Well, I was thinking extracurricular things like piano, etc., wouldn't count because you would probably still do them if your child was in public school. They said 400.00 for materials, field trips, and other things that where the children are required or strongly urged to participate. I was just pretty shocked. I know we have a good school system but I really don't know how some of the families around here spend that much per child.

I was at the grocery store the other day and an elderly gentleman took it upon himself to alert me that the public schools are requiring parents to spend up 400.00 per year on class materials these days. I was polite but I really did not take him seriously. However, the question kept bugging me so I asked some local friends. They said 400.00 might actually be a lower number than is realistic, especially in the coming years with the budget cuts. Also, the kids in the honors/gifted classes spend much, much more than that b/c they have so many extra activities, etc. At this rate, I think we might not be spending that much more money to homeschool than we would to send her to school. Not that we are homeschooling b/c it's cheaper, we have other reasons, but it is nice to know the cost comparison is somewhat of a washout.

My daughter goes through this from time to time. She's an only. We just tell her that God makes some families big and some small. We talk about friends who have siblings and friends who don't, and tell her all the good things about what she has and don't emphasize what she doesn't have... But in the long run we just tell her God made us a family with one child and it must be for a good reason.

Wow! Thank you so much for your response! I think I will keep going with the Blend Phonics because my daughter seemed to respond to it well and it wasn't an intimidating program for me to implement. If it's really only a few months then I will do Word Mastery afterward and then I guess I will choose between Webster's and Phonics Road. But thank you so much for your response. I was wondering if there were something I wasn't getting about the program because it was so easy to understand. I can't believe it could be so easy, and my daughter might actually enjoy it, LOL. But it sounds like it is fine for a kid just starting out, and then we can move on to the harder ones.

What is the difference between Don Potter's Blend Phonics and Webster's Speller? I downloaded and printed Blend Phonics today and did a quick lesson with my daughter. She seemed to catch on pretty well and was happy doing it which makes me happy as well. I want to use a good solid program that is preventative of dyslexia (family history and early warning signs), and I was thinking of Phonics Road but it seems a bit high for a kindergarten course. I thought I'd try one of these free programs this year and move to Phonics Road next year? Are they both good programs? Is one better than the other? The thing I liked about Blend Phonics was it seemed kind of open and go, with a little script I could follow and readers available. Plus it wasn't 150 pages to print out. What I did with the Blend Phonics was suggested somewhere here: I did the teacher script (using a whiteboard, write and say the sound of the letter, then the next, then show how they blend, then the last letter goes up with the sound said by teacher). Then the child says the word or they say it together. The child makes up a sentence with the word. Then -and this is different- I had my daughter write the word while saying the sounds on the whiteboard using the finger spell method from SWR. I briefly glanced at Webster's after someone said it was excellent in another post, but the 150 pages deterred me a bit. Is the blend phonics good enough or should I print out the other one? And is it just me or is Blend Phonics really just made up of many different words to spell and learn? How do I know if she retains it? Am I missing something? And is it really possible to get a good dyslexia preventative phonics program for free? Someone please tell me it's true!!! :D

I went to mass today and we all received a long, detailed booklet that depicted the last moments of Jesus' life. The priest read most of it, but there were also other people reading (there was a person reading the words of Pilate, Herod, Simon, the thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus, and the church members read the part of the crowd, etc.). This took a good 10 or 15 minutes, and it was a very somber affair. I wonder if perhaps there was some semblance of this reading that was put on the projector at your church because they didn't want to print off all that paper. My booklet was four 8.5 x 11 pages, which I am sure was NOT cheap to print and I can understand if a church used a projector instead. But I am glad mine did because it's beautiful and I now I have it to keep. In any case, we were actually instructed not to speak to anyone on our way outside the church. To me, hearing the way Jesus was treated in his last moments, it really is a very somber, sad mass to attend even though it begins in celebration with the palms. It was also packed beyond reason. There are usually plenty of seats available, but today I was packed into the back with my daughter on the floor even though I got there early. So, if you attended a Catholic church today, you should know that the nature of Palm Sunday may have made the church seem different than usual. It may be that the Catholic church isn't for you, and that's just fine, but just know that it was an unusual mass today. :001_smile:

Could he have an infection or be eating something he shouldn't? What kind of plants do you have in your house? Do you feed wet food or dry? Could you switch to an easy to digest formula or try hairball medicine? He may have eaten something like ribbon that is blocking him up?

Youtube also has some video of people showing you how to say the sounds according to the Spalding method...

I'm giving up everything but email.

I hope she's OK! You might want to try growing her some cat grass. They usually are pretty satisfied to chew on that if you have it around...

