It is $10/month, with no limit on the number of books you can get each month (only limit is 10 at any one point in time). So for us, it might be perfect for letting my children and I read more books (if we each had 2 going, we'd hit the 10 limit. lol. And kids books are shorter and quicker, which is a problem sometimes with hoopla (where there are monthly limits), but wouldn't be such a problem if you could get another as soon as you returned the one you're finished with. It *says* there are 9000 hits just in the ebooks for kids in German category, and some of them look pretty cute. It definitely seems like it'd be less about "finding a specific one we want" and more about just "finding something we can use to homeschool kids in two languages."

It also turns out that amazon.com's kindle unlimited does have a good number of German ebooks as well. (Far more than hoopla or overdrive, at least.) https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&bbn=9074047011&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A9069934011%2Cn%3A9074044011%2Cn%3A9074047011%2Cn%3A10727696011&dc&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1588426857&rnid=9074047011&ref=sr_nr_n_5 Amazon is confusing because some of their content is shared (you can migrate it from one marketplace to another) while other content is not shared (e.g., audible books do not play as nicely when migrating between marketplaces).

I found this, but I'm still trying to figure out if I can sign up with a participating library from a different continent. lol. They have a place to sign up outside of Germany, but the participating countries list is pretty small. https://www.onleihe.net

Yes, this is where I was thinking that a library subscription would pay for itself in just a few short months. I know that (state-side) I've found that even the more expensive ones aren't much more than $50/year, and those are to major libraries. Here's a list of some I found, but I know that last time I looked this up, there were far more places near me (like neighboring states) that offered e-library-cards than are listed on this site. https://www.aworldadventurebybook.com/blog/libraries-with-non-resident-borrowing-privileges

Hmmm, this is an interesting thought, though our experience with Amazon unlimited is that the selection is far smaller than even a small library collection. But, I've never even thought to check the .de site, so I'll definitely check it out!

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize, but I FINALLY realized that if US libraries will let non-residents pay for a library card, and access their online resources, maybe (just maybe!) other places do that as well. Does anyone know of any German libraries that have services like hoopla where you can get ebook access (even if it's paid), rather than just buying every book we want to read?

Hmmm... Good question. I will have to ask her. Off the top of my head, I'd say she's enthusiastic when it comes easily. lol. She loved fractions at the beginning - until they got harder. She loves skip counting -- the easy ones. She likes some of the BA puzzles -- definitely not the starred ones. But I'm often surprised at her different perspective, so I'll chat with her about it. 🙂

I probably said that wrong when I talked about narrowing. It's just that she does the "general" stuff like math, history, science, and English relatively quickly, and we still have a lotta time to fill. lol. So I didn't mean "narrow" in the sense of cutting out stuff, as much as I meant that we're looking for ideas on where to go with the rest of our time. 🙂 So far, I feel like the biographies have been appropriate, and the take away about God's work (rather than man's), but this is a good reminder. Regular, ongoing teaching practice is a great idea. So much to be learned from that, regardless of what she goes into. This is a good thought. I bet we could make a list of organizations and then just start looking into them and their work for a month or two each. That might really help her know what's going on in the world *now* (rather than historically from the biographies.) Ha ha, she *does* love Katie Davis Majors, but she is also exposed to variety of not-so-glamorous biographies, including ones where families have lost children, spouses, been kidnapped, tossed into POW or concentration camps, and particularly ones where white missionaries have gone off somewhere convinced they were going to "save the world," only to find that their often-misguided and sometimes-arrogant efforts can do a lot more to damage than to help. She's also had some experience working with elderly in assisted living homes, refugees, food banks, homeless, and people struggling with addiction. Thanks for the reminder, and maybe I should urge her to think of other local ministries that she could volunteer for to "get her feet wet." 🙂 I wonder if a local school has a tutoring / homework help program for their (younger) at-risk kids. I think that might be right up her alley (and perhaps also motivate her in her own studies!! lol).

