I meantioned in the "introduce yourself" section that my son was born at 24 weeks (at 1 lb., 8 oz.), and is now doing great (for which I'm thankful). However he still hasn't "caught up" in terms of his height, and he didn't walk untill like 18 months. I'm just curious who else out there has had a premie, how they're doing now, and what progress they've made. I might also mention that Joel did go through a hernia surgery at 6 months, and has struggled with athsma, but no major problems. Looking forward to reding your posts.

it helps to make sure you're speaking in a loud, clear voice, and making eye contact with them when you talk. I think that helps them to learn words faster.

oh, I guess I failed to mention that it's pretty important that it have a shield as he can make a pretty big mess if you know what I mean

I'm love teaching piano to very young children (although I think they aught to be at least 3 in order to have the attention span for a private lesson). I'm working with my 2 year old now just to see what I can teach him. Anyway, I like teaching a mixture of the Suzukii method and traditional, because I think it is more balanced. So at first, i teach songs by writing the key names above the written notes on the staff. That gets them used to looking at the music and finding the notes. But I also like to encourage ear training. It has been a very useful skill for me. I think the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) has a very thorough and balanced approach. They do exams worldwide, but you'd have to find a teacher that participates in the program.

my son is doing pretty well with potty training at home, but when we leave the house I never know what to do. Sometimes I try to bring along his potty seat, but don't like to use it in a public restroom. Are there any products you've found or ideas about how to be consistent even when you leave the house? Thanks

I breastfed my son for 10 months along with supplamenting with formula. I would have gone with just breastfeedig for longer, but my milk supply was low, and he didn't like nursing.

I'm currently working on training my 2 year old son as well. He's doing pretty well, but we've still got a long way to go. One thing I found that he enjoys is we have a special game we play only when he's using the potty. We just throw a certain toy back and forth, but he loves it.

I like the Motherhood Maternity Store (they have a website as well where you can order). They can be a bit pricy, but I've found some pretty good deals there too, and some very attractive clothes.

I'm 21 and had Joel (my first son) at 19. I married early (to the most amazing man in the whole word). i'm expecing again, so I'll have him this year. I didn't picture mysel having 2 kids at 22, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm so blessed.

I just finished reading "Shepharding a child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. I will be refering to it again soon I'm sure. I'm currently reading "The Bible and the Future" by Anthony Hoekema. Very fascinating if you like Theology. I like books like this because although I'm working on stimulating my child's brain, my brain needs stimulation too. I'm also enjoying "Morning and Evening" by C.H. Spurgeon as a devotional. Good stuff.

I was homeschooled, as were all my siblings (5 of us) and my husband was also homeschooled (along with his 9 siblings). He's a software engineer now (without attending college I might add) and we plan on homeschooling our children. I guess we already are for that matter. Joels only 2, but I'm constantly teaching him something.

I've read the FAQs section, and I still have a few questions that I hope someone can answer. First, I would like to purchase LR, but because it's a "download only format", I'm concerned about losing it if my comupter were to crash. Does it come with the ability to install it again if this were to happen? Also, I read something about a license key. How does it work, and is it included in the LR purchase, or does it have to be puchased seperately? Also, are upgrades free? Forgive me if I'm only repeating questions that have already been answered. I just want to make sure I understand these things before I buy the software. Thanks,
Apryl

Hi,
My name is Apryl. I have a 2 year old son named Joel and another on the way. Let me just say a little about us. Joel was born at 24 weeks gestation and spent 3 months in the NICU. He did far better than expected and has had no long-term effects from his pre-term birth. I've been working on reading with him for a few months now and am so excited to see that I'm not alone. I haven't been very consistent with teaching him, so I hope this will help me to stay on track. I haven't purchased any software yet, so I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has and if it was worth it (vs. just downloading the flashcard files). Thanks,
Apryl