Just a suggestion, but the amount of dictation in Megawords really isn't that much. Could you find a convenient time to record the dictation? Then each child could just play it and pause it while they write. Or alternatively the olders could do it for the younger and you would only have to record for your oldest child. I know the juggling act gets hard!

We're sending our oldest to high school! :D I just can't tell you what a relief that was for me. He's going to a STEM School that is the perfect fit (we hope!) So, now I'll be able to spend time with my younger two kids and focus on doing things that they want to do instead of always teaching the oldest. We have a little bit of catch up work to do and I'm honestly looking forward to just having more time to work on the basics and enjoy my younger kids! :lol:

I have noticed that sometimes when someone responds to an e-mail that I have sent them the smiley faces come back as the letter J. It has something to do with the formatting not translating from one computer to another. :glare:

Thanks MPCtutor! No wonder I felt confused! Thanks Twingles, that's why I bought used the 1st time. I just wasn't sure if it would work for us or not and I wasn't about to spend $400 to find out. So sorry you had such a unpleasant experience, but glad I can learn from it!

What do you do when your child comes to you with a word problem that he can't solve and you can't even begin to figure it out yourself?? We are using Chalk Dust (but bought it off Amazon) and they provide reference numbers for each problem, but in this case it just didn't seem to help us. Here is what he had today: The wind chill factor when the temperature is -25 degrees F and the wind is blowing at 40 mph is four times the wind chill factor when the temperature is -5 degrees F and the wind is blowing at 5 mph. If the wind chill factor at -5 degrees F with a 5 mph wind is -16 degrees F, what is the wind chill factor at -25 degrees F with a 40 mph wind. I enjoy math, but word problems like this just make my eyes cross! I don't want to just say "oh well", I want to find a solution when we come up against this kind of stuff. Maybe next time I should spend the big bucks on Chalk Dust so I can call them! Is there somewhere on the web that I can post problems like this and get feedback?? Thanks!

Thanks! I think I'll call the attorney's office in the morning and see if they can send me a copy. I just get stressed out that I'll upset the apple cart with my dad. He gets so bent out of shape about the smallest things. He figures no one will ever ask me otherwise and my dh is concerned that I'll get into legal issues, especially since my uncle has been seriously ill.

I'm hoping someone here has BTDT and can give me some advice! At the beginning of the month my disabled uncle started having some major medical problems and has been hospitalized twice. Both times my dad (his POA) was out of state and I've been the only one here to help my uncle. My dad tells me that I have durable healthcare POA and to sign the paperwork as such. This makes sense to me because years ago I signed papers stating that I would do this, but it was so long ago I don't recall details. Fast forward to today and I find out that I am *not* POA, only the alternate if my dad is unable or unwilling to fulfill his duties. Of course, my dad tells me to just keep acting like I'm POA because no one is going to give me a hard time as long as I act like I'm in charge! What??? I trusted what he told me. When I tried to talk about it further he just said I was being ridiculous and refused to talk about it further. Am I am angry and hurt that he misled me and I don't want to get myself into a situation that I don't want to be in. I am very much a "follow the rules" kind of person and this just doesn't work for me. Where do I go from here????

Did they test to see if she was allergic to the glycerin? Not many doctors do, but for someone who has such a severe reaction, it can often be traced back to the glycerin.

Ladies, Thanks for sharing all your wisdom! After reading Pongo's thread on getting Chalkdust for less,I went ahead and ordered it so I can give it a closer look. I really like the idea of having DVDs for him to watch. I have looked at the Key to series as a possibility as well. My son just feels bad that we've been hopping and wants something that he can stick with long term like we did with Singapore. I have thought about their upper levels, but again I like the DVD idea. I may also go ahead and get a couple other things to look over before I commit, but I just got caught up in the CD excitement today.:lol: I'll update and let you know how its going once we settle in!

