I have one who is definitely highly sensitive. So much so that it interferes with normal life functioning. We finally took him for an evaluation in January. Previously we had hoped that he would "grow out of it". He has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. BTW he was a happy baby who seldom cried as well. He is now in Occupational Therapy, we are hoping that this will help him deal with some of the more pronounced issues. It's too early to tell at this point. His traits include but are not limited to... A strong aversion to clothing, noise and light. A deep need to bounce, spin and crash into things. A inability to control his volume (often speaking or crying loudly while covering his ears at the sound of his own voice). A need to chew and bite things. A desire for deep pressure. Difficulty falling to sleep at night. Difficulty focusing of tasks due to (visual) distractions in surroundings. Acute attention to details. Difficulty "settling down" Immaturity in behavior, but not in intellect Fine Motor Delays A complete disregard to personal safety I have another child who is the complete opposite. We have not yet had him evaluated. But he is definitely sensitive to other stimuli. His traits include: A need to be clean A need to have clothes, environment, and self "perfect" A need to remove all physical distractions from clothes (tags, seems, etc) Can not stand to be touched (even in infancy) Difficulty falling to sleep at night. Difficulty focusing on tasks due to (auditory) distractions in surroundings. Difficulty "reeving up" Immaturity in emotions Gross Motor Delays An overemphasis on personal safety Must be prodded into action yet is very fidgety

We have 4 children here. I see "signs" of giftedness in the older 3 and #4 (who is only 9 mo is advanced in all her milestones despite being premature). We've tested the older two children. My oldest 7.5 tested slightly gifted with very low processing skills. Basically he has some mental processing issue akin to ADD. When comparing his IQ score with the gifted characteristics at Hoagie's he falls somewhere between moderately and highly gifted. He said his first word at 3 months (though no one else believed me lol). He said Ummy when wanting me accompanied by the sign for mother. He still calls me Ummy when he is tired or ill. At 6 months he said, "Ummy I peez wanna cook." He signed 10 words by 8 months. He designed complex patterns with blocks and Lego's at 12 months and could put a 15 piece wood jigsaw puzzle together in a minute flat. He learned to read "Bob books" at 3. Followed quickly by Easy readers. He read every word in "Hop on Pop" on his 4th birthday and finished "The Magician's Nephew" a week after his 5th birthday. He asked hard questions in his toddler years, such as, "What is existentialism", and "Why does the Monarch migrate" . He currently reads and comprehends materials at a 6th grade level. He prefers fantasy over any other genera. He spells at a 7th grade level. Writes creatively and informationally at 5th grade level except that he refuses to remember to capitalize. He is an excellent artist (for his age), is learning Latin and enjoying it (though he would never reveal that to anyone outside our home). Has just found his one true (academic) passion... Logic. His penmanship is on a 3rd grade level. Works story problems at a 3rd grade level and does math computations at a 2nd grade level. He has the gross motor skills of a Kindergärtner. And he controls his emotions at a Preschool level. He "has to": roll his socks, take the tag out of his clothes, wash his hands at the slightest sign of a mess. He is a perfectionist. He has a very hard time with criticism of any kind... but especially coming from his primary teacher (that would be me). My 6yo was also tested. He scored below average, in the mentally impaired range. He also took a School Readiness test and scored average for a 7.5 yo. He began to mimic people and animals at 6mo, could make the sounds of 20 animals and many household sounds such as the telephone at 8mo and was walking at 9mo. He knew all his colors and shapes at 9mo and could sign 20 words and say 10 words. He could count to 20 at 1yo and could hum any commercial song. At 2 he became the life of the party. His since of humor was beyond his years. He learned to read with a month of instruction (which was a 4 year program)at age 5. His favorite genera is Non-fiction. He is now reading books at a 3rd grade level, but can read and understand 6th grade words when placed in list form. He Spelling on a 2nd grade level and does math at a 1st grade level. He can create advanced poetry (with me as scribe) and narrates on a 2nd grade level. He draws like the average 6yo. He prints on a preschool level. He remembers just about anything he hears. He cries at the drop of a hat and is afraid of loud noises, and bright lights. He chews his clothes when he wears them. In fact, he chews everything. He is usually in just underwear even in the dead of winter. He literally bounces off the walls. He has a lot of "ticks" and odd behaviors. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). My 3yo learned to walk at 7mo. He started to talk at 7mo in complete sentences and currently uses the vocabulary of an average 6yos. except that he also has a lisp. He loves patterns and began using Lego's at 1yo. He could build a complete model of a Lego car at 1.5yo but could not or would not do a simple puzzle with 5 pieces. He learned his shapes at 1yo and his colors shortly after with out instruction. He knows 15 uppercase and 5 lowercase letters, including their sounds. He colors mostly inside the lines. He can throw a ball better then either of his brothers. He understands and can do the basic concepts in soccer. He can count to 20 and can do some basic addition and subtraction with manipulative's. He can also tell time by 5 minute increments. He repeats and remembers the words in his older brothers Latin, Spanish and Spelling. He also memorizes poetry better then his brothers without actual instruction. He is also very bossy, and very busy. He asks regularly to "do school too". I believe that he could be doing much more advanced work if I actually had time to sit down with him and do it.

