If you want to talk to her about it do it now. Don't wait until right before they move. I would express concerns without in any way criticizing the boyfriend. Share with her the dynamics of your mother's relationship with your step-father and tell her your concerns. I would say something like "I'm sure boyfriend isn't like this, but here is an example of an unhealthy relationship so watch out for these red flags". I would also try to get to know the boyfriend better. It could be that he is just introverted and doesn't feel comfortable with your family. Let your daughter know that you want to get to know him and try to arrange some family activity you can all do together. Susan in TX

How often do you do laundry? Back when I had 9 kids at home I did laundry often enough that each child could get by with three outfits. Now that I am down to 3 kids I only need to do laundry every 4 days so we all need at least 5. Sweaters and fleeces can usually be worn more than one day so 2 to 3 should be enough. Susan in TX

ABC Mouse

Take a look at Rod and Staff . It is a traditional textbook and it is not colorful but there is a lot of review. Each book reviews and builds on the previous one. There is so much review that some of it can even be skipped. It is written for classroom use so we don't do all of it. We skip the oral drill and I just have my child read the chapter and do the written exercises. Although some kids might find the oral drill helpful. Susan in TX

When my son was a teen he had an arsenal of air soft guns that he kept in his room. He was very responsible with them and they would have been taken away if he hadn't been. His room was totally off-limits to younger siblings. When I was a kid our BB gun was kept in the garage. It was accessible but it was probably kept unloaded. I knew better than to mess with it. My brother shot a rattlesnake with his BB gun in the field by our house when he was 12. He also carried a pocket knife to school. This was Texas in 1968. The world has changed for sure. Susan in TX

I think that the reason for the different reaction to 9/11 is that we accept death that comes by natural causes, but we demand justice or revenge for murder. Susan in TX

Up until now I have been ignoring this thread but I think I have been missing out. Susan in TX

I am not personally going to the library. In your case I would not take the risk. Being pregnant puts you at higher risk of severe disease. There have been fatalities in otherwise healthy pregnant women. Also if you were to test positive when the baby is born you run the risk of having to quarantine and be separated from your newborn. So for me a trip to the library just wouldn't be worth it. Susan in TX

CLE math is very hands off. Grades one and two have more teacher involvement but by grade three the student is mostly independent. It is a very solid math curriculum. Another self-teaching curriculum is Developmental Mathematics. It is not a traditional scope and sequence and it strictly covers arithmetic so things like telling time are not included but it is a solid program that I used successfully with six children. It covers elementary math. Teaching Textbooks is also very hands off. have used their Pre-Algebra and Algebra courses. Susan in TX

I have ten children so we have always homeschooled with babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers in the mix. One of the first homeschool lessons my children had to learn was how to be disciplined in staying on task when there are distractions. It was a matter of me not allowing them to use the distractions as an excuse. I would tell them they need to block out the distraction/noise and concentrate on their work. Over time they did learn to do this. I also worked on occupying the younger kids in such a way as to keep the noise level down. So I would not allow the little ones to run around. I would set them up with activities like playdoh or puzzles...something that would keep them in one place and relatively quiet. Another thing I have done is have the older kids trade off watching/playing with the younger ones. So while one child is working on school the other is occupying the younger ones outside or in another part of the house. Susan in TX

Ivy Kids. This isn't a full curriculum but it would be great to add on for enrichment. Each month they send a box with a picture book and art and craft supplies and games/activities that all center around the theme of the book. They include everything needed so it is really easy to use. Susan in TX

I haven't seen any news coverage of this. I wasn't even aware that it happened. I usually check CNNs website daily. I have seen coverage of the CA fires and the fire tornado but nothing about Iowa or a Land Hurricane. Susan in TX

This. You don't need to try to fit yourself into someone else's box. There is nothing wrong with getting inspiration and ideas from different curricula/methods and putting them together to make something that fits. That is what I have done. I only wish I had done that sooner rather than wasting time and energy trying to follow one particular way of homeschooling. Susan in TX

Following three streams of history at once isn't even something Charlotte Mason advocated. It is something Ambleside Online did because those putting it together were living in the US and didn't want to do just British history but they didn't want to not do British history. And World history as we know it didn't really exist in Victorian England, but they had to cover that too because we aren't living in Victorian England. I stumbled upon this schedule from The Parents Union School (which is the school Charlotte Mason started). Notice that for the first two classes (which would be like our grades 1-3 and grades 4-6) all work was done between 9am and noon. Even handi-crafts and brush drawing were fit into that time. They did school six days a week, but even taking that into account, they only schooled 18 hours a week. Also not every subject was done every day. I am not a Charlotte Mason purist (I don't even consider myself a Charlotte Mason homeschooler but I am a fan) so I don't think anyone needs to do exactly what Charlotte Mason did, but I don't like to see people burdened by trying to follow Charlotte Mason when what they are doing isn't anything she practised or advocated. Susan in TX

