Sorry for the delay in getting back to this post. We had a bit of a medical issue these last few days. I did do this. We aren't really familiar with any of the teachers there, and the principal has seen Alex's test scores as well as samples of her work. She promised to match our dd with a teacher with experience in dealing with advanced kids. She seems to think that this placement, with this particular teacher, will be great.

Not to mention music:) I guess you will have to also make sure that any/all music the kids hear do not contain any profanity...of course, why stop there? Ooh, although it must be said I may or may not have felt like using profanity at those ridiculous people who cruise parking lots with their windows down blasting music at a level devestating to your ears that I would definitely not choose my 4 yr old to hear:) I always thought it was my job to use common sense, teach her that some words are inappropriate for common usage and that if (eventually) she saves them for special moments they will have sooo much more impact😄 But hey, maybe they will just all now be afraid of being arrested.

Another one: Coffee Conclave

Yep, these are exactly the same doubts I have. I am sick with going back and forth. After her neuropsychiatric testing at the end of last year and the resulting issues we had I swore never to try again. But Neuropsych also noted her need to be around other kids. This kid IS very social, or at least wants to be:(. We have tried to meet the need (as well as her need of physical output) by sending her to gymnastics 2 Xper week, swimming 2 X, music and Soroban lessons. It is not doing the trick. In this area, just about everyone sends their kids to prestigious preschools, followed by pre-K, the. On to Kindy. There are two homeschool coops who rigorously enforce the start at kindy age regardless philosophy. No exceptions. And honestly, I have a problem with the exclusivity and statements of faith...even if I could sign them I would not as I feel they are morally repugnant by their very nature. Alexandria is an only child, with a mom in a wheelchair who cannot always keep up physically with such a physically exuberant child:) And, whilst not always the case, I think that my being in a wheelchair severely limits the willingness of other parents to extend invitations for play dates. Maybe I am mistaken and it is just my winning personality *grin*. And when they actually listen to my kid it becomes painfully obvious how 'different' she is...and the awkwardness increases:(. I hate this. There does not seem to exist ANY option. At FOUR ( and I have a sick feeling it isn't going to get better for a long while!) I am having such a hard time finding any place that will even give her a chance. Today we were lucky enough to get to attend a Dino/archaeologist talk by 'Dinosaur George.' Dd had her notebook and was taking 'her notes...In crayon:) We were in the front row of an auditorium and he asked her what she was drawing. She loudly asked if all of his dinosaur talks included anthropomorphism. The place got totally silent...and he asked her where such a little girl heard such a big word:( She cried in the car.

Buddy reading for us is she reads a chapter, then I read a chapter. Yes. Exactly. All through the admissions and even this summer when she went for three week phase in, all I heard was how advanced all the kids were and the teachers could pull materials from elementary whenever they needed to...and today when I met her teacher she immediately expressed her opinion that ALL kids need to start with letter sounds and the moveable alphabet. I can see that, if they want to make sure she is comfortable with all Montessori materials. Many of them build on each other for many years to come...I am just sick as I feel like they plan to offer 'lessons' on new material on their schedule, not hers, and I KNoW how that will turn out.

This may be waay more girly than useful for a boy, but maybe you can adapt it: Dd has always, always been very literal. Even as a tiny tot she would get upset at what she saw as 'wrong' or irrational. Ridiculous things like children's books having animals making the 'wrong' sounds, even if it was intentionally part of the story, would result in my finger being slammed in the book by an unamused child. Magic she always saw as ridulous, but did glom on to princess stories eventually, although she insisted on pointing out how ridiculous they were, and like pretty much every toddler girl I know loved princess dresses. (I swear she DID NOT get it From me, I even swaddled the kid in plain yellows, greens, and blues!). So. Total fear of public toilets an those crazy Dyson hand dryers! Really, I KNOW they don't have to be that loud. I think people like them loud for the sounds they disguise! We tried post it notes and all manner of things. One day I gave her a wand and let her wave it 'magically' to make the sensor flush. Again and again. We probably wasted more water than I can be forgiven for:( Even though she knew it wasn't the cause, it was putting a silly spin on the situation that changed her outlook. She still HATES the noise and the randomness of the things, but will now cover her ears with a slight smile. She has a different outlook. She still makes jokes like 'Bibbity bobbity bean, change this toilet from dirty to CLEAN!' Any chance of modifying that?