My dear son is 14 and because of his dyslexia has been struggling to get past fractions, decimals, and percents for a few years. He does well at the time but his retention is poor. He did great in math during the elementary years, we used Singapore. Since then we've tried MUS, Life of Fred and another one that escapes me at the moment. He needs something that *really* breaks things down and assumes very little. The kicker is that he tested gifted in math 4 years ago. I know it has to do with his dyslexia and memory issues, but we can't just keep going in this circle! Thanks!!

I'm not a techie at all and when dh said he was getting me a BB I couldn't figure out why he would bother, but now that I have it, I love it! I never realized how convenient it would be to be able to check my e-mail and update things over the web and I've even learned how to text. :lol: It only took me a few days to get used to it. I have a Curve 8520 and couldn't be more thrilled. Before this I just had a cheap Samsung flip phone, so this was ALL new to me. I'm never going back!

Thanks ladies, that really does help. While I understand that helping a struggling student takes time (I am a reading tutor), I just can't spend 40-60 minutes a day on a regular basis. So looks like the Activity book is just what I need instead of the full caboodle While she is a strong visual learner, she isn't very visual spatial. She just has major issues with rote memory because of her dyslexia. I'm amazed that after playing Go to the Dump for three days, she can easily recall pairs that add up to ten, just like that with little to no frustration. I am able to tell that she is relying on one-to-one correspondence vs. just seeing 7 as 5 and 2. So, that's our next step. I spent a little time on the RS website today and see that their worksheets for the activity book are on sale, so I'm going to get those and a few of the manips. I think we'll continue with Developmental but supplement with the Activity book and Worksheets for the AlAbacus. What I need is a week off with nothing else to do so I can correlate the two! Thanks for the input, I think I'll be able to sleep tonight! :D

Isn't it funny how you think that because you are a math kind of person that teaching math will be easy? Not in this house! Ok, my dd is 9 and conceptually understands math, but struggles with her math facts. She is severely dyslexic and it seems like everything she does is SO much work. I've already had level B and sold it because I just couldn't find a groove with it and for the last year or so she's used Developmental Math and it's worked great for understanding math... but we have some gaping holes. Fast forward to this week and I just can't stand to watch her use those fingers for the rest of her life. How is she ever going to get to higher math? So, I pull out my Activities for the Al Abacus and the RS Math Games and we've been having a great week. My question is this... has anyone REALLY used JUST the Activities and Games books and found success? And just in general, how much time daily do you RightStart folks spend on lessons? She needs so much of my time and I have two other kids and work part-time! I feel like I am drowning here!

Jean, Trying to think of some alternative ways that she could channel her energy... what about helping her write an e-book and then selling it online? 4-H also has some great opportunities and perhaps you could explain that people must have a resume and that she must continue to build hers before opening for business. She could do some of the dog projects for 4-H, attend local dog shows, or volunteer for a shelter. Where we live there is an all volunteer organization that helps people with dog training. They offer everything from puppy training to intervention with aggressive dogs. I admire her gusto, she's just too young to understand all the pros and cons. I just hope you can find a way to help her continue her dream, just via a reasonable detour. :lol:

I am driving myself crazy worrying about this child and her math skills. I have three children, two of whom are dyslexic. We've got the reading stuff under control and are moving along nicely. Of my three children, #1 (dyslexic) and #2 are very good at math. It's #3 (severely dyslexic) that is not intuitive in math. I have bought and owned many excellent math programs that I felt would work with her, but realizing that my time is limited and wanting to focus more on reading, I ultimately decided to use Developmental Math. Honestly, this is the first math program that has been a good fit for all of us and yet I realize that it's not perfect. It is a workbook approach, but I back it up with manipulatives and regularly check to make sure that she is comprehending what she's doing. Here is my dilemma - I'm not sure if *understanding* is enough. She is 9 years old and finally doing well, but relies so heavily on using her fingers, abacus, or math rods. She needs them for 6+1. She doesn't need help on HOW to do the problem, but computation isn't automatic. I could see that being an issue for say 7+4, but 6+1?? She also has huge issues when they change the format of the equation. She can easily figure out 40+30=70, but if they ask 70=40+?, then she is absolutely lost. I realize that I *love* math, my boys *love* math, but my daughter struggles. DM has been much better for her, but I am worried that it's not enough and that I should be using something like RightStart or MOTL with her and spending time EVERY day working more intensely. Am I micromanaging her math? Am I expecting too much? Is understanding and being able to figure it out really enough? I am comfortable teaching her, I'm just not sure what my goal should be. I find that I am creative and patient, but I do struggle to find enough time in the day to do it all with three kids and meet my other responsibilities. Is it time to bite the bullet and do something more intensive or should I step back and celebrate that she's making progress on her own timetable and quit worrying about keeping up in math??:confused: Thanks!!!!!

