My dd is not that math minded although she has these moments of brilliance that really suprise me! I was hoping for some magic formula:001_smile: haha. Thanks for the help though, JoAnne

Focus on your goals- teaching her to read and some math - otherwise have fun! Read to her -enjoy this time. JoAnne

Just a thought - what about a program like Sonlight- I know you want secular - and I have to say it is really easy to make SL secular - the Bible portion is sold separately and *if* there is a missionary book it is VERY easy to spot and toss. They use the Story of the US books and Landmark (which I prefer to the Story of the US personally). There's also a Yahoo group called Sonlight Secular that has lots and lots of ideas. The nice thing is the BOOKS! JoAnne

Singapore - but I have to share my idea for manipulatives with dd when she needs to "see" something - we use M&M's. It's a fun twist on math and sometimes she wants to use the manipulatives even when she doesn't need them cause she likes to eat them! Besides - M&M's taste better than fingers any day... LOL JoAnne

We've tried teas etc they dont' work for her - she is not a night olw. She is a never go to sleep ever owl! My sister and I used to joke (in a not so haha funny way) when she was a baby that if we were Native American her indian name would be "Child who never sleeps". Even as an infant she slept much less than infants are "supposed to". As for the night light - she is terrified of the dark and without the night light the anxiety level becomes uncontrollable - even more than her baseline. I don't want to have to go to meds - but I'm afraid that's where we're headed. It hasn't helped that I am working night shift right now. However, dg is trying something new tonight with a fan, and some other white noise in the background. Perhaps that will help. JoAnne

I think there is a lot to be said for optimizing nutrition. There have been studies done about Bvitamins and the like. Modern medicine will always pooh-pooh the results of a homeopathic study. However, I think I would stick with well known things- such as Omega fatty acids - they have been proven to help with brain functioning and in general the US diet is deficient in these essential nutrients. I use Omega Brites for our family. I'm not saying they are a cure all but I do see some results in dd's behaviors and to some extent my mood. Another good option would be a good quality multivitamin. I have picky eaters so adding the vitamin helps me get a little more of the vitamins and minerals into them. I've known people who swore by the Fiendgold diet, GF/CF, etc. I did eliminiate artifically colors and most processed food and saw some improvement but that's more because I am a firm believer that what you put into your body to nourish yourself makes a difference in how it functions - brain, muscles etc. I don't think artificial chemicals/dyes etc are what our bodies were intended to have for nurtirition. Oh and we also tried the prescription meds- basically dd became a giant chemistry experiment - I've seen it happen so many times. They pretty much do trial and error although few docs will admit that is what it is. BTW - I'm an RN - and I've seen it happen with more than just my kid. Do what works for your family. If you do go the route of medications remember LOW AND SLOW - if a doc wants to start max dose and add others in quickly my suggestion is run far away! Just my opinion though - I'm sure others would have their own. JoAnne

Noeo has a new Chemistry level 3 - haven't used it but their other programs have been pretty math/user friendly.

We use melatonin, we've tried benadryl. We've got a bedtime routine. We go through this with every time change. You can imagine the bear I'm dealing with when she has such little sleep. This problem s compounded by the fact that my work schedule has changed and I am back working night shift temporarily. Her anxiety level has gotten higher. She has ADHD/NLD. She has a night light etc. Do we just ride this out and hope it resolves on it's own in a few weeks or is there something we can try now that might help? JoAnne

Has anyone done this? How difficult would this be. I like the mental math aspect of Singapore but I really like the mastery approach of MUS. I have used both programs but can't see a reasonable way to combine them. Ideas?

I have a dd 10 with ASD/NLD. We use Voyages in English(the 2006 edition - it is secular as opposed to the over the top older edition from the 1960's). This has worked well - we do it orally most days however I will say you do need to encourage him to write. I know it is a hassle and they don't like it - if he's right brained he is probably very strong in his auditory learning and not so much in his visual. My mom is a special ed teacher and having been through this with dd I can say I have to agree when she encourages the parents to have the kids write a little something. Big projects get done on the computer, but smaller ones are done in writing. Bribery was already offered as an incentive and I've found that to be effective. I've found that if I can hone into their interests it's easier to get them to write. Our OT gave us a great handwriting program called Loops and Other Groups that worked wonders for dd's handwriting - it's beautiful. We got the program free but I think it might be a bit pricey - you could probably google search it. Another suggestion I would have to make is to go to Carol Barnier's website - called sizzlebop.com Her kids have ADD/ADHD but are very right brained. I have learned so much from her - she's very positive and has lots of ideas for learning games, ditties (songs for memorization basically) and suggestions of things to try. She has also published several books the one I would suggest first is The Big Book of Learning Styles. She also reccomends a book called Games for Learning but I can't remember the name of the auther that is very good. I found it at my library. Good Luck, JoAnne

Phonics Road will teach letter names and sounds while teaching the child to read and write - and bonus spell. I am a firm believer in phonics programs to teach reading - anything else creates problems down the line - IMO. Again, IMO - Phonics Road to Reading and Spelling is one of the better phonics programs out there because the DVD's teach you how to teach your child - it's a complete program including pencils and marking pens, paper etc. All you need is a DVD player and your child. For math I'd say Math U See primer. The blocks are fun for kids to play with, help with number sense (ie 1:1 correspondence) and Mr. Demme will teach you how to teach a bonus if you are new to teaching these concepts to a child. Spend lots of time reading books to him - good quality library books or books you own. There are some great children's books in homeschool catalogs (even the religous hs like Sonlight) - It's pretty easy to pick out which ones aren't secular - or you could do a search of Newberry honor winners, or google read alouds for early elementary. That might give you a good place to start. Visit the museums, library, zoo etc oten to balance things out - listen to music, look at paintings on line or in a book. Take nature hikes, explore your back yard/front yard/neighborhood - when my ds was 5 we spent an hour watching ants rebuild their ant hole after a big rain. We talked about ants and how they each have a job etc. HTH, JoAnne

