That would be great! But only if it's not too much trouble for you. Thank you!

Deleted accidental double post

I have seen people mention the student and teacher guides for K12's The Human Odyssey books (Vol 1-2), but many of them have said that they own them but didn't end up using them. I was hoping to get some insight as to why so many people seem to not use them. If you own them but didn't use them, why not? If you did use them, what did you think of them? I have the texts and plan to use them starting this coming year, but I can't find any samples of the student/teacher guides to determine if I want to buy them or not. Thanks for any insight!

My kids use my phone to call and text their friends. I call it a "family phone," and think of it like our landline when I grew up where everyone in the household shared that phone. It's worked great so far. None of their friends have their own phones. They also use my Zoom account to "hang out" with friends in between getting together with them in person. I set up links for private meetings. That's worked well, too. I have considered getting them one of those phone watches for kids that only allows calls/texting between the watch, my phone and their dad's phone. Just for use when they're at activities or friends' houses. But we haven't done that yet. And that's it. I don't allow them on any chat apps or social media. We also don't do any video games.

I think there was some confusion there about what I meant. I made that statement thinking that people were saying that because the daughter is an adult, the police wouldn't help her re: the videos. Maybe I interpreted some of those statements incorrectly. Sorry about that. I wasn't thinking it was about the mother filing a report on behalf of her daughter. I still think police should be consulted. They would probably have the most accurate and helpful advice about what could and/or should be done since we don't have all of the details. Even if they end up telling the mother to go away and nothing can be done, asking doesn't hurt. They might have some advice, insights, or resources for her. And even if the daughter doesn't want to report anything now, she may in future, so it would be good for the mother and/or daughter to at least be correctly and more fully informed.

I was answering the OP's direct question posed in the initial post where she asks "Would it be helpful for her to talk to the police?" If there are threats or harassment, still think the person should be advised to consult with police whether she is receptive to that advice at this point or not, especially since none of us know super specific details about this person's personality or situation. The police are likely to have resources and possibly some good advice.

If he's threatening, harassing, or coercing her, she should absolutely ask the police about filing a report. I'm not sure why some people are saying that they wouldn't do anything due to her age; her age is irrelevant. If the threats involve the videos, it is irrelevant if she sent them willingly. A police report would also establish a record if he escalates and she eventually wants to get a restraining order or take other legal action to protect herself from him. Asking the police if filing a police report is the correct course of action won't harm her in any way. The police or a knowledgeable lawyer should be the ones to advise her about her options. Not any of us. If she is discouraged from reaching out to authorities based on replies here, she may be wrongly kept from a source of real help.

Oh no! This is so sad. I read her blog a long time ago and was just randomly thinking about her the other day, wondering what she's up to. How terrible.

Those are adorable! I love the fabric

I would say something like "Thank you so much for the generous offer! I really appreciate it. But unfortunately, this just isn't something that I can fit in with all the things I have going on right now." Then, I'd just keep reiterating as necessary if they continue to insist. It does sound like they've turned these gifts into burdens for you and that's really not fair of them to do (though they most likely don't realize that they're doing that). Just focus on your goals and what you need to do for yourself. It was kind of them to offer, but they should also be kind enough to listen to you and be sensitive to your life/needs/perspective. It's okay to not allow them to create problems for you.

I agree that it depends on the child and other factors like how safe are the neighbors, etc. But I would err on the side of caution and not do it, especially if I had family members (or others) who would possibly use it against me somehow.

Thanks so much!

Hufflepuff

I have used English Lessons Through Literature for five years with all of my kids and it has been great. We plan to stick with it for the duration. We do skip a few of the assigned readings due to personal preference (we don't care for the Oz series) but that hasn't been an issue. Things I like about it: it's the perfect amount of work, it's scheduled for you, it's all in one place, I think the price is right, I like the gradual progression of instruction for all aspects, I like the majority of the reading selections, and I love that folktales, poetry, and art are included. It's scheduled in a very methodical, routine manner, which we thrive on. We use the optional workbooks through Level C, but then use regular composition books for D and up. The grammar can get a bit intense in the upper levels, but my kids have done well and enjoy it. Beyond that, I have tried to use the whole Wayfarers curriculum twice and ended up switching components out both times. It's mostly a me problem, as I want to assign all of the books, which is just too much for us to accomplish. I have used the history component for the past year and it's been great, only because I've learned to assign a more manageable number of books. I also use the science and geography reading lists for supplemental reading. Overall, I really like that everything is scheduled and have found it easy to use individual components. The whole curriculum was overwhelming for us, but that wouldn't be an issue if you were better at choosing books from the lists rather than trying to read them all. I don't care for Quark Chronicles, as narrative science doesn't work well for us. But if you want a CM/Classical lit-based curriculum, I think it would be a great choice.

