Same here. I figured that the unschoolers would be a more easygoing group -- but they're more intolerant than the religious group.

Thanks for this info! :)

We did an experiment recently that involved several scents and several balloons. One balloon had nothing in it (except air :D). One had water in it. The others had things such as orange extract, vanilla extract, almond extract, cocoa, and I forget what else. After I put the substances in each one, I blew them up and tied them off. Then ds had to tell what each balloon smelled like. The point was that even though the substances were inside the balloons (and I had to be very careful not to get anything on the outside) and the balloons were "sealed," you could still smell what was inside because the odor molecules could get out of the balloon. (This was from Real Science Odyssey.)

I think it stands for Community Services Association.

WriteShop. I actually had known about it for a long time, but now I'm finally using it. It's exactly what I wanted in a writing program.

How long will it be till it's available to the general public? I love CLE math.

Matthew Wilder.

Cyndi Lauper -- most of the tracks on "She's So Unusual." The B-52s -- GREAT exercise music.

Ds wants to be a "pizza delivery guy." He says that he plans to bring home dinner every night. I could go for that. ;) Other ds once said that he wanted to get himself a wife, buy a nice little house in the country, and do nuclear experiments.

I agree -- the books are very inexpensive. But is there enough room to work longer problems if you write in the book? My experience was that in grades 4 and 5, there wasn't enough room for longer problems. But then, I could've had dd write in the book for the shorter problems and then just copy the longer ones. I just didn't think of that. I was a fairly new homeschooler back then. :blush:

The biggest difference, I think, is that R & S is nonconsumable and CLE is a worktext. Also, R & S Math is considered by some to be a mastery program, while CLE is spiral. I've used both and didn't see a whole lot of difference. I guess my idea of a mastery program is spending an extended period of time on one topic, until it's mastered -- but R & S seemed more like a spiral program in that regard. At any rate, it spent a decent amount of time on each topic without turning into overkill, and there was plenty of review of previously-covered topics.

Related question -- when a child is referred for a neuropsych evaluation, does that typically mean "neuropsychological" or "neuropsychiatric"?

I used R & S Math a few years ago and loved it. It was thorough, with plenty of practice and review, and the teacher's manuals were wonderful in helping me explain concepts. The only negative for us was that the texts were nonconsumable. Other than that, they were pretty close to perfect for us.

They're not languishing at my house. ;) My kids are "past" picture-book stage (can you ever *really* be past picture-book stage? -- I still love them), but I still buy copies of classic picture books at library book sales, thrift shops, etc. I tell myself that they're "for the [future] grandkids" -- but they're really for me. ;) So sad that reading has become a race and kids no longer have time to savor the beauty of a picture book.

Merry, our experience has been the same. I would sooner give up the tiles (and have done so with ds #1) than give up the cards. For us, the cards are the heart and soul of the program. AAS is more than just a series of word lists and practice sentences that are built around a particular concept -- it's a systematic plan for learning the rules (and exceptions -- my son loves nabbing the Rulebreakers, LOL) that govern English and make (relative) sense out of spelling. I'm embarrassed to say that in previous years I've gone overboard with the cards. We did them three times a week, and I would alternate a color each day -- Monday, the phonogram cards; Wed., the sound cards; Friday, the key cards. Ds had to do ALL of each color. We started Level 6 this year, so you can imagine how long the sound cards took! He knew them well enough -- this was just me being legalistic about him reviewing them. Then you mentioned on another forum that you could just do a few each day and even make it a mix of yellow, red, and blue cards -- and I thought, "You mean everyone else doesn't torture her kid with the cards the way I do?!" :lol: This year we still do the cards three times a week, but I pick a *few* to review. And of course, when there are any problems, I pick out the relevant cards and spend more time, over the course of more days, reviewing them. Ds is MUCH happier this way. :)

We have free-range house bunnies, but they are of the dust variety. :D

Ds was on Lamictal briefly for control of his seizures. He'd recently undergone some testing that indicated that his seizures were not the kind the doctor originally thought they were and that the medication he'd been on was not the right kind. So the doctor weaned him off that medication and onto Lamictal. Unfortunately, even before he was weaned off, he'd been having more seizures (little ones); and before the Lamictal had a chance to kick in completely, he had a very BIG seizure. The decision was made after that episode to switch him to another medication entirely. All of that to say that according to the doctor, Lamictal can take a while to get into your system. Also, during the short time that ds was on Lamictal, we were cautioned about a serious rash that could occur. Apparently this rash can be life-threatening, although it is rare. You mentioned that your ds has trouble controlling his anger. This is a huge problem for ds (in addition to epilepsy, he has Asperger's and ADHD). If you don't mind my asking, what condition is he taking meds for?

I agree completely.

I've used fresh pumpkin for baking (pies, cakes, muffins, breads, etc.), but it's generally kind of disappointing. It's a laborious process to bake the shell, separate the good stuff from the seeds, and then process it so it's the right consistency. It may end up being just fine; it may be watery; and it may be stringy, even if you've processed it well. And call me shallow, but I like my pumpkin orange, not yellow. :D I think the novelty of using fresh pumpkin wore off a while ago. My understanding is that canned pumpkin puree is made from specially-bred pumpkins, and that's why they have that lovely orange color. And of course, industrial-strength food processors give it that wonderfully consistent texture. But that's just my experience, and I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it on her own.

You know, I think it was easier when all we had to do was get up a few times in the middle of the night to change a stinky diaper and then feed 'em! Some days, I'd *gladly* go back to that! :lol:

Growing With Grammar has worked very well here. The lessons are a reasonable length (and it's not all writing -- there are "fill in the blank"-type answers, too) and there's plenty of review. It's been a godsend in terms of grammar for my boys.

I'm planning to use Winston with ds (right-brained, visual-spatial learner) in a couple of years. I think that between the cards and the use of arrows (he has dysgraphia, so diagramming is very difficult for him), this should work very well.

We're using Write Shop, and I think it's wonderful. It's exactly what I was looking for in a writing program for ds this year. He's in 8th grade, but the TM says that you can absolutely use Write Shop with a high school student.

Dd is doing a study of Celtic culture for history (high school), and I've included all the relevant Sutcliff books. She's scheduled to read Sun Horse this week. I may just read it myself! :)

The Whipping Boy was a big hit here.