So I get that someone who wants to be a missionary will probably eventually go to a Bible college, seminary, and/or specialized training and/or language school. And I *also* get that if you know you want to be a medical missionary or a flight missionary, then those goals help direct your educational path. But if you have a kiddo (say middle school) who is convinced God is calling them to missions work (and has been for 4+ years, though not certain exactly what kind), how would you tailor their education towards that (or would you - is that too early to really narrow the focus)? I get how I'd tailor the education of a child who had med school aspirations (e.g., focus on extra science and math). Or law school. Or artsy. Or trade (hello apprenticeships!). But, besides teaching bible well, critical thinking skills, exposure to a variety of cultures, reading missionary biographies, learning a second or third language, and possibly learning a portable instrument - is there anything in particular that you'd focus on from an educational perspective? Or, honestly, would you just keep things broad, somewhat "standard"? This child doesn't have any particular academic interests purely for interest's sake - she learns things only as a means to an end -- usually the end being just to get school "done" (,unless it has to do with Laura Ingals Wilder, lol).

We're coming back after a pretty long break, but I feel like the dust is finally starting to settle. Our year is never very well planned out, and we re-evaluate about every 2 months, but I find it good to think about long-term, so appreciate this thread. All together. We've been finding our grove doing things together again, which we'd gotten away from for a while when I had toddlers and preschoolers running wildly through the house. But it's been pleasantly relaxing and refreshing to start the morning off with some "together" time. History - we just read together out of Usborne or Horrible Histories or do an audiobook. Even my 10 yo likes to just sit and color while he listens. I think they want to do SOTW 2 (they like the audiobook for #1, and have listened to it about 15 times, but we've never made it past that... lol). Science - They've been enjoying the science units from the Good and the Beautiful. They're certainly far below ds10's level, but he still has fun doing something "easy" together. Memorizing Psalms and poems and hymns. My younger kids really shine here, and love to memorize. We got an old hymnal, and are just going through it from front to back, talking about what the words mean (sometimes the language seems pretty archaic to them!) and learning the melodies. IEW SSS 1A & B - everyone (including DH! 😄 ) does this together except my 4 yo (who sits and colors while we do it). Read alouds - We're working our way through some classics (just finished the entire Little House series and are halfway through the Redwall series. Hoping to make it through Lord of the Rings and Little Women/Men as well next year, along with some funner stuff for the youngers.) DS10: He plowed through the middle level Uzinggo this year, so we'll probably sign him for their high school level program next year. It was perfect for him (thanks dmmetler!!) AoPS Algebra and possibly Geometry, self-study with book and alcumus and me when he has a question. Typing and Piano and Code.org DD8: Singapore 4 & 5, possible BA 3, but this is really up in the air right now. Continuing reading intervention for dyslexia. Typing, piano, code.org DD6: Singapore 3, BA 2 Continuing reading intervention for dyslexia. Typing, piano, code.org DD4: Starting LiPS Singapore 2A-B I'd like it if we could figure out a way to get our German and Spanish back into our weeks, but I just don't want to overwhelm us. We have a good rhythm right now. 🙂

My 2nd child is more obviously 2E than my other kiddos, in that her weaknesses/disabilities are not masked nearly as well as theirs are. She is finishing up 2nd grade, and doing both Singapore 4a and BA 2C. She hates the problem solving part of BA (she doesn't want to puzzle through things, and I would say she does not at all like things that don't come easily). The only reason we have BA in there is because she was hitting stuff that was too advanced for her in Singapore, and I needed something else to keep practicing old skills while not moving forward in Singapore too quickly (she barely makes it through a page of BA in one sitting, so it's excellent for putting on the brakes and reinforcing ideas). So she picks up BA when the Singapore stuff gets frustrating, and after a month or so, usually returns to Singapore. She likes that Singapore is "straight-forward." She tends to be like a lurching car when it comes to math: stalling for days through a single lesson, and then completing the next 5 related lessons in a single sitting. It's not clear to me whether she's really "getting" it, or if she just figures out "the steps" and how to get right answers. I'm struggling to find what she needs from me, mathematically. On the one hand, she's clearly somewhat of an AL, and once she knows how to do it, it's "boring," and she doesn't want to waste time reviewing - she wants to move forwards. On the other hand, something about the way she's learning it still has me thinking about LD sorts of stuff, still, and I don't know how to balance the two for her math. I'm feeling like I need to slow her down, so we can both be *confident* the skills are there, but she insists upon going speedier with constant frustration rather than my preference for low-and-slow-and-comfortable. I think a contributing problem is a somewhat low working memory with a processing speed in the 99.9th %ile. She gets frustrated at a lot of things being too slow. lol. We've tried math games, Ronit Bird, lots and lots of education unboxed activities, etc. She gets into them a bit, but does the work easily and complains of boredom still after a very short while. I tried switching her to TGTB, because I thought she'd like the pretty pictures and stories, but she wouldn't even give me the chance - just said No, she likes Singapore. What would you do with her for math? We read LoF. She loves when I read the BA guides to her. Should we just put all "doing" math way for a while and do nothing but "listening" math? (She can't read them on her own yet because of dyslexia.) This child makes me scratch my head an awful lot... 😄

