Unless it's raining, my older boys head outside to play street hockey, basketball, football, lacrosse etc. They usually get at least an hour in before the other boys on our street get home from school and join them. On rainy days, they read, write stories, draw, play lego, play music, watch movies, or play sports in the basement. Dd (8) only plays outside when I insist on it, so she mostly draws, crafts, creates cities out of boxes and construction paper, helps me bake, plays pretend with Ds4, watches old sitcoms, surfs Pinterest, or asks for more school work.

Depends on the kid. My oldest was around 11 before he had his multiplication facts down cold, but I'm sure Dd8 will have them memorized by Christmas. I remember our class memorizing them in 3rd grade, so 9 sounds like a reasonable goal for most kids.

This doesn't sound like a writing issue to me, but an anxiety issue. I was a perfectionist and had a lot of anxiety when I was in college, and I always preferred timed essays and exams to assignments and term papers. When you know that you didn't do an excellent/perfect job on something, it's nice to be able to blame it on something other than your own ability. Is she seeing a counselor now for her mood disorder?

From my 12yo: The Once and Future King Sherlock Holmes James Bond

My oldest turned 13 in June and we didn't do anything too out of the ordinary. He asked for a gym membership, so Dh took him to sign up on his actual birthday. The following week, we treated him and a few friends to pizza and a movie.

The Borrowers Pippi Longstocking Tales of Magic The Mysterious Benedict Society

My kids each only threw a handful of true tantrums (my oldest only threw one), and those stopped by age 3 or 4. Two of my kids still have the occasional private meltdown at 8 and 9. To me, tantrums are about getting a point across - wants or feelings, while meltdowns are strong emotions that become too much for the child (or adult) to control.

Regularly? Toast waffles. White toast, cut up in little pieces and drenched in syrup. Or Pop-Tarts.

I try to keep things a little shorter on Wednesdays, but today was about 7 hours. It worked out to about an hour of prep before breakfast, a few mini-lessons here and there with Ds4, two hours with Dd7, and almost four hours jumping between my older boys. Ds12 and I finished up just in time to make it to his 5:00pm hockey practice.

If he is only wearing them for choir concerts, I would leave them alone. My boys don't care about their pants being a shade too long, so I only have them hemmed to avoid the bottoms constantly dragging on the ground and getting torn up.

My boys are way too into brand names for me to recommend their favorites. One wears mostly Nike and the other Under Armour, so I'm sure there are much more affordable options out there.

I'm lucky that only one of my boys seems to be the stereotypical bottomless pit. Ds13 is about 5'10, 135 lbs, and rarely eats more than two helpings of a meal, but has 4-5 meal-sized "snacks" throughout the day. Ds12 is 5'1, maybe 90 lbs, and still eats like a bird. My boys have gotten into a habit of wearing leggings/tights under their track pants in the rink and when it's colder outside. Would your so be open to that option if you can't find warm enough track pants?

The Sniper, by Liam O'Flaherty. I remember reading it in high school, and am looking forward to studying it with my 7th grader next month.

I think it's worth trying for another day or two. My niece, who has ADHD and just started her PhD in physics, does all of her schoolwork while half-watching reruns of old sitcoms. She says it keeps her from getting distracted by other things (a dripping faucet, cars driving by, etc.) and helps her to work at a decent pace.

My three oldest are learning French because I speak it. Ds12 and Ds9 are studying Latin because I bought into "it's good for them" and they both ended up liking it. Ds12 is learning Spanish and Russian on his own because he likes them. Portuguese and Arabic are up next, apparently.

Not weird at all. I've taught all four of my older kids, and my oldest boys have reported that they've been complimented on their solid handshakes.

Now that my kids are old enough to be left home, I go for a drive, listen to music, stop at Starbucks, and run some errands. I come back feeling refreshed and like I've been at least a little productive.

I greatly dislike listening to someone read aloud and haven't pushed it with my kids as they've gotten older. My oldest (13) still asks Dh to read to him most nights, but our other boys stopped listening when they were about 7. We do read aloud here and there during the school day (plays, poems, excerpts, etc.), which they don't seem to mind.

My dd is too young to know how things will come together, but so far we've decided to call her the grade she would be in if she attended PS. She will be 8 in a few weeks and is in 2nd grade. Dd was adopted from China at age 3, and at 5 was still delayed in most areas. We called that year "kindergarten", even though it didn't look like it. She spent more time doing speech therapy than she did on academics, and her academics were below grade level. She learned things like colors, shapes, numbers to 10 and a few letters. We played with play-doh, colored and learned how to use scissors. I read aloud to her for hours every day and bribed my older kids to read to her when I lost my voice. Last year, her receptive language just about "caught up" and she took off in math. This week, we're working on sounding out cvc words, multi-digit multiplication and how to introduce yourself. Her grade level doesn't come up often, and hasn't been an issue. She doesn't attend Sunday school or any other activity that would require reading or writing more than her name. Her activities play to her strengths - dance, music and art. For that reason, she fits in best with girls her age and even a little older. The other kids just think she's quiet. :)

You are definitely not alone! My Dd will be 8 next month and is just now sounding out CVC words, so we've still got a few years of reading instruction to go. Two of my kids have been evaluated through the public school system, and both had their IQs tested. Ds was behind in all academic areas and Dd's speech/language is delayed, so the school psychologist wanted to rule out intellectual impairment in both cases. If it's clear that your daughter does not have a low IQ, they might not bother testing it. It's definitely something worth asking about though.

I've read that anywhere from 30-80% of kids diagnosed with ADHD still have it as adults. Does your family have a history of ADHD? Have you noticed whether your relatives still have ADHD symptoms as adults? Unfortunately, ADHD is rampant in my family and in our case persists into adulthood. Of my seven adult nieces and nephews who were diagnosed as kids, two stopped taking medication when they finished high school and began working in the sports/fitness industry. Their ADHD symptoms haven't gone away, but they're able to make it work. The others have continued taking medication through college and I believe still take it now that they've graduated and are working as accountants, lawyers, etc.

We adopted our daughter from China in 2010, when she was 3. Our older kids were 5, 8 and 9. We used Hand in Hand International Adoptions and had an absolutely wonderful experience with them. Zero complaints. I have a few friends who've traveled alone to bring their children home from overseas, but I don't think I would be comfortable going completely alone. Dh and I both traveled to China, but he wasn't able to come to Europe last year to pick up our youngest, so our oldest son came with me instead. You've gotten some great advice, so I'll just echo how important it is to do your own research on attachment and to consult a therapist before your child comes home if you have questions or concerns. We ended up only seeing a therapist for a few months, but it got us off to a great start.