if she's distracted. Usually it's around 1.5 hours though.

He's at the perfect age to start the Writing Course! :-) http://www.advanced-writing-resources.com/

I like progressive phonics... http://progressivephonics.com/ And sound city reading... http://soundcityreading.com/scrwebsite7-11-09_022.htm

If you want to work on early reading skills, and only if you want to... Teach Your Child To Read In Just 10 Minutes a Day is fabulous!! It's a book that gives instructions on some very basic (as well as fun and easy) games to play with pre-schoolers. It will work. Even if she only learns one or two letters over the entire school year, she will have mastered them and had fun. In reality she will probably learn much more, and even be sounding out her first word or two after just a month or two. Again, not necessary, but very fun AND effective if you feel like it. :-)

My first dd actually had more trouble trying to write on the large lined paper. She asked to use regular paper - I let her and she did great. Anyway, about cursive. Some kids actually write much better in cursive! If they want to, there is no reason not to teach them. My personal favorite for learning cursive is Pentime!!

I think you could use the two together. We use Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears here (one page in both each day). That is just perfect for us. It MIGHT be overkill to use AAS. I guess it would depend on how much you use each day.

Well I skipped the first 4 books (k-3) and just started with Saxon 5/4. :-) Saxon 5/4 use to be the first book in the series. They came out with K-3 later on. Granted I didn't have my dd start it until 3rd grade, BUT... we did not formal math until that point (just learned math facts - all operations through 12). So, can you skip a book - yes!

1 - 1.5 hours for math. 15-20 minutes for writing. 10 minutes or so of typing on the computer. Reading is done on the couch (only about 1/2 hour - and hour of assigned reading).

When my older dd was in first she would do a sentence or two of copywork 3-4 days a week. That was it. My current first grader only copies a few letters and words in Apples and Pears at this point... same as her sister who is a year younger. My first grader really did no writing at all last year. She wasn't ready yet. I am much more in favor of a little bit done extremely well, then a bunch done that leaves the child feeling slightly overwhelmed. Follow your child's ques. Does it seem like just the right amount, or would adding or taking some away perhaps be more beneficial?

I've had a couple like that. :-) I think Apple and Pears (covers spelling and handwriting) would be perfect!

I wake up when my first kiddo wakes up - that is usually around 6:30, but can be slightly earlier or later (it's usually my 1 or 3 year old that wake first). I then start getting breakfast for them. It's just toast and butter, but I have to help the younger ones. In the middle of getting breakfast, I will check e-mail, forums, drink coffee, and print off anything I need for the school day. My oldest sometimes sleeps late. If she's not up by 9, I wake her up. Once my oldest is up, I take my shower. Our official start time for school is 10am, but sometimes my little ones who are up earlier do some with me before then (or do math seeds on the computer before then). My 9 year old starts math at 10 though. If the younger ones don't want to do any school in the morning, that's fine. They are free to play and explore, do crafts as well. After lunch, the 3 youngest nap. My older ones sometimes enjoy big kid play time, or big kid craft time, or we may do some read a loud time, or play outside for awhile without the littles. If the middle ones didn't do school in the morning, we will do that. It doesn't take long - only an hour max. My oldest dd will do some writing in the afternoon as well. It doesn't take her long. We have dinner. The kids play a bit after dinner. There is a movie time before bed (about an hour). In bed in the 8 - 8:30 range. I read a loud a picture book, and then a chapter out of a chapter book. The kids are then in bed. They all take books to bed. The older ones read (especially my oldest). My oldest also reads on and off throughout the day, as well as my 5 year old. Occasionally my 6 year old likes to read too in addition to her school reading. I will grab some quiet time or reading time in bits throughout the day, and in the evening after the kids are in bed, or during their movie time. Oh, and chores are done on an as needed basis throughout the day. If I see something that needs to be done, I will ask whoever is available to help.

I'd back up in the lessons and continue with Saxon. My dd had made it to lesson 44 in Saxon 5/4 and had been doing really well (92% or better on homework and 95% on tests). We took a break for 3 months, and she was LOST when we tried to start again. We simply started the whole book over again. We won't break in the middle this time. We may take a week or two off and the end of the book though. She is flying through the lessons now though, and rarely misses anything. I feel like this will definitely give her the best foundation to continue on. She was using it as a third grader, so we definitely had the time to back up. You have the luxury as well. :-)

What about just letting her read picture books? My kiddos really seem to enjoy that when they hit the "transition" stage. The books are shorter and have pictures, BUT, the vocabulary is more advanced then the easy reader books. My 5 year old is really enjoying this version of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales right now... http://www.amazon.com/Hans-Christian-Andersens-Fairy-Tales/dp/0517227185 There are only a couple words that I have to tell her what they are. Most she can sound out fairly well on her own. The stories are longer then what you typically find in a level 2 reader, but not so much that she can't handle it. As I said before, the vocabulary is more advanced as well, but not to the point of frustration.

What about just letting her read picture books? My kiddos really seem to enjoy that when they hit the "transition" stage. The books are shorter and have pictures, BUT, the vocabulary is more advanced then the easy reader books. My 5 year old is really enjoying this version of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales right now... http://www.amazon.com/Hans-Christian-Andersens-Fairy-Tales/dp/0517227185 There are only a couple words that I have to tell her what they are. Most she can sound out fairly well on her own. The stories are longer then what you typically find in a level 2 reader, but not so much that she can't handle it. As I said before, the vocabulary is more advanced as well, but not to the point of frustration.

My dd's favorites when she was 6 were the boxcar children series, and the Bobbsey Twin series. My current 5 and 6 year olds are loving the boxcar children as well. I haven't started the Bobbsey Twins with them yet.

Maybe take a break and work on ONLY math fact memorization and mastery for a month or two. Start out small - just 39 facts at first (addition zero, ones, and 2's... make it ridiculously easy!) Then gradually add in facts (one fact family at a time - so 13 new facts if you go from 0-12). Make sure she has them mastered before adding in any new ones. Eventually (once she has about 150 - 200 down well) you will not need to review every fact every day, but if this is all you're working on, you should pretty much cover them daily. If at any point some of the previously "mastered" ones become a struggle, stop adding in new ones and just keep on reviewing, then add more. Maybe 3 sessions of fact learning each day - around 15 minutes for each session? She will get good, and she will KNOW she is good finally at math. Then start back up with her other math lessons again. She will have more confidence AND she will be much quicker because she'll have her math facts down.