LOVE this so much! Thank you!!!

I'm turning 40. Love that you are going zip lining!!!! That sounds exhilarating!

Love this idea! I used to always go to the VA Homeschoolers Convention in March and it was so inspiring and restorative to me!

Other ideas... Dancing in a rainstorm Playing more music and singing along

LOL fair point!

Looking for ideas to remind me I'm not too old for adventure! Any ideas for people who need to shake things up a bit in a nondestructive way! 😉 Some ideas I've had so far... Travel somewhere I've always wanted to go Tattoo or piercing Take a class or learn something new Start taking better care of myself (could be diet, exercise, or putting more effort into my appearance) Girls weekend with friends

Thank you so much for the encouragement Lori D. I am a perfectionist, and it is hard for me to be flexible. I have been forced to be, but then I do still beat myself up internally that I'm not having her do enough. I appreciate someone reminding me of what really matters. DD has used Khan Academy off and on before for Biology reinforcement and enjoyed it. That might be a really good option! I love the kahn art history link you shared and it looks like they also have a medieval history section in their world history class.

I like this idea of exploring historical fiction and films and using them for discussion and exploring. I've been resistant to doing something like this because I wanted something more formal, but at this point I need to figure out how to support my kid and focus on getting her a meaningful experience where she is at. She is wrapping up 2 months of intensive out patient therapy (3 hours a day and 5 days a week), and has been working so hard in the program. I want to keep her love of history going and so far I've been failing at that.

A video course might be a very good idea! Thank you. I will look into this!

History is usually my jam but this year has been an unmitigated disaster. My dd15 is in 9th and I am trying to do a year of medieval history. We have tried many different books and just can't seem to find one that works. She is also struggling with mental health issues, which has made things especially challenging. Please share with me any and all suggestions you have for secular history books or curriculum for the Middle Ages. I feel like there has to be more out there. We have tried History of the Medieval World (too military focused), Medieval Europe: A Short History (too dense), and the Oxford University Press series (The European World etc.). I just don't know what to do anymore. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Thank you so much for this. The small incremental approach with lots of talk about strength makes a lot of sense. She is beating herself up so much emotionally. We need to help her believe she can do this again. Right now, I think it is impossible. Hopefully, with another few weeks of her new meds over break and some more therapy, we can start with small steps in the beginning of January. Do you think that sounds ok?

I have been avoiding reading too much about school avoidance because it makes me feel panicked. Ironic I know! I am hoping this partial therapeutic day program we are on the wait list for might be able to help us with exposure therapy or something like that. We had a useless therapist for her for a while and finally started with someone who seems to know his stuff last week. We are trying to get as much help and support for her as possible but it is so overwhelming. Like, if all she is doing is crying, is it rewarding her by not making her do school? Maybe it is a reward, but there is no way I can actually get her to do it. She is too upset. I feel like we need to get her in a slightly better place mentally first, but I'm not an expert.

This is a good idea. Easy material to ease her back in and build confidence. Thank you. I will be brainstorming some ideas for this.

Yes-self pressure is a thing here too. I want her to do her work, but she puts such pressure on herself to do it "perfectly". I'm glad that you guys are in a healthier place than before, even if she is still struggling. This stuff is so freaking hard.

This is super helpful. After break, maybe we start by doing 10 minutes for each subject. I am going to marinate on this a lot. Thank you.

We do try that and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't unfortunately...

This has been such a lovely experience! Thank you all!!

No worries! Thank you!

To clarify, we do homeschool and have since the beginning! I can't get her to do her school work at home.

Dd15 is struggling with severe anxiety and depression. We are seeing some improvement in her appetite, and less self isolating with new meds, but things are only getting worse with her school work. Basically, any and all school work causes her to panic. This is not her being lazy, but her anxiety and depression. We are trying to get her in a partial day program to help us navigate this, but has anyone else dealt with this? Any tips for how to navigate this and building her resilience with school work? Eta: we do homeschool! But even her school work at home is causing panic.

The only available meetings in my area are virtual so virtual should be an option for sure!

I am so sorry to hear you and your daughter are struggling so much. We are in a similar situation with our 15dd. She is severely depressed and anxious to the point where she can't do school work, or be social, and doesn't even want to eat. I understand feeling like your child is not herself. We are on our third antidepressant in 3 months. I don't have any answers obviously, but know you are not alone and that I will be holding you both in my thoughts. One thing that has helped me is attending NAMI support groups for parents and family members of people with mental illness. I just started two months ago and it makes me feel a lot less alone. Sending good wishes your way.

What have you all done to my etsy account?!?!? I clicked on the vaginia ornaments posted here a while ago and when I went to etsy this morning all my recommendations were graphic sexual ornaments!!!! Did I need to see glass Rudolph and his friend making love this morning? Or penis tyrannosaurus rex figurines? I am now frantically clicking on wholesome things so that when my kids use my etsy account they won't be shocked! LOL

I lost my maternal grandmother this summer and my paternal grandmother 9 years ago. In their honor this year we are having my maternal grandmother's pumpkin bread, and my paternal grandmother's pumpkin pie. It feels very meaningful to me. Wishing all of you a meaningful holiday!

Thank you all for these thoughts. It has given me some more ideas of things to research and think about before going any further.