Our mind sure messes with us, doesn't it? I tend to be very underweight, and have been concerned that once my health improved, I wouldn't like the look of 'real' me. And sure enough, now I've gained the weight, I hate the way I feel and look. (To be fair, it mostly settled on my middle .. not flattering! If I can just shift it...)

Wow, that sounds deep for a 9yo. What requirement is that? (Mine will be that age next year and I want to be prepared!)

Wow, glad we haven't gotten this one yet. Sounds like one to find used.

We had a visiting professor come to our Southern university, and part of his lecture course was on linguistics. Bless him, he had never met people who didn't pronounce /hw/ in words like 'when', and was baffled by our transcription mistakes (we were learning the International Phonetic Alphabet) till we discussed it. None of us had ever heard anyone who DID pronounce the /h/ sound! But he was a good sport and acknowledged it was a regional difference. One of the best professors I ever had.

I would hesitate to call Orson Scott Card clean. Maybe his short stories are, but his novels are anything but. I had to stop reading his stuff. Roger Elwood edited several anothologies of SF stories for children. She may find some good stories in those. Also, Robert Silverberg wrote some children's SF. (I know you're not looking specifically for children's SF, but that's one way to weed out the clean vs. not clean, at least.) Poul Anderson had a few good shorts that I found in an anthology. Also Bruce Coville has several anthologies, some of SF and some of Fantasy and some of scary stories. They're from all sorts of sources. Some are G-rated and a few are beyond that, but mostly okay. Some were specifically for kids and some were adult stories that he thought good enough that kids should read. And he always throws a few of his own in, as well. Editing to add a few more: I think Jane Yolen edited these anthologies, but they are Spaceships & Spells, and Dragons & Dreams. Those are good. And anything by Jean Karl is good (and pretty much anything stamped by her as an editor as well ... her imprint is a good mark that a book is worth reading).

Reader Rabbit Toddler is both good and cheap. :) Dorling Kindersley has a My First CD-ROM Preschool which is also really cool (you can adapt its levels) but it's a bit flaky on newer systems ... but that's adjustable too. I used to 'teach' computer in a preschool, and while we didn't have kids that little using them, my own did, because Daddy's a programmer and that's just what we do here. LOL. So that's what I like for first introductions to computing. And the oldest version of Kid Pix as an early paint program, and plain old Word for word processing, as they get older.

You can have migraines without the light thing. I will say this, as a public service announcement ... if it's the worst headache you've ever had in your life, you need to get it checked out. The first time I had a migraine I went to the ER (because I was also having severe panic attacks, and I knew I needed help with the pain). They gave me something for the pain and sent me home. My doc, who I saw later that week, was LIVID that they didn't do further tests, since those headaches can sometimes signal major big-time problems. However, if you've often had headaches at that level, then yeah it's probably a migraine, and you get to have fun finding out your triggers and your best treatment options. I'm not allowed caffeine, for instance (due to the panic attacks), so I have to find other things. And I always feel wrung-out the next day.

We use FIAR and love it. It's very gentle and conversational, with some hands-on thrown in. It's very adaptable because of that, and you can add other subjects if you want, or just use it as written. We've added science because that's the part I tend to skip when things get hectic, and we may add history next year just so we can start going chronologically, but FIAR covers both those subjects. And the books are great. I want us to do American History next year, and I'm going to try to tie our FIAR reads into the timeline if I can. (If not, well, we'll still do them!)

Here's something you may find you love about the library... MANY libraries have discard sales, and some have small bookstores of secondhand donations! So a whole new venue for buying books may open up to you! (Said by one who just bought almost 50 books for $12 at such a sale this weekend.) :D You get great stuff, and support a good cause. :) Definitely go to your library. Get a card. See if they have an online catalog ... it is SO nice if you can reserve books online and pick them up at your convenience (especially with little ones in tow). Our libraries only recently added this service and it's great. Also, many subscribe to online research sites, like EBSCO, where you can search journal articles and the like ... good for high school and college research. Plus there are programs like storytimes, and clubs (ours has chess club, for an example), and just all sorts of things ... depends on the area and who wants to do what. As one who grew up devouring the library books, and then working for the library, I too am startled you've not used one before ... but you've got a (hopefully) great experience ahead of you! Hope your system turns out to be a good one! (ETA: I love owning books too. We've got thousands. :) But I still like our library, and our librarian friends.)

I guess I should go back and add, I did meet my dh via friends I met from college ... so THAT was well worth it! And we were both lucky in that we came away from college with no student loan debt. I am glad to have a degree, in case the unthinkable should happen. But as it's in elementary education, my certification has long since expired, so I'd have to do a lot over again. My actual work experience was with the public library system, and would be a more likely source of (a small) income. I am glad for the friends I made that I still have. I am eternally grateful for my dh. And I am very glad for the few courses where I actually learned. But I still wish the whole experience could have been better. I know when my kids are that age, the options will be wide-open ... distance learning opens up so many possibilities. And good thing, too, as our local university has just added the stupid rule that all freshmen and sophomores must live on campus so they will get the full 'college experience' and improve their academics. Um, from what I saw of campus living, the academics tended to suffer. LOL. And since we live a mere 15 minutes from said campus (as dh and I did when we attended), it's nuts to pay that much money for the privilege of never getting enough sleep and study time because of idiot roommates who party all night. I should get off this soapbox ... where did that come from? :D

Haven't read all the replies... I *do* think my time and money was wasted. I do NOT think education is a waste ... but most of what I spent 4 1/2 years working and paying for was not an education. Sigh. I did learn in some classes, but they were the oddball ones that were mostly electives ... karate, Old English, piano ... and my Spanish minor classes. My major was elementary education, and that was very poorly taught, and my other minor was English, in which I had some great professors and some lousy ones. And I was in the Honors program too. I still would advocate for a college education, if it's appropriate for my children at that time, because that little piece of paper is pretty critical to getting a job ... but if there was something more suited to educating my children for whatever they feel called to do, I'm open to it.

