I concur with the others... as a child I was very much like you, which meant my ADD slipped by with no one noticing. Non-hyperactive, smart, well-supported people are the last folks to get diagnosed because we fall through the cracks. But your descriptions of being an airhead as a child actually count... when I mentioned that my 1st grade report card said that I daydreamed a lot, my psychologist started nodding and writing things down. For the non-hyperactive type, they look for things like that. I had no idea that I might have ADHD until my husband had a client who reminded him of me (dh is a psychologist) and he came home and said I should look up info about ADHD. He's too close to me to be able to label things like that, but he saw enough to try and get me to check it out. I put it off and put it off, until last spring when I got fed up with not being able to get things done. When I finally started reading about it, it was like all the issues I've ever struggled with were being described and there was a way to treat them. It was such a relief! People's reactions to the meds do vary. It is not normal for a person taking a stimulant to become more focused. Most people wouldn't have that reaction. Dh has suggested that another sign of my ADHD is that I can drink a cup of tea or coffee (or a gallon of iced tea in the sweet-tea South :) ) and go to sleep with no problem. Apparently that's not normal. So the fact that you responded the way you did to your son's medication is another sign that you should consider ADHD. Not all the meds require the same level of doctor's visits. I was on Strattera last summer, and it isn't a controlled substance the way stimulants are. Not all meds work for everyone, so you very well might end up taking something different than your son if you go the medication route. Good luck!

How long of an outline would you usually get from the KH spine? I mean, how much of a page would they fill? We're actually not following the standard WTM schedule; for a variety of reasons we're on the 6-year history cycle that AO uses. But instead of AO books we're using SOTW & History Odyssey next year. I was going to have dd list 6 to 8 facts (a la WTM 3rd ed.) and either answer the Primary Source questions SWB suggests OR outline from the additional reading. However, now I'm considering if dd should outline from SOTW, but those are longish chapters and it might be too much. I'm curious about Primary Sources too. I haven't thought much about the challenge of finding them. Has anyone tried the website suggested (not jackdaw)? I think it's here: www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html Thanks!

Commonweal is a relatively decent Catholic magazine. It isn't one known for being particularly conservative, but it is Catholic (and not some weird branch). IME it tends to be read by the folks who run on the intellectual end of Catholicism, if that makes sense. I'm not sure how to express that any better, and I'm not trying to offend anyone, but it's not a magazine my Catholic grandmother would have read, but that I have found that many people with grad degrees in Catholic theology seem to read it. I would trust it more than a Fox news source.

(I do actually have ADD; it's totally helpful to have thoughts from both folks with kids with ADD and who themselves have it.) Thanks for the ideas! It seems like a running theme is to do it over a meal, when there is a captive audience. I can totally see that working... that's when we used to do poetry and memory work, because that's when it got done. Protein and exercise, and using distractions positively. Using the day's regular events as "pegs" for that sort of stuff. Hmmm... off to think and plan some more. Thank you!

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Thank you. That's very interesting. The notes I took from reading TWTM 3rd ed. don't include summarizing, though there is a bit of summarizing as a part of outlining. It seems like the written work consists of writing down important facts, outlining, and answering questions about primary sources. I'll have to think about what I want to do. At the moment I've made up worksheets to make sure it all happens, since I'll have a new baby and a Kindergartener next year too. Thanks for the memory work pointer... I hadn't even thought about that part. :)

It looks like Khan Academy lets you create kids' accounts under a parent's account. See this page: https://www.khanacademy.org/signup?isparent=1 I have the impression that you can sign in with Google or Facebook, then create your kids' accounts. I, like others, created a new Gmail account that is technically mine but we use for my daughter's online educational activities. I have full access and ability to check it, delete it, etc (all email sent to it funnels into my regular email), but I don't use it for anything other than Sweetie's stuff. When you get stuck with Google thinking you're underage, you need to clear your cache. At least that worked for me last time it happened. :)

Hello! I'm planning for 5th grade, so I just reread the newest version of TWTM and am trying to figure out how to implement it. It seems like there are a lot of parts in the process, and a lot of questions for the child to answer. How have you scheduled/implemented this? Also, if you're also using WWS, is there anything that you skip or do differently? It seems like there are some similar skills being emphasized there. Thanks!

Hello! I'm in the midst of one of my massive planning sessions for next year. For the first time I'll have 2 doing school (K & 5th), and I'll also have an infant. Naturally, I'm looking for ways to streamline/ make it all do-able, but I'm not sure what will work. This year I'm drawn to the idea of a "morning basket" or "circle time" type thing. We lean AOish (though heavily modified) so there are things we could be doing as a group, like music, artist study, poetry, etc. I feel pretty confident that we could do the morning basket regularly, but I'm less confident that any other school would actually ever happen afterwards. Shoot... I'm a little worried that both kids will get their regular school stuff done even without doing a morning basket. My older daughter is a little... um... distractable?... and my younger is somewhat argumentative. I do have plans to follow SWB's suggestions about learning to use a planner with my elder, but seriously that's like a whole extra subject. I'd love hints, advice, &/or reassurance. Thanks! Anabel

That age group also really learns a lot from community service. Maybe in addition to helping around the house he could help in a soup kitchen or other place where he can serve others?

