Ordered Laying Down the Rails a few months ago. Haven't made time to read it, but now I'm inspired to read it before our new school year starts! I didn't realize there was one for children and one for adults--intrigued.

P.S. DH loves River Monsters!

DH's passion for fish, wildlife, and all things outdoors began as a boy your kids' ages and never let up! Despite roadblocks and admonishments from many in the early years to "stop dreaming" and seek a more practical education and employment, he studied wildlife biology (and some of the things your boys are into). And, praise God, he's now been gainfully employed for many years in his field and loves his work. It could be the same for your two sons, so I think it's awesome that you've encouraged them in their interests with fish. You've done an amazing job so far, looking at your list! Inspires me to encourage my kids' interests! I wanted to add that DH's employer allows volunteers to work alongside him various times throughout the year, doing cool hands-on stuff. At the ages of your DC, you would probably need to be involved, but is there any possibility of them getting some real hands-on experience with a local biologist? Are you near a college campus? You could search "icthyologist" / "ichtyology" and your region and see what comes up. Some hatcheries are well set up to use volunteers; are there any where you live? I know our aquarium has hands-on opportunities at times too but you generally have to look ahead and sign up for some sort of program to do it (not open to the passing tourist, in other words). Another thought would be a chartered fishing trip if you are near an ocean. They can be pricey, but quite an experience! We've also had a lot of fun as adults, studying and pursuing clams, crabs, mollusks, tide pool creatures, and other species that inhabit waters with fish! My kids are becoming quite adept at identifying shells because of a laminated ID card I bought once on a trip and their love of shopping at shell shops-- The best learning = their own learning when passionate about a subject!

:bigear: because, although I am teaching considerably fewer students than OP, I too would like to add in Latin. I too feel like one more subject added to an already-full life might break the camel's back (my sanity)! I've only brought up the possibility of teaching Latin with one person IRL who actually uses it regularly. His opinion was that exposure to Latin--any amount of exposure--would be good. If my children decided to pursue something later down the line in which Latin would benefit them, they could study it more in-depth then. I liked this idea. I had previously been looking at it with the goal of "mastery" and that's a bit overwhelming--to big of an undertaking. Considering "exposure" vs. "mastery" helps me see this as a reachable possibility. So...now keeping my ears open for options. My DC are young, so I'm thinking something more audio/video vs. workbook. OP, I like your idea of 20-30 minutes x2 each week. When I was looking at it as "mastery" as the goal, I was fearing the daily time commitment that a language would normally take. I think we could do "exposure" at 2x/week.

Would you be willing to critique this? Written by my DD who will be 8yo / in 3rd grade for 2016/17. I am wondering if this looks about right for a 7-year-old? If it needs improvement, where would we go from here? This was just a "please write about a topic of your choice on your own and we'll edit it later" kind of assignment. I did help her brainstorm some ideas beforehand and wrote her ideas on notepaper for her (like Who? What? Where?, etc. questions). She is reading at a 5th-7th grade level and loves language. Her penmanship is very clear and looks like an adult's writing. But as for actually writing any original content, it's like pulling teeth. She claims Writing is her "worst subject." It's really hard to get her to write and she'll only do it if she has to for homeschool. She is a perfectionist, which I try to acknowledge and gently downplay a lot, because it seems to get in her way of writing easily. She is highly-creative, but unwilling to take risks in writing her thoughts out. *** gymnastics is fun! I see my friends. It makes me healthy. I learn new things. Mom takes me. I go on wednesdays. I go for exercise! *** Just typing it out, I see how stiff and cardboard-like this is. This is a kid who was making up stories that would go on for 2-3 single-spaced, typed pages when she was 4 (I typed while she told the stories.) In Kindergarten, she thought she would like to write a novel series and I indulged her in writing out her stories for her. She's never been at a loss for imagination... But now it seems like she's gotten a little older and is very self-conscious about herself and her writing. I tried to start a Mom-and-Me journal just for enjoyable writing but it fizzled after a few entries. Sometimes she'll come up with a great idea and I'll encourage her to write about it; it never goes anywhere. I don't know if somehow I've "scarred" her in regards to writing. She wants to be instantly good at things, but the writing process is still somewhat arduous at this point; maybe that puts her off? I'm considering using Bravewriter this coming year because of all I've heard about it but the $$ would be a consideration for us. I have a couple of workbooks for writing and she'll do them if required, but it never seems to translate into any desire or willingness to write creatively. I think workbooks can be dull, so that's not a surprise. I just use them because I don't know how to teach this subject well. I have a "mom hunch" that someday she will truly enjoy writing and be good at it, but I am completely lost on how to get there. I don't want to make things worse by pushing, as she doesn't thrive with that. Any thoughts on resources that would really make this subject FUN? I don't think everything for school has to be fun, but we could use some lightheartedness around this subject to break through this impasse. Thanks if you've made it this far and thanks in advance for your wisdom/experience.