Thanks for commenting so quickly everyone. When I think about it I think that this is probably more the case. I have heard quite a few rude comments at the grocery store in relation to children needing to be taken home. Why anyone would bring all their noisy kids to the restaurant. Not directed at me. When living in Kansas I often would get comments about how well behaved my children were or how polite they were. Here if someone comments on my children it is usually about me finally getting "my girl" and how I must be done. So I'm thinking maybe it really is just a cultural thing that I'm going to need to get used to.

What is your opinion on the roll of the church in the life of the family? Are there different standards for different sized families? We have been attending a small (about 300 members) church on and off over the last eight months. Before this we attended a home fellowship. In the home fellowship we found that even though we were small in number (30 members including children) we had most of our family needs met by members of the church. For example, when I went to the hospital with baby #4 we had sitters for the entire 3 day stay. In this church of 300 that would be very unlikely to happen. In my considering of this matter I've noticed how this small church tends to really "help" the families with one or two children. They go out of their way to make sure that they are welcomed and even give their children gifts on holiday, invites to dinner, and many other types of much need helps. In contrast, their are four or five families in this church with 4 or more children who don't get this special treatment. I have even heard a few members making comments on the size of the family. Things like "They should learn to control their kids if they're going to have so many". If a new mom of one has a bratty child who runs up and down the aisles of the church during service nothing is said of it. Someone might ask to take that "sweet little angel" down to the nursery for that mom. But the mom of 4 would be scalded for such lack of control. This same mom is also expected to "server her time" in the nursery even if she doesn't use it for her children. And its expected that she would want to? It never even crosses their minds that these mom's of 4 or 5 might want to have one day out of the week when they aren't taking full responsibility for their children's behavior.

Some books my ds has enjoyed: Ones with Asterisk are books in a series. *The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner (2nd-6th grade) *Homeschool Detectives Series by John Bibee (3rd-5th grade) *Mysteries in our National Parks by Gloria Skurzynski (4th & 5th grade) *A Series of Unfortunate Events (6th & 7th grade) Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (4th & 5th grade) The American Adventure by Colleen Reece (4th grade) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L "Engle (4th grade) Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (4th grade) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (4th grade) The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton (4th grade) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame {Abridged} (5th grade) *Star Wars: Jedi Quest by Jude Watson(5th grade) Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold's Naylor (4th & 5th grade) Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (5th grade) Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling {Unabridged) (5th grade) *Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (5th grade) Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (6th grade) American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum (6th grade) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (6th grade) Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (6th grade) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum (7th grade) Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (7th grade) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (7th grade) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (7th grade) *The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (7th grade) *The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling II (8th grade) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame {Unabridged} (8th grade)