I found Hold On to Your Kids to be amazingly valuable, but I must say that the new Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids book is even more helpful in the younger years. I feel like it's fabulously practical for the younger set in a way that Hold On isn't.

There have been a couple like that for me. The little lightbulb tool has been helpful. I feel like it's been a part of my learning process... some things I've learned from choosing that have been unexpected "new powers" (at least that's my feeling). Plugging along, entering chapter 6... :)

I clicked through the DragonBox2 to the iTunes store, bought what it took me to, and it's labeled "DragonBox 12+" on our iPad. So it would seem so. I haven't tried it yet; looking forward to it! :) Anabel

Hey... it came up on one of my lists that DragonBox2 has been released. :)

Oh, and this recently passed by my line of sight; it might be an alternative to Mango Languages if you can't get that: duolingo.com :)

There are some resources that are helpful that you might already have, though lots of people don't so no stress. Do you have an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad? A Kindle? Amazon Prime? I'm going to suggest things that don't require one of those, but if you have any of those there are a couple other resources. Also, do you speak French? For your younger kids the best thing is for you to work on your own French, then "practice" it on them. Honestly I've never see L'Art or Galore Park; I know they get great reviews, but I'd be worried about "outgrowing" L'Art very quickly (or it not being useful for everyone). I don't know about the age range on Galore Park either. You say your library isn't very good, but does it have ILL or another similar resource that you can order things through? Your age range is pretty big. That's going to impact what is useful to you. Here are some things that might be worth considering 1) The Learnables. You can probably get this used from someone. Some kids find it dull, but it's something you can use with your whole range of kids. You can listen to it in the car, and pass out copies of the pictures for the lessons so they can all see. I wish this program were being turned into a DVD program, but they aren't doing that yet. You don't need any French to use this program. 2) New French With Ease for your older kids. It's a very good beginner French program written for adults, but it's quite inexpensive and easy to use. Younger kids will find it very, very dull. You don't need any French to use this program either. 3) French music in the car. The Teach Me series is Ok, but the best for learning vocabulary that I've found is the Lyric Language CD. It's not the best music in the world, but it has the French and English translations sung right next to each other, which is why it's great for vocab. Good for all the ages you have. Also, for building a good accent, Baby's First Words in French is quite good. Both of these are out of print, but you can get them used; you also might try the library/ILL (that's how I got them). We have a lot of other French music, but those two CDs stand out from the crowd in terms of educational value. 4) As a PP mentioned, Mango Languages may be free through your library. It's worth checking out other libraries (if you have any around) to see if they have it, if yours doesn't. I have an "attack the language from every side" person, especially because I only really speak English, so I would highly recommend having French playing in the car almost all the time once you start learning it. In addition, the older kids could be working through a program either in the car or at home (or both). Sometimes we'll watch French cartoons; the "Franklin" DVDs have French dubbing, as do a lot of the Pixar movies, though those we take in teeny tiny chunks because otherwise they're overwhelming. There are also French cartoons online that you can stream for free here. Good luck!

Hey... I'm reading Peaceful Parenting Happy Kids by the lady who does the Aha! Parenting site, and I'm trying to do her suggestions but my kids are going to drive me nuts! I get what she says about consequences, but I haven't figured out yet what the alternatives are that actually get kids to be anything but whiny brats who always get their way. Mostly I think I need hugs. I'm 8mo pregnant, and we moved a week ago into a place 1/3 the size of our previous place. I have a hormonal 9.5yo and a strong-willed 4.5yo. My husband works 60ish hours/week. Perhaps a direction in parenting isn't the best choice at the moment, but I'm so sick of yelling at the kids that I feel like I need to do something. So has anyone done the Aha! stuff? How do you cope? The ideas sound awesome, and make some sense to me, but just not yelling today has been enough of a drain that I'm still consequensing all over the place. Right now my kids are outside with nothing but jump ropes (which they haven't really ever used), mostly standing outside the window wanting to come back inside. Help? (As an introvert I might ought to mention that this is my version of screaming and crying for help... sometimes I don't get that across well online.)