In our case, I'm finding this is sort of working itself out on its own. I used to work really hard to get him to write out something (ANYTHING!! lol) in BA, all to no avail, and I worked on it a lot the first 2-3 months of preA before finally throwing in the towel and letting him off without writing out full solutions (he is dysgraphic, so there is more to his not writing things down than the "normal" refusal, and I have three younger kids who are also 2E that needed my attention during the day). While my ds10 can do an amazing amount of work in his head, by the end of the AoPS prealgebra book, he was increasingly getting problems wrong. He primarily works on alcumus, and he started to just get really frustrated with getting so many wrong. After a few weeks/months of gentle prodding on my part, he was able to see the value himself in writing things down to help him keep track. Increasingly, I find him starting to write things down (varying from chicken scratches to full solutions), especially on the more complicated problems, so I'm hopeful we'll keep going in that direction! I have a degree in math, and hope to turn him into a proof writer one of these days, yet. 😄

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate the honesty, and I agree that sometimes you just have to do what works. I've been thinking that maybe this summer, I'll give the AoPS books a try (perhaps just alternating days, one day of book work, one day of alcumus and see how it goes). Part of me wonders if I'm (unconsciously) trying to have a "perfect little homeschool," you know, when your ideal of how you thought things would look clash with your reality (four 2E kiddos, in my case). I wonder if I'm being foolish even considering rocking the boat, when I've felt like I was fighting a losing battle just to keep my head above water the last 2-3 years. The rational part of me agrees that I should just do what works, and if we have a good rhythm that's working, then I shouldn't change it. But there's just this other part of me that's difficult to squash that still wishes things didn't look the way they do right now. (Maybe this is similar to my feelings/grief over being much more of an unschooler by heart, and then having three autistic kids who do awfully without pretty intense structure... parenting just really doesn't look like you plan before hand! lol.)

By summer, my ds10 will most likely be finishing up his tenth level of Barton (whoot!), his middle school uzinggo (all three courses), and the alcumus preA to blue. Right now, he is also learning Spanish and German grammar online with DuoLingo (he already speaks German fluently) by his own choice, despite me not requiring a 2nd language because I know it's typically difficult for dyslexics. In general, I like the online stuff because 1) it doesn't require a ton of hand-holding by me, and 2) it's high input, low output, which is perfect for my 2E kiddo! I feel like we have a great rhythm with him this year, but I've had a growing uneasiness about the amount of time he spends hooked to the computer for school work. (In addition to the above, he also does typing and coding programs and drawing videos online.) He is very much 2E (AL but dyslexic, dysgraphic, adhd, and autistic) and struggles with a lot of EF skills. Although he gets enough problems on alcumus correct to pass his sections, he gets a lot of them wrong initially as well, learns from the solutions, and is then able to pass the next questions (he sometimes tells me he's reading the book, but I don't really think he is, and I've been busy enough with other kids that I haven't really pressed the issue, since he's able to eventually pass the sections...) I have three younger kids that also need a lot of hand-holding for their 2E issues, and just don't have the time to sit with the oldest for 3-4 hours a day of one-on-one, which is how we ended up doing SO much online. I'm embarrassed to write that, lest someone judge me or suggest he should just go to school. Any advice on curricula, routine, organizational tips, etc. that would help me get him off the screen so much? I can sit him at the table when my girls do math and just insist he read the Algebra book and work the problems out at the table; I feel like math is probably the easiest one to tackle. I speak German fluently and enough Spanish to be able to teach it, but don't know what to use that has high input/pace paired with relatively low output (again, the dysgraphia and EF issues) and isn't *too* teacher intensive (I would be happy if I could teach him new stuff and do oral practice with him for 10-15 minutes per language, per day, and then he could work on other components of language learning on his own -- just don't know if there's anything like this out there?) He started DuoLingo three months ago, and has already gotten an initial pass on almost all sections (he does use voice typing), and so is going back to start "leveling up" those sections, so I just don't feel like that's gonna cut it for another 12 months anyway. Given his love for audiobooks, any thoughts on doing a science program that is based on great courses, and then oral narrations after he listens each day? Do the great courses come with "cliff notes" of some sort that I could read so that I can help him with his narration and ensure comprehension? I think that would allow him to maintain some of his independence without putting unnecessary burden on him to write. (We'll be starting IEW over the summer, once he finishes Barton, and I think that will be plenty of writing for him - I just don't have it in me to start right now with the end of Barton so near in sight! lol.) I expect t I'll try to find an art book to replace the screens for learning to draw, but haven't spent much time looking yet. To be clear, I'm fine with a little screens for fun or education, so it's ok if I can't move *everything* to screen-free learning. I would just rather not have a screen be a requirement for the vast majority of his actual school time. Is it pointless to even try, given that I expect we'll start taking online courses through a CC before too much longer? Give it to me straight! lol.