Excellent quiz and I enjoyed the results. This could be really helpful in the future. Thanks! Score for Beast Academy: 10 Score for Math Mammoth: 11 Score for Mathematical Reasoning: 9 Score for McRuffy: 11 Score for Miquon: 9 Score for RightStart: 15 Score for Saxon: 9 Score for Shiller: 9 Score for Singapore: 13 Score for Teaching Textbooks: -2

Regarding contacts... I have worn them for about 25 years and loved them until about 2 years ago. Started with one-pair-a-year as a teen and have gradually switched to more-disposable types to let in more oxygen. I think my current ones are supposed to be changed monthly. I have astigmatism, so I can't do the dailies, from what I understand. I detest wearing glasses--especially for outdoor activities, working outside, snuggling my kids, reading the alarm clock in the morning--LOL. Now I'm almost exclusively wearing glasses; I wear contacts about once a week or for special occasions because of issues with them. In the last couple of years, my eyes almost "reject" contacts, no matter how scrupulous I am about keeping them clean. They're immediately irritated by them and have become very light-sensitive. I can wear them for a few to several hours without feeling desperate to get them out. I don't know if this is completely related to contacts. I have a lot of bloodshot areas / veins growing around the iris due to oxygen depletion from contacts. My optician says the veins aren't growing into the corneas so there's no reason to worry. But they are so red, it's hard to believe there's nothing wrong with these "growing" veins. He has screened for glaucoma (family history of it) each year and says no worries. I have tried switching cleaning solutions, use a new case each time I change contacts, etc. I'm trying allergy drops. Nothing seems to work. Any thoughts, Tita Gidge? A friend of mine had history with contacts similar to what you described and told me some alarming things she discovered when she switched to a new ophthalmologist (like she wasn't told of issues that were occurring because of her contacts and almost ruined her eyes permanently.) I think I need to switch to a different eye doctor or ophthalmologist. (Sorry to derail goggles conversation--)

I have horrible vision and swim a lot. Didn't want to wear contacts under goggles anymore because it's just asking for problems with dirty pool water--especially at waterparks. (I know you said contacts aren't an option anyway, OP.) I hadn't bought Rx goggles because I thought they'd be cost-prohibitive--like hundreds. About a month ago I bought Speedo Vanquisher prescription goggles at SwimOutlet.com for about $20 (yes, twenty!) I love them! I've worn them several times and they're crystal-clear for my vision. They come in Smoke (tinted for sun) or clear. I can see perfectly with them underwater and out of the water. They look like normal goggles--especially the clear--so a teen wouldn't be self-conscious about the look. They're available in a ton of prescription strengths. IMO, $20 is a bit high compared to most kids' goggles but if she's responsible and won't loose them: totally worth it!

