I've found both MEP and Mammoth Math are good for those I think, though they have quite different teaching/learning styles so which one suits would depend on you and the child.

For little ones, discussing how an event is important to me/us as a family or how a condition affects us seems to be enough to get them interested but they won't be aware of what that event really is, what it really means to people, and so on until they are older. I don't really intend to get into much at the ages they are now beyond cancer is a condition some people have, it comes in many forms, some can be treated and some can't yet, the treatment is hard and some choose to stop treatment or have to stop treatment. It has come up alongside many other conditions family and friends have [their uncle had to stop treatment repeatedly so this was carefully discussed when they'd heard about it]. I discuss my own disabilities regularly but on that sort of level as well - it happens to people, here is what is going on with me now, here is how I manage, and so on. I wouldn't get into a deep level of detail yet just as I wouldn't discuss premature ovarian failure in detail [which I have and runs very strongly in my family] or uterus cancer [which also runs in the family] or discuss in detail bowel cancer [which their uncle died from in August] until they're able to discuss that level of information. Even trying we couldn't teach awareness of all of cancers let alone all conditions: the wide range of symptoms, how to check, that everyone should check - even the boys when it comes to breast cancer, tests and statistics on them, how it is currently treated and statistics on those and how they've changed (and discussion on scams), life during and afterwards, -- there is a lot that can be done to raise someone's understanding and knowledge of it, but more for teens+. Starting with those in the family history, common symptoms and self-tests, when to see a doctor, places for reliable information of wider range and stories by survivors and hospice staff is likely the groundwork I would want to lay once they are old enough to discuss it. I imagine many tears when this comes. I would also teach as groundwork not to trust WebMD or Google MD where everything is life threatening....

I think I would have commented much like you. I think you did great especially off the cuff. If he continued as he got older, I might show him articles and other writings on what different groups have said they need from volunteers and those like missionaries who come to their areas. I know a lot of places are really frustrated at untrained Westerners coming over with very little but a desire to help and expressed that how often groups of them (with volunteer-tourism getting more popular) end up creating more work and burdens on these communities. I'd want to discuss their needs and wants and how missionaries help meet these needs because that is part of what they are called to do and it may result in some wanting to listen. Moving the focus from his own calling, whether or not it is there, to how he can use his skills to help - and what skills he wants to have to help. I would try to get as much as I could from the perspective of the communities he would want to work with.

When I was younger this would happen to me a lot - my brain just went nope, too much, and...it would be like trying to focus on small print without my glasses. Might be doable but it would still be quite fuzzy and actually just make the tiredness worse. Now, as adult, it doesn't happen as often but both I and my family know my cycle. I will do intense in-depth work on something during my work time sometimes for weeks and then I'll be done. I'll feel so very relieved and satisfied, but I'll also be edgy emotionally unless I can just step away for a bit on anything requiring more mental input. It took me a while to realize it was the same issue as before, just grown up as I did. My brain is overloaded and needs a break. Now I make sure to give myself that room and working on setting up my environment so I can be on autopilot as much as possible during those times. I push myself a bit more in the fuzziness for my kids and the family than I did as a kid where the wall when my brain went nope felt unbeatable, but it's still quite hard and I think I only get there with help from my kids and the other adults here. Information overload is a big issue (and a current hot button research topic) that affects everyone differently. Everyone has their own limit in what they can take in and how fast they can process. It's pretty great that she's already self aware enough to be able to both realize it and communicate it with you. It takes some well into adulthood if ever to realize and express their own brain limits.

Originally A-8 and O-11 were doing Math Essentials - A with Book 1 and O with Book 2. We all loved it to start with. Now A and I agree it's going too fast and not enough instruction for her so she's switched to Mammoth Maths. I find it amusing as I bought MM years ago when my eldest was small and it didn't work well for us then (he wasn't fond and I disliked the printing) so it's been sitting on my computer for ages and now I've 2 using it fully and my eldest using it to help when Math Essential's instruction isn't enough for him. Thankfully I have a far better printer now :lol: Most everything else I'm happy with though I feel I need more for English, especially for writing, but I haven't found anything yet. They're still doing copywork, O is writing definitions of words in his reading he doesn't know, and we're still constantly working on the penmanship. We need something more there but it's always been a tricky area for mine.

