It is very easy to choose which icons you use or don't want to use.  And there are lots of free downloadable icons in the LM library. I am sure you can find something that your child will enjoy!  The program is too wonderful to discount it because of a few icons!  My oldest daughter learned a lot from it and we are starting my youngest on it now! She is really enjoying it!

I was trying to look into the memory magic, but the link from the BK shop doesn't work and I found several other companies named memory magic when I googled it, but I haven't been able to find the memory magic that Jaycob was playing in the link Manda gave. 

Midbrain area is where dopamine (or "reward hormone") is processed. Basically, when dopamine is released, our body will feel good. There is strong evidence that dopamine is involved in cognitive function, especially learning and memory. However, to date, the structure or how the dopamine system works is still largely unknown, especially in humans (as of Feb 19, 2014). This means that we still do not know how to "activate" such system at will for the benefit of cognition growth or what not. I would imagine that such activation will implicate a lot of systems (like appetite, motivation, emotion, addiction, etc.) and it would be really hard to narrow the focus of such activation only to cognitive purposes without side effects. Moreover, wrong activation (using Pavlovian Conditioning) would cause problems.

There are Pavlovian Conditioning and Instrumental Conditioning in learning. Both are recently (as of Jan 2014) shown to activate dopamine. I would say that such conditioning methods could be considered as "midbrain activation" methods---although that term is somewhat foreign to me.

That's actually the scientific side of midbrain "activation". I was flabbergasted to read claims about "scientifically proven" fantastical midbrain activation methods in some articles. Let's just say that I am highly skeptical of any of those claims. If the methods actually hold water, I would like double-blind randomized trial.

This makes me curious to know if any studies have been done to see the effects of midbrain "activation" on conditions such as Tourette's and Parkinson's, both of which seem to be related to the dopamine hormone.  I haven't read recent research on either of these, but several years ago when I happened to have 3 students at the same time with Tourette's, I remember finding it interesting that both Tourette's and Parkinson's were somehow affected by dopamine, although scientists didn't really understand how. 

By the way, it looks like congratulations are in order, Robbyjo!  A new little learner!  Wonderful!

I struggled with this after my first baby was born. Changing my diet and having a healthy gut is what helped me. I didn't think I was eating that badly, until I made some changes and noticed the difference! Just changing what you eat can help, but that worked too slowly for me. I also had to cleanse my body of the old build-up.  Amazing difference!  I feel for you and hope things go better soon!

By the way, if you are breastfeeding, be careful if you try to cleanse your body. Some cleanses are very good for you, but can release toxins into your milk supply. Research carefully first!

First of all, it sounds like you are doing very well!!
And sorry about the loss of your computer!    I know how quickly these little ones can move.

Have you read the book Marshmallow Math? That has great math ideas! Also there are some really good math apps for the iPad, since she seems to enjoy learning that way. Maybe it would work well to follow her lead and let her learn from the iPad. There are also several interesting threads on this forum about teaching your toddler math. The search button at the top of this page has been a great help to me!

As far as reading goes, there are lots of "books" to read on the iPad too.  You can even download a free version of Kindle and find great kindle books for her that are also free! Maybe you could entice her to sit for more books if they are read from the iPad.  Even if she has not demonstrated to you that she can read, that doesn't mean she can't. And even if she can't read, she is still light years ahead of average kids her age! Wow! She recognizes all of her letters and their sounds! You should be a proud momma! Keep it up!

We have been using the free version which only allows 20 questions per day. But it is a good way to see if you like it!

We have used the Kindergarten version for several months and really like it. Anyway SHE really likes it, I find the hippo to be very annoying.     I do really like the content of the kindergarten app though. It is quite good at teaching a solid number sense, which is something my dd has struggled with. I have seen great improvement since we started using it (and SlateMath!).

We just started using the free version of splashMath first grade recently and so far we like it too. 20 questions in one day is enough for us, but if you have more than one kid using it that probably wouldn't work for your family. 50% off is a good deal though. I think it is really expensive normally!