A Simple Idea for people who garden or eat seasonal food: Print off a year's set of blank calendar pages (no dates, no year--just months and squares.) Brainstorm all of your family's favorites and make lists. At the beginning of each month, peruse Pinterest, check out your favorite cooking websites for inspiration, and review your "favorites" lists. Fill all of the squares for the month without writing in any dates. You'll end up with more than 30 ideas because of how calendars are constructed, so you'll have more than you'll actually need for the month. Try to include a main dish, a side, and small reference note on where you can find the recipe (online bookmark, binder, cookbook title or recipe card, for example) so you won't have to waste time hunting for the recipe when you make it. The "plan" doesn't have dates, so I just pick what I want to do on a daily basis, depending on life and what's going on. But there is value to the planning because, for me, having 30 seasonal ideas is better than having no plan at all. On my busiest, worst days, it's in my planner waiting for me. If I happen upon some great sale and a new idea "bumps" the written ideas down--no biggie. It's flexible. At the end of the month, I cross off the recipes I actually made, take the page out of my daily planner, and place it in a recipe binder I keep with my cookbooks. Next year, same month, I'll pull out the month's plan from last year--"August", for example, and either re-use it or see what I made last year at that time and write it on a new "August" sheet. This helps particularly because we eat out of our garden as much as possible. We don't buy out-of-season produce either. Obviously, things are very seasonal that way. Also, we live in an area with extreme heat in the summer, so what sounded good in April no longer works for June (like soups, chili, stew.) The monthly sheets help because I don't have to "re-invent the wheel" over and over again every year. This type of planning isn't quite as helpful for those who rely on the weekly grocery store sales or who need specific items for recipes. I buy more in bulk and staples, and just shop for dairy and some fruit on a weekly basis. The fresh stuff comes from the garden, so the recipes have to fit what's available that time of year. I buy almost exclusively sale items and stock up, but my priorities are frugality and health vs. particular recipes. I really enjoy these blog posts on meal planning and return to them now and then, though I don't do things exactly as the author. They inspire me and she is/was a frugal homeschooler with a lot more kids than I have and a funny type of humor, so they're fun reads: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2015/09/the-secret-to-planning-menus/ www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2014/01/12-things-to-stash-that-will-help-you-get-supper-on-the-table/ www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2012/10/menu-making-roundup-all-worksheets/ http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/03/secret-to-packing-lunches-without-too/ [secret to packing lunches without too much pain] Edited: typos/links

OK...I've started...It's going to be really hard not getting sidetracked with planning for next year as I review / consider books!

Wow. I like this. I really like this. But I am very afraid! :crying: What if need that stuff in the future? Realizing I am a bit Depression-minded (as in 1929 event) about these things. My dad was raised during / in the aftermath of a war. He saved everything, only it was large things like tractors, windmills, fencing, etc. (farm stuff.) He just went through a purging/auction process of 5 acres of stuff in the last year. I want to be liberated but I'm scared and the hs stuff has accumulated quickly. I will have to go away for a bit and think on this "6-cube MAX" idea.

Realizing I have a lot of duplicate stuff, like several books for handwriting, copywork. A few different sets of curricula for phonics. It's hard to choose one and purge the rest! OK...off to the shelves and I will be back for more pearls of wisdom! :thumbup1:

DC are almost exactly 3 years apart so I guess I have about a 3-year span of stuff. I keep saving things from DC1 that I think I might use with DC2. It's all a bit too much stuff though, and there's not a "freshness" to it the 2nd time around. Meaning, I don't know that I will want to do exactly what I did with my first with my second child. I thrive on novelty.

I like this idea vs. bankers boxes (too big; temptation to keep too much.) Are these 1" boxes something you buy?

OK, all of you lovely Boardies who are more pragmatic, organized, and realistic than I am... I'm working myself up to face my homeschool stash of books, curriculum, art supplies, paper, completed schoolwork from 3 years ago, binders, science equipment, half-baked ideas, cool stickers and creative stuff for lapbooks, things I might use someday, maybe, dust, stuff that would take too long to create for the "lifetime" of it's use and what my kids would actually learn and retain from it (think raw materials for Pinterest ideas), saved plastic containers for learning about capacity...and just plain ol' junk. Oy. Here and there I've spotted photos online that show some other more organized person's version of a homeschool area in their home and it's got like one bookshelf with one shelf per student. How is this possible?! (Maybe they have some large bins in the garage or something.) Background: 2 kids, 1 entering 3rd and 1 entering K. Me: Idealist with a creative brain that always thinks of a million ways to use something...My house: about 1400 sq. ft. and WAY too much stuff for its size. It's starting to feel like it's shrinking. Time to purge! Bought an Ikea cube-like organizer a few years ago. Homeschool stuff was supposed to take up 8 of 16 cubes; the other 8 were for my non-homeschooling life interests (art and craft supplies mainly.) Somehow the homeschooling stuff multiplied like rabbits when I wasn't looking and took over my life as well. It now takes up all 16 cubes, more shelves, under my desk...This doesn't include children's books, BTW, that are housed in DC's room. At this rate, it will take up the entire house by the time eldest hits 8th grade. I'm afraid I'll turn into one of those hoarders on TV, only the house will be full of stacks and stacks of...homeschool stuff. Please help! I've put it off for far too long and now I've come here for your inspiration, your no-nonsense approaches...your wisdom and practical advice. I have the entire day and the summer out ahead so let it fly. Give me your best nuggets of encouragement! I'm ready to reign it in and deal with my hoarding tendencies. I need balance and realism. What do you keep and what do you toss*? * for those of you prone to twitching at the word "toss", its meaning here = actual garbage, recycling, and donations to the local homeschool swap box, public library, new church library, other hs families, thrift stores, etc. I promise to be prudent, thoughtful, and responsible in my tossing.

