If you have internet connections, Google Calendar works really well. But it is web based and you need to have internet access to make it work.

They are mostly helpful in getting accomodations in schools. As a homeschooler the most valuable part is their email lists. They have several very talkative email lists with lots of good information. Sometimes it is nice to just be able to talk about your kids and not be the weirdest ones. The Davidson lists are that way for me. About the tests, Davidson does not give any IQ tests. You would need to get them from some other source, and they can be expensive. We did the testing because we needed the information from the tests. The fact that the scores qualified for the Davidson program was a bonus. We would not have tested just to qualify. It isn't worth it.

Possibly. In order to apply you need both an IQ test and an achievement test. From the way I am reading the application form the EXPLORE only counts as the achievement test part. You can apply with only one type but it is apparently much harder to get in. I would definitely call them and ask if EXPLORE counts as both. The email address is: davidsonscholars@ditd.org The website that lists the benefits is here: http://www.ditdgifted.org/Articles.aspx?ArticleID=75&NavID=0_22 I hope you get good information.

I would get my daughter's Piggy and Herman (the critters she sleeps with), my older son's blankies and my younger son's blankie and bunny. Everything else is just stuff.

Not in a million years. I was "the smart one". I was supposed to get a highly scientific job and work for NASA. I was supposed to be very professional. I was also very likely to remain single for the rest of my life. The geeky part was my fatal flaw. No guy would ever want to go out with someone who was as weird as I am. Today, I am married, have 3 and a 1/3 kids, and am a stay-at-home-homeschooling mom. I don't know that you can get much farther from expectations than I did.

I was thinking picnic blanket. It sounds ideal for that.

Has anyone had experience with the University of Missouri distance learning program? They have classes ranging from third grade to AP high school level. I am looking into using them for my daughter (dd9). She needs accountability from someone other than Mom. And I can't find anything local that looks good. She would need the High School level classes. Thanks for any information. http://www.cdis.missouri.edu

There are many reasons. Kids (and later when they grown up, adults) have a really really hard time finding peers. Peers being people they can talk to about things that are important and interesting to them. It is isolating and incredibly lonely to find out that no one cares about the same things you do. Next would be "under challenge." When everything is easy for years on end these kids (and adults) have no idea what to do when things are hard. They have no experience with struggle. And few coping skills for dealing with failure. I am sure there are others but these are the biggest ones I can think of right now.

It does not teach at all. It does show you worked out example problems but it does not teach. If your child doesn't understand the explanation there is no back up or alternative. There are a few problems with two different explanations but not very many. Aleks is great for review of topics that have been taught. It can be great for figuring out what your child already knows. It doesn't work as well as a primary way to learn new material. The reports are very easy to access. It can tell you exactly which topics your child worked on and how well it thinks the child knows the material. The reports are fantastic. My students thought it was wonderful until they got to something that the explanation didn't make sense and then it caused many tears.

My daughter says she thinks it opens on Monday. She is crazy about neopets and reads everything she can about it.

You might try Summitview. It is a non-religious homeschool support group in the East Valley. The link to the yahoo group that is used is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/summitview/

I don't know if you are working too hard or not. That would be up to you to decide. But I have got to say something about listening to someone else read the textbook to me in class. ARGGGGGGG! I hated that. I had a World History teacher in Junior High that had students read the book to the class every day. I was so totally and completely bored I thought I was going to go crazy. The students didn't read very well. Most of the class either went to sleep or read their own books (like comic books or novels). It was awful!!! Your study guides and discussion questions sound like they could be great. Certainly as a student I would be happy to know exactly what you wanted me to learn for the test. I think that if getting the most usefulness for your time is important you would want to stick with the same book from year to year. Perhaps working on the study guides one year and then adding the maps the next and something else the following one. It would mean that your materials would get better with time instead of being "right" from the beginning. I guess it depends on what your priorities are.

