Tax advantages exist for donating stock to a non-profit organization. If I buy a stock for $10, it appreciates to $25, and I sell the stock, I must pay taxes on the $15 gain. If I give the church the $25 stock, I can claim a $25 charitable contribution deduction and do not have to pay taxes on the appreciation of the stock.

My dc went to an excellent preschool that did NOT do crafts. The director's philosphy was that the type of crafts like gluing the cotton balls on Santa's beard are for the parents' benefit, not the kids. They did do art--things like studying the Sistine Chapel and then putting paper underneath a table and painting while lying on their backs. There was a much greater focus on "process" than on "product." They also did a lot of activities that developed small motor skills, such as cutting wrapping paper and wrapping "presents" while playing house.

Both dd and ds got a phone when they turned 11. DD was starting middle school and had various activities which made it helpful. DS could not wait until he was 11 to get one, and we were just discussing how he never uses it. They both have texting, but not internet. At first we were against texting. DD found herself in a situation, however, where she was uncomfortable about some choices some adults were making. She wanted to call us, but did not feel comfortable having those adults hear what she was saying. So, we decided that there were benefits to texting.

We had similar dynamics with our kids when they were that age, although oldest was a daughter. Yes, she knew how to do things to push his buttons. In our household, letting her watch a movie that the family had been waiting to watch together while ds could not would escalate things, not make them better. I also try not to use something that I think will be a good family experience as a punishment (but I know that isn't always possible.) With my ds it is easy, too, to get into long punishments when he doesn't respond to short punishments, but that doesn't help. Thirty days is an eternity to a 7-year old. One way we handle this in our home is that you have to regain a privelege that is lost rather than being punished for "x" amount of time. For example, "you must go five days without physically hurting your brother before you gain screen priveleges."

We did a lot when I was in school, but I graduated in 1981. I remember my teacher having a five-fingered chalk holder used to draw lines on the chalkboard. The teacher would then write the "board work" which we copied. I never saw my kids do anything like that. I imagine that parents would complain if their kids had to copy something like that. It would be boring and it would be viewed as "nonproductive." Some is a changing view of learning; many of my kids' teachers said that there was no benefit to having kids write spelling words. A few teachers made them write their spelling words three times each (never any more) and usually that had to be done in some "fancy" way of different colors, upside down, or other gimmicky way. I think the advent of the copy machine has also led to the decline in this.

I live in a highly rated school district. Over 75% of those graduating from high school have an "A" average. The top 10% all have above a "100" average. I know kids in middle school with a "130" average in math. This is because they have accumulated extra credit for things such as donating white board markers to the teacher, donating a coat to the clothing drive, not using their bathroom passes, and counting how many times "jingle" is in the song Jingle Bells.

:iagree: Why is it so funny in a movie for men to dress up like women? A woman doesn't get the same type of laughter when she dresses up like a man.

When I was 7, I was riding my bike to the store and buying things for my mom. This summer we were in Austria where my kids know little of the language and went all over town, to the market, and on the public transportation by themselves. We got back to the US and my 12 year old asked to walk home from a church activity (which is good exercise for him) and I hesitated--just because I was afraid that someone might stop him and ask why he was walking down the street by himself--not because I was afraid that he couldn't handle it. I think we have really overestimated the risk in letting our kids do things like this in the US.

Are you calling from a cell phone or a landline? Are you sure that you have international calling enabled from the phone you are using?

I try to avoid using the term "feminist" because it has such a different meaning to different people. I had a conversation at work with one person who at the end of the conversation said, "I am so glad to find out that you are not one of those feminists." Later the same day, I was talking to another colleague. Our conversation was almost identical to the conversation I had earlier inthe day and the second colleague said, "I am so glad to find out that you a feminist."

I probably fall into the "feminist" category (although I don't like labels like that because the word can mean very different things to different people). I am not insulted when a man opens a door for me, although it is awkward if he goes way out of his way to make sure that it is done. I find it a bit awkward when a man pulls a seat out for me; I am always concerned I am not going to sit in the seat properly. I teach my son to give up his seat for a woman if he is in that situation, although in reality if there is one seat it goes to my husband because he has severe back problems. I get irritated when I try to get off an elevator and I am almost knocked over by some of my male college students trying to get out of the door first. I just want to say, "Didn't you ever learn any manners. Not only am I a woman, I am over twice your age and your professor!" I keep suggesting to myself that it is a cultural thing because in some cultures the most important person is supposed to go through the door last (but I don't think that is the case.)

