Is there a beach that would be warm enough to enjoy and not crowded at that time though? I think what we need is busy and distracting for the kids.

Does this mean you could have had it after all? I'm sorry the prediction was wrong, but glad you can at least do ToT.

That could be good, I'm just not sure where to look. I am now really wondering if we try to figure out skiing. My kids love skiing, and I think a very big distraction like that this Christmas would be helpful. Do people think skiing would be safe if we were in a house close enough to walk to the slopes? So, we didn't need public bathrooms, or indoor dining? Any small New England resorts where snow is a sure thing in December?

Do you do some kind of face time or something like that with her now on a larger screen? If so, and you tell me what you're using (e.g. zoom), I bet someone here could talk you through. I could do it with google meet, but I'm not zoom fluent.

To be clear, I'm suggesting you send her a link in an email. She clicks the link, pushes her computer back, and then you share your screen, and then you do all the shopping, while she just talks. So, she watches you shop and tells you the brand she likes, and you find them. I think if she can't do that, there's no way she'd be able to online shop herself.

I use the online version of a chain grocery store in my area. So, the food comes from a store that's all online, not from the regular store. It works well, but I would imagine that you'd need to find something local. Maybe Walmart Plus is like that, we don't have a convenient Walmart. Can she join something like a Zoom Link, or a Google Meet? I think that you could log in, screen share, talk through options and order for her, and it would give you a structure for some interaction, something that really helps during grief, and you could be sure it's coming, and have a chance to check in and see that she's eating OK etc . . .

I wouldn't go into a ski lodge. I know that's a line I wouldn't cross. But if we could find a ski in/ski out place, then maybe we could go back there for food or the bathroom? I've never paid for ski in/ski out before. We can handle the trip without restroom stops, I won't horrify you with the details. Public restrooms would be a deal breaker for us. We would bring enough food for the drive, and then get food to prepare inside there.

VA and the parts of WVA wouldn't have snow that early. If we want to ski, I think we'd need to head North. I can't figure out if skiing is safe if we did some kind of ski in ski out lodging to avoid bathrooms and restaurants. In VA, I'd worry that we'd hit a period when it's too cold for Pop to enjoy being outside, but there's also no snow. My instinct would be to head North, and get actual snow, or head South, and get some relief from the cold. We're tied to school year calendars, and this is the only time the breaks overlap.

Did you wake up when you had that dream? Or did you remember it in the morning? I don't think I've ever had a dream, good or bad, and remembered it, without feeling like I woke up during it. I've woken up from a dream and it was morning, but my impression was still that I was having the dream right before I woke up.

Yeah, that's how I am, and how two of my kids are. My other kid, who really struggled with nightmares, continued to remember them vividly.

What is the weather like in Gatlinburg this time of year, and what kind of things would there be to do?

We are thinking that maybe a trip at Christmas would be the thing. If this were non-covid times, I think the thing might be to go skiing, or to a nice beach, with distractions for the kids. But we have a 90 year old, and keeping him safe would be a top priority. I think we'd only do it if we could be sure it was as safe as Christmas at home. Is there a realistic way to do something safely? Maybe some cabins in the woods or on a lake where we can hike or cross country ski or go sledding with privacy? Things to look at if we go for a drive? Is downhill skiing safe? We're in the mid Atlantic, and would want to drive, maybe up to 12 hours? 5 kids, a college student, and 10 adults. Ages 6 to 90. ETA: Talking to DH, he likes the skiing idea. My kids would love that. Is there any way to make a downhill skiing vacation safe with little ones?

I was talking with a friend of mine about nightmares, and commented about being woken up during them. My friend told me that she used to have frequent nightmares, but wouldn't wake up during. She just remembered them in the morning. It had never occurred to me that that was an option, so I figure I'd ask. When you or your kids have a nightmare, do you wake up in the night, or remember it in the morning? How vividly do you remember the nightmare when you wake up?

I am so sorry. Praying hard.

I guess i was responding more to the idea that chemistry is only needed for certain college majors, or looking at the requirements for just one college when designing a high school program. I think that the DE sounds great. I agree that a plan, even if it might change, can be a great motivator to try new things. But if the plan is preventing them from taking classes that would give them more flexibility (e.g. not taking chem because they think they won't need it) that's more concerning. I'd be looking at more than 2 school's requirements before making decisions. I may be reading the thread wrong though.

One thing that always strikes me on this board is how much weight parents put on a 9th grader's plan. Maybe homeschooled kids are more mature, and have a better sense of self, but as a high school teacher, I can tell you that it is very developmentally appropriate for kids to change their plans repeatedly in high school. i would be very hesitant to design a kid's high school years around a specific university or specific major.

Does she have a 504? It seems like she'd qualify easily, and extended time could make a big difference here. I agree that tutoring is a great idea.

We changed it up a little, with bone broth instead of water and adding spinach, but this soup was one of my son's very favorite foods. Feel-better soup

OK fair enough. It's a tough time.

I think you're a great mom, and I agree that you might want to lay off Reddit. I also think it's time to talk to him. In my experience, when a child is going to experience negative messages from the world about some aspect of themselves, it's better for the adults who love them, and who are their allies, to get out ahead of those negative messages, and get their messages in first. It's why every African American parent I know talks to their kids about slavery, or racism, or police brutality before their kids learn about these things at school or in the community. It's why we give our daughters messages about being strong confident women before they meet people who think that's an oxymoron. It's why parents of children who are adopted are encouraged to talk about adoption from very early on. As a high school teacher, I've seen too many kids arrive in 9th grade having absorbed all sorts of negative messages about people with disabilities, and not knowing that they're included in that category. When they start putting the two things together, the societal messages about disability and their own label, it can lead to a lot of confusion and emotional pain. The kids who encountered those two things in the opposite order generally did better. I agree that talking about how his brain works, and then saying "there's a word for that" can be an excellent way to introduce the idea. Good luck, you've got this!

DH and I both worked outside the home, and sent our kids to our parish school before crisis hit our family. My guess is that when it's safe we'll send them back. My kids have done well with homeschooling. They've learned a lot, and I loved having the time with them. But they did well in school as well, and the very good reasons we had for choosing school still apply. In my opinion, there is more than one way to raise kids who have a wonderful childhood, and go on to achieve their goals as adults. I look at the young adults in our family, all of whom went to school K - 12 and I'll be thrilled if my kids turn out as well as they did. They're amazing people. I will also say that when we found ourselves in crisis, the fact that we were a two income family gave us the flexibility we needed to meet our family's needs.

For those of you who say you've found what works, I'd love to hear what those resources are.

Thanks both of you. I'm open to almost anything, so I will investigate both of those.

I want to know why there's not a "Drink ice tea with your dog" day. That would be my kind of day.

I am looking for something open and go that I can do with my 5th and 8th grader. I care less about the content, than about the structure. I'd love something that lends itself to reading aloud, with some discussion questions to organize our thinking. It can be something written for that purpose (e.g. we loved the Further Up Further In Narnia study) or something written to be done in writing, where we just dictate and co-create. But I want something where I pick up a book, and the next thing is clear. I don't really care about the topic. Literature, or history, or social studies. We did a whole lot of ancient/medieval stuff, and I think we're going to do early US history in January, so not those, but beyond that I don't care. Does this exist?