This sounds like my parents, especially my dad. I made my sons follow these type of goofy, controlling rules just to make my parents feel respected. But finally, my boys reached the age (5th-6th grade) where it was just NOT appropriate *at all* for someone to tell them how to dress (like when to wear a jacket...this was a HUGE issue my dad always had with my younger, hot-natured son!). Surprisingly, around that age my sons had to be FORCED to go visit my parents. At that time I would only take them to see my parents if I was gonna be there the entire time (they seemed to not try to do all that controlling stuff with my boys if I was there...then they just aimed it all at me:) I talked and talked to my parents about it and so did my sister (her dd felt the same way my boys did). They finally began to lay-off of some of this, but by then they had REALLY damaged their relationship with the grands. Our kids said they were made to feel stupid and just couldn't handle it. My sis and I could totally relate (we did grow up in that house).

Just over the past couple of weeks, I've begun incorporating online lectures with my son's history and science textbooks. He prefers textbooks, but is a struggling reader, so I went with Power Basics (biology and world history I). I've coordinated Khan Academy's Biology lectures with his Power Basics Biology. He watches the short lecture (right now he watches with me and I guide him through the note taking) then the next day he reads about the same topic in his text and answers the 4 practice questions after the reading. We've only added the lectures in to the mix about a week or so ago, but he says it's AMAZING how much more he's understanding. After a couple of days of success with the Khan Academy lectures, he asked me if there was something like this for history. I remembered about Education Portal, so I started poking around on that site. I'm slowly lining up his World History I text with Education Portal's World History: High School lectures. He's getting the same results from adding these as he did when we added Khan to his biology! Just this week I've started looking at Education Portal's Literature Grades 9-10 as a guide for his literature (he's already taking an outside IEW class for writing, so I just need the lit). The lectures at Khan and EP are all short and to the point, which is perfect for my son. The mixture of auditory input from the lectures, then the reading, then either note-taking (khan academy) or a short quiz after reading (EP has a short online quiz after each lecture) is exactly the mix he needed. HTH

I voted 25> I live in a suburb of Indianapolis. We have great trails and good side walks. Folks here are very interested in health and exercise. We've been here 1 year and love this aspect of this particular 'burb.

I do too. So sad.

I agree about the bickering would just start in the car at pick up time at school. My 2 best friends have dc who went to regular school and this is exactly what they experienced. I also used to do the NO talking at all like a "reset button" too. It really does work, because I do think a lot of the bickering is just a habit (bad habit). Also, when my dc were little, I didn't do school work with one while the other was in the room, unless it was a read aloud, of course. If I was working on math with one son, the other had to be either be working on something independently or just playing quietly in another room. I never did history and science together with them either like some families do. There's a 3 year age difference in my sons and my older son has always been a DEEP thinker and LOVES to discuss what he's learning, which is the EXACT tee-total opposite of his younger brother. If I did subject like that with them together, I had to make my older son kind of hold back on his thoughts and then my younger son felt very dumb when he couldn't come to his thoughts like his brother. HTH

I might just end up ordering. Just found a devotional book that I'm thinking of getting for some family members and will be placing another order at cbd.com. I like the idea of turning some of those workbook activities in to poster type activities.

I didn't order the workbook. He's taking an IEW outside class that uses SWI C. The assignments are, of course, getting tougher and tougher. He's doing extremely well in this writing class, but it takes a LOAD of his time (and mine helping him:) each week. I'm keeping his other classes as simple and streamed-lined as possible this year while he focuses on building his writing skills. I'm just gonna let him plow through volume 1 and hopefully move into vol. 2 before the end of the school year. I'm hoping he will be handling the writing assignments well enough by then that I can add the history workbook to his school work. I DO like the activities in the workbook (he's done some of the workbook activities in the Power Basics Biology this year). Those activities address weaker areas that he needs to work on with reading and thinking skills.

Have any of you used this? My 16yo (10th grade) , who has dyslexia, is using Power Basics Biology with success. He's been using Notgrass World this year for history, but hates it (to much biblical history and not enough about other cultures). I probably should have asked for opinions BEFORE ordering it!LOL Anyway, if you've used this, did your student enjoy it? Learn from it? Thanks, Greta:)

My ds did a living books approach to biology using many of the books already listed in this thread. Wanted to add I am Joe's Body. It's out of print, but you can find it online if you poke around a bit. I think I've heard there's a girl version of the same book titled I am Jane's Body. Another title my ds enjoyed was Microbe Hunters. HTH

My 10th grade dyslexic son is doing well this year with Power Basics Biology and Exploring Literature by Pearson/AGS Globe. He's also doing extremely well with Notgrass World History (just the history text).