I am not a skier, but ds and dh are going to Durango (Purgatory) next week for a ski trip. The two of them went together last year and really enjoyed it (and with hs they were able to go at a time when most other kids were in school so it wasn't too crowded). We have been as a family several times; I don't know how it compares to other places, but my husband says that it is much more family oriented than other Colorado places he has been.

I had this once because the crown wasn't lining up properly with my other teeth and resulted in what the dentist compared to a "bruise" It took several weeks for it to heal.

The high school kids at my local ps have lots of work to do over the holiday break and even during the summer break. (I would never be able to get away with asking my college students to do as much work as the high school students are supposed to do over the summer BEFORE a class even begins.) Most of it seems to be silly, busy work, but I am amazed at the number of parents who seem proud to brag about how much "work" their kids are required to do. If parents brought home as much work to do in the evening and over the weekend as many of the kids bring home from school, the school would criticize the parents for being "workaholics" and unconcerned about their kids and family life.

My summons does state that if you have children younger than 12 you MAY be excused; it refers you to the government code to look up on the internet. The exemption clause in the code online states that the child must be younger than 10. :001_huh: It doesn't really matter if it is really 10 or 12 because my youngest will be 13 next week. It aggravates me that the summons is so messed up, but then there is a paragraph about how I need to be dressed in clothing reasonably befitting the dignity and solemnity of court proceeding--even down to capri pants aren't allowed. Also included were these instructions on how to ride the bus to jury duty: 1. Plan your trip. 2. Go to the bus stop. Look for the bus stop sign with your bus route number. Wait for the bus to arrive.

and I guess I am qualified to serve. The notice states "You must has not been convicted of misdeameanor theft or a felony; and is not under indictment or other legal acculation for misdemeanor theft or felony." The notice also states "you MAY be excused from jury service if is a person enrolled and in actual attendance at an institution of higher education" Oh, it does also state that I must be able to read and write...:001_huh:

I can't recommend one, but I received a Homedic ultrasonic oscillating humidifier for Christmas and will have to take it back because it doesn't work properly. It keeps getting caught at the end of the oscillating cycle and makes a horrible clanking noise; I don't know if this is a common problem or if I just got a lemon.

I bought some at IKEA a couple of weeks ago. I have really liked them, but since I have only used them a couple of weeks I can't give you any info about how they hold up over time.

That is why they are called "Christmas Cards" and not "Advent Cards":)

We homeschool ds, but dd goes to an all-girls private school. We think the school is great and would send our son if there were an equivalent situation for him. Obviously, he can't go to the all-girls school. Yes, we are tied to dd's school schedule (and we make that our homeschool schedule), but there are three main reasons why we do this: (1) very different kids with very different needs, (2) different ages--middle school seesm to be the most difficult time to find a school setting imo (3) different private school opportunities for the two kids.

We refinanced through WF almost one year ago. We were very pleased with the experience. We had tried to refinance through USAA and had nothing but trouble with them.

When my youngest sister still believed an older child asked her how in the world the reindeer could fly. Without skipping a bit she responded: "They were struck by lightning and have been flying ever since."

I have had another Pfaltzgraff pattern (Heritage which is all white) for 24 years now, and I have loved it. It has just been within the last year that some of it has started cracking and we have had to throw out several plates and bowls. I, too, have really enjoyed changing out placements or other pieces to go with the white dishes.

The website says: 34 piece set, service for 8, includes 8 each of: 10-3/4 inch dinner plate, 8-1/4 inch salad plate, 22 ounce soup/cereal bowl and 18 ounce mug, plus a 9 inch diameter vegetable serving bowl and 15-1/4 inch long oval platter. I think that is just one serving bowl and platter per set (8 X 4 for the place settings and then the 2 pieces for a total of 34)

This may work well for students at a school like Harvard, but I have found that this does not work well for my students. I have used iclickers in this manner in a large lecture room. SOME of the students loved it; it was fun, it was entertaining, they got to push buttons, and they got to talk to their friends during class. Other students did not like it; they would say "Why did I pay money to explain problems to my classmate?" Beyond whether the students liked it, I had three major issues: (1) On exams students did significantly worse than students did in semesters in which the iclickers were not used. (2) I found that the students were cheating in that one student was answering on multiple clickers. I thought my attendance was at an all-time high, but realized that I would get 250 answers but have only 160 students in the room. (3) I was not able to cover as much material as before. I do not think that covering more material is better if students are not learning, but my exam grades indicated that more learning was not occuring and my best students were being held back.