I have had lots of them removed over the years, some were cancerous and some were not, some shaved off and some cut with stitches. I have to go back in today to have some stitches removed. When I had this last one done, I ended up feeling very shaky because of the amount of lidocane they had to use. I think i would talk to the doctor about your concerns and see if she feels it is wise to do them all at once (and if not, why not). If it is only for insurance rules, then I would push for it. It could be some other reason that really makes sense though.

Well this is something I definitely need to take into consideration then because we don't have any required testing in our state. Thanks!

Thanks Jess. That is good to know.

Oh, that's great that I don't have to worry about having missed Alpha. Thanks for that reassurance. I think for a supplement, I would probably lean more towards CLE or MIF, but wanted to see what others have used. I actually already have MIF because I was planning to use it....then I started looking at MUS and I really liked what I saw. I have taken up to 4 semesters of Calc in college and have always done well in math but I don't think I teach it conceptually very well because that is not how I learned it. But that is how I would like my sons to learn it.

I am considering using MUS for 2nd grade for my two sons. I have not given them the placement test yet but I am pretty sure they would have no problem completing the one for 1st grade. But I am still wondering if they have missed some important concepts for understanding how MUS does math. They complete MM's 1st grade but they didn't like it and I could tell they were not understanding some of the concepts. Now they are almost finishing CLE 1st grade, which they have had no problems with. I have also been going through my copy of SM 1a and 1b, as we go through CLE, and I have taught them some of the things from SM that were not covered in CLE. We are currently just playing around with C-rods because they need more practice with making and breaking 10 and also with number bonds in general. For those of you who have used MUS, do you think they will be ok with going straight into 2nd grade. I know they will pass the placement test but just still wondering if there is something important we are missing. I would really rather not spend the money on MUS 1st grade if I don't need to though. Also, I have read many of the old threads about supplementing MUS and I am wondering if most people think that there is no need to supplement until high school or should we be supplementing from the beginning? What do you feel is the best supplement to MUS? I have all of the SM CWP levels so we will definitely supplement with those. Anything else?

I got 32...most of them by process of elimination.

I found this a couple of days ago and was wondering about it. I went ahead and ordered it, along with the Carmen Sandiego and Schoolhouse Rock 30th Anniversary edition. I also found the entire 10 disc, 100 episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy for 30.00 at www.ioffer.com and ordered it. Has anyone seen or ordered any of the Popular Mechanics for Kids DVDs?

I had one that was ready to give up naps before the other so I asked them both if they would like to stop taking naps and have quiet time instead (they were pretty young at the time). They both thought that sounded like a great idea. I had two couches, each in a different room, where I could see them both from where I sat taking my break:). I let them each pick as many books and puzzles or quiet toys that could be played with on the couch. We started out with just 15 or 20 minutes and worked up to an hour. After they were older, we worked up to an hour and a half. It worked out quite well because the one who was not quite ready to give up naps would always fall asleep and the other one would play/look at books/read quietly. Now days it doesn't seem that we have time for it anymore, although I need to put some thought into that because I miss that time and thought it was good for all of us.

Very funny!!

We are year-round homeschoolers so we are never really finished but I was really feeling the need for a break and it was getting harder and harder each week to get everything done in a quality way. So I declared this week we are taking the week off and we may take next week as well, depending on how I am feeling at the end of this one. After that, I think I will be motivated to move forward and make it happen. My two guys want to be outside all the time, now that it is really pretty outside. But I know it will soon be hot enough that one of them will not want to play outside for a good part of the day. So I think our one-to-two week mini-vacation may be just what we need for now. Our neighborhood pool will soon be open and then I can start using that as my carrot:).

Where did you buy them? I did the whole fitting thing exactly like they said too. I have it written down but not sure where is the best place to purchase.

Same here. I don't think you are tacky at all. I have never heard of this before and would have been quite surprised myself. Maybe this is only done in certain areas of the U.S.