Has something changed with his schooling? Do you know what it is about school that is triggering the meltdowns? I would try to figure out what is causing the trouble and then adapt as needed. He may need an untraditional approach to schooling or he may just need some accommodations. One thing I learned when I sent my struggling son to public school in 8th grade is that my expectations were a bit too high, and that he could have assignments adjusted as needed to meet him where he was at. For example note-taking was a struggle so instead of being made to struggle through taking notes, he was allowed to have notes that the teacher wrote for him. Spelling was something he had trouble with and so he was not marked down for spelling errors. So don't be afraid to change up the curriculum to make it work for him. Susan in TX

You aren't doing anything wrong. With children chaos and fighting are to be expected. One thing that I learned is that if I left the kids alone to work out their problems there was less fighting. I don't allow violence or name calling, but if they are just arguing I let them be. Over time this resulted in less arguing and bickering. The other thing is that I do not play referee. If I have to break up a fight all parties are disciplined. (It is rare for there to be one instigator and one totally innocent party.) It is difficult for kids who are used to being scheduled to learn to entertain themselves. So if you choose to do less scheduling there will likely be complaining at first. It may take awhile, but if you let them be they will find a way to entertain themselves. Susan in TX

I could be mistaken since it has been awhile since I have read through Charlotte Mason's Home Education Series but I am pretty sure that one thing her method emphasized was that lessons were kept to the morning hours and afternoons were set aside for the children to play or work on their hobbies. She was a proponent of what she called "masterly inactivity" which was giving children lots of time to be on their own without a parent or teacher directing their activity. You can read more about that here: https://www.amblesideonline.org/CMM/topicalmasterly.html One of the things I don't like about Ambleside Online and other Charlotte Mason curriculum is that they try to do way too much. If you look at what was done in Charlotte Mason's schools you will see that they scheduled fewer books each term and in many cases only scheduled a portion of each book. Here is one example of what was scheduled for the First Form (grades 1-3) https://www.amblesideonline.org/Programme93I.shtml I was very inspired when I discovered Charlotte Mason. I read all six volumes of her Home Education Series. I tried really hard to implement an Ambleside Online type of homeschool. I have also tried being a classical homeschooler and tried using Memoria Press for awhile. But in my 27 years of homeschooling what I have learned is that less is more. The years that we kept curriculum minimal (usually due to lack of money to buy everything) were our best. So over time I have fallen into a very minimalistic type of homeschooling and it has worked really well. We focus on the basics: math and phonics until around 3rd/4th grade then math, spelling, and grammar. Everything else is just reading good books and living life. Susan in TX

A few years ago we ordered a live Christmas tree from Sunrise County Evergreens . It was fresh cut from a Christmas Tree farm in Maine and shipped Fedex to our home in Texas. It was so much fun. Susan in TX

http://ivy-kids.com/ They have monthly kits that come with a book, crafts, and games that relate to the theme of the book. It is fun and so easy for Mom. Susan in TX

The key to homeschooling multiple kids at different ages/stages is keeping everyone working together as much as possible. So instead of having her working on her own activity, find things that they can work on together but that can be adapted to each child's ability. This could be as simple as giving her something to scribble on while he is working in his workbook. The point is that you are working with both children together and she is included in what you are doing. Often the easiest way to do this is to work at the level of the younger child and adapt it to meet the needs of the older. So I would do something like Tot School with both of the children. Susan in TX

My 3 year old grandson sits at the table with us and does "school" with my kids who are 8 and 12. He has an ABC wipe off book like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Write-Ready-Pre-K-Scholastic-Learners/dp/1338272268/ref=sr_1_10?crid=11LBKC9F1NF16&dchild=1&keywords=abc+wipe+clean+activity+book&qid=1593827671&sprefix=ABC+Wipe%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-10 And a paint with water book like this: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Vehicles-Water-Reveal-Chunky-Size/dp/B009B7F6CA/ref=sr_1_22?crid=809C9YUX487U&dchild=1&keywords=melissa+and+doug+water+wow&qid=1593827810&sprefix=melissa+%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-22 I will also print off coloring pages from http://www.supercoloring.com/ and he has his own washable markers to color with. We also have toys nearby so he is free to leave the table and play if he wants to but he is still in the room with us so I can keep an eye on him. On the days when none of this keeps him occupied I let him use the ipad while I work with the other kids. Susan in TX

It could be that there is something wrong with the house that they don't want to spend the money to fix which makes it so they can't rent the house but they don't want to sell the house because of the tax penalty. It may be that if they just keep the house and it becomes part of their estate when they die, that the taxes would be lower. It could also be that they are currently receiving some tax benefit from owning the house. Susan in TX

When my brother was 16 he bought a very wrecked car with the idea that he would re-build it. He did this with his own money (he had a part time job) but he did not get permission from my Dad. When my Dad found out he was not happy but all he said was "It looks like you bought yourself an education". In the end my brother did re-build the car but it was a lot more work than he anticipated. And he definitely got an education. I remember this story whenever one of my young adults is doing something that I think is a mistake. Things might not work out, but they will at least learn something. And sometimes you have to make the mistake to do so. Susan in TX

I have graduated seven homeschoolers so far and the one thing I wish I had done was worry less. They all transitioned just fine from our relaxed homeschooling to public high school. One of them just graduated from The University of Dallas with a degree in Biology without having done any formal science before high school. Susan in TX