This is easy enough - we already have small chalkboards, sponges, and small chalk. lol. Thanks! Also good information! Thanks! It kind of reinforces my suspicion from looking at it that most of the stuff that I could buy from the store wouldn't be much more than I already do - but I will definitely give the training a look!

That's good to know. I didn't want to skip it if it's the ONE thing that really would make a difference. But I also don't want to waste money if we're already (most likely) doing as good as we can!

Has anyone here had success using CBD with their children with adhd, anxiety, asd, or depression? DH wants to consider it. He is also ASD with adhd/anxiety/depression, and has been feeling better with it, though he doesn't find it improves his attention significantly. But he's only been using it for two weeks. Just curious to hear what others have tried or think. It's too easy to find websites saying anything I search for ("Changed my life!" right next to "No evidence for it!") I'm at the point of wanting to medicate for adhd and anxiety in two of my children, one of whom is also showing signs of depression. I've heard so much about medicine being a complete game-changer. We've already addressed diet and supplements and exercise. I wondered if CBD would help without having quite as many side effects as standard adhd/anxiety/depression medicine.

We had red flags with all three of my autistics by age 2. I take a little bit of an issue with the claim in the article that later diagnosis were associated with mild presentations. Our presentations were NOT mild -- they just didn't fit the boxes nicely and weren't easily seen for what they were at that age. I didn't know what I was looking for or understand what I was looking at. Come ages 7 and 8, I'm taking an 8 pages single-spaced document to everyone we see, outlining all of the struggles/flags we've seen since age 2. Finally, with my oldest dd, it dawns on me that it might be autism, so I went and wrote out categories for social interactions, rigidity, and repetitive patterns, and when through my 8 page document to sort things into categories, and realized that *every single* issue in those 8 pages fit into one of those three categories -- I just didn't see the pattern when I wrote out the document as a linear thing based on time/age. I was dumbfounded and quite upset that I'd not made the connections before. For a kid who was almost given anti-psychotics because nobody could figure out what was wrong with her, I would definitely argue that her presentation was anything *but* mild. But she's a girl, and a smart one at that, and her presentation was not "typical." I'm not bashing the professionals; even I answered "no" to the question of her lining things like cars up -- only to realize the day after that she rearranges and lines up her books on her shelf and the clothes in her dresser on a daily basis. The questions themselves led me to look for a certain presentation, I feel in hindsight. Once I focused exclusively on the diagnostic criteria, she was clearly met it.

I think about this a lot with my three autistics. My ds wasn't diagnosed until age 7, but the professionals we saw at that point said we had been doing all the right kinds of "early interventions" that they would've suggested anyway (explicit social skills teaching, visual schedules, clear routine, etc.) - we just didn't know they were a "thing," and were making things up as we went along. By the time we had three more kids and suspected two of them were autistic, they'd been in speech and OT and had similar social skills teaching for years (we do lots of social thinking stuff in our "free time"), just because it's what we *did* at home. ADOS scores were near cut-off for both (one just over, one just under), but I strongly suspect those scores were impacted by all the interventions/teaching we'd already been doing.