Try this link: http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=6 There are samples and a Table of Contents

My district doesn't do anything until third grade and then it is two hours a week of pull out. Our homeschool compares pretty well to this! Not that it is difficult to beat this kind of low standards.

Amusement Park. My three year old doesn't swim well enough for me to relax when he is near water. I would be a nervous wreck at a Water Park. (We live in Phoenix, Arizona. There are several water parks nearby. I have never taken the kids because it just plain wouldn't be fun for me. I can't relax if I am constantly worried about somebody drowning.)

How much is too much really depends on the person. But we had about $100,000 in loans between my husband and I. It is not paid off now after 15 years. We hope to be done with them by January 2009. The important thing to remember is that the best financial aid packages are given to FRESHMEN. The amount of scholarship vs. loan changes as the student progresses. As a senior I had very little scholarship money (like $1000) as a freshman that number was about $10,000. The school wanted me to attend and then knew that I wouldn't transfer away even I needed to take out loans. And they were correct. Good luck!

Both of my older children have taken IQ tests. They were newly 6 at the time. It was helpful for *ME* because I needed to know that what they were doing wasn't typical. It was not particularly helpful to them, although they did enjoy the experience. If your child is older than 10 or so then the Explore/ACT/SAT route would probably give you good information. I would not recommend an IQ kids over 10 because there isn't enough room at the top to get a clear picture. Good luck!

Softball grades 10-12 (Junior high was grades 7-9) I played a lot of "bench"

I am confused but... If you think there is a chance that your son was hurt in a incestuous way by these relatives then I think you need to find a counselor and get some more information. Your son might be trying to process the experience and having another adult to talk to could help. Best wishes.

Thank you ladies! It is so nice to have supportive people around. I am so very grateful for the hugs and positive thoughts and everything. I will update when something happens. My next OB appointment is on April 15. I will be at 16 weeks and 2 days. That one is going to be rough. You are wonderful!

1. Name and Location: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy NY 2. My Major: Mechanical Engineering Good Majors: Anything Engineering 3. Likes: There were tons of other geeky people there. And best yet, it was okay to be geeky and a women. I liked the snow (from Los Angeles, CA). I was introduced to ice hockey and thought it was amazing. 4. Dislikes: The whole Fraternity scene. A huge percentage of the students were members of one frat or another. 5. Other info: The Ratio (men to women) is important. While I was there it was about 4:1 freshman year. It was about 10:1 by senior year.

I haven't updated in a while because there hasn't been anything to say. On Monday I had a normal OB visit (12 weeks). The OB and my husband heard the heart beat very briefly. I didn't. They didn't seem concerned. I decided to trust them and go on. That was hard, but getting the ultrasound a few days later helped. Today I went for my Nuchal Translucency ultrasound and got the same ultrasound lady I had when we found out Mouse had died. I think she remembered me. I didn't remember her but my husband did. Anyway the first thing she did was show me the beating heart. And it blinked very very nicely. She checked all the other things she was supposed to also. The due date is correct. But I just watched the heart beat for a long time. Then Blinky waved. And did a back flip. And tried to suck their thumb and put it in their nose instead. It was wonderful. Blinky is fine. Blinky is alive and well and doing exactly what Blinky should be doing. Good day today! (PS. This little one is called Blinky, because I wanted so much to see the heart beat and it blinked. Just like it was supposed to. ) Thank you for all the good thoughts. I think it is working.

Thank you! And thank you to your husband too! My daughter is interested in anything that doesn't make sense and this qualified. The explanation about the worm and the bugs made sense to her so all is well for now. I tried to find the answer on Google before I posted but I wasn't getting anywhere. I guess I didn't know what to type in. Thank you again!!!!

My daughter is interested in all things weird. Recently we have been talking about how blood is made and that it is made in the bone marrow and red blood cells actually don't divide to make more. So now she wants to know how earthworms (and anything else without a skeleton) makes blood since they don't have bones to have bone marrow. Does anyone know? How do worms and insects make blood?

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