You're probably not going to like my response... I think once you give a gift, it's gone. That's what defines a gift, vs. something that's attached to expectations or a pay back (emotional or whatever.) You are attaching an expectation to what she does with the gift and perhaps it's building resentment? When I feel resentment, I know it's a signal that it's time to change something in the relationship or make new boundaries. Who ever said parents have to get what children ask for? That was a new concept to me when I married into DH's family (they did typed-up Christmas wish lists and all.) In a way, it's nice because the gift doesn't go to waste. [Editing to say: Supposedly it's not ***supposed*** to go to waste! LOL] So I get it. My parents have never asked us children what we've wanted. It was their prerogative to give what they wanted to give. Many of those gifts have gone unused-- LOL! (I realize this is the opposite of what you've written, OP.) You can: - Stop buying expensive gifts for her if the dollar amount bothers you when they're not used. - Divorce yourself from your expectations regarding use. Let her let it sit on the shelf, unused, and be OK with that. - Give her what you want to give vs. what she asks for. You still have to let go. I would suggest making something for her instead of buying, but, with artistic gifts, I find that it's even harder to divorce myself from my creative "babies" (gifts) than from store-bought things. Someone in my life asked for a print of a painting I did. I love her and would give it, but she is the type to put it in a garage sale or thrift store a few years later when her whim changes. I couldn't truly let it go without the expectation that she'd keep it, so I've never given her a copy. You've already expressed your dismay, so...Looks like you get to be the one to change. (Said with humor/warmth.)

I was taught to ONLY start on the right as a child, for the above-mentioned reasons. The thing is, now that I'm an adult using math on a daily, practical basis (mileage, bills, ounces, etc.), I use the methods we're exploring in Singapore, which are both algorithm-based and mental-math-based... Example: 852 - 24 = At this point in life, I've gotten good at estimating, so it's easier / faster for my brain to say 850 - 25 = 825...12 - 4 = 8...828 I can't believe how quickly I can do this type of problem now and it is much more efficient and accurate for me. Prior to figuring this out on my own as an adult, I would literally have to "write" the problem in my head as I would have on paper, start in the right / ones column, "cross out" and borrow from tens in my head, etc. You know how difficult it is and how long it takes to do that without paper, which I usually don't have when I'm in a real-life situation?! It's also fraught with opportunities to make mistakes. i.e., I was mainly taught the subtraction algorithm as a child--always and only starting from the right, vs. truly making use of estimating and mentally playing with the ones/tens/hundreds as groups. I'm really excited for my kids that they're going to learn it BOTH ways. I hope to put a large focus on mental math so that these numbers actually mean something to them, vs. just becoming proficient at a paper-based algorithm. So far, DD and I have totally different ways of processing math ideas. We almost never take the same "path" to arrive at an answer, though we both obviously get to the same answer if it's correct. I took a workshop last fall on addition and subtraction. You should have seen the vast number of ways we adults (approx. 10 people) arrived at the same answer for the same problem. It was almost comical! There were SO many ways to skin a cat. It was truly fascinating to see the mental acrobatics people did to get the answer and, if there were 10 people, there were 10 different avenues to the same answer, from differing slightly on one step to differing throughout all of the steps of the problem. I think we should encourage people to do math in ways that are natural to them. I say, if your DS can arrive at the correct answer in his own way, encourage it! It truly will serve him in the long run throughout his life, even if it's not the way you would do it. If we box our kids into stiff rules with math that make no difference (I'm not saying inaccuracy is OK as a whole; we have to use methods that eventually arrive at an accurate answer), I think that = boring and kills the joy of math.