I had a conversation with my MIL on Friday. She was expressing her feelings about our oldest ds7.5. I was offended. Maybe I should have handled it a little better. But Hindsight is 20/20. Anyway, she baited me into a conversation with her about homeschooling our ds. There was a lot to it, but what I want to ask about is her concluding statement about our "irresponsible" behavior (homeschooling). Her conclusion was that she would not be able to "decide" if homeschooling our children was the right decision until they are adults with good jobs and healthy adult relationships. (Which translates to me... I'm going to give you crud about it for another 10 years). So here is my question... How is this a logical arguement...IF this is the Criteria to successful education.... THEN did the ps do her, her children, and most of the people she knows justice? She has a very low paying job and wishes she didn't have to work so hard for the things they have. She has no friends by her own admittance. Her public schooled dd has serious financial problems due to inappropriately spending the money she does earn, is a "casual drinker" gets drunk every weekend, and has friends who tend to use her. Her oldest son divorced his wife, lives at home at 35, has just a few friends who are coworker drinking buddies, and has serious depression issues. Her youngest son (my dh) is an underachiever who is capable of being a doctor, but can't seem to follow through. Works a low paying job and would have no friends if his wife (me) didn't kick him in the tail to make friends. EVERY problem my children have is blamed on us homeschooling them. My middle boy wouldn't have ADHD and SPD if he was in public school. My oldest wouldn't be gifted if he was in public school. (oh yes, being gifted is a problem in her eyes). Am I missing something? Is her argument logical and I'm just missing the logic because of my strong desire to educate my own children? Or is her argument illogical? Oh, can you tell we haven't gotten to the Logic Stage...LOL?

NE Ohio here too. Next to the Lake.

My boys bathe daily. This is because it is set into our nighttime routine for them (it helps them sleep). I only wash the 3 yo now as my 7 yo and 6 yo can do a good enough job on their own. My 8.5 mo dd gets bathed about 4 times a week. She has dry skin. On the nights she doesn't get a bath, I wash her up with a damp cloth. In summer they may get two baths due to dirt build-up.

...your spend more in your monthly budget for school supplies then food. ...your kids actually know what the word socialize means (because so many people have asked them how they could possibly be socialized). ...your librarian knows you by name, asks your kids what books they'd like her to buy for them, offers to help you carry your loot to your car... ...rocks, leaves and broken bits of bark are considered family treasures. ...your kids get quizzed on a regular basis from complete strangers and extended family. These are just a few I thought of. Can you think of any good ones?

"40 Rubrics & Checklists: to assess reading and Writing" by Scholastic (for grades 3-6) has a very good section about letter writing. It shows the teacher how to teach students to write a letter. There is a Planning Form to fill out (you have to photo copy it). It has a Checklist that the student marks (yes or no) which includes 10 questions. There is also one for business letters and a Rubric to help the teacher grade the letter. I got it at my local library today. The price tag says that it is $14.95.

The Psychologist did say that the biggest thing that will help our boys to stay focused throughout the day is to keep their minds and bodies balanced. Some challenging academics and then challenging physical calisthenics. So that is the biggest aspect of having a lot of activities. Those things which are less important to me are more likely to be dropped when their is a meltdown of one of the boys or a fussy baby day. We have a timer that we use for school work. At this point I need to get the children into a more strict routine. Most things in life are geared around a schedule of some kind. I am not much of a schedule person and would probably unschool if it worked for my children, but it doesn't. So we are going back to the drawing board. While I know that most life situations aren't run on 15 min. incraments... that is the real amount of time that they can focus at this time. I don't intend on letting them stay at a 15 min. attention span. But at this point we need to get them to pay attention for 5 min. So 15 minutes is a real stretch for my younger and just a little stretch for the older. As I said before we have PT twice a month and OT twice a month and there are the real needs of my younger two children, field trips and errands that must be made. The schedule will be a guide for me and a predictable routine for them. (Something my oldest has been asking for for quite a while). I'm hoping that through all this the boys are going to learn how to work more independently. The psychologist is walking us through the steps to help them gain more Independence. We have been giving our younger son more responsibilities with consequences for not following through. For our older son we have reevaluated his work and are trying to make adjustments in what is expected. We've begun to compile a "cookbook" for both of them so that they can do things more independently. I'm hoping these things will help them to eventually develop their own executive function.

I do have to purchase everything now. We will be doing the 3rd year of the history cycle for my 7yo and the second half of year 1 for my 6yo. While I know that my 6yo can understand year 2 work he's not yet ready for the content emotionally. So we've been taking our time and reading every book in the Juvenal library on each people group. This year we started with SOTW 2 and 2nd grade list in the 1999 edition of WTM for science and history. He finished all the suggested reading in WTM for 2nd grade and the suggestions in SOTW 2 Activity Guide, at least all those that I was able to locate, before Christmas. He is currently reading books from the 6th grade list. Your comments have helped me relax a little about my younger ds to know that some bright kids are slower to produce and yet still bright. :D I think I will search the library and see what I can find in way of measuring grade levels with output.