In Oklahoma they would be 6th and 7th.

I am finishing up CLE's 1st grade with my two sons, after having completed MM's 1st grade with tears (theirs, not mine) and not a great understanding of the concepts. I also have SM's 1st grade math so I have been comparing CLE's 1st grade with SM's 1st grade as I went along and have been surprised to see that they really cover the same material, for the most part. There has only been one thing in SM that was not really covered in CLE and it was a mental math/conceptual understanding of breaking apart numbers to make ten to make mental addition and subtraction easier/faster (one of my sons has had a hard time mastering this). Other than that, I think they are really very similar in what they cover. I have been very please with CLE but then read a Cathy Duffy review that said it was ok if your child was going into a trade but not for college. I posted about this and found that this was probably a review written for the older version of CLE. Someone also replied and said they had been comparing CLE's 500 level with SM's and they are very similar. And many people posted with the great testing results their children were getting with CLE. So I think it is a very solid program but the question is if it is the right one to fit your child's learning needs. You might want to just purchase one light unit so you can try it out before buying a year's worth. I have purchased Singapore's newest Math in Focus and am planning to try that with my kids for 2nd grade, although they may still require additional drill and review. So I am going to have CLE on hand also and will likely end up using a combo of the two. I really like CLE. It is easy to use and it gets the job done.

Our sons wanted to do the activities they in but there are times when they complain about having to go....but then they seem to have a great time and really enjoy it while they are there. If they really hated an activity and wanted to quit, I am sure we would figure something out where they could quit though. This is what we have been doing since January: Monday - Piano Lesson at 2:00 Tuesday - Swimming Lessons at 9:30am; Cub Scouts at 7:00pm Wednesday - Violin Lesson at 1:30; AWANA at 6:45 Friday - Homeschool Co-op from 9:00 until 12:30 (this ended 2 weeks ago) Sunday - Church

I think having her read aloud to you from books that are a little below her reading level is a great way to build her confidence. I used the above mentioned Pathyway Readers with my sons and they really enjoyed them. I think it really built their confidence too. In light of the above bolded, I would probably have her do her reading intensive work in the mornings. It also sounds like returning to VT is the way to go. I would talk to the therapist and see if she feels that your daughters feelings of having to work so hard at VT is normal or maybe if the therapist needs to scale back a bit. I doubt there is anything you can do about the fake-nice voice. Maybe that is her way of sounding nice even when she doesn't always feel the nicest.

Yes, thanks, I have already read that, which is why I also said, "I know nobody does it all, it is just a suggestion, even Susan didn't do it all, etc. etc." in my post above. But it was a good reminder to read it again, which I did:). I was just looking for some reassurance that we are in line with what others are doing. It sounds like we are, pretty much. Thanks!

I was calculating the suggested hours from TWTM, third edition, p. 216, The Grammar Stage at a Glance, just to see how close we are. I came up with a low end of approximately 3 hours (including 30 minutes of child reading history/science during the 1.5/1 hour suggested time for history/science and excluding religion, art and music) and a high end of 4 hours and 35 minutes. I know nobody does it all, it is just a suggestion, even Susan didn't do it all, etc. etc. You know how it often is for first time mom's, wondering if they are doing enough. Throw on top of that a son who often fights me about doing school, which can really drag out our days and I am looking for ways to make sure we are doing enough but also to make sure our days are as efficient as possible but we still get done what needs to get done. I am teaching two same-age boys, which probably means it is going to take a bit longer. My goal is to start at 9:00 and be finished by noon, if I don't have any long-lasting melt down episodes from the son who fights school (we see them more on Mondays than any other day). I had planned to add in Latin this year but it was extending our days too long. I hope to do it for 3 grade though or maybe even in August, which would be about half way through 2nd grade for us. Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Just checking to see if we are in line with what others are doing, approximately.

How many hours a day does your 2nd grader do school work, including reading to self but not music practice?