Asparagus soup for brunch sounds lovely!

I'm crocheting and knitting baby blankets for a market; I'm averaging about one per week. I'm also working on a double-knitted wrap and started an English paper piecing quilt that is going to take forever but is a nice long-term project to have going. ETA photos of my EPP quilt start, the most recently finished blanket, current blanket start

I've been wanting to do this for a few years, because we are all consistently more hungry at lunchtime than at the end of the day. My husband is at work over lunch, but he has said he wouldn't care if I did this. The only thing stopping me is figuring out how to carve out time at make a bigger lunch in the middle of a school day. I know it can be done, but I've just not been able to tackle that part mentally. Maybe soon.

I'm making ham, asparagus, au gratin potatoes, strawberry walnut salad, and deviled eggs. And I'll pick up dinner rolls from the store. It's small and simple, but it's one of my favorite meals of the year!

We still mask in public places where there are a decent amount of people, like grocery stores, and in doctor offices and restaurants regardless of the number of people present (we only do take out orders so we mask when we pop in to pick those up). My kids mask at their extracurricular classes. None of us have ever had COVID and we have not had any other illness since we started masking (March 2020).

I've been watching old Perry Mason.

Exactly this for me, too. I don't expect any of my kids to take care of me when I'm older nor do I want them to. I don't even want them to ever somehow feel like they should. And while I also believe it should be entirely their choice whether to have kids or not, and I will support them whatever they do, I certainly don't expect them to nor will I ever encourage them to do so.

Same thing happens to me every time! At some point right before the party starts, I hit a point where I just give up. And I don't think anyone but me notices the things that don't get done. Maybe I'm wrong about that and it's just that nobody tells me that they notice! I'm sure it will all turn out wonderfully. I hope you can find some peace today!

I would try to not overthink this. It seems that everyone except you is happy with the situation (I am assuming that the boys don't feel awkward since you hadn't mentioned it). I understand your concerns; they are valid. But you might be better served by taking a mental step back and letting things continue as is since the boys seem happy and it seems important that they be able to maintain their friendship. The most I would do is suggest that you take turns paying for blocks and if she insists on paying for all, I would thank her and let it go at that point. Also, please try to not think she is trying to "buy your son's friendship," as you said. She's just facilitating a fun activity that they both enjoy. When you do things for your kids' other friends, I'm sure you would never see it as buying their friendship. Thinking this of her casts her in a negative light that she probably doesn't deserve. I wonder if this something you are feeling as a result of overthinking. And try hard to not feel the obligation you mentioned. It doesn't seem like they expect weekly reciprocation (or any reciprocation, really) or feel that you need to spend more money. I have felt that sort of self-imposed obligation before, but when I really thought about it, I realized it was a "me issue" and that I needed to mentally step back so my overthinking wouldn't get in the way of something good for the kids.

At an event like you describe -- a wedding-- I would not have cleaned up, etc. I don't tend to feel like I should at those types of gatherings. If I'm at a casual family or close friend thing at someone's home, though, it's kind of expected to at least ask if I can help with anything. I'm usually given tasks like clearing dishes or helping with food prep. I expect it, as that's just how both my family and husband's family do things. (Though I did refuse to clean MIL's bathrooms. That was a step out of line on her part to expect me to do that, imo. Husband and everyone else agreed.) However, I prefer that guests, including family, **not** help at my home and I tell them so. I'd much rather just do everything myself and have husband help, as it's more work for me to direct anyone else helping. Also, my kitchen is small, so I prefer to be alone in there. I would never want anyone cleaning for me.

I would most likely have had no problem with this nanny driving my 13yo for ice cream under the conditions you described. And nobody has ever driven any of my kids besides my husband and myself.