So where do folks find all these things? Because I'm definitely in the market for some sleep aid that won't interact with my other meds (and yes I'd discuss it with a doc first).

Have bought both from Alibris and the independent sellers that list with them ... so far only one problem, where someone accidentally sent the wrong book but corrected it even before I could contact them. I find it a good place to find OOP things.

Is it possible you could mix it with another anti-anxiety med? I'm kind of in your boat ... I've got meds that will (finally!!!!) help me with my anxiety issues ... but they are causing the most miserable insomnia and intense dreams/nightmares. It's gotten to the point where my psych. is going to send me for a sleep study just to see what's going on. And weaning down only made it worse, oddly. I did take something once that made me horribly angry ... turns out that kicked in at about the point the med wore off. The doctor had told me one duration, but the pharmacist confirmed that it processed much more quickly than that. So if I'd stayed on whatever it was, I would've needed more frequent doses. (We opted to try other things though.) Anyway, perhaps your volatility is kicking in at set times each day? Maybe you need not just a change in dosage amounts, but in spacing as well ... maybe a tiny recharge dose in the middle of the day or something. Just a guess ... I have no experience with most of what's mentioned in this thread... but lots with meds in general. Sigh.

I like that. When my dad had his final heart attack, he was a few days home from the hospital after open heart surgery. Try figuring out, as a teen, how to do chest compressions on a man who's just had open heart surgery. I think he was gone before we even started, and surely long before the ambulance arrived (we were pretty far out in the country), but it haunted me for years, that there wasn't more we could do.

Wow, I wonder what my mom did? I don't recall her having to itemize so much. Nor did we get any savings. :) Now I'm curious ... I'll have to ask her. (FWIW, I expect it was for living expenses and extracurricular stuff ... my sister's expenses at her private school, likely.... free tuition but there were still a lot of costs.)

I'm not Catholic, but it sounds like a sweet and meaningful tradition and ritual! How nice! Reminds me of the time I was on the committee to set up for Communion ... very specific ways we could dispose of the elements after they'd been consecrated. Gave me a greater appreciation for the whole ritual. My kids loved it too, as they helped set up and clean up.

It couldn't hurt to have an IQ check, an ADD check, and all the rest. Lots of folks coast through and then crash ... in middle school, high school, or even college. Plus bright kids get used to coasting on easy work and then don't learn good study habits. My poor study habits didn't kick in till very near the end of college, when coasting no longer worked (yes, you CAN coast that long!). And my ADD traits didn't get to the insufferable point till I had a full time job. (I am not diagnosed ADD ... but I do fit the checklists to a T. I do have anxiety issues, depression, and perfectionism to deal with ... all of which can be very paralyzing.) So ... it couldn't hurt to give the boy an outside evaluation by a competent psychologist ... preferably one who is sympathetic to gifted kids but will also give him a get-off-your-butt motivational speech. And the job shadowing is a GREAT idea. If there aren't paid jobs available, find volunteer work or an unpaid internship or something. If nothing else, it adds something for his college application, and widens your pool of possible reference writers.

My daughter is eagerly awaiting next year, when she can be a Daisy (since I won't let her be a Cub Scout, LOL). I purchased one of the Daisy Journey books, because I was offered the chance to lead a troop (though they haven't called back since the initial offer). I was NOT impressed ... it seemed way too deep for kindergarten girls, and way too 'pop culture' -ish ... talk about BFFs and things that my 5yo knows nothing about. Honestly it read like a preteen book. I liked the flower garden theme, and thought there was some cute stuff in it, but I would really want to see the leader's guide (it wasn't available locally at the time) to see what they expected to do with it ... because, as written, it was virtually useless. If the Journeys are the whole point of Girl Scouts these days, we'll probably quit after a year or two. If there are still badge and service oriented troops, then we'll stick it out. (I'm also a Cub Scout den leader, so the contrast is pretty stark.)

The teacher's guide (which we usually don't use) has things like reading fluency in it, so if you're only using the workbooks, it may be worth checking out the TG. Also there's a Beyond the Code series for reading comprehension (no TG, alas), which we find fits well after ETC 3.

Have you already done Beyond the Code? We've been alternating it with the ETC books, so we're not near ETC 8 yet, but it's a thought to try. I figure we'll go on to some spelling curriculum next, but not sure what.

My kids love Crayon Physics ... we'll have to check that out.

I'm glad this was posted ... I too would like to learn about my dad's service records. He died many years ago.

Would it be good for K and 3rd combined, as a first introduction with a mom who only knows Latin by guesswork? :)

Age 3.5, with the ETC primers. They got letter sounds on their own ... neither kid talked till age two and a bit, but by three had all the letter sounds down pat, along with a whole lot of other concepts, so I figured, why not. Still, I wouldn't classify either one as an actual early reader. They could do (and enjoy) the work, but it didn't click for my oldest till around ETC book 3, and my youngest is only in book 1 as a preschooler.