I wanted to write this update, just because I was laughing so much. So here's my child (from the original post) making "hopscotch" games to try to learn her skip counting (her own idea) because she still can't skip count easily from memory after practicing for over a year. Yes, I read the Ronnit stuff, and we're back at using C-rods and dice and cards and playing games a lot. So we've been happier and I'm not stressed or anything. 🙂 And here's what the same child brought me when I told her it was math time, recently. "Oh, I already did my math," she says to me nonchalantly. I hadn't taught her this (see above comment about focusing more on C-rods, Ronnit and games...) She couldn't tell me how she got any of her answers, but *every single one* was correct. She just said her brain told her what the answers were. 🤦‍♀️

I've spent some decent time reading past threads about HWOT and dysgraphia. I've spent some time looking on the HWOT website. I get that everyone raves about how it works - but can anyone tell me why? I'm not suggesting it's not worth the $, but I'd like to understand what I'll really be getting for my $ before spending it at least (and be assured that it really would offer something new/better). 🙂 Currently, my dysgraphic kiddos practice their handwriting/letter formation the way taught in Spalding (clock letters begin at the 2 o'clock, with enough space to make the clock shape, line letters start near, always from the top, slight slant, etc., lots of details about how they should sit and hold the paper with the one hand, pencil grip, etc.) We do air-writing and multi-sensory stuff like kinetic sand or cloud dough or rice or tracing letters on various body parts. We practice a lot, highlight the bottom half of space to remind them where their "short" letters belong, etc. They do have low muscle tone and some core strength issues that we are addressing, but the fact remains that my kids aren't making the progress I'd like, and I'm not sure if it's because we really need HWOT and whatever it has that we don't already do, or if progress is difficult just because they're actually dysgraphic. (duh. lol) [ FWIW: We have seen three OT's in the past who had no constructive advice for us, and we are not able to pursue another OT right now, so I need to figure this out myself.]

Looking for recommendations for Christian read aloud books for youth. While we've enjoyed stuff like Narnia, we're looking for something a bit deeper right now. Recently, we've been enjoying books like Hinds' feet on high place, the new Pilgrim's progress, the Trailblazers series of missionary biographies, and Kisses from Katie. I'd love to find more books in the same vein.

I'm so bad at big picture goals that I usually just skip these threads! But I'll try this time, just because it'll be interesting to compare it with what we actually get done after the fact!! lol. I've really enjoyed our push to read more books together as a family this year. My oldest two have read the first five Harry Potter books and the Hobbit with me (takes so much longer than reading independently!! lol), and our entire family has read the first four Little House books together, as well as a few other classics a la Wizard of Oz, King of the Golden River, Pirate's Promise, and Reddy Fox. I'd love to see us continue this trend, and get into some deeper books (not just fun fantasy type stuff). DS10: Finish Barton, tackle IEW, work towards independence (though I'm not sure exactly what that means yet). He's flying through materials on Alcumus and has completed 2.5 years of middle school science material on uzinggo in the last 8ish weeks (low-output, I know, but golly he knows his stuff when I question him!), but I feel like the kid still can't independently feed and groom himself adequately, let alone remember to use his fork... DD8: Find something she loves doing and excels at. We just moved 1000 miles and she had to give up her one passion (there are no ballet schools within a 90 minute drive of us). She had made her peace with that at the time (though there's still been a grieving period), but now we're really noticing a dramatic decrease in confidence. While the little bugger is surely bright, she's very much 2E and the truth is that right now, almost *everything* is hard for her (academically, emotionally, socially, etc.) Nobody wants to be bad at everything. 😞 It does not help that she is currently refusing to do other things that she's really good at (she's a very gifted musician and has often used it to soothe herself, but has decided in the last year that she hates piano and violin, and so is refusing to play/practice). DD6: Get reading fluent, learn lots of board and card games, and try hitting HWOT to address dysgraphia. She could easily be more accelerated than she is, but prefers to be climbing trees and wading in the creek, so her academics are extremely slight. DD5: ?? Until oldest finishes Barton, I'm not sure I have it in me to start teaching another kid to read... Biggest goal for her would be to wean her off of the ABCmouse that gets more of her time than I'd like when I'm busy with the older three... All: Revive minority language (all but abandoned the last eight months as we prepare to move, and more and more difficult to maintain now that children out-number me and just use English with each other). Start learning Spanish. 1 hr of outside time each day, regardless of weather, on average (I'm setting a tracker that will keep a running average for me, and we bought good rain gear!). Try our hand at nature journaling.

Are there Spanish programs for kids that are completely audio/video based with no reading/writing involved? I know there are audio programs for adults (CDs to listen to in the car, podcasts, etc.) Just looking for similar programs for kids! We looked at Muzzy, which seems to have a preschool program with no reading/writing, but I can't tell if the upper levels include reading/writing, and I also can't tell if the app supports multiple child profiles (I sent them a message to ask, but haven't heard back yet.) We're doing the salsa videos, but ULAT looks a bit boring to my elem aged kiddos.

Wow, that really is good!