My daughter was very slow getting teeth, also.  A dentist friend told us not to worry about it as long as it didn't slow her eating down.  It definitely didn't! We were told that the later the teeth came in, the stronger they would be. Now at 3 years, 5 months, she still doesn't have as many teeth as her peers, but it doesn't bother her in any way.  I wouldn't worry about it, unless it seems to be affecting her eating or health. 

As far as the biting, we just gave her things to chew on.  She especially liked frozen or cold things.  We did have to train her that it was not OK to bite another person.

Hope this helps!

Another recent article on this subject:  http://www.getholistichealth.com/37223/breaking-courts-discreetly-confirm-mmr-vaccine-causes-autism/

I know there are so many things to consider about vaccines.  We still have not given any to our 3 year old daughter, and with another little one on the way, I am sure they will be putting pressure on us again to vaccinate both of our children.  Since we are planning on homeschooling, I won't have to deal with school requirements.  But this does really make parents stop and consider.  There is one young child in our community who had problems  (seizures and definite change of personality and ability) after he received vaccines.  Three years later, he still isn't the same.  They are denying that it was caused by the vaccines, but since it happened within a week of getting the shots, it makes a person wonder.  I wish there was an easy answer...

It was fun to read back through the goals and see how others are doing too! 

We are doing quite well, with a few adjustments.        She is now 3 years, 5 months old.

In reading, we finished LR, so I made my own course with lots of French downloads and EK facts.  It is a 130 day course, and we are on day 65, I think.  She is still doing Reading Bear everyday (when our internet works    ).  I think she is at 75% mastered.  She still takes a quiz every time.  If she gets them all right she gets a piece of candy, like one M&M, so quizzes are the best .  It is really the only time she gets sweets, so she is impressed.  She is really into reading anything by Beatrix Potter right now.  She read through the whole Mr. Jeremy Fisher book with help on only 3 words.  Daddy was impressed!

In math, I have seen the biggest improvements!  We still use LM for skip counting.  Right now skip counting is still at the rote memory stage.  She is still using Jump Math every day.  We both really like it.  Rightstart came to a complete halt several months ago.  She just completely resisted it.  Maybe next year...  MEP is pretty much the same story as RS.  I think our biggest math improvements have come from i Pad apps though.  Right now we are going through Eurotalk for the second time,  SlateMath for the second time, and SplashMath 20 ? per day.  I can not believe the difference between the 1st and 2nd time through these apps.  She demonstrates such a more thorough understanding!  She now uses Math on her own in her everyday life.  Daddy and several other people have commented on her Math ability just while she was carrying on a normal conversation with people!  Momma is very pleased with this!!

We also have started handwriting and spelling.  Neither of them are an actual curriculum, just things I printed off the internet. She is still at the tracing stage on most letters and can only write about 2 - 5 words on paper before she is tired.  Because of this, most of our spelling is oral practice.  Both of these subjects we use the i Pad for also.  LetterSchool is handwriting only.  Writing Wizard has a section that you can make your own word list, so I put her spelling words on that one.  And we use Word Wizard by L'Escapadou  for her spelling "tests".   

This summer she was able to swim in our neighbor's green house quite a bit too.  She can now jump into the pool and swim from one end to the other and back with a small floatation device.  Momma just didn't have the energy to tote her around in the pool this summer, so I let her use a floaty.  Alas! Our nights are now so cool that even in the green house the pool is too cold, so no more swimming until next year.    But since she learned how to jump into the pool, she now jumps everywhere she goes!  Not so impressive at church, grocery store, or doctor's office, I know!  But since this is such a big milestone for her, I have a hard time stopping her even if we get strange looks.  
 

This is something that I have been thinking about now for several months so I was glad to see this topic!

Since we live in a farming community, both my husband and I work on a farm, my daughter goes to work with me every time I go, all of her friends are in the same situation,  everybody around her works on a farm; she is going to grow up learning a lot about this particular trade, but she will have very little exposure to any other trade unless I really work at it.