I would also say as little as possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with some screen time guidelines for the Under 2 set when my first was a baby. I thought if an organization like that was willing to post recommendations, they were probably pretty well-founded. Further reading backs that up. We are TV-, tablet-, and phone-free, but I do allow 1/2-hour to 1 hour of shows per day via laptop that I help my kids select. I really find that they excel at creative play and, most days, they are so absorbed in their play, they don't even remember to ask if they can watch a show. So, on average, it probably adds up to 3 or so hours per week. They are under 7. As someone mentioned above, my second child has watched more, earlier, than my first--which I don't like. If I know they've had a high-pressure day (travel, a party, lots of activities or events), I'll put a show on at the end of the day so they can relax a bit. They know the limit, so they generally don't ask for more and if they do, I politely say no. Whining = no shows at all, so that's never really been a problem. Other days, when I think they'd be better-engaged outside or doing something else, I'll say, "Not today because...I need your help with X job or project...I think you need to play outside for a bit...Tomorrow you may watch a show." They accept these limits and, in no time, find other engaging things to do. I do allow quite a TON of mess in terms of creative stuff, art, beads, yarn, pretend play, forts, whatever around the living room. It's a hassle and takes energy to guide them as they clean up, but I think their time is better spent being creative and inventing than watching TV, so I build the time/energy into my schedule and have learned to live with some level of chaos. Ideally, the main living spaces get cleaned up every evening. The mess is hard for us as adults, but it's worth it. Though I know it's not possible for some families, my kids are free to go outside and roam our property at any time, though they stay close by. They can go to the garden by themselves and have learned what they can pick/plant/do. I don't put restrictions on what they do in the garage and the front yard, so things can get fairly messy at times: large holes dug to China, tools left out, sidewalk chalk all over, sawdust and mud "pies", colored sand "experiments", etc. I think in time they'll learn to clean up as they go. I hope! For now, Mom and Dad help direct clean up time when we can or when the level gets to a point we can't overlook. They do use Starfall (maybe 15 minutes for the 4yo) and math games (7yo) on some school days, so that ups the total. I don't want to be militant, but I greatly detest / despair what screens are doing to our culture and people's brains so...I think limits are good. I also think this limited screen time has led to my 7yo's flourishing reading and artistic skills. 4yo is highly-motivated to learn to read. I assume the screen time will go up as they age due to simply functioning in this world and not becoming complete cultural misfits (thought that might not be a bad thing--LOL!) A bit of benign "boredom" is good and leads to creative thinking. I've almost never used the word "bored" around my kids, so I don't think they really see it as a negative...

It's funny...I kept thinking about this thread throughout the day for some reason-- And wanted to mention that if you make too much oatmeal some morning, scoop it into a container, put it into the fridge and add it to your bread dough when you can get to it (within a few days.) You might have to adjust the water : dry ingredients ratio a bit, but that's easily done with flour when you shape it at the end. Also, I save my pasta or potato water and add it to the dough instead of regular water. Same thing: just cover it and put it into the fridge until you're ready to make dough. I figure it has some nutrients, starch, and gluten (?) that would have been dumped down the drain anyway. (This is an old tip; I didn't come up with it!)

My goal is to swim 10 days / month. It's about 2 hours to get there, swim, shower, drive home. I don't know that it's "relaxing", but it's great exercise and I'm thankful for the quiet mental break. For several years, I would just catch a break when I could. This led to a lot of burn out and frazzle. DH travels quite a bit throughout the year, so I take breaks any time he offers. I will occasionally change our school schedule around for breaks because, over the long haul of the year, we are ahead academically anyway. If a break can happen on a weekday (rare), we'll catch up by making the other schooldays of that week a bit longer or more intense. I've gone on a modified year-round schedule the last couple of years to work in more flexibility with our schedule. We used to pay for childcare 1-2 days/month. This was OK but if it didn't work out for some reason (illness, etc.), the more weeks that would go by, the more stressed-out I would become. Several wise women who are past the young child-raising stage have told me they should have taken more breaks or found something interesting for themselves to do outside of parenting. I see quite a few homeschooling families here who have tight-knit family in the area to rely on; it seems like that might make it easier / less stressful. My hat's off to the poster above who is mothering 4 children alone and still getting out to exercise.