High school group, but fun to watch. :) Anabel

We're using a 6 year cycle, mostly broken down into the timeframes that AO uses. We use SOTW as a spine for the bulk of it. Reasons why: 1) Less rushing through time :) 2) More time to focus on areas we want to hit heavily, like U.S. history. For example, this year we're doing 1600-1800, so we got to spend a nice chunk of time in the American colonies & on the Revolution, while our friends using the 4 year cycle only spent a couple of weeks on it. 3) This one is entirely because of my child-spacing: I didn't want to do modern history with my elder in 4th grade because I would have a 4yo listening in on the whole thing. I'm just not comfortable discussing the atrocities of the 20th century with a preschooler. Using a 6 year cycle, the younger will be focusing on her own study of the ancients while the elder & I will be doing modern history. And then they'll be on the same time periods after that (half of 6th grade will be modern, the other 1/2 ancients). I would definitely suggest looking at your kids' spacing when making this decision. 4-year and 6-year cycles aren't the only options. Maybe an initial 3-year world history cycle with your elder, then a 1-year national history with your older 2, followed by 4-year cycles with all three? Or followed by a 6-year cycle with all three, and then take a year for civics/government and a year for current events? One way or another, though, it's nice to know what you're going to do with the youngers when they get to school age, and how you can easily work with your older child's already-existing studies. Good luck!

Shoot, in Catholicism they aren't even the ministers of the sacrament. They're the church's witness; the bride and groom are the ones performing the sacrament. They do need to be able to preside over the ceremony, and as the church's witness they're supposed to have some sense of whether or not a couple has any chance at succeeding, but IME most of the marriage prep is led by other members of a parish. Ok, honestly I doubt that the possibility of married clergy is the topmost issue on the minds of the cardinals. And hopefully whoever is chosen is busy being worried about his relationship with God and what is best for the Church right now. There are plenty of other issues that are far more likely to be changed by this new Pope. Re: LA's Archbishop... I hadn't realized that he was there. That's a bit upsetting. He's likely not the only one, either. Praying praying praying. At least I'm not chanting "not Ratzinger" in my head this time like last time. :)

Yes and no. When a priest is new & young, yes yes yes. Or if they're just not that smart. But priests talk to so many people that they'll start to gather useful information over time. My husband is a psychologist. He has never been a woman, nor has he ever been divorced, nor has he ever been addicted to any substances. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have anything useful for women, divorcing couples, or recovering addicts. He has seen and talked to so many people that he can be really quite helpful for them in their process. And honestly, just because someone is married, has had sex, or has kids doesn't naturally give them insight that might help people. I know plenty of people with messed up marriages. If anything, I would expect that being a pastor and counselling people about marriage would improve the pastor's marriage, not the other way around. Most of the priests I've spent any time with have had the intelligence and humility to know that they lack experience in certain areas. And that's Ok with me. I've also worked with a priest who had been married for 30 years and had grandkids. That's Ok with me too. :)

True 'nuff. That is a good question. But I think we haven't gotten past our filioque hangup yet, so we're not too likely to go there. Besides, I'm not sure that would solve the whole problem. The Pope becoming the Roman Patriarch would solve some issues, but it doesn't address the need for a North American Patriarch, etc. :)

We just had a Vatican II symposium in our parish, and one of the speakers (a retired Archbishop) talked about the possibility of changing the way that the papacy operates into something closer to what the Orthodox have. He talked about the way it is being run as the Pope operating as a bishop of a worldwide diocese. Another viable option would be to have local patriarchs for various regions, so that each region could be dealt with as appropriate to that region. The issues we face in the U.S. and Canada are completely different than those faced by the church in China, Africa, India, or South America; a patriarchy type system would be a pastorally responsible option. I think that would be something that would benefit the Church overall, that a new Pope might be able to accomplish. And while, yes, generally big changes happen at Councils, it is often the Pope who calls a Council. So while the new guy might not be able to accomplish anything significant alone, he does have the ability to make things happen that other individuals don't have. Beyond that, even the kind of encyclicals a Pope writes impacts the whole Church... just look at the impact that Humanae Vitae has had. And on some of the hot-button issues, my take on the situation is that they could change, but probably not in my lifetime. Ordaining women is a huge issue here & in Europe, but in India (and elsewhere) they're still fighting for the lives of girls to be valued. Developed-world "needs" are very different than the needs of the developing world, and this Church of over a billion people will quite naturally reflect that. Things are changing in India; things will change in the Church too. When the needs of the world change, the Church's response will change, but it may take a couple centuries. I take it as promising that there have been bishops speaking out for the need to have condoms available in Africa. It's not a church-wide change, it's precedent. And actually the theology is being formed around how we talk about some of these issues... we can't change the practice of the church without an undergirding theology. Time alone can tell where we'll go as a Church. I have faith that Love will win in the end. :)

Hello! Found this today... thought of the Hive when I saw it. Caution... it's a bit risque (but it's a cartoon & no "bits" are showing). http://lily-fox.deviantart.com/art/Hatter25-hot-101603753 :)

Ok, my friend said that they offer the school price to homeschoolers, which she said cuts it back to $125. I haven't looked at the website to see what she's talking about. They don't have other specific outreach to homeschoolers. Does anyone have specific questions about it? :)