When you all give a college the list of books you used to school your dc, do you include books like "The New Oxford Guide To Writing," "The Lively Art of Writing," or a series like Writing Strands? Or, do you just list the literature dc read and the number and types of papers they wrote? I'm wondering if I should just consider most of these books as reference books and not list them on the book list for colleges. Or, should I list everything? Denise

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me a therapy was a waste of $$.... We did VT for my oldest. It was hard work and took a long time but it was worth it. His visual memory is greatly improved and his reading is well above grade level (that includes comprehension). He still doesn't like to write but he's good at it. As long as you have a good doctor, VT works. Denise

I'm so sorry for your friends. There is no greater pain than the loss of a child. :grouphug: I agree with all the posts above. It's important to reach out now and later. Don't shy away from communicating with her because you don't know what to say or because you don't want to remind her of it. Trust me, it's all she and her family can think about. Knowing you care will help immensely. The gift cards for food are a good idea. Try to give ones that will work for carry out or delivery. Dining in may be too much for them right now. I agree with the part about wanting to scream sometimes. The range and intensity of emotions you go through are huge. I can't talk about this too candidly, after all these years it still hurts. Be there for your friends for a long, long time. My prayers are with this family. Denise

Ok. Thanks for the info. I thought it was something to stay away from but once in a while it temps my dh. Now, I can feel better about throwing those offers away. Denise

Sounds chilly. :D I guess you can put on clothes when the temps. dip? Anyway, unless you are an athlete or something, I think people look better in clothes. I know I certainly do. The cleanliness issue is a big deal to me. If other adults want to do this sort of thing, fine. It's not for me and dh would be motified at the thought. :001_smile: Denise

Praying for you and your baby. Breastfeeding failed twice for me. I wish I had some good advice. :grouphug: Denise

This must have been a difficult decision. You did the right thing by honoring your son's request. Letting him go will be very hard. :grouphug: You and your son are in my prayers. Denise

We own a house just outside of Wash. D.C. We keep getting offers in the mail from organizations and individuals to buy the house, w/out a realtor, of course. What do you all think of these offers? I tend to think it is a scam. Do you agree? Or, am I being paranoid? The house is currently rented and the rental market in the area is good. We've received these offers the whole 4 years we've lived here in FL. We will sell the house one day. Many of the offers say they will buy the house even w/a renter in it and let the renter finish out his lease. Is this a scam? Thanks for your help. Denise

If you can afford it, Hannah Anderson has soft under garments with cloth covered elastic. Their clothes are soft and made for taller, slimmer people. The long johns are wonderful. Look carefully though, some of their clothes did not work for my ds. The climber pants, I believe, were not a good fit for ds. Denise

I used to buy jackets and coats from Lands' End and L.L. Bean for my oldest. Lands' End also has sweats he would tolerate in cold weather. You could also try Hanes sweats. They have some that don't have drawstrings, just banded waists and ankles. If you can find Talbots Kids clothes, they are very soft and last for years. They went out of business but may be available used. This is such a tricky problem. What one kid will tolerate, another won't. My ds was sensitive to pressure on his waist. Yet, being tall and very slim, he needed clothes that hugged him so they would stay up. He also felt hot easily. He would run around in summer clothes during the winter if he could get away with it. For him, brushing and auditory training helped reduce those problems. Good luck. Denise

Laurie - I feel like I offended you in my last post. When OhElizabeth expressed frustration, I guess it hit a nerve and years of frustration came pouring out. I spent years being criticized and even yelled at by medical professionals, teachers and family members. They blamed, ridiculed and were often condesending. I'm normally very polite and just ignore it. Today, I kind of blew. I apologize. Do whatever your dd needs to do to keep learning. It sounds like you are doing a great job. Trust your instincts over the opinions of others. Denise

Thank you Laurie and OhElizabeth for posting those links. I'm excited to try it! We were told to stop practicing handwriting and teach my son typing. He can't type any better than he can write. Yep. It doesn't address the problem. And yes, I've wanted to spit often. If we had listened every time a professional told us our son couldn't do something or that we shouldn't try something, he wouldn't be hiking in New Mexico right now and having the time of his life. He also wouldn't be headed to college. So yes, spit. Denise