That place smells so strongly that I have to hold my breath as I walk by. I can't stand that place.

I am doing it with my 2 sons together. We normally spend one day (15-20 minutes) to teach the lesson and spell the first list (they each use a small white board; I call out a word and they spell it on their board with marker). We spend another day or two spelling the additional words or extra words list, depending on how many are on it, and then we spend one day for the phrases and one day for the sentences. We usually do spelling 3 days a week so we are going through it slowly but it is working so i am sticking with it. One of my sons has an issue with writing (hates it) so I have to spread it out for him. The other one could go through it much faster but I would rather keep them together for this subject. So, depending on the step, we probably spend anywhere from 3 to 5 days on a step. My goal is to get through one level per year. We are doing level 2 now and are doing mostly 2nd grade work.

Me too. Our security system has a chime that sounds if a door or window opens anywhere in the house, when the alarm is not set. When it is set, the alarm would go off. Even if someone opened the screen door on our screen porch, the alarm will go off. It definitely makes me feel safer. Is your backyard fenced in? That also makes me feel a bit safer. The sound machine definitely helps to cover up all of those little strange night noises that are always there but maybe not noticed when dh is home.

Thanks everyone. It is so interesting to hear how others are approaching this. We have been using Elemental Science but we don't do it as often as we should. Yesterday we actually did an experiment but it did not work out quite like the book said it should. The boys enjoyed doing it anyway though. I also have Nancy Larson and Evan Moor (we haven't used this yet), along with others. I just don't really feel that we have really found our groove yet. I'm concerned that it is just because I don't really care for science that much and , because of this, we may never really find our groove. But we will keep trying. Thanks!

Yes, I am having the same experience.

My two sons were probably just a little older than 5 when I started sitting down with them a little each day with OPGTR. They didn't want to do it either. One thing that I did was I typed up my own notes and printed it to use with them. They each could hold their own copy and I left out all of the parts that were written to the parent so it didn't look like so much stuff to them. Then I kept the lessons very quick. You might think of a small treat or reward for him until he gets used to the idea. As soon as they could read a bit, I got them some fun beginner readers and they enjoyed trying to read them. My two loved being read to so they were very excited when they saw they were able to read something for themselves. Another thing I did was made a big deal of buying them each their own bedside lamp and allow them to sit up and 'read' (or look at books) for a little while before they went to sleep. (We did not keep any toys in their bedrooms.) That has continued to this day. If they get to bed on time, they love to sit up and read for a while before going to sleep. They manage this on their own very well. I have only had to go up and tell my son who loves to read that he was staying up too late two or three times over the years. I believe in TWTM she mentions that young children never really 'want' to sit down and learn to read. I have never regretted teaching them at this age, as it has been a good thing all around. They really enjoy reading (one more than the other). I waited until I knew they were both able. One way I did this was to let them learn their letter sounds by watching the leapfrog dvd some, which they loved. I also played with them in other ways, such as with the leapfrog letters on the fridge that say their sounds. I helped them try to blend the sounds together and, in the beginning, one of them couldn't do it yet. Every once in a while, I would check again and eventually I knew he was ready. So, if it were me, I would go ahead and start teaching him but I would keep the lessons very short in the beginning and I would adjust my approach so I didn't need the book (mine hated the book in the beginning...it just looked to big and too much.) And I would do somethings to make him feel special and like he is a 'big boy', like the lamp thing or something else. But I would definitely teach him his letter sounds first through playing/dvd and I would definitely make sure he is ready to learn to read by making sure he can blend the sounds together to make a simple word first. ETA: My two sons still don't want to quit playing to do school or anything else! A little boy (3YO) moved in next door and one of my sons really enjoys playing with him. If going to cub scouts or swim lessons or anything else at all (going to buy him a new pair of play sandals) might interfere with his playing with the neighbor, he gets all upset. Now that it is warm, he wants to spend all of his time outside. I have a hard time getting him to stay indoors long enough to learn anything these days!