I also agree with kand. With any curriculum switch there will be overlaps and gaps, with MM a lot of people recommend running through the end of chapter reviews from the start if possible (like if you bought the full curriculum from homeschool buyer's co-op's annual deal) to see any gaps or troublespots and get through the overlap fast until you get to where you need to work more consistently -- then doing odds or evens is quite possible. This method worked really well for us when all of mine asked to switch from MEP. My 8 year old moved about a half a year forward by book number/letters (She stopped at MEP 3A and is now working on MM 4A) and only needed a brush up on a few geometry sections, roman numerals, and - alongside my 11 year old who is using MM as a supplement with Math Essentials for topics he finds trickier - everything measuring as MEP doesn't do imperial/customary units and while they can calculate in metric beautifully, neither seems to have gotten a realistic idea of measuring so I'm going to be doing a unit study on that with them later this year. My 6 year old didn't go through reviews and we actually went back a bit as she doesn't mind the amount of work and mainly to help her confidence in the subject - she can do it, she's just always anxious about it so being able to do a lot makes her happy right now. You can make it as flexible to fit your kids, not really a wrong way -- just a way that may need tweaking :)

I applaud that Sheriff, and sickened how many media groups have completely ignores his great example. We have research going back decades showing strong evidence that the more media attention a mass killer gets, the more copycats and subsequent mass killings we get. Some research has it down the details what footage to not use (don't show flashing police lights, not the ever popular person with weapons shot or smiling one of the killer, don't show large groups affected outside, so on) and what details can and should not be included for the goal of avoiding encouraging others - we've had this for decades, I've seen research from the '70s - and the media only seems to be getting worse. The strong evidence from Australia, Japan, UK, and elsewhere shows how gun control laws can be put in which doesn't take away all guns but does significantly drop mass killings and accidental deaths by firearms. I think some think all guns are just going to go poof rather than having to prove themselves before having a gun to ensure they aren't a danger [and since they are all awesome Rambo-types, they could pass easily, right ;) ] The argument that annoys me the most that I'm already seeing a lot around elsewhere is how criminals will break the gun control laws anyways so why bother. Surely one could make that argument about most laws?

Tests are already common as part of the interview process in many sectors. This is a great way to help people get their foot in the door to that stage especially when costs and barriers for the typical elite places are skyrocketing and the Russell Group bias only seeming to only get stronger with the dropping of applicant caps. I think the efforts to recognize and cut the issues institutional bias can only be good. Reminds me of when some orchestras did blind auditions which helped balance and brought some amazing talent to light (though that took a few tries to perfect - they had to put carpet down or people would get tipped off by the sound of shoes which hows how strong bias can be.).

Could you ask them to create Amazon wishlists? It may not be a surprise as you want (though I have tons of stuff on mine that I've forgotten about and would be a surprise) but it would give you more options and ideas...

I looked at the test and the scheme of work from when my eldest took it [feel like I have everything saved on this computer :lol: ] and I think if you and your 9 year old are happy to move forward that it would likely be fine - the first part of Year 5 has a lot of review to catch you if there is an issue - though doing the review pages to the end to be sure to make sure would probably be a solid plan to be confident in it. With a 100% (being near 100% is recommended if using it as placement due to the tests not having everything on it and many finding levels up difficult without that) I would be happy to at least accelerate.

I ended up paying home fees with US qualifications as I had been here long enough on the correct visa. While I'm sure they would prefer the bigger fees, they didn't seem to mind (and I was my course's rep for 3 years so I was involved in several meetings with staff who discussed this). Actually, I'd had to defer enrollment due to law change (my first visa was no longer valid to study) and they refunded me original overseas fees even after cutoff. I think I still counted in the stats as overseas for ratings when I returned which is about as important, especially for non-Russell Group Unis who have to fight more to be seen, as my nationality was listed in everything. I think the government/Student Loan Company might mind more as home students can get student loans that don't need to be paid back until we're earning enough as well as grants that aren't available to overseas students.