I know that this has been covered in the past... but I can't seem to recall the consensus. I know that many place their child's grade level (or more to the point buy books at X grade level) at their output level, but how do you know what level they are outputting? My ds7, second grader, can print better then I do. He hasn't come to a grammatical concept that he didn't already know. he finishes a grammar, history, or science lesson in 10 minutes... and can tell you what he learned. But can not do so if left unattended. (He just has Zero when it comes to Executive Functioning ability.) What level is he working at when he can read and comprehend a 7th grade book... give a 1 page report, without grammatical errors, aside from forgetting the occasional capital letter, and answer 20 or so questions? What grade level is he if he can read everything in the 2nd grade level of WTM and asks for the unabridged versions instead? From what I've read most parents are reading much of the materials to their 2nd grader. Or am I reading that wrong? On top of this he is reading all of Amberside Online Year 2 materials on his own. We are about to buy next years material and I can't decide how to go about buying for this coming year. Do I get more difficult materials... skip stuff, or get two years worth work? He's already doing two challenging curricula partially above grade level. I intend to work on getting ds to be more independent next year and so that too may play into what level of materials to get. I have my list of what I want to buy, the question is only what level to get in each area. Most of our library history and science books are coming from the Jr. High section right now. Also I have another ds6, who would be in Kindergarten this year. He can tell me every thing he hears and everything he reads, which is at a 3rd grade level, but writes on a preschool level. Most of his books are coming from the Upper elementary section of the library. Any incite would be much appreciated.

For my 6yos 1st grade year Bible - Veritas Bible Genesis - Joshua (Just listen in w/big bro.) Bible - Veritas Bible Judges - Kings (Just listen in w/big bro.) Creation - Johnathan Park Creation Audio Library Language Arts - Sequential Spelling Level 1, FLL Yr 2, Write Away, Italic Handwriting Series. Math - Math-U-See Alpha, Skip Counting CD, Singapore Math 2A-2B and Challenging Word Problems 2. Geography - Carmen Sandiego Geography Learning System, Atlas, Maps, Globe and SOTW maps. History - SOTW1 (second half), SOTW1 AG, America At War: American Revolution, Give Me Liberty: The Story of the American Revolution, Articles of Confederation, Constitution of the United States, Ohio History, Ohio My First Pocket Guide, Birds of Ohio Field Guide & Audio CD Set, Ohio Plants and Animals $8.99, Ohio State Reference Timeline. Science - Human Body, and Plants as suggested in WTM (We've completed Animals) Foreign languages - Prima Latina, Instant Immersion American Sign Language, My First Signs, Faith Speaks! Expressing God's Word Sign Language, and Risas y Sonrisas. Fine arts - Child-Sized Masterpieces, Themes to Remember, Can You Name That Classical Tune. Critical Thinking - Lollipop Logic, Visual Perceptual Skill Building, Primarily Logic Physical Education - Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book, Soccer and swim lessons.

SO... You would move the "Fun" activities to the afternoon? We have 2 hours of activities that could be moved to the afternoon. Or wait on the "fun" activities until we have finished the not so fun school? We generally finish a year curri. in about 5 months when working at their pace. As in me not limiting their momentum.

Havn't been posting much but I updated tonight. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/nitascool/