Alex is supposed to start private Montessori school 3 mornings per week. After extensive testing, neuropsych evals, major behavior problems after our 'non-academic play-based preschool' six hour per week last year I have to say I am not hopeful. Honestly, the only reason we are even attempting it is that this kid really likes being around people...even if she can't be bothered to actually interact with them:) Here is the thing: next year (2015-16) will be her Kindy year. We will be homeschooling full time then, but I am hoping she can have a fun preK year. Of all the options (and we have investigated extensively our small-town options!) Montessori really seems to fit best with testing recs...in theory. Obviously Montessori schools differ in many ways. All though the process of deciding we were woo'ed with descriptions of advanced materials commensurate with what we are doing at home. I really do understand the concepts, have read extensively about Montessori methods, and really can understand working up from basic principles. I even think Alex will be okay with this for a bit, as the hands-on materials and novelty will draw her in...but not for too long if they don't keep moving along. Here is my issue: today we had parent-teacher conferences. The teacher told us she had seen Alex's testing and heard 'all about her' (not from us!) but really felt it would be in her best interest to "spend at least a year on regular 4-yr-old material" including letter sounds and counting. Really? I have always suspected that limited resource will be time required to give lessons, but this I find very worrisome. Honestly, the very last thing I interested in for this school is pushing academics. I think there are a multitude of things I would like my child to learn/absorb there and the very least of those goals are academic. We have actually been granted a concession by having her attend 3 mornings per week...usually it is a minimum of 3 full days an they like 5 full days to prepare for Kindy. We will have plenty of time to work on her other pursuits and she seems quite keen on the idea of going. It is just that last year introduced soooo many behavior problems when she could not get the other kids to communicate, be challenged, and keep busy. Any red flags? Am I just projecting because last year was such a fiasco? I truly want the kid to have a fun, 'kiddy' year! ETA: we have a six-week grace/trial period before we are locked into a year contract. It is not inexpensive by any measure. However, much more than the money issue would be the damage that our lasts years experiment cost her! It is slowly changing, and the effects have slowly been coming to a head as she is able to tell us more. Suffice to say it should never be okay to try to shame a child into behaving like their peers and repeatedly telling them they are 'bad kids that God will punish' for thinking differently:((((

Coffee corner Coffee coterie Coffee and cuddles (uh, if you have littles!) Coffee Klatsch

Ah, see, here I was thinking you meant during the Gulf War...

EuroTalk math 3-5 EuroTalk math 4-6 Splash math They are a bit pricier but well worth it. Cover all sorts of topics and fun:) For math fact practice: Math Bingo Mystery Math Town Duck Duck Moose's math apps

Ouch! That is pretty much exactly what happened to me as a kid, but it was roller skating. This will probably date me, but I might or might not have been attempting to Walk Like an Egyptian. Friends thought it was hilarious😢 It took long months to feel better. When I joined the Army and had to do sit-ups on cement I learned a new appreciation of pain until I learned to accomodate my wonky tailbone:) Unfortunately, now I sit on it all the time in my wheelchair and it still bothers me. I have a special cushion that has small cells you can inflate or deflate to adjust pressure so can leave a small hole for that spot. Honestly, if it is just bruised there is not much for it except the regular pain/swelling treatments. But if it doesn't get any better or feels 'out of place' going to the dr is probably a good idea. My Ortho (seen for other things) told me that if it gets cracked, broken, or displaced it can cause life-long problems. It will heal, yes, but posture really suffers as a result. This can bring on back problems, neck problems and even knee problems. Hopefully some rest, ibuprofen, a donut pillow will do the trick...but If you get no relief or feel it isn't right, please see a doctor:)

Lol, yes, I can't even imagine starting a formal math program (even something as easy-going as RSA!) if a child wasn't already counting, counting on, and understanding one-to-one correspondence. I guess it would be possible, but why? There are too many fun ways to play an introduce all of that during regular activity to want to try a math program without that level of basic understanding. I totally understand what you are getting at Boscopup. There has to exist an ability to use and demonstrate the ability to use and basic counting and number sense first:)

The only problem transitioning from RS B to Singapore was that RSB did not directly cover subtraction. However, we also used the games and Activities for the AL Abacus as I wanted to teach subtraction in the RS way, simultaneously. That being said, I do not have one of those kids who needs to be accelerated by say, taking the end of chapter reviews. She honestly LIKED doing all the problems. So we started with Singapore 1A and she worked her way through all of the books, all of the problems, including some IP and CWP. She just really liked doing them, and because she had covered much of it in RS, she flew through them. In fact, she also went through the book 2+2 doe not equal 5 using both the 'tricks' and then RS or Soroban style as she wanted to and I felt is useful in teaching different methods. Guess what was more useful? Even though she knew the 'tricks' for say 7+4= 11 and the related fact families (taught in that book to see tem as straight line problems and memorize them as fact families) she still reverts to 'well, 7 + 3 = 10 and 1 more is 11. (I have her use Singapore way during regular math although she also tends to visualize Soroban way) Honestly, the biggest hurdles are place value and learning the 'Asian' way of grouping and quantifying. RS does an absolutely amazing job of this:) As far as our experience with BA: she loves the comic book style. Because we tend to have several non-linear math threads going and she had already learned her multiplication tables and this beginning division (we treated them simultaneously as she learned them through the visualization/story-based method at multiplication.com long before we were even doing Singapore), the beginning subject matter of BA she was already familiar with. The beauty of BA lies in the increasingly difficult levels of application, patience-stretching, and problem-solving skills. At four, dd still has a hard time with some of that so we treat it as an ongoing process. I am not trying to push her through BA...I want her to develop long-term problem-solving skills and perseverance when the answer doesn't come easily. Much more important. I hope that helps a bit? I am not sure our process is the process older kids would take, or even different personalities:) but it has this far worked for us. We also have 1 day a week we devote to fun hands on exploratory math (new) or rabbit trails she seized from some of our math readings and she does Hands on Equations for fun (and as a break for mom) one day per week. I don't really care if it goes anywhere but to keep her having fun. There, I can really see the results of SM as she can concentrate on the 'fun' of it and not the operational/computational part!