I think the 650-700 represent that scores expected vary depending on which subject test is taken and/or differ on which course you are applying for since each course's admission within the University will have it's own admission criteria and the link was a general page for US students, not a course page with specific criteria. UK universities for British students will have a very long list of accepted criteria as Unis know not all schools and students have the same courses available to them not only because it differs between England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland which all have their own qualifications but many of the high schools within them give different qualification as well. The UTC my eldest wants to go to offers both GCSEs/A levels and Technical Diplomas. The Uni course my eldest likes most at the moment lists 7 different types of British qualifications, most are just English ones that are all very different, more options in a link and another link for overseas students and mature students and some would say they are not equivalent (diplomas have a bad rep, BTECs even more), but it's set up to work for the systems we have and recognizes a lot of the students do not have much choice what type they do, only how well they do [even that is tough grade mark level and criteria changes mid year...]. Even medical courses will list Double Science GCSE alongside Triple even when Triple is tougher because not all schools offer triple science GCSE and not all students can access them in those that do as many schools have very specific rules on who can. While some are likely confused by US system the vast majority eagerly seek foreign students, understand with experience what they can get as their job, and are quite like trying to be as flexible for what students in the US can access. SATs almost everyone can access - AP courses or tests are harder to access (the high school I went to only had a few and transfer students like me weren't allowed in them, and my first high school only did AP for English). As they want overseas students who pay higher fees and it places them higher on the ratings board so they are trying to show how flexible they can be in the general page to get students who can meet those to look at course pages. I got into a UK Uni with rather nonstandard qualification as a mature student (I'd done a Uni in High school program so my transcript showed I'd already passed Uni level work and the course leader liked how I wrote - he specifically said the way I wrote my emails is why he pushed my application further in the process). I don't recall ever sending them my SATs - just my transcript, several emails, phone interview, then in person interview, then I put in an admissions form from the Uni, not UCAS. No SAT2s or APs. My 2:1 Joint Honours Degree is very shiny in the next room not doing much :lol:

I got mine up as well - my older 3 found it very exciting, took tons of pictures and discussing it while looking through binoculars. We had a lovely clear sky and could see it from our front window and front door which we cuddled in front of in our blankets and then warmed up inside while talking to my partner while he was on a break at work about it via computer. While first thing this morning I wasn't sure if it was worth it (A-8 did not go back sleep and is on a hair trigger emotionnaly, and the 3 year old was up bright and early having not been woken and was moody at no one else being up, then A-8 woke up M-6... it was a rough morning) it was a great experience all around. We took pictures on my camera though I haven't gotten them onto a computer to properly look at them. As we have a street light right outside that the moon was just above for while and I have shaky hands I'm not sure we got any clear ones.

Except 'obeying with love' still has a top down approach - sounds more like they cooperate with me which is not what I meant at all. I need to cooperate with my children about as much as they cooperate with me and I doubt anyone would say I am obeying them when I do so. I do not obey my son when I make room for him to stim loudly when I have auditory sensitivity. I am not obeying my daughter by letting her stim with my hair in the morning to ensure I am not touched out when she does so and she gets calm and confident for lessons. It would be silly to say that but so many see it differently when they do similar for me like when say my child gets me a drink. If I do not cooperate with them, if we do not cooperate together, then it isn't cooperation any more, it's force with a prettier label. Obeying with love sounds to me like force of authority with a prettier label and I think authority should be challenged, questioned, changing, and brought to account in it service it is meant to do -- not obeyed regardless of how one feels towards it. I do not want them to hearken to my voice simply because I am an authority figure they love, I want us all to cooperate together so we can find the balance and move towards what is good for all of us. I want us to recognize that we are all vulnerable and strongest when we work together - even mummy and daddy are vulnerable imperfect people that they can help and even as that I can help them. I want to listen to them just as much a they listen to me. I want them to tell me or my partner when I am telling and doing nonsense that isn't good to them. Whenever I've forced an issue with mine, I do not feel they are learning something that will help them be good members of society or adults, just that the big person getting upset stops everything else. I do not think obedience is a foundation or good for society or relationships. Our society is built on relationships and the cooperation within them, without them laws cannot exist unless by force and I do not want them to think authority by force or obedience is a virtue to uphold. I cannot think of what good comes from listening and doing without questioning if not just to oneself about what we're doing.