It's good to know that I am not the only one dealing with these "surprises" or struggling with my responses. I love the one word suggestion. Honestly, I have been dealing with this quite consistently, albeit emotionally, for a while. I am hopeful that removing the emotional component will make a difference. I think the hard part is that so many of these things happen when I'm away or occupied doing something else. I work part-time from home, so they have learned what they can and can't get away with when mom is busy. It always seems that I find these surprises in the evenings or on the weekends when dh is around and he gets to listen to me carry-on. This weekend he pointed out that I sound as bad as the kids :eek: Hopefully taking a deep breath and sticking to one word will bring down the drama level!

Good Morning! I could really use some constructive suggestions about replacing my negative reactions with more constructive ones. I have three children that, like all children, from time to time are lazy and take short cuts. I tell them to put their coats away and instead they shove them behind a chair. Instead of putting laundry in the hamper, they throw the dirty underwear under their bed. One child in particular just seems leave a trail of stuff behind him everywhere he goes. The other day I cleaned out the linen closet and was horrified at the stuff they had shoved in the back behind the towels. It was just gross. I am a decent housekeeper, so it's not like they are used to living amongst a mess. So, here is my issue. I am just worn out and annoyed every time I find one of these surprises and I just have a mini-meltdown. My kids are 9, 10, and 14. Old enough to know better. I need to replace MY meltdowns -"Now who on earth did this? You guys know better! Get out here and put this away right! Now!" with something that puts the burden in their corner and doesn't make me look like such a drama mama! I want to be cool, calm, and in control and make it their problem, not mine! Help! :bigear:

Thanks, that's a great suggestion. As I looked through many of the stickers, etc. them seemed quite dated and like too much work. So will keep the albums, pages, protectors, and tools. The other stuff is easy to replace. I'm off to resort my piles! :lol: Thanks!

Right now I have two big piles... one for the kids and then the other stuff they'd never use and I could probably sell on eBay or at a garage sale. Quill, glad to hear that you enjoy digital scrapbooking so much. I'm very much a computer kind of gal and all the reasons you stated are exactly why I think I'd like going digital and never want to look back! Thanks for the input. So Quill, what did you use to do your scrapbook? That's the next dilemma! :lol: Thanks ladies!

I am cleaning out the school closet trying to find more space and at the bottom is a large pile of Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. I haven't touched it in 5 years, except occasionally for a school project when I need to cut something, or special paper, or stickers. I spent a fortune on this stuff and even have an unfinished scrapbook. Will I regret getting rid of this stuff? I keep thinking I'll go digital and do it on the computer, but haven't. Has anyone else BTDT and loved digital or hated it??? Then wished you had all the stuff back? I probably paid $400-$500 for all this stuff and I just don't want to regret my decision, but I really would like to reclaim the space! Thanks!!

I've been looking at a couple of Brother AIO's at Staples. Their ink really seems to be about the best price and they have individual ink cartridges. HTH!

Sue, So is the inconvenient switch from version to version of MUS the only reason you are leaving it behind? Or do you have other motivations?

:lurk5:

Sherri, Yes, I was looking at this earlier. As you said, it is pricey, so I thought I'd explore my other options. But I might be wise to spend a little more as you said just because of the time and independence factor.