I want to learn how to speak correctly, but not every moment is the time for correction. So, if I'm in a calm place and I can hear and respond to the correction in a timely manner.. I'm all for it. But if we are in a market and trying to make my point and the person understands me, then no, I don't want corrected. I also don't want to be corrected if the person is condescending. (i.e. a certain child who speaks much better than me and is sometimes rude about how I might pronounce a word!)

Good summary on the printed alphabet. I had to add that you didn't mention the cursive letter confusion! I can speak (not great, but good enough) but reading something written in cursive is so daunting! Is it a M or a T? What's that G doing? What sound is that! (I think it's G that troubles me!)

Thanks for the link. I will need to find out about individual test as there isn't anyplace to test in the country we are living in. I think we'll need to go to Poland for her to take the test. I was wondering (and I realize that I can call and get this information) is if she can test in the summer when she's in the States.

This isn't the samething, but I remember when my daughter got sick and I was mad at her. Why? Because she was going on a field trip (dog sledding) with her school and I volunteered to go with her. I was very excited to go. Instead, she ate something that she had an allergic reaction to which resulted in her being sick for an entire week with a high fever. And yes, I was mad at her. She knew she shouldn't have eaten it! However, I understood that she was still learning how to tell others what she could and couldn't eat and sometimes, she didn't know how to say no to an adult about a birthday cake. Too much temptation. She didn't go on her field trip and I didn't get to go either! In the end, I (reluctunatly) stayed home and played the good mom role. And felt quilty that I would rather have been dog sledding than staying home with a child who caused her on misery! (and this is 6 years later and I still remember that week like it was yesterday!)

Do you have a teenager? :lol: They can wash dishes! (I don't use my dishwasher very often.)

We live overseas, dd is 6th grade. She will need to take teh SSAT test in 8th grade to be able to go to boarding schools. I would like her to take a practice test this summer. IS that possible? Does anyone know how I could arrange it? She would be in Oregon for the summer.

Thank you! My daughter loves audio books and I love that they are in French! DD is now in 6 eme and started out in CP. All these years later, and I still don't speak a single word of French. I am always thankful when you or others post about resources.

Can you give me an approximate age for these books? My daughter attends the Lycee. She speaks/reads French at school. She needs to read more in French at home. I need to buy book that are appropriate for the 6 eme. Thanks!

Another location to seach might be HowStuffWorks.

hugs to your daughter.. I understand all too well what she is feeling. My father died in September. It's a hard holiday knowing he's not here.

It may not be the traditional source of English grammar, but the fact that it was being written in the Economist showed the confusion... http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/index.cfm?page=805687

That's pretty funny! It reminds me of the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves. It's all about correct grammar.

In a way this pertains to my daughter. She "sees" patterns quickly and finds the right answer in her mind. However, she doesn't always understand how she knew the right answer. Her mind figures it out in the subconscious level, but when I ask her to show me how she accomplished it- she can't. We have to backtrack and go over some steps even though she can quickly figure out the pattern. Quite unfortunate, but I agree with KarenAnne. What a shame that we don't encourage and foster a society that encourages mathematical abilities starting in the primary years.

My daughter attends a French school and has always done so. They teach cursvie from the very beginning. She's in 6th grade now and still writes as a matter of comfort. I remember reading articles on cursive vs print. When she was in kindergarten, I found an article about the different attitutes between the Europeans and Americans on writing. The Europeans teach their children to write on grid paper and each letter should be within 2 mm. American children have a much bigger space to write in during the kindergarten-1st grade time period. I'm not saying one is better than the other, it was simply interesting to read the different reasons. I did a quick google just now and found an article about why cursive first. It wasn't what I read 6 years ago, but interesting none the less: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2164109/10_reasons_to_teach_cursive_writing_pg2.html?cat=4

This is an adult book, but might make teaching rules easier. The ABC's and All Their Tricks: The Complete Reference Book of Phonics and Spelling Edited to add.. oops.. I posted and then saw the book was already referenced!

I cut out portions but I wanted to that this applies to us. I was a new mother to an only child. I couldn't make comparisons to other children but I thought my dd was bring. We were moving overseas and I wanted to completely alter her way of learning. I thought first grade would be boring for her, so I enrolled her into a school where they taught in a different language. I needed to know that she was smart enough to handle this change. I needed the courage to do what I thought was a good idea. She had sensory issues as well and I was able to see how it affected her scores. It made me more aware of the fact that we must address these issues.

As someone who suffers from clutter, I absolutely approve the housekeeping method- The child go to a neighsbor's house and bingo- everything is done in childs bedroom. I think if the child can learn control and respect for his/her things, everyone will be much happier in the years to come. At one point, I had 10 thermometers because I never could find them when I needed them. I finally found most of them and threw them away. I still have stuff and have a hard time getting rid of it- however, the "stuff" is not important and traps me into a downward spiral. Teach the child how good organization is. Be firm. That's my advice as an adult who has too much junk!

I had the lapband surgery done in 2005. I lost the weight and looked great. For those who don't know about the lapband, it is a adjustable band and can be loosened or tightened as necessary. Well, I was moving overseas and was afraid of getting a fill to tighten the band. So I did lose the weight, and have regained some of it back. However, when I'm on vacation and back in the States, I will go ahead and get it filled again. Only a small fill. This will allow me to lose weight and more importantly, it will force me to make better decision about what I eat. I need to be forced as I don't do well with self discipline.

The author of Freakonimics (I forgot his name) says children having books in the house (not necessarily being read to, instead seeing their parents read) is what makes children become avid readers. For me, I'm sure my mom read to us although I don't really recall. However, I'm equally as sure that she didn't read classics. I think it would have been simple material. I answered moderately. If my avid reader DD answered the question, she'd probably say moderately as well because I quit reading to her at age 6.5. She could read very well on her own and much faster than I could read to her. I would also say that she grew up listening to audiobooks.

Do you know about this website? http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html It has lots of books for all age levels.

My true opinion.. the woman wants an excuse not to go. There are hundreds of thousands of single parents. I don't think anyone is judging whether or not she's a single parent just because she is at a practice watching her son. Why does she even think that people are thinking about her in the first place? Narcissistic if you ask me.

How old can a student be to take one of the epgy classes? I'll be very specific with my question. My dd takes classes through CTY and I love the accountablity on the calendar that shows up. I also like the redundancy where the information is presented enough times until the student masters the material. I want to take the fifth grade math course for myself! After I complete it, I want to take 6th grade math. I can't enroll my daughter because EPGY already has her name through CTY. Can I enroll myself in the EPGY course?

My response won't help, but I'll tell you anyhow how we spend every summer. Daughter gets on a plane and flies several thousand miles away with her grandparents. In terms of academics, they will take her to two science camps..all together 3 weeks of science. In addition, they will take her to the library time and time again. I will join her in late July for my vacation and we will fly back together for the school year. My daughter loves summers with her grandparents. If we didn't do this, she wouldn't ever know them aside from a week or two every year.

She's in school full time. I think the schools math program is too easy so she does EPGY at home. When we weren't doing EPGY, we did Singapore math. I never tried to match topics. School math is school math, home math is home math. She does English through CTY at home as well.

I've used that list often! It's a great resource. I recently read a book for myself for the next age group. What a treat to read good literature for that age.