I had made a LR lesson about things pertaining to our work and I am in the process of adding about 4 or 5 EK type facts about each thing in the lesson.  The lesson contains 16 things that have to do with hay farming in Oregon.  Each thing has EK facts, several pictures, and most also have video to go with them.  So now I am wondering if other parents on the forum would be able to do something similar with another trade.  Then we could upload these files to the library so they would be available to other families.  Even if you think your trade isn't all that interesting to children, the exposure would be a  great way to introduce different options to our kids.  Maybe we could interview people in a trade that interests us, add photos, information, etc. Or take pictures of our hubby's tools and the process of him fixing vehicles, things around the house, building something...

Together, we could build a really nice LR course about trades!

Cokers! Thank you so much! My daughter loves all these books.

We have recently been gifted an iPad. This is something that I had never planned on using, simply because it wasn't in our budget     I have been very carful about which apps I downloaded and let my daughter use. I didn't want to waste the money on apps that weren't going to actually help her learn!  I mostly went with recommendations from friends here from BK since I know we have basically the same goals in mind for our kids.  In the past month, I have watched my daughter's math ability jump forward in leaps and bounds!  I can only attribute it to some of the great math apps that we have been using.  Since this is the very busy time of year for us on the farm (plus Momma hasn't had the energy with work and new baby coming soon), I have been able to do less hands on math with manipulatives and the number line.  It has been handy to hand her the iPad while we are moving from field to field and let her play a math game. I always am right with her, talking to her about it too, so I can monitor how she is doing.  So at least in our family, YES! Educational apps have helped!

You could also buy a small 3 ring binder (9" x7" or 23 cm x 18 cm), and then buy half sized sheet protectors. These are available at Office Max or other office supply stores.  The sheet protectors aren't exactly cheap, but they make a good alternative to the Presentation binder. Of course, you have to use separate protectors for words and pictures.

Welcome!  Glad you are here.  There are lots of other parents here who have kids with various special needs. In case you haven't yet seen the thread where some of these parents have introduced themselves and their little ones, here is the link:  http://forum.brillkids.com/parents-with-special-needs-children/please-introduce-yourself!/

My guess is that you are not starting too late.   It is never too late to start this wonderful journey of teaching our kids!  Have you downloaded the free trial of LR?  That might be a good place to start.  You could then see if your little man is interested in it or not. 

Keep browsing through the forum; there is a lot of good information to glean here!  And never be afraid to ask a question!!!  Lots of wonderful, helpful people here!  

Keep us posted on how things are going!

Congratulations on completing LR!  That represents a lot of hard work on both your part and your child's! And don't worry about your child not being where other kids are in the videos! She is so much farther ahead of "normal" kids her age, just by being exposed to EL! And every kid learns different things at their own pace. Compared to most kids on here, my daughter is far behind in math.    But she has been exposed to so much of it that she is ahead of kids not doing EL.

There are lots of options about what to do next.  If your daughter hasn't yet learned her phonics sounds, you could check out Starfall.com.  It is FREE!  After that, Reading Bear is a wonderful option. It has about 50 lessons.  Each lesson can be gone through for a week or so with your child hearing the phonics sounded out very slowly to very quickly, whatever she is interested in.  If you want, log in to Reading Bear and the computer will keep track of what lesson should be played next, and at what rate of speed. R.B. also has "quizzes" that are similar to LR game section.  They will also keep track of which quizzes have been done and randomize the questions, keep track of scores, etc.  Oh, yes! Reading Bear is also FREE!

Another option would be to customize a course in LR using free downloads from the LR library. Just whatever she is interested in would be good.  Or start another language by using LR.  You can't beat the new LR course maker!! 

And reading, reading, reading, anything and everything you can with her.  Books, cereal boxes, signs, whatever you find.  If you don't have a good library nearby, there are good online sources.  Check out WeGiveBooks website.  Books Should Be Free is another good site.  If you have a kindle, Centsless Books has free kindle books updated every hour from Amazon.com. 

Those are a few options. Hope it helps!