My 10th grade son is using Power Basics Biology this year. He's not even through Unit 1 yet, but so far he's doing well with it.

You might want t o look around the easy peasy homeschool high school website.

Some titles to pursue...Painless American Government, Are You A Liberal, Conservative or Confused?, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and Science Matters. Also, like other's mentioned just read great literature. When something strikes you as interesting in a piece of literature, do some research on that topic.

I noticed that your dd is an Aspie. At that age (14-15yo) my ds could NOT work on school for 6-7 hours. He's a strong reader and likes to think deeply about what he reads, but does struggle *greatly* with math. He's a slow, methodical worker (and reader). Last year when he was a senior, he *finally* was working about 6 hours a day on school. BUT he didn't get as much done in that 6 hours as a peer might get done because of being SO incredibly slow and methodical. (He also has some OCD type things he does that just simply adds time to his work...adding a certain amount of little marks to each number he writes when doing math, or tracing over and over AND OVER a number when doing math, or having to rub the bottom left corner of the book page a certain amount of times before just turning the page, etc...).

I end up going with a different program, Power Basics Biology. It seems to be easier to read and has short comprehension checks (4 or 5 questions) after every section in the chapter. Also, I liked the activity workbook better. Since there are comprehension checks in textbook, the activity book has other things that actually enhance the reading. Some of the activities are even hands on that could count as labs (very simple, yet still a lab:). Oh, and it was WAY cheaper, which is always a plus:)

Have any of you used Notgrass Exploring World History (just the history part...not the lit and writing) with your dyslexic student? What about the Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum science (Biology and/or Integrated Chem and Physics)? We had a rough, rough 9th grade year. My ds was his usual unmotivated self, but then right before Thanksgiving we moved from TN to IN. Not only did he have a rough time adjusting to having NO friends nearby to hand out with, the long, cold winter got to him. He was very depressed and got very little done last year. He says that this school year will be different, but he's also said he wants to "just get it done". Here's the plan for 10th: -Math: Teaching Textbooks 7th grade (struggles with math too...he'll should finish this by Christmas, then will start TT pre-Alg) -Notgass Exploring World History (just the history part) -IEW SWI level C (outside class) -Litature w/guides (and audio): not ground in stone yet, but leaning towards Animal Farm, Old Man and The Sea, Christmas Carol and The Hiding Place -Science: PAC (calling them today to see if they recommend the Integrated Chem and Physics before Biology) He's running on a homeschool XC team this fall and also spends time playing guitar (took lessons, but mostly self taught) and drawing (had lessons from K-4th grade...self taught now). He also plans to help with the backstage work when the local homeschool group where's he's taking the writing class has their spring play.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to tell either of my teen sons anything. They would never ask the girl out again. Honestly, they would feel sorry for the girl. Once this story gets around, she'll even be loosing her guy friends. My son's have 2 friends (a girl and a guy). They are all homeschooled and in the same youth group. They've ran in the same circles for YEARS. They've done loads of group activites over the years. A couple of years ago, the homeschool group they are both in was having a banquet (sorta like a prom). The guy asked the girl if she'd be his date...they've been friends for years and this was just a friend asking a friend to go. They were going to go as a pair BUT with a group. They wouldn't even be in the car alone. Much like all the other activities they'd done over the years with their homeschool friends and youth group. She said yes, but then a week or so later she tells the guy her dad wants him to come over one evening before the banquet to have "a talk" with him. The guy told her that he'd feel weird having that kind of talk with her dad since they are JUST friends. She said she agreed but her dad insisted. The guy told her that he'd rather just not go as a date and then just hang out (as usual) at the banquet. So, that's what they did. Anyway, all the guys (and some of the girls too from what my son's shared with me) felt so sorry for her. Word has gotten around about this and all the guys have said that it's not worth that kind of nerve wracking experience just to "hang with a friend". What is so odd is that they still hung out with a group all the time after the banquet. It was just odd. Her dad was making something a big relationship when it wasn't.

Ya know, there's two kinds of extroverts. Some of us get our energy from being social, but some of us spend all our energy being social. Those of us who spend our energy being social NEED *time* right after a social event to "recharge". Sounds like your dd is in that camp. I am in that camp of extroverts. So are my sons. It can get ugly around here when we've *all* been to a social event and haven't had our recharge time yet. Also, like the other poster said, she might be doing too much social stuff. If she's doing too much it doesn't leave enough time to "recharge" between social events. And for me and my boys, a social 'event' can be as simple as hanging out for hours with just ONE friend.