They are working ahead of grade level but have a real hard time with our current schedule which is very lax. Their Psychologist told us that they really need to have a strict schedule with each subject lasting only 15 minutes and giving lots of brakes, but that they should be spending most of their day doing school. Every other week we have a GI, PT or OT appointment on those days we won't do any school. It averages to 4 1/2 hours of school work a day including: seat work, dvd's, cd's, cdrom's, art, and music. It doesn't leave a lot of time during normal school hours for the kids to have creative play, but it seems that they have a hard time when given time to play unstructured. Here's what I have for them: Things I want to teach them Things they asked for 8:00am Bible Study 1/2 Hour 15 Min. Devotional or study 15 Min. Bible Quiz (they are on a team) 8:30am Sensory Diet 8:45am Memory Work 5 Min. 5 Min. Poetry (Mon.-Fri.) 8:50am Morning Math 1/2 Hour 5 Min. Skip Counting Songs (Mon. - Fri. 9 songs) 10 Min. Alpha DVD (Mon.- Thur.) 15 Min. Alpha Student Text (2 each Mon.-Wed.) *15 Min. Alpha Worksheet Generator Pages (2 on Thur.) *15 Min. Alpha Tests 1 per Unit (Friday Only) When 7yo is finished with Alpha and Beta we'll do SM 3a When 6yo is finished with Alpha we'll do SM 2a 9:20am Morning Movement Session For gross motor skills (Structured Play) 9:35am US/ Ohio History 15 Min. 15 Min. Memory Work (Mon.) 15 Min. Reading US History (Tue.) 15 Min. Reading Ohio History (Wed.) 15 Min. Ohio Plants and Animals (Thur.) 15 Min. Birds of Ohio Field Guide and CD (Fri.) 9:50am Spanish 15 Min. 15 Min. Risas y Sonrisas (Mon. - Thur.) *15 Min. Spanish Reader (Friday Only) 10:15am Sensory Diet 10:30am Sign 20 Min. 10 Min. Sign CD (Mon.-Thur.) 10 Min. Faith Speaks! (Mon.-Thur.) My First Sign (Friday Only) 10:50am Health/Safety/First Aid/Fire Prevention 10 Min. 10 Min. Health Books 1st 9 weeks (Friday Only) 10 Min. Health & Safety 10-34 weeks (Friday Only) 10 Min. First Aid 35th week (Friday Only) 10 Min. Fire Prevention 36th week (Friday Only) 11:00am Morning Movement Session For Fine Motor Skills (Structured Play) 11:15am Fine Arts 1/2 Hour 15 Min. Child-Size Masterpiece (Mon.- Thur.) 15 Min. Themes to Remember (Mon.- Thur.) *15 Min. Drawing (Friday Only) *15 Min. Can You Name that Classical Tune (Friday Only)11:45am Spelling 15 Min. 10 Min. Sequential Spelling Level 1 (Mon.-Fri.) For 7yo 10 Min. Words from Phonics Pathways (Mon.-Fri.) For 6yo 12:00pm Lunch 30 Min. 12:30am Afternoon Movement Session For Gross Motor Skills (Structured Play) 1:00pm Geography 15 Min. (or the length of the video) 15 Min. Were in the World is Carman Sandiego (Monday) 15 Min. Were in the USA is Carman Sandiego (Tuesday) 15 Min. Where in Time is Carman Sandiego (Wednesday) 15 Min. SOTW Map, Globe, Atlas Study (Thursday) 30 Min. Were on Earth Is Carman Sandiego (Friday) 1:15pm Grammar 15 Min. 15 Min. Step-by-Step Grammar (Mon.-Thur.) For 7yo 15 MIn. First Language Lessons Yr. 2 (Mo.-Thur.) For 6yo. 1:30pm Sensory Diet 1:45pm Grammar 15 Min. 15 Min. Penmanship (Mon.-Thur.) 2:00pm Grammar 15 Min. 15 Min. Creative, Journal or other Writing (Mon.-Thur.) 2:15pm Afternoon Movement Session For Fine Motor Skills (Structured Play) 2:30am Science 15 Min. 15 Min. Read (Mon.) 15 Min. Make Narration Outline for each section (Tue.) 15 Min. Write Narration Drafts (Wed.) 15 Min. Finish Narration/ Illustrate (Thur.) 30 Min. Experiment (Fri.) 2:45am World History 30 Min. 15 Min. Listen to SOTW CD (Mon. - Wed) 15 Min. Do Student Pages (Mon.-Thur.) *15 Min. Make Narration Outline for each section (Mon.) *15 Min. Write Narration Drafts (Tue.) *15 Min. Finish Narration/ Illustrate (Wed.) *0 Min. Do Map (Thur.) 30 Min. Do One Activity (Friday Only) *15 Min. Do Review Questions (Friday Only) 3:15pm Physical Education3:30pm Afternoon Math 15 Min. 15 Min. Alpha Online Addition/Subtraction Drill (1 each Mon.-Thur.) 3:30pm - 5:45pm Unstructured Play

We do mostly old edition WTM suggestions Grammar stage with my 6yo and Logic Stage with my 7yo (almost 8). We also do Amberside online. My 6yo is about to finish year 0 and my 7yo just finished Year 2.