I grew up this way, sort of. My dad was military so we had a roof but we always struggled and qualified for food stamps. The suggestions so far are good. Please don't feel bad about getting help. Most people go through hard times and that is why we have food banks and aid services. Ok, here are a few tips I learned growing up that may help you. I still tend to live this way, even when we don't have to, because it's what I know. 1) Beans - Mom cooked up a big pot of pinto beans. Sort the bean, rinse them well, and put in a big pot. Add water until the beans are well covered. If you have salt, garlic, oregano, thyme, cumin or chili powder - add them, or some combination of them. If not, don't worry. This is a cheap way to get protein and fill tummies. It's not the tastiest but one pot makes one or more nutritious meals. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer. It takes a couple of hours. Watch the water, beans soak up water fast and burn easily. You can also soak them overnight in a pot of water, then cook them on the stove. I've never cooked them in a crockpot, but if you have one, that might be an option too. You can eat the beans with brown rice, bread or corn bread. My mom made her own cornbread but you can also buy the Jiffy mixes fairly cheap. You will need milk and eggs. Rice is easier and possibly cheaper. 2) Watch Depression Era Clara on U Tube for more cooking ideas. 3) Baking soda can be used to scrub bathrooms, as a toothpaste and for cooking. It's cheap. Use old nylons for sponges. 4) Oatmeal and hot cereals are cheaper than cold cereals. They can be made the night before and reheated in the morning. 5) If you use tin foil, wash it and reuse it. We had to be careful with the tin foil so we didn't tear it and we used the same piece repeatedly. There are so many little things that can help. Often, I don't think about them because I've lived this way for so long. I'm sure you are already doing many of them. Still, even with these tips, it's difficult to make ends meet. I hope you explore the food bank and veggies on craigslits ideas. My prayers are with you. Denise

Oh, I understand. That's neat. It makes your school so "official." I wonder if it helps the colleges accept homeschooling records more readily. Hmm. Interesting. Thank you for sharing your info. Denise

Laurie - from the directions in the text, it sounds similar to what my mom was describing. Mom mentioned that students were told to write, not draw their letters. They were also taught to use their whole forearm, from elbow down, when writing. And, to slide their hand across the page as they wrote. It could be the same method. The writing in the Palmer book looks a little more loopy or fancy than what I've seen Mom and her relatives use. However, my mom went through school in the 40's and early 50's in Illinois. Maybe they had adapted this same method. I'll have to dig out my grandparents writing samples but, Mom said their writing was a little fancier than what she was taught. One more tidbit - Mom said they did warm-up exercises. Using straight pins dipped in ink, they drew counter clockwise circles, beginning on the bottom line. She said that fountain pens were too smooth for the practice sessions. When she said they made the circles counter clockwise, that's when I began probing her for how she began her letters. When I mimic the writing, I begin at the top and go clockwise. She said no, begin at the bottom. When my high schooler comes back from his trip, I'll try this with him and see if it makes a difference. I will also be taking my kids to her and have her give them a lesson. I want to see this in action. This is all very interesting to me. I hope we "discover" something that helps our children. If any of you try it, let us know how it worked. Denise

:iagree: Yes, I used to get this a lot. And, yes, I put a lot of blame on myself for things that I can't really control and aren't my fault at all. No matter what you do or don't do, people blame you for it. They, of course, have all the answers and if you would just do what they tell you to do... Grrr. Denise

My mom and I were discussing handwriting this evening. She said that she was taught to form her letters from the bottom up. :confused: She, her brothers, her parents and all of my family members from Mom's and my grandparents generations have lovely handwriting. Even my grandfather, who had learning disabilities, had nice writing. They all formed their letters from the bottom up. Mom said she was taught to rest her hand on the "fat pad," slant her paper and form letters bottom up. She said they were all taught cursive first. Apparently, my grandparents were never even taught printing. My oldest has always struggled w/handwriting, especially cursive. He always wanted to form his letters from the bottom up. All the teachers and special ed. professionals said he had to form his lettters from the top down. He was also not allowed to rest his hand the way my mom describes. What do you all think? Could this be the problem? Were you all told your kids had to start at the top to form their letters? I'm wondering if this is why so many kids have difficulty with handwriting now. What do you all think of this? Denise

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your dh. :grouphug::grouphug: Denise

We loved Red Dwarf! Wish we could still see it. I'm only witty when I'm not trying to be witty. I can be a bit snarky if I'm cranky and someone is particularly annoying. When someone is whining, complaining or criticizing I'll say, "You'll be alright," in a very flat voice. Like a previous poster, I've also said, "And how's that working for you?" When I am asked, "Can I ask you a question," I've responded, "Ok, but only one." See, I'm not very witty. Denise

I've told many European that I was from ________(whatever state I was living in at the time) and they responded by saying, "You're an American." So, who knows how that all got started. I'm a citizen of the U.S. Denise

What about some of the Evan-Moore books? Or something like them? They might not go up to high school level but they do go up to 8th grade. The ones I looked at did not seem predictable but very mixed. They are available in book stores so you could look through some before buying. Denise

Blue Hen - I understand the title # for the law you cited but where does the DOE # come from? Are you enrolled in an umbrella school? Denise

I chose "other" because we are Catholic and we use both Catholic and secular materials. By the way, Catholics are Christians. I guess you want to know specific groups of curriculum though. Ok, I get it. Denise

I bet you look a lot cuter than you think. Maybe you can get some new, dangly earrings? Sometimes some pretty or funky earrings make you feel better. I'm sure you're adorable, with or without new earrings. Denise

Kalanamak - thanks for the link. The videos look great. My son will love them. Denise