We have a clothes budget for the whole family but, barring emergencies, I only try to buy clothes for one person at a time/in one month's allot of cash and with six of us someone usually could do with something. So for each month I look at who is most in need and what they need and make the most of it that I can. This helps with the budget as well as maintaining the house for me. We then do either roll the cash over or it moves into bills in the great first of the month direct debit draining of the accounts... I find keeping an organized idea of what we have and need has helped us the most rather than the budgetting actually. I do big clothes clear out/passing down about twice a year now and drop stuff in the textile recycling bag to go as and when things get beyond repair. I keep a list of what people need, how soon it is needed, and when the last time I bought for someone. I can tell you who was the last we bought a lot for, who has been pushed back for others emergencies and needs the next big buy, who is happy with tons of hand-me-downs but could use some new basics, who just needs new pjs for their birthday, and who is waiting for the January sales for new boots and big fluffy sweaters to rebuild after several went the way of the textile recycling this year (probably because some I've had longer than I've been married...). My partner' stuff does tend to be more on an emergency basis as I know less of what he needs and he rarely says until it is a need. For big buys for the kids, we do eBay bundles. I'll go through the auctions, they pick which they like, we try our best, they love opening the package when it arrives, then they go into the washing machine and into our great clothes system. Charity shops were good when they were younger but for all but my youngest it's thin pickings for their ages around here (toy and book buying on the other hand, it's great, as are clothes for me). Then pick up the socks and such and special things from good shops with good sales/clearance areas or the market hall.

I don't think it is a dichotomy between a habit of obedience and doing what one already one wants to do - there is quite a lot of grey in the middle. People can build moral codes that do not have obedience to authority as a foundation that involves them not doing anything illegal because of personal views ramifications to others or self on doing so or their moral code lines up. I don't not do drugs because it is illegal to do so but because I do not see the appeal having been raised around people who did them a lot. I also do not drink which is legal for the same reason - the law has no affect on those choice for me. People can choose to obey the law because they do not want the consequences of not obeying the law - to me that isn't obedience but fear and for many self preservation that has nowt to do with the authority of law itself but how it is wielded or how people feel it would be wielded against them. The idea that obedience is needed to live as an adult in a society with laws to me ignores that without either cooperation or force those laws are meaningless. Those laws only mean something with cooperation and/or force behind it - authority means nothing without those. The acts that we remember, that we praise, that we hold up on high as examples are more often than not the defiance and refusal to obey, not obedience to authority, to show that we can resist the force and cooperate towards something beyond the law. I do not have a habit of obedience of authority, I have a habit of fear of authority for good reasons -- I've been on the bad end of it being forcefully used repeatedly. I think authority should be questioned, should be called to account, should be there to care for the needs it serves and prove itself, not for obedience by those it is meant to support. If I screw up, I want my kids to tell me, to tell my partner, it may be frustrating at the time but seeing them see that I am imperfect, that we as a family and as a home only work if we cooperate with each other will I think give them more skills for dealing with the adult world than obedience because I'm their parent can. Some balance must be made for safety and home wellbeing, but I have never felt better or closer to them or that I am helping them be adults when I've forced an issue. I've only felt like I forced something, that it was a means to the end that my panicky amygdala wanted a shortcut because with my health problems it like to shut things down fast, but not that those were the best way or that they learned anything really from it. I do not think obedience to authority because it is authority is good or a foundation for society or relationships.