Hopefully you will get some suggestions from parents who have used multiple levels with multiple children, but I can tell you my experience... We used RS A and then RS B, a well as Japanese Soroban (abacus) which really discourage counting. It has really worked well, and in the times when dd (who is 4 but radically advanced in math, take it for what you will) tried to resort to counting it was problematic. Of course she CAN, but it is inefficient and not nearly as accurate! If they can learn to visualize the abacus in their head (as in RS or Soroban) you will be amazed at how accurate they are and how much easier it is to 'visualize' math facts. In fact, when dd doesn't immediately recall an answer she closes her eyes. I would not go so far as to say it is the wrong way, to count. I think it is an important skill and demonstrates understanding. But I now think there is a more efficient way:)

I will notice:)Have fun, that sounds great! I don't even can...but am going to try it as my dd wants to try. Thanks read-alouds:)

DP from phone...

That was exactly my thought! So very creepy.This isn't the JonBenet picture I was thinking of, but pretty close. Yuck:( http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_JonBenét_Ramsey ETA: this one...http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/jonbenet-ramsey/images/31618279/title/jonbenet-ramsey-photo

No! I have not tried it. I am so going to try it this week. Really. Hubby knows how horrible I find the task so resolves to do it for me...but for some reason he sees this as a monthly or semi-annual task, lol. Uh, no. At least weekly dear:)

Ooh, for me it is the microwave. Ugh. The smell is so repulsive. And bits of hard food to scrub at. *shudder* I would actually rather clean toilets and bathrooms!

I have to say a friend sent hers to be printed at OF and we were looking through it more in depth tonight. Obviously my kid isn't going to be nearly ready for writing herself for now the longer more involved portions.. But I think that the early part would be fun to do with me scribing or her typing over a very long term project. I mostly thought it would be a look at where we might head, as I do with say Bravewriter. I really like the combined approach:)

As I am using the entire entry level MCT with dd I am very interested in comparing. From the description there are quite a few parallels...although I really like the fact that they seem to be less delineated? Using MCT for us is decidedly more linear, and I attempt to help dd make those connections. So far, she just doesn't see the breaking point between say poetry, LA, grammar, etc...I LOVE the MCT material so far, but our personal approach this far seems to combine the MCT areas. Whilst I do not have her write out her own stories, I do have her dictate stories and poems in the same combined style. Obviously the kid is not ready for the full use of the 8s material, but I really think the style will work for us in that way:) This may be due to our eclectic and informal style of LA. We do WWE1 and AAS3 and use wooden Montessori parts of speech labels to label the individual parts of speech, clauses, etc... She identifies clauses, phrases, idioms, figurative/literal language and more. To me, it is much easier to combine the areas than to separate. From the examples, I am hoping that 8's program is more in this style for writing...

Sorry if there is some confusion. There IS the book Möbius Noodles she wrote by the same name. But there is also a virtual class and she is putting together materials to train people to make their own math circles...some more problem solving as in a traditional math circle and some more along the line of what I assume you are thinking of for the younger set. Exploratory math that is centered around more conceptual math and less about computation. Hands on 'experiments' and math labs that investigate concepts like symmetry, fractals, intuiting multiplication, and advanced math ideas...but presented in more of a fun activity for even the very young. If you check out the Möbius Noodles blog you can see the amazing things she has done. That is the thing. She is doing much of the work for you and encouraging people to use the materials to start math circles and groups. As the parent of a 4 yr old who is extremely accelerated in math and loves the exploratory math that is exactly what I am looking for. In addition, the blog has an entire section devoted to parents detailing exactly what they would like to see in a math circle/group. Even if you don't end up using any of the materials, I would think that feedback would be very useful to you in this endeavor.

For those of you whose kids have taken antibiotics for Lyme or other tick-borne diseases, is there a standard antibiotic prescribed? Dd is allergic to cephalosporins and penicillin. As I mentioned, I wonder if this is why the dr didn't antibiotics as a a precaution...

Definitely. And she did go to Zoo Camp all last week, and so was outside all mornings outside of my supervision. Still. The kid is remarkably healthy-seeming for a fever this high an the other symptoms. But something is just NOT right. This morning she slept in until 8:00, and just asked to lay in bed and read. This kid has woken up within 5 minutes either way of 6:45 am for the last 2 years. Hubby and I joke about our alarm clock. No biggie, she has a fever, so her little body probably needs extra rest. But this kid is so predictable. She goes to bed at pretty much exactly the same time and wakes up the same. And the second her eyes are open she is off and running! None of the symptoms on their own really worry me at all. It is just all of them together are much more worrisome:(

I don't THINK so. She is always drinking, good output, and doesn't have any traditional signs. That being said, it is Texas summer here.