Thank you for your input. I think I will have a talk with ds about the memorization process. I intend to continue with SM 3a when ds is ready, but I know that he needs something more before going on to the next level. He's already done 2a & 2b WB, TB and IP twice. While he has the concepts and can "do" the problems perfectly he cannot do them quickly. So I know that he is not yet ready to move on to 3a. He finished the second go around with SM in September. We've been doing repetitious work with flash cards, traditional worksheets, number bonds, multimedia math games, board games and math wraps. So I'm really looking for something that wouldn't be too expensive that will teach math to be more automatic for him. I was thinking MUS but it's a little pricey for a trial. Of course it's a lot less pricey then tutoring which is our next recourse at this point. I think we're going to go ahead and get the Math-U-See. I like the look of Professor B, but the price is a little steep for a us. Thanks again.

I have a 7.5yo who continues to have a problem in math. He's on par with his peers, but it is a struggle for him. We have tried, and hated, Saxon math. He just didn't get the approach. Though he did the 1st grade book he still added using the counting up method. Subtraction was just not happening. We tried memorizing addition and subtraction facts through several different forms of medium (Board and online games, flash cards, cartoons, pencil and paper, math wraps). He gets them at the time, but doesn't translate into next time. We switched to Singapore. He did books 1A through 2B twice each and still is not getting it. He understands the concepts just fine, but struggles to get the answers. For instance he understands place values, but takes more then a minute to figure out what 15+3= is. He knows how to skip count by 2's through 5's, but has trouble translating that into 5x3=. He thinks he's "dumb" (his words), because math comes so hard for him. I'm inclined to believe that we just haven't found his math method yet. Currently we are going over addition and subtraction facts in 10 min. sessions 4 times a day. He's getting faster... but really its just faster at counting not actually adding and subtracting or even memorization of the facts. We are thinking about Math-U-See, but I don't want to waist my money if it's not the right answer. He's working at a 2nd grade level in math computations, with word problems he is working at a 3rd grade level. So what would you do with a dc like this?

DS 7 is reading Canterbury Tales. He just finished his 4th reading of "The Usborne Internet-linked Library of Science Earth and Space". DS 6 is reading through Dr. Seuss books right now. He just finished "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins".

We are looking for something for my two older boys. I've looked at IH and I like the style, but can't tell the right level for each child from the samples on Rainbow Resource. My ds7.5 prints better then I do. I'm looking for a transition book. He can read at a 7th grade level and would bulk at a book that was too "babyish". My ds6 who prints at a Kindergarten level can read at a 3rd grade level. He has a hard time writing, complains about the work and can not cut. He also hates to color. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi. I'm Nita. I live in Ohio with my dh, three boys, baby girl and our cat. I have two and a half homeschooling right now. We started hsing when my oldest was 3. We are on our 4th year. My dh is a Mental Health Specialist at the local Hospital. He is going back to school in the fall for Nursing. I am a SAHM. I like to write poetry and have written a couple short stories as well. My 7.5yo ds enjoys reading adventure/fantasy books, swimming, Lego's and taking care of his cat. He's outputting on a 2nd grade level in Math and 5th/6th grade level in everything else. We had ds tested and he is considered a gifted underachiever with mild ADHD (non-hyperactive). My 6yo ds outputs on the 1st/2nd grade level with everything except writing, which is at about a high preschool level. We had ds tested and he has ADHD with hyperactivity, SPD, and a vision development problem which we haven't gotten a dx for. My 3yo ds does school when he feels like it. He can do all preschool things except cutting and writing. He knows his shapes, colors, letter names and sounds and numbers. He can also site read some words. My 8mo dd isn't doing any school right now. I'm hoping that she will take her time. At least until the others are doing school a little more independently! She is currently keeping us busy with trips to a GI and PT. She is a very active, happy, and small little girl. The cat's name is Jr. We realized that Jr. was an inappropriate name when she gave birth to four kittens.