There have been kids 'running the show' since the dawn of time - we literally have clay tablets writings of parents complaining about their kids. There is nothing new or different about 'these days' that leads to non-compliant kids. That's before we get into the giant gray area of what is a healthy mind and healthy body, the issues & stress a lot of kids face, and how those connect to compliance and behaviour, but it far easier for everyone - kids and adults of all health statuses - to behave socially appropriate for short periods of time compared to how long they are with us parents and people are more likely to release stress and behave unsocially in safer environment like at home because for many being socially appropriate demands a lot of energy that can't be kept up all the time and home is where it should be safe to release and be a person. This is a lot of what is behind 'they behave for so and so but not me' alongside things that I see constantly as 'an issue to work on' are complete non-issues or just not a big deal because they do not see it all the time to others. Taking food without asking is not acceptable here as we adult need to know what we have as we have a tight food budget and plan, some people have open kitchen policy and see no issue with kid taking snacks as and when. I really don't like the idea that it is an obligation to obey. Being respectful should be a responsibility towards everyone, mostly, responsibility to be caring to the family and others, sure, to help out as one can, okay, but obedience as an obligation is not an idea I'd want to impart. I'm not always right - I want them to tell me or my partner if I am talking or doing nonsense. Lots of parents ask their kids to do things that aren't in their best interest. Learning the boundaries and what is worth being non-complaint over and dealing with the consequences and figuring out what social rules are and are not worthwhile is a life skill like any other. Non-compliance is annoying and frustrating and we have to be concerned about safety and health and family/household/community wellbeing alongside indiviual, but the idea of an obligation to obey any authority makes me skin crawl especially with older kids. And an anecdotal, as a child who quoted that verse quite a bit, I became quite good at quoting the verses against parents provoking a child to anger, against exasperating their children, in controlling children with all *dignity*, among others. Them quoting the Bible was apparently good parenting, me doing it was supposedly me being disobedient. Those types of versus caused me a lot of pain, I wrestled for ages with my wellbeing vs these verses. I then entirely fell out of Abrahamic religions and haven't seen or spoken to my parent is almost a decade now. I eventually stopped worrying about that. I'm not putting my wellbeing at risk anymore for someone else' idea of honor. Parents are people, people aren't always right, and if you can't tell someone they're wrong then that's not much of a relationship to me.

Congrats to him! :party:

I agree that it is likely their rowdiness is from being a sub and lack of appropriate material being given to you. The school should deal with the inappropriate students rather than just praising you for not seeming afraid of them (that sounds to me like they know there is an issue there). Responding to the question marks, Mixtec are American Indigenous people and they have many languages that by Western groups are either smushed into one or divided into dozens. They would likely be the hardest of the 3 to get bilingual resources for as funding and recognition of American Indigenous languages is really hard to get even with recent pushes from communities for language and literacy in those languages because the main resources especially in schools are between the colonizing European languages with the assumption of one of those being known and with the lack of funding being put for bilingual resources and language acquisition between those being thin on the group, the smaller languages which still in many places have social stigma after years of boarding school among other things have little chance. The cutting and pasting things seems a really odd choice. Some of most used resources I've seen for those languages or unknown language to English are similar to what Jean in Newcastle discussed - picture, blank for the word in a language, and then the English word. It would be great if the will to put the funding there to get what these young people need, it really shouldn't be this bad, it sounds like you've done the best with what you were given which wasn't much. :grouphug:

I live with my partner and a lodger who is a guy and have for the last 4 years. My youngest has only known him being around and thinks he is the best playmate/climbing frame around - he sits and lays on lodger-guy way more than anyone else. I've yet to get wind of any gossip about either he and I or he and my very openly bisexual partner or the three of us together. I think it is more the community one is in than anything - I mean we live together, I regularly squeal about buying him things, he drives me places and buys us stuff, my partner and him regularly go shopping together and he took me and M-6 shopping for her birthday, he's listed with me and my partner on all my kids' activity forms, everyone we know knows about him. We're very ripe for gossip with how we live -- and nothing has happened. Even my father-in-law who is the kind who would comment rudely/sexually at the slightest thing referred to him as being adopted by us...he's weeks younger than my partner so that was a bit odd for me. Or maybe it's something else like body language, but I think community is a major part - if you want to avoid it you'd need to play for the community you're in which would be hard to give advice for. I wish you and SAHD the best of luck in this - my partner was our kids main carer for over 9 years and he found it very tough and isolating in parenting and home education communities to be the lone SAHD there. Maybe many were worried how it would look which isn't something I'd really thought about.

