Thank you for the imput! I reread my post and think I was more negative in my wording than is an accurate reflection of reality. My moment of panic and hormones got the better of me. Once I calmed down and looked at her books, I realized how much progress she really has made. I think we will keep doing what we are doing and keep testing as a future option if she stops improving. Thanks so much!

My dd9 (4th grade) can read on grade level but cannot spell. We have tried several different spelling programs (none of which worked for her) and finally settled on Apples and Pears a year ago. We are taking it very very slow and often have to go back and repeat the last 10 lessons. She is improving slowly, but she is very far behind. I would say she spells on a 1st-2nd grade level. She has also recently become aware that she is behind her peers and I am worried about her self confidence. So, is there anything else I can add or be doing to help her skills improve? If we are making progress, do I really need to be panicking, or can I just continue on our path? I was anxious, but not panicked before she became aware of her ability compared to her peers, but because she is making progress I was ok with it. Now that she mentioned that she is behind her friends (she thinks it is because she is homeschooled so that is great! lol) I am feeling very panicky and wondering if I need to add something else. And how can I explain to her that people learn at different speeds? I have to admit that I am also afraid of her teachers outside the home judging our homeschooling on her spelling ability. Thank you for any advice and insight!

My dd9 (4th grade) can read on grade level but cannot spell. We have tried several different spelling programs (none of which worked for her) and finally settled on Apples and Pears a year ago. We are taking it very very slow and often have to go back and repeat the last 10 lessons. She is improving slowly, but she is very far behind. I would say she spells on a 1st-2nd grade level. She has also recently become aware that she is behind her peers and I am worried about her self confidence. So, is there anything else I can add or be doing to help her skills improve? If we are making progress, do I really need to be panicking, or can I just continue on our path? I was anxious, but not panicked before she became aware of her ability compared to her peers, but because she is making progress I was ok with it. Now that she mentioned that she is behind her friends (she thinks it is because she is homeschooled so that is great! lol) I am feeling very panicky and wondering if I need to add something else. And how can I explain to her that people learn at different speeds? I have to admit that I am also afraid of her teachers outside the home judging our homeschooling on her spelling ability. Thank you for any advice and insight!

Blsdmama, that is inspirational! Congratulations on all of your sweet babies! The woman's advice not to worry about it until it interferes with life makes a lot of sense.Right now, I can live with it even though it is severe. I am able to manage my symptoms enough and I really want to avoid surgery if at all possible.

aaplank, Thank you so much for sharing. I am so sorry that your problems came from bad medical care. I completely sympathize as mine are a result of a completely traumatic birth by an incompetent cnm at a large hospital. She destroyed me. Did you have the c-section because of your prolapse and fistula or for other reasons? So glad you had a good outcome! Was your surgery successful? What complications have you had?

Ktgrok, congratulations on your pregnancy! I am so glad to hear that your symptoms aren't bothering you too much. Your argument of choosing chance of surgery over certain surgery makes a lot of sense. Cecropia, it is very encouraging to hear that 2 more pregnancies and births didn't really make a difference. I never would have thought that binding would be a problem though...I am sorry to hear that, but glad you have been able to manage living with your prolapses. Random, wow! So what exercises did/do you do? Please share. I am in pt but we are just doing keels which I'm not sure is sufficient. Your story brings up the point that I could choose not to get pregnant and just time or aging could make things worse to the point I need surgery anyway down the road, and I missed out on a little person in our family for nothing. I hope your surgery and recovery go smoothly. Please let me know how it goes!

Hello! I have a stage 3 rectocele and cytocele. Right now my symptoms are manageable and I want to avoid things getting worse. I don't want surgery. The problem is, I really want another baby. So, have any of you been there and done that. If you had prolapse and had another baby, how did pregnancy affect it? How did birth affect it? Did you consider a c-section to avoid vaginal birth? Or did you you choose not to have another child? Thank you in advance! This is all weighing heavy on my heart.

Thank you all so much! I ended up ordering both the Evan Moor Daily Practice Book and the Sharpening Skills book! I think they will work great!

Tiramisu, did you use the grade level your child is in currently, or the year before?

We are happy with Math in Focus as our main math curriculum but need another book to use for a page or two a day as spiral review. We used Math Mammoth for this purpose last year, but it isn't spiral so it isn't exactly what we are looking for. Thoughts on using CLE or SM IP 6 months behind? Any other suggestions? Thank you so much for your help!!

I am starting today too!!!

Story Pirates!! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/story-pirates-podcast/id719585944?mt=2 They take short stories written by young kids and turn them into old fashioned radio dramas. HYSTERICAL Then they interview the young author afterwards! Super fun for the whole family!!!!

I am looking for a book about Christopher Columbus that doesn't ignore or whitewash his treatment of native peoples that is appropriate for a 3rd grader. Any ideas? Thanks!

My dd had night terrors when she was younger a couple of times a week for over a year. Through lots of trial and error we found the best thing to do was put her in front of the tv or bring in a laptop to her room and put on a movie. It would slowly wake her up and she would come back to her normal self. Once we figured it out it made everything better! Good luck!

