We have two cats and one dog here, so for our tile and wood floors I use the Rubba Sweeper I got from the FlyLady website. It's amazing for picking up dust bunnies and animal hair. Then I follow with a Swiffer WetJet. Very, very occasionally I fell obliged to plop down on the floor with a rag and a bucket of water and whatever cleaner is in the closet, and do a more thorough job. Grace

It doesn't take long to adjust--a day or so, a week at most. The hardest thing for me was walking down a stairs. Either don't look down or bend your head down and look through your glasses. Good luck! Grace

You could post a list of books and then offer a price incentive for purchasing 5 or 10 or even more at a time. The potential buyer could choose her 10 or 20 books. Do you have a local homeschool group? Most of them have curriculum sales. That way you could cut down on the price of postage. Grace

Giving her a recap of the different ways to read (How to Read a Book or Francis Bacon's essay) could open her eyes to the need/capacity to switch gears when faced with a page of print. I think a speed reading course might help, too. Sometimes she'll need to read quickly and to know what to skip or skim in a textbook. It's harder for a slow reader to get through college. But her kind of reading (and probably hearing) each syllable would be entirely appropriate if she were reading a poem for a literature class. Grace

You might get on the IEWfamilies loop and ask this question. Several of the moderators have dyslexic children and have found a way to start IEW with their youngers. I know that Susan Barton (author of Barton Reading and Spelling) recommends IEW once a child completes Level 4 of her program. Grace

I am attempting to teach Latin to my 15dd who is dyslexic. We are going very slowly, and on her transcript I will put 0.5 credit for each year of high school. It helps that she wants to learn it and she enjoys it. I find there are many ways to reinforce English spelling, grammar, and vocabulary through the study of Latin. We are using BJU for this, which drives me nuts with its inductive approach, but it seems to work for my daughter. Memorization of paradigms and vocabulary is also painfully slow. Patience is key. It helps that I already know Latin from studying it in high school. My daughter wants to learn many languages; I chose to start with Latin because learning to speak and to understand spoken Latin are not hugely important. After a couple years of Latin we might try Spanish, which has many similarities with Latin, or I might just let her choose. But I have a feeling we will never get too far in another language, unless she does it on her own, because there are just too many of the basics that will need our attention. Grace

I've never heard of one. It would be wonderful if there were. Grace

I don't think the Wilkins book discusses how all the philosophers look at one idea, but rather how one of the philosophers looks at one idea. There are about eight broad ideas discussed. But the book really seems to focus its approach by looking at just one idea per philosopher. Grace

I think Flylady is a wonderful website. The baby steps are great. In the past I have subscribed to the emails for a time, but long term they really drive me nuts. I prefer to go to the website and glean a few ideas from time to time when my housekeeping is getting out of control. Grace

Many schools recommend taking the ACT/SAT twice because they do see a rise in scores from the Junior to the Senior years. My son's ACT score went up in some areas and down in others, but overall the score went up. It's worth a try if you are wanting your daughter to earn scholarships. Grace

I would also get on the webite for Barton Reading and Spelling and read everything there. There is a free pretest that you could order from them that will help you know if your daughter is ready for Barton. There are other websites--IDA, etc.--just google "dyslexia." I second the need to read aloud to her and have her read aloud to you the words she can read. Keep it light, positive, and fun. Grace

Could you borrow a microscope for a special lesson or two? I would say that for 6th and 7th graders the microscope is not crucial. There are websites that will suffice for this level. Generally it is recommended to have one microscope for every two students (so the students can really learn how to use it), and that can get very pricey. Last summer I purchased a microscope for my 9th grade daughter. It has been one of the best investments I have made. We got the most recommended one from Home Science Tools. Here's a website that has clips that I certainly could not duplicate with our microscope: http://multimedia.mcb.harvard.edu/ Grace

You might look at Write Shop. I think the assignments are on a two-week cycle however, and perhaps they would be too simple for your students. Doesn't TOG have a writing component? Grace

I think it would depend on the student. My children have had no interest in a separate course in philosophy. Studying philosophy chronologically makes a lot of sense, so I have tried to sneak it in with the history and literature course. My son, who just graduated high school (and will be taking a college intro to philosophy class this fall), learned quite a bit of philosophy doing Lincoln-Douglas debate, and my daughter, who will be a sophomore next year, will get an intro to philosophy the chronological way. I haven't read this book yet--only the excerpt that I found on Amazon--but you might look at Steve Wilkins' Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans. Perhaps the book could be used as a very gentle introduction to philosophy. My "philosophy" is that it's best not to be too overwhelmed by a subject at first. I liked the sound of Wilkins' book because he looks at a single idea in a single work by about eight different philosophers. He also quotes extensively from the original works. Grace

The NCFCA is National Christian Forensics and Communication Association. You can find them online at www.ncfca.org. It's essentially a homeschool speech and debate league and has been in existence for about 12 years. SGC is Secrets of Great Communicators. Grace