For a 1-year programme to get them there for non-MM kids, I'd recommend Math Essentials [link in my signature]. Doing Book 1 [marked for 4th and 5th grade] alongside daily Math Trainer if they still need help with their math facts should get them to those goals - all of the things listed are covered. It's short, neat pages and videos are a real hit with my older 2 who did not get on with Mammoth Math and were getting bored of MEP so we moved Math Essentials to move them forward. It's specific teaching of doing operations on large numbers really helped one of mine. It's daily small review section and speed drills help with retention I find.

An USian who did Uni in the UK - SATs were one of the first thing they asked for and most Unis will list their accepted overseas qualifications on the course page (and now anyone who hasn't been a resident for the last 3 or so years is considered overseas for fees and funding, even some British nationals have been caught out on those rules). Phone interviews are also common for us overseas peoples For UK home educators, it is expected by most Unis that home ed applicants will take the same qualifying exams as everyone else though some Unis have access courses which have an extra year that allow some on portfolio, interview, and usually experience. There is also the Open University which is popular is some UK home ed circles as an alternative or stepping stone to a bricks and mortar place and the OU that has courses that can be accessed without exam qualifications. It depends on what Unis and what courses someone wants to get into.

I think they may be right that this is more cognitive and emotional skills than social skills and ABA typically and traditionally is more about compliance training for the later which is why many adult Autistic people don't use it as much for our own kids. Another type of provider may be better for you. Since you are already doing most of the work yourself, can you use Zone of Regulation yourself? I don't know the program to know how it would work at home. I'm using MindUP which explains how the mind works and mindfulness with activities to help with cognitive and emotional awareness to lead to self regulation along with some readings on emotions and videos on how the mind works. It's designed for class use but it's easy to tweak for home use I find. The programme has 3 levels, you can jump into any of them -- they all have the same plan [the table of contents is same for all 3 books] with reading and activities designed for different ages. So far it's going well, I've heard them using their knowledge from it for issues. Hope you can find something that helps :)

Roughly yes. I could order them shoes online if needed as I'm used to the brands we use as we've used them for years to help match and afford physio's recommendation: flat and flexible sole with no heel and no to minimum raised front, flexible top with room to spread toes comfortably inside the shoe at the end of the day which is really really hard to get in normal shoes across ages which is why I've learned local brands that do and we spend most of the time barefoot or swim shoes (physio recommended them as affordable alternatives to top flexible shoe brands). For protective winter shoes or my eldest's cadet formals, I could make a good guess but a shop trip would be safer.

My older 2 sound similar to yours - neuroatypical and got very bored last year with MEP which meant it dragged on even though otherwise they're very good at maths. We took a break and are now doing Math Essentials which touts that it's 20 minutes maths. I haven't tested that, but it's been a complete turn around for the older 2 in their mood during maths lessons. Quick review, speed drills, short video [free on their website or on DVD], 2 sample problems together where I have them explain outloud what they're doing, then off on their own with a word problem at the end, once done I read out the answers and any missed we go through like a sample problem. They have videos for Book 1 and 2 [very similar but one aimed at 4th and 5th grade and Book 2 is Middle School/Early High School], pre-algebra and algebra and learning from the videos and only discussing things with me briefly before setting off or when there is an issue I think has really helped their mood. I put my 11yo in Book 2 for Middle School/High School and it does begin quite easy [addition of large numbers] which doesn't have a daily video, only a video when the topic changes, but it moves on pretty quickly and you can start pretty much where you want and skip if needed. We're just moving from the start for review after our break. It's not computer interactive but it helped us so I thought it my be of use to you.