I am having my dd9 read to me from the Who Was series daily as reading practice with the added bonus of some history. Are there other non-fiction books that are written on a similar level that you like?

elegantlion- I think what bothers me so much is the moral grayness. I am not afraid of these issues (bullying, racism,etc.) per se, but there is something about the presentation that just doesn't feel sufficient to me. It is as if someone vomited up a whole bunch of issues and then just left them on the floor for you to deal with. That may be fine (or even beneficial) if you are 12+, but the book say ages 8-12 and that seems way too young for the this combination of content and moral fuzziness.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree! I don't protect my kids from hard issues or sad topics, but I don't think the way they are presented in this book is helpful at all. As several people suggested, we are putting it aside and choosing something else. And if anyone hasn't read the book yet, I would recommend you preview it first before sharing it with your kids if they are under the age of 11/12. You might be totally ok with it, but you might also feel like me!

The kids are always beating each other up and there are some extremely graphic and disturbing scenes where they bully Basil, a new immigrant from Greece. Reading some online reviews, it apparently only gets worse as the book goes on. They set up a teacher to look like an alcoholic and be fired, and they help a friend commit suicide (unclear if successful for not, but from the previous content I wouldn't be surprised if they were). ETA: I was ok with the kids fist fighting here and there, but the horrible horrible cruel bullying was beyond disturbing. And the idea that the worst sin of all was to be a cry baby and be upset by being bullied to such an extent that any normal person would have PTSD.

We checked out the audiobook of The Great Brain and I cannot think of a book that I have ever hated this much. It glorifies bullying, swindling, and violence, and contains super disturbing stories of racism and stereotypes. Today we heard about a Jewish peddler who is convinced to open a brick and mortar shop and then dies of malnutrition in the arms of the main character's mother because no one will buy from him and he has too much pride to ask for help. Seriously. This is a book for kids?!?! We are all totally traumatized. I tried to go to bed and after lying there thinking about the poor dead man and finally had to get up and rant. There are not words to describe how much I hate it. I had heard it mentioned before on homeschool books lists so this is my PSA. Stay far away! And please tell me that I'm not alone in my horror....

Kenyon College in Gambier, OH! It is famous for its English Department and offers an incredible liberal arts education! I went there as a homeschool graduate a few years ago! :)

Also, the reason we would need to go back to the 200s is that the sequence is totally different. CLE focuses much more on geometry and measurement while MIF focuses on multiplication and division.

My dd8 is struggling with MIF 3. She needs more review. I am tempted to switch her to CLE but looking at the placement test, we would need to start her in the middle of CLE 200. In our state we have mandatory testing each spring and so I'm concerned about "putting her back." We switched to CLE LA 200 this summer and she is doing great with the review. She'll only be halfway through LA 300 when she tests, but that is better than where she would be with math if we switch her now. The other thought is to have her do MM as review... Why is this so hard?!? My husband doesn't want to switch her to CLE because he is worried about my stress level with the state testing but I feel like in the long term it might be the best choice. What would you do?

We are using MIF but I don't feel my daughter is getting the practice and review she needs. Does there exist a Singapore style math curriculum with a spiral approach?

I love all of your responses!! Thank you so much!! I am actually feeling kind of excited about it now! I think it will give the kids more time to read and play (10 hours a week more time!) and that can't be bad for them! Lol we are on a long term business trip and head back to the states around Thanksgiving so that gives me some time to order new audio books etc. to get ready for the transition to TV free quiet times. My biggest concern is Saturday mornings bc dh and I do like to sleep in. We need something special they can only do on weekends... I need to think about this some more! Thank you everybody!!

I have two kids and one of them (age 8) is extremely intense and has lots of temper tantrums, She has always been an intense kid, and it can make homeschooling extremely exhausting. My dh and I are trying to address it in a more focused way once again and are working on being more consistent with consequences, staying calm without engaging etc. I just read this article in Psychology Today saying that screen time can cause behavioral issues and am wondering if maybe we should go screen free too in addition to working on parenting stuff. I know it won't fix everything, but if there is a chance that it would improve things even 10% it would be worth it. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-wealth/201508/screentime-is-making-kids-moody-crazy-and-lazy I was homeschooled growing up and my parents got rid of our tv when I was 8. We had a regular rest time and had to play quietly in our rooms for one hour each day. I would probably do something similar. Right now we do have a rest time for 1 1/2 hours after learning time where the kids watch tv and I eat chocolate and nap. School work can be very stressful with my child's behavior so I need a break after learning time to reset and be ready for the rest of the day. The problem is the kids REALLY like TV. They look forward to it all morning. So how do I transition them from regular TV watching to no TV, while still having rest time? Ideas I have include: 1) Getting each child a CD player for audio books and maybe some new puzzles? 2) On Saturdays dh and I have tea while the kids watch TV so maybe also a special audio book they can only listen to on Saturday mornings? 3) Dh and I also giving up TV so it doesn't feel unfair? It would be good for us anyway.... 4) Having a family movie night once a week? Any and all thoughts and suggestions on how to do this and what the process is like if you have BTDT would be very much appreciated! Thank you in advance!