I live a couple of blocks away from Carmel's A&D District. It's really their downtown area. I think this area initially had a couple of art galleries, but they didn't do well. There's good eats and higher end shopping there. Also a gift shop, neat antique store, a barber shop, a salon, a butcher shop (neat!), couple of ice cream shops, and The Worlds Smallest Museum (cute). When the weather is nice, there's lots of weekends with music. The Monon Trail (google this...it's neat) goes through there also. The library is just one block outside the official A&D district. This library is AMAZING! Since we are walking distance to the library, my teen sons walk there a couple of times a week (this library even has a nice large section of graphic novels and a HUGE selection of movies, documentaries and music cds). If you like to walk, run or bike for fitness, you'll love this area. Carmel is set up nicely for these activities, especially the Monon Trail. Also, check out the Monon Center. There's a monthly fee to be a member and use the workout stuff, but anyone can use the *nice* walking track above the bb courts. I head over there a lot in the winter.

We just moved to Carmel, IN (less than 30 min. north of downtown Indy) back in November. I recommend looking at the suburbs of Carmel/Westfield, Noblesville, Fishers and Zionsville. My older son, who just graduated from our homeschool, took 2 classes in the spring at a homeschool program in Fishers. It's a GREAT program, but does cost. My younger son ran track in the spring with a similar type group that meets in Carmel. He'll be running Cross Country with them in the fall and also taking classes. It costs also. There's a couple of more homeschool classes where you pay for the classes and then at least one true-blue co-op (moms teach) that also include middle and high school classes. There's some homeschool sports teams also (football and basketball). The program that meets in Fishers that I mentioned has a tennis team. The area is nice. I know that the suburbs I mentioned have low crime. There's always something fun going on in these communities and in Indy. We just moved from an area in TN that had been hit HARD by tornados a lot over the past 10 years. They do have them in this area, but I've not heard sirens yet since I moved here.

I grew up in North Mississippi without A/C. We had a window fan and a couple of powerful floor flans. Of course, we also kept the windows open. During the day, we seemed to be outs de most of the time working in our HUGE garden or mowing/weeding our HUGE yard. If we had peas or beans to shell or corn to chuck or cut off the cob, we'd sit under the shade trees in our backyard. I remember laying in our swing in the backyard reading, then falling asleep a lot of summer afternoons (fond memories:). We had a picnic table under the shade trees where we ate lunch pretty often. At night we slept with the windows open, fan going and just a sheet to cover with. My sibs and I liked to sleep on the back porch sometimes too when we were a bit older. The worst part was when I began wearing makeup when I was about 13yo. It pretty much melted off my face before we ever left the house (thankfully, by that time we did have a car with A/C...I don't remember not having a car without A/C, but I'm sure we had one without it when I was really little). Honestly, I think a body gets used to it after a while. I mean you still sweat when it's stinkin' hot, but you can just think and function in that kind of heat once you get used to it. After we all got married and/or left home, my parents began to run the window unit we'd had all along. Right after my 19yo ds was born (first g/baby for them) they had installed a heating/cooling unit. Now, I freeze at their house:)!LOL

My dh travels a good bit. I pretty much keep the same routine. When he is in town, he and I have lunch out a few times a week (my sons are teens), so that changes when he's gone.

Along with the soaking, rinsing and soaking again, I cook beans with a potato in the pot of beans. Discard the potato when the beans are done. Do NOT eat the potato!

Good idea about it being a reward. Thanks!

My son is 15yo (16 in Sept). He'll be in 10th grade in the fall. He has ADD, dyslexic and also struggles with math. We are doing math(TT gr. 7) and also will continue to read through the summer. He *really* wanted to find a part-time job this summer so he could have some extra spending money, but he also knew if he worked part-time *and* did summer "lite" school, he'd have NO real summer. Dh and I encouraged him NOT to search for a part-time job. We wanted him to focus on his summer school and have some time for summer fun too. Anyway, he is hating his summer. He says he's spending it doing what he hates the most (math) and making NO extra money. Dh and I are thinking about paying him for math grades this summer. We just started using TT and he LOVES how it gives the instant feedback and a number grade. I've always had trouble getting him to ask for help when he has NO CLUE on how to do a math problem (when we were using MUS). Now that we've started TT, he wants to SEE that 100% in the TT gradebook. TT offers 2 attempts on each problem. If he misses it the first time, he then reworks the problem, but has me check it or help him if he is totally lost before plugging in the second try answer. He's consistently getting 100% on his daily math. This has NEVER, EVER happened until now! Since he IS working very hard, we are thinking that rewarding him with some extra cash would be nice. Dh and I discouraged him from getting a part-time job, so we thought this might show him how important we consider math skills. What do y'all think?