Our current recipe is 2 3/4 cups whole wheat : 2 3/4 cups white : 1/3-ish cup rye : 3/4 cup whole grains (quinoa, 13-grain cereal mix, millet, ground flax.) I would like to start experimenting with more truly whole grain breads and to reduce that amount of white flour in our diet, but I know it will make it quite dense and hard to toast. I have an old family friend who made dense, dark grain bread (she's German) that she would crumble over plain yogurt for her children's breakfast every morning. Would take some getting used to and maybe a bit of honey, but it sounds nutritious. We have a friend who makes Danish rye as well--dense, brick-like loaves that are amazing. I would like to make that sort of bread regularly, but it would take some work/$ to source the right kind of rye. I think he leaves it overnight, so it's a bit fermented. Supposedly fermented grains are easier to digest?

Do you have to soak the cracked wheat first so that it doesn't get hard while baking? Is it flaky like oatmeal or hard like wheat berries?

Just a few more thoughts... - We leave a large pizza stone in the oven all the time. We don't actually bake bread on it, though you can. But just having it in the oven makes the bread better and maintains the heat if you have to open/close the oven door. We do slide pizza dough onto it for a crispy crust. If I have something big to cook a few times a year, I'll take it out. Otherwise, it just lives in there. - You can put a small ceramic ramekin of water (1 cup or so?) in the oven for a crisp crust. The water turns into steam as the bread bakes. The ramekin can stay in the oven too; just add a bit of water each time you bake. - I read or watched something on La Brea Bakery that mentioned spritzing water into the hot oven with a water bottle to make steam right before putting the loaves in to bake. I don't usually take the time for that extra step, but I have tried it in the past and it worked for a crisper crust. - We use store-bought bread for sandwiches because the bread we make (Artisan/5 Minute-style) is too hearty for sandwiches. You'd be chewing a long time! And it crumbles. LOL Some people perfect homemade bread for sandwiches, but we've not figured it out. Would probably have to use different flour and dough conditioners? The whole-wheat / homemade is better for toast or with soup/etc. - Just wanted to add that I think, for a lot of people, bread making is a mental hurdle. So many people--one of my close relatives recently, who is highly intelligent and accomplished!--insist that they're just not good bakers and that the yeast is this impossible, mysterious thing...that bread making is this ancient practice that is very difficult to figure out. If you are one of these folks, take heart! It's really not rocket science! LOL Obviously, there is some basic science to it (water too hot = dead yeast = no rise.) Baking bread can be an art. But some people make it much harder than it has to be! Follow recipes closely until you get the hang of it. Adapt and change them a bit at a time. Watch videos. Expect some lumpy, too-dry, undercooked, ugly loaves here and there--they still taste better than what you can buy! I've never seen anyone in my life turn away fresh, hot homemade bread right from the oven-- :laugh:

I wanted to share this resource too! It's a good place to start. You should know that, with a little experimentation, you can modify the ingredients to match what you're looking for in your diet. You can make it fat-free, sugar-free, add/delete things once you get the technique down. DH and I have been making variations of the recipes in this book for several years; he just modified the technique and ingredients a bit. We've taught the kids (young) how to make it too, so they pitch in and we make it every 7-10 days or so. It truly can be mixed in 5-10 minutes; the shaping takes another 10 minutes or less; obviously the baking takes 40+/- minutes. One recipe can yield 2 loaves; we freeze one. DH just modified a recipe he found in the book--kept the techniques but changed the ingredients to include more whole wheat and whole grains. If I mix the dough and don't have time to bake it that day, I leave it overnight in the fridge or even on the counter and get to it later. This is a great book to start with because it can be a flexible, easy way of making bread. We used to have a bread machine, but used it so much it wore out. Never did replace it because we found this method.

Oh, yes! (I think!) I'm actually a newbie here after lurking for a couple of years and I'm not too adept at online forums. I just really felt for you and hoped to connect you with the best answers out there. I've noticed some posters write that they don't frequent the Chat board because they're focused on one of the other boards that's more specific to the info they're looking for (K-8, high school, learning issues, etc.) Was hoping to connect you with more people who have experience with what you're facing and who've been-there-done-that. Saw your question and didn't want it to be overlooked amidst the sea of Chat topics like recipes, travel, politics, life questions, etc., because it sounds like you could use camaraderie and specific help that I know is available here. It looks like you are getting some good input...Best to you in all you are doing for your child! :grouphug: