Hi KL,
We would like to participate too.  I play classical guitar, and sang in a choir for many years.  I have tried a few different music programs with my twins but have not yet found something that works for us. 
Thank you!

Ask your librarian about interlibrary loans.  I found Before Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert in the WorldCat catalog listed at several libraries across the country.  I have borrowed from this source several times and have never been charged shipping when borrowing from another library in the USA.  Good luck! 

P.S. There are lots of good finds on WorldCat!

Matt Lauer is in both of these videos, one featuring a toddler reading and the other calling YBCR "snake oil."   
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30345516#30345516

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42567494#42567494

Maybe Jeff Rossen should compare notes with his colleague Ann Curry.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1Vys9jvXwcU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/1Vys9jvXwcU&rel=1</a>

Hmm, are Johnson & Pham, LLP running a scam?  Have you tried a google search for them?  Did the letter come certified?  If not they have not properly served you and can't prove you even got it so I don't think you are obligated to pay.   Even if it is legit I don't see how they have any evidence to prove you did anything wrong from what you said. 

Hi.  I have 2 kids ( ages 8 and almost 4).  My eldest has multiple issues - he has a learning disability, ADHD, a tic disorder, language recall issues, gross and fine motor deficits.  Sometimes we worry that he might be developing tourette's disorder because he locks himself in the bathroom to make odd noises.  Unlike the typical kid with ADHD, he is usually good at controlling his impulses and is extremely well behaved.  He isn't on any medicine and learning is a challenge for him.  Despite it all, he is an intellectual kid.  He loves science, documentaries, and books.  He is between 1.5 to 2 yrs behind his peers in reading, math, writing, and physical skills.  This forum gives me hope because it has convinced that anything is possible in terms of encouraging brain development.
Lori

Has anyone ever evaluated your son for Sensory Processing Disorder?  It is often comorbid with ADD and would explain the odd noises, gross/fine motor deficits, picky eating habits, inattentiveness.  My son's OT recommends the book "The Out-of-Sync Child" as a good place to learn more about SPD.  This is also a good website and has a symptoms checklist.

Great suggestion kmum. 

I have tried both SM demo and PW premier (software only without the videos) and overall prefer SM for young kids.  I got much faster results, with a much more complicated song, because SM waits for the child’s input giving more immediate feedback.  With PW the notes fly buy too fast for the little ones to understand cause and effect.  I think this method would work fine with older children and in fact enjoy using the program myself. 

So far they after 6 hours of practice with PW at age 3y2m-3y3m the twins could only slap the keyboard in time with the rhythm.  There was no effort or incentive to play the correct note.  (My son first had the idea then my daughter copied him.)  The song consisted of 2 notes on the right hand and the same 2 notes on the left hand only an octave lower.  We tried SM for about 20 minutes at age 3y4m and the kids both played all the notes for Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, however not in time. 

Despite my preference for SM I don’t think a single player computer game is a good match for my family at this time.  I am alone with my twins most of the day and it is impossible to have one play the game without the other interfering.  I may try it all again in a few months, when they are old enough to restrain themselves from picking the stickers off the piano keys.

I'm still awaiting for my request for BB to arrive from interlibrary loan, but it could be weeks. 

I just ran across this article recommending a reading pen for dyslexics and I think this would have helped encourage me to practice reading and helped with my confidence.  They are a bit expensive so it might be worth researching a little more or trying them out first. 


http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/books1.html

Another thing I just thought of...
The hole punch I got was not long enough to accommodate the laminating pouchs I used.  If you are planning on printing with letter size paper the pouches will be a little longer, so I would recommend a hole punch that will accommodate legal size paper. 

I like the idea of cable ties.  I used the metal rings and had lots of issues with them falling open.  Then there is the issue that it is made out of some unknown, possibly toxic, metal.  They just aren't made for kids who put things in their mouths all the time.  I always had to watch out for that.  But the method of punching holes then threading something through to bind them works out well.  I would recommend 5 mil laminating sheets. 

Another method of binding that I have used involves double sided tape and 3 mil, more flexible, laminating sheets.  The edges are flimsy, so I reduced the borders to 2mm on 3 sides because the floppy edge bothered me.  On the fourth side I left a border that's about 12mm and used that area to tape the sheets together.  There needs to be about 1mm between the tape and the edge of the page inside the laminating sheets.  This will leave a flexible are for turning the pages. 

I just had another idea but haven't tried it out.  What about using 5 mil sheets with strips of fabric and hot glue to stick it all together?  It sounds like it might work, but it might not be as durable as cable ties. 

As for the binding machine, I took the first book I made to a copy store and had them use a spiral binding.  It cost me $4 and the kids were eventually able to pull it apart.  I think a comb binding would have similar issues and wouldn't waste my money on it. 

I'm glad you brought this up.  We recently had a similar experiment with a cabbage looper I found on some organic lettuce.  I think my kids were more impressed with how much the thing pooped than how much it grew.  My daughter didn't want to touch it, but my son was more than eager.  I tried to encourage him to use "one finger touch" but he once pinched it hard enough to make it spit up.  We let ours go outside as well, but I doubt it survived long in the cold weather. 

I really like the netted habitat in the one you used; much nicer than the jar we had.  The kids never got to see our moth fly the jar was so small.  The butterflies are very pretty as well; we might have to try this one when the weather warms up here. 

It so happened that I was sharing the video and photos of my daughter's first violin performance with one colleague and the others who passed by quickly come and look. People were quick to comment that violin and piano learning should really start at the age of 5 , any earlier, the kids will learn the wrong finger placing , wrong posture and all. I just kept quiet.

I would smile and say something like "this is what works for our family" then politely change the topic "please pass the bean dip."

Then they want to know where she goes for violin lesson, how much it costs and all.. Not that I don't want to share the information, but they are not curious for info to send kids to learn. Just want to know and comment.. negative , unwanted comments.
What to do?

Respond to their question with another question " Are you considering lessons?"  then, after they answer "no" politely change the topic "please pass the bean dip."

I have no experience teaching a dyslexic child, but I do have firsthand experience learning how to read with dyslexia.  One thing that I really struggled with was feeling pressured to perform better, so I have provided a link to an article on how to praise efforts rather than results.
http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/
Here is another article on praise, and although I disagree with the author on parental motives for praise I think he still offers some good alternatives to praise. 
http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm

I just found this website for helping dyslexic children that looks amazing. 
http://www.dyslexia-teacher.com/index.htm

Have you had is vision checked by a doctor?  It turns out I had a very minor astigmatism as a child and glasses really helped me.  They were specifically for reading and tinted (I chose green) to help reduce the glare off the page; this made an enormous difference for me.  I remember my special ed teacher giving me colored transparent sheets to place over the page as I read.  Once I had seen the page in a different color then removed the tint I really noticed how much the white spaces between the words created an optical illusion of movement for me making it difficult to focus on reading.  After that helped the special ed teacher then suggested the tinted glasses.   

Help him choose reading material that interests him.  A lot of times people might assume that a child would prefer to read fiction, but some children would rather read non-fiction.  I much prefered reading about architecture and science even as a child.