We LOVE our hound/beagle mix. She looks just like the dog on Martha Speaks and she's the most loving, sweet dog I've ever known. Great with kids, NEVER aggressive. She is even submissive to our cats, letting them drink out of the water bowl first when I fill it up. She's also energetic and will follow us anywhere happily. Sometimes I wish my own attitude was as great as hers! I highly recommend giving the adult dogs at a shelter a look. Their personalities are already formed. Many times they are already house trained. We knew our dog was wonderful the day we brought her home! BTW- Our hound/beagle was turned in to the shelter because she had no drive to bark or chase animals and she was supposed to be a hunting dog. Sometimes the details of why they were turned in are helpful in making your choices.

Thanks so much! I'll check it out!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good neurologist to look into the possibility of Aspergers/Autism in the state of Delaware? Closer to the Middletown area but willing to travel... Also, any recs for good OT's or other therapists to work with that dx if you have them... I have a friend looking into it and I know it's important to find people who specialize.

My daughter has sensory processing problems and I am trying to teach her using Cursive First. She has a lot of difficulty not "playing" too much with the salt box. She tries to get it when we aren't doing school and just wants to stick her hands in it all the time. She doesn't like using only her finger, which kind of gives her the "heebie jeebies" but she wants to put her whole hand in the box and move the salt around with her palm. We've tried making "sandpaper" letters out of glue and glitter, and she likes the process but doesn't like the feeling of tracing it with her finger. She also has difficulty holding the pencil properly. She wants to grip with her hands instead of holding it properly in her fingers. She says holding the pencil properly with her fingers makes her insides feel yucky. So, we've put off learning handwriting for now. She's only five next month and I don't want to overwhelm her. She knows manuscript already on her own, so I may just let her write that way if it becomes too much of an issue. Any specific questions?

Ok, I know nothing about this, so take what I say as from someone who knows nothing, but I thought demons were actually fallen angels. The nun at church just gave me a book to help answer questions from my daughter so I will look it up...

This is normal and a healthy coping skill. Especially if you use what you see as a launching point for loving discussion of her feelings.

I didn't know there is a Well Trained Mind area over there. I'm still getting used to the site. Where is it?

Someone was saying they had really good results using the Couch To 5K Plan. You could try googling that- it's free. Start small and you'll figure out what you like and where to invest...

It depends. Have you tried getting that 30 Day Shred video that everyone keeps talking about? I've had a treadmill and a gym membership. When you get tired of the gym you're wasting money. But a treadmill is always there waiting for you to come back to it, and it's not weather dependent. On the other hand, I do more videos than anything else. If you have from 5-7 why don't you try going for a jog in the morning? With a two hour window you might get more out of doing a work out that didn't have to include driving time...

UUUUUGH! I have to go to the grocery store this morning! I'm sure it will be packed with people trying to bread up before the big storm... I'm getting tired of all this thinking ahead! I'm the kind of person that just goes along until the bread runs out and THEN goes to the store. I don't know why I'm always surprised when I open the bread bag and it's gone;) In any event, this type of inadequacy doesn't work for snowy winters, LOL.

That is very interesting! :lurk5:

This the the kind of thing that gives American's a bad reputation with the international community. I wish these missionaries were from any other country but ours:blushing:. Trying to look on the bright side though... Perhaps the arrest of these individuals will ensure that paperwork is reviewed very closely in these next few weeks. This news story could very well PREVENT other people from attempting to take children for the wrong reasons through showing that the Haitian government is on the watch for traffickers. Perhaps through the arrest of these people something much worse will be avoided.

I saw this article too and it made me question some of my ideas about rote memorization. I wish I could see some of the research they are referring to... Especially since there was also an article floating around yesterday that said North Carolina thinks learning history prior to 1877 in their high school classes is not necessary, LOL. It makes me question a lot of these school system education articles. Do you think the theory of the parrot stage and memorizing facts you do not yet understand fits in with this research? I also wonder why this does not address the idea that children were able to learn in previous generations using similar models, but they don't today. It seems there are two very different philosophies today: those who believe children learn through play and discovery, and those who believe we should return to the older methods of instruction because previous generations were more educated. I do not have an opinion one way or the other, because my daughter is only 4 so we are still doing play based learning. I have no experience with the other models, but she is signed up for Classical Conversations next year and will be exposed to many facts she will be asked to memorize but not necessarily understand. So, in any event, I do not yet have the experience to form a personal opinion on the subject, but I am excited to hear what other people have to say about it.

She's seen you homeschooling for years, so she knows the benefits. The only thing you can do is say you will support her in any way she might need. Without putting it into words, that would infer that you would be available as a homeschool mentor if she chose to go that route. But it's almost like gossiping about someone's ex. You might be saying "homeschool is better because...." and then she could end up sticking with the school option and remembering every word you said. It's a very delicate situation.

I have no real opinion regarding this subject but your statement is interesting to me. Why would he continue to defend his research work if it were only motivated by money. Wouldn't he get tired of all the flack he was getting and just stop if he truly didn't believe what he is saying? Whether the vaccine link is true or not I do not know. But your post is very intriguing.