I will admit that I am also one of those people with the huge display of cards hanging on the wall. BUT this season going electronic will probably mean the difference between doing cards and not doing cards. Thanks for all of your responses. It is nice to hear that most people would consider it OK.

I could save a ton of money this Christmas on printing and postage by sending out Christmas cards via email. I always design my own with photos of the kids. Would it be tacky to send out the card as a jpeg to the majority of my list? I would still need to print and mail a very few to those who don't do email. How would you feel if you got one via email?

Bump!

Kristina - I agree with Jesi! Thanks so much for the implementation story. My oldest is three and we are certainly doing CM. I love your idea to add things slowly and working on your OWN habits. Very doable. Pam

Just jumping it to say that I am so glad to see this. My two are 3.5 and 1.5. I try to enjoy EVERY moment, but can't wait for things to be a bit "easier". Pam

I too am researching CM and her methods. I started with "For the Children's Sake" and then moved on the the Levison books for more practical "how-tos". I also enjoyed "Real Learning in the Heart of my Home" by Elizabeth Foss which has Catholic perspective, but also many great CM ideas. My favorite book on the topic so far has been "When Children Love to Learn." It is not specifically geared towards homeschoolers, but it really made me more aware of some important CM principles. I also spend time at the Ambleside Online web site as well as Simply Charlotte Mason. Pam

children are still too young. But I wanted to point you toward Simply Charlotte Mason in case you have never seen it. They have book choices for history that span several age groups. To me it seems like a combo of AO and TOG. Since it is free it doesn't have the wonderful helps that the TOG IG does, but it does allow for an easier way to teach one history topic using age-appropriate books. It is set up more like AO with more "approachable" book selections and a very loose schedule. I am not explaining this well -- the site does it much better. HTH

:iagree: Wonderfully said.

:iagree: $250,000 is wealthy if that is a family's take home pay. Most people pulling in that kind of money, though, are like my boss. He also pays my salary, my associate's salary, and all of our business expenses, not to mention his own social security and employment taxes out of that. He still does pretty well for himself, but would certainly feel the crunch of a tax hike on the "wealthy". I am just afraid that the crunch he will feel is going to be equal to the amount of my salary.

Blurb.com is another option. A friend did a photo book for his wife using the service and was very happy with the product.

So glad you found it helpful. What you were describing really reminded me of that article. I don't have any experience with ADD, but I could certainly see the issue you describing being related to giftedness.

This struck a chord and reminded me of an article I read a few years ago. Sorry I do not have the link to the original article, but here is something similar. The gist is that some kids get the idea that if they must apply effort towards something that simply means they are not smart enough to do it. This particular article deals with how to praise, and that is not what you were asking about, but it seems some of the things you were mentioning about your daughter's attitude seem like they could fit here. Is she not working hard because she thinks if it doesn't come easy then she just isn't smart enough to do it? I know I was exactly like this as a kid. I don't know how you praise and reward at your house, and you may already be doing this, but maybe try praising and rewarding effort over accomplishment for a while and see if that helps. Good luck. Pam

so I couldn't see which EPSON you are looking at. I have an EPSON Photo 1400 and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

They now have a chalkboard tint base that you can do in up to 12 different colors. http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=168 We are going to use this in our new school room. My neighbor painted a lightweight panel (about 5'x7') with black chalkboard paint, framed it out in white trim, and put it in her breakfast nook. It is really cute and functional.