OK, so now that I have the Kindle Fire Kids' Edition, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how to download movies and youtube videos to the memory card? I need something to play for ds in the car with no internet available. Help! :willy_nilly:

Not sure what your definition of "cheap" is but Amazon is offering a Kindle Fire Kids Edition tablet for $99 with a Kid-proof case, a 2 year, no questions asked breakage warranty and a year of Amazon Freetime Unlimited for free. I'll try to post a link: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Kids-Tablet-Display-Kid-Proof/dp/B018Y22C2Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1489804961&sr=8-2&keywords=kids+ipad I just bought one for my special needs preschooler. I bought extra memory and the screen protector as well.

Thank you both for sharing your experiences. Could either of you tell me what the real advantage is to Acellus Academy vs Acellus homeschool? Does the homeschool version require more of my time and effort than the Academy? I'm thinking Academy has communication with real teachers? Just wondering why the significant price difference?

If you have experience with Acellus, could you help me differentiate between Acellus Academy and Acellus Homeschool? Did it work for your child? This looks like an excellent program. There are just a couple of things I'm not clear on.

Yes, I've been researching this one and dh and I both like it a LOT. I want to take myself out of the equation as much as possible and let the computer monitor his grades and his progress. If he fails or doesn't do well, it won't be my fault. I'll just point to the computer as the 3rd party and say, "The computer graded your work, not me." Do you have experience with Acellus? I'm not really clear on the difference between Acellus Academy and Acellus Homeschool. I started a new thread for that.

Thanks. Hugs from one RAD mom to another. :001_smile:

If you have experience with Acellus, could you help me differentiate between Acellus Academy and Acellus Homeschool? Did it work for your child? This looks like an excellent program. There are just a couple of things I'm not clear on.

I was checking the reviews for Time4Learning and several of the commenters complained of having the child's records deleted without warning. :crying: Another frequent complaint was difficulty in cancelling--T4L kept debiting their account even after the customer wanted to cancel. Any experience?

This is exactly what happened with our $1000 Sealy Posturpedic. Within a couple of months, the little "canoes" were already forming. It supposedly had a 30 year warranty against this very thing. Reading the fine print, though, it says that the dents have to be at least so many inches deep before the warranty kicks in. I hate this mattress and will never buy another one. It's less than 5 years old.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I remember researching Time4Learning several years ago and I will look into it again. I will also check out the other suggestions. Has anyone used K-12? Isn't that an on-line program?

Updating! Now that it's early February, the days are getting a little longer and we're seeing at least 3, sometimes 4, eggs a day. So that's an improvement. I will also add that we're down to 4 hens now, instead of 5. Something killed one of our girls and we still have no idea what it was. It was broad daylight in late afternoon, when it happened. We all felt so bad. Since then, we've been very vigilant about getting them up close to the house as the sun starts setting each day.

We have a 13 year old son with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) who is currently in a residential treatment center (RTC) for behavior issues and will be there for the next 4-7 months. He was home schooled by me from K-6, started 7th grade in PS and will complete it at the RTC. We expect he'll be home in time to start 8th grade. While this child is plenty smart, he seems unable to handle the peer pressure and materialism that is rampant in our public school. His judgement in choosing friends is questionable and he has proven to be untrustworthy on many levels. This was a big part of the reason I was so burned out on teaching him at home. Can someone offer suggestions for a curriculum that I do not have to grade or micromanage? Something that he can do independently? I'm thinking along the lines of an on-line program but I've heard mixed reviews about them, specifically the rapid pace at which they move. I am also hesitant to give ds a computer with internet access. He usually finds a way around the parental controls we set up. Am I asking for something that doesn't exist? Thanks for your thoughts.

All good information. Thank you. It appears to be a combination of molting and the shorter days of fall. We'll wait it out and see how it goes. We're gonna have to tell our friends and family members to buy their eggs at the store for a while. (gasp)

The snake thing occurred to me but OMG, I hope not! I'd pass out cold on the ground if I saw a snake in there. :svengo: Let's hope it's a light issue. I could run a light out there for a couple of hours a night and see if that helps.

I hope this is the case. Lots of change going on in their little routine all at once. Then we have the occasional dog chasing them to add to their stress.

I guess that's possible. We are seeing a lot of feathers around here. I heard they slowed down their laying when they moult but I didn't think it would be THIS slow! :crying: We're new chicken owners so I guess pretty clueless.

We have 5 hens and they seem to have stopped laying. We're getting maybe 1 egg a day in their roosting area. We're using the feed that's especially for layers. This started before the weather turned cooler so I don't think it's related to that. A few months ago, we were getting so many eggs we couldn't give them away fast enough. The hens are all about 1 year old. Any suggestions on what might be the problem or what we might do differently?

Sidney Sheldon John Grisham

I pm'd you. Thanks.

:scared: :crying: I think that would be a deal breaker for us! I'm wondering if that has a negative effect on the number of adoptions from foster care in Australia? If a family adopts several kids in separate adoptions, that's a lot of visits imposed on them.

No, no reservations. It's just that some adoptive parents start out with the best of intentions to include the bio family in the child(ren)'s life and then quickly find that there are unexpected pot holes along the way. We don't want to discover, too late, that we've failed to properly maintain our boundaries. Also, given that this child has significant medical needs that will likely follow him throughout his life, we feel like we are in a position to negotiate our terms with CPS to some extent. Looking for advice from those who have BTDT. Once you sign on the dotted line, that's it. No more negotiating. We don't want to get 5-10 years down the road and think, gosh, we should have insisted on ______ before we finalized. I'll see if I can find that podcast. Thank you! :thumbup1:

Good thought. We have other adoptions too. Definitely something to consider since this family tends to go overboard on gift-giving occasions.

He would qualify for a monthly subsidy check. We plan to negotiate for the maximum amount allowable. Are there other subsidy programs we should inquire about?

My dh mixes baby formula every day because he knows I HATE that task. I also never have to put gas in any vehicle because he always does it.

One of our foster babies has become available for adoption. Both sides of the family have approached my dh and me to adopt (even though we are middle aged) because the baby has extensive medical issues and we've had him most of his life. They know they can't meet his needs and are willing to let him go, hoping that if we keep him, they can continue to see him from time to time and stay in touch with us. We don't have a problem with this, especially since the family has never been anything but kind and respectful toward us but we want to be careful and maintain boundaries. Please share your thoughts and experiences in this area. We want to maintain sole discretion in when and how often they visit. They can request a visit but they won't have "rights". If they behave inappropriately or if the visits are difficult for the child, we want to be able to stop them. Anything else to consider?