It's a bit pricier than some of the other programs but it is a sound phonics approach to reading. I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with my daughter. It worked and she is a good speller - but I think that is just her. My son was a tough one. We started Teach Your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons but it wasn't working, we tried Winter Promise LA K, Pathway Readers and finally went to Phonics Road. I worked very well for him. I think you have to go with the approach that works for your individual child. Also - don't be suprised if your dd responds better to one approach and your ds responds better to another approach. Good luck, JoAnne

Ishe's scoreing 98% in math - why not move on. Perhaps the reason she's taking so long is because it's terribly boring. Busy work is no fun for anyone. Maybe she needs more of a challenge. Perhaps you could mix things up a bit by adding in some games etc. I drill math facts as a "fishing game" or a board game - memory type games. This seems to break up the monotany of mathfor dd also 9 and in 4th grade. I try to alternate the "fun" stuff with the boring stuff to keep her interested/moving. For instance we do math and then do a more interesting subject -dd loves Latin so we do Latin after math. Then English - then history and it's projects. Then we do science and I make sure we do lots of hads on info. Art is saved for days when we've gotten done early and all has gone well. DS 7 is usually done within an hour or so as well - but his work is very straight forward - workbook type of stuff. dd has a little bit more complex work. I make sure I sit with her for the subjects that can be tediou -ie math and Engish. HTH, JoAnne

I know EXACTLY how you feel! I've found some comfort in a website called sizzle bop. I saw Carol Barnier (the owner of the website) speak at a hs convention and her words are so supportive, so loving they help me to "see the gift" that I OFTEN loose in my child. She has written several books as well but her website is full of interesting and often humorous tales that help me cope with my ADHD (imphasis on the H here) daughter. www.sizzlebop.com HTH, JoAnne

Here's an article that might help answer that question: http://www.aboutourkids.org/files/articles/may_jun_4.pdf HTH, JoAnne

Tracy, I have a daughter who has been diagnosed as NLD, ASD, ADHD, non-specific cognitive disorder and a whole gambit of other things. Her pediatrician (a developmental peds) told me when she was VERY little - an infant even that he believed it was ASD or Aspberger's. Her IQ is off the charts but her social functioning is lacking. Interesting in her last round of testing with a neuro psych she was 1 point from an ASD scoring 6 instead of 7 and they said she didn't have any sensory issues - HAHAHAHA this is the kid that screams and yells if her socks are too tight, lights too bright etc. What I'm saying here is that there is a lot to be said for meeting your kids where they are - the lable is helpful in getting services for them but it isn't always 100% accurate. KIds are tough to pin down. What I've found beneficial is to treat her specifically. She definitely has difficulty focusing so we've addressed that. She has sensory integration issues so we did OT and a few other things for that. I adjust her school work for what is appropriate for her but that has taken a lot of time to learn. Carol Barnier writes some very good books for homeschoolers - and they are mainly about distractable kids but there are a lot of strategies about how to teach other kids as well. You might find them useful. My dd is going to be 10 next week and I understand what you mean about difficulties as they get older. There are a couple of books called NLD at Home and NLD at SChool that are dry reads but give some good strategies. Also - a couple of random thoughts - the neuro psych who did dd's most recent eval said that there is a lot of disagrement in the psych world about where NLD fits - some thinking it should be on the spectrum while others think it is linked to ASD's. Here's an article talking about how closely NLD and several other disorders are related and how commonly they are misdiagnosed... http://www.aboutourkids.org/files/articles/may_jun_4.pdf HTH, JoAnne

Could it be something like spatial dysgraphia? JoAnne

You can also try turning his regular paper side ways so the columns are there for him to line things up. Don't know if that would work for you but did wonders for dd.

We used Shurley for first grade and although the scripts etc didnt work for us and we changed programs dd uses the jingles to help remember different things. I also have dd now in 1st grade memorizing the jingles as well even though we aren't using the program. JoAnne

Shurley Grammar is pretty intense and scripted like FLL. If you like rigorous and scripted it might work well for you - it is definitely a sound program. I personally like Exercises in English and Voyages in English from Loyola Press- they are a Catholic company but the English books are secular. EIE is workbook format - and correlated to VIE. You wouldn't have to do both programs unless you need a lot of work in that area but the two programs do correlate to eachother. HTH, JoAnne

Someone already mentioned the Nora Gaydos books - various levels and some on science etc. However, dd really liked the Bob books. I also found several at our local library - the Step Into Reading Series - I think I've seen them at Wal-Mart as well. HTH, JoAnne

I think PR is a great program but it just isn't working for ds - any suggestions? I contacted he company and they were very helpful but basically said keep plugging along. Thanks for the help JoAnne

My oldest dd 9 will be doing the last few weeks of AS1 and starting AS2 this fall. I am trying to decide what to do with DS6(almost 7). Should I try to combine him with dd or attempt an altered version of Hideaways in History. I don't think I can do two heavy programs. I thought if dd did AAS1/2 and ds did SOTW and the building cleaver castles and cars with the WP guide to building that might be enough. Does anyone have input/ideas that might help? JoAnne