You all are awesome! Thank you so much for your help. I'm looking into all of these now. She's going to be attending a charter school that has pull out classes for gt students starting at Kinder. She could probably accelerate ahead a grade level or two and they do offer it, but maturity-wise I just don't feel she's ready. I went to read to her last night and she pulled out "I Wish That I Had Duck Feet" by Dr. Seuss and said she wanted that for last night instead of the next chapter in Prince Caspian. That's fine, we take breaks some nights from our chapter books and so I obliged. I opened it up and was about to start reading when she began and read the entire thing to me instead. We probably haven't looked at that book in over a month or more, so I was shocked! Needless to say, math and reading are where her mind is at and I certainly don't want to stifle it. Oh, and I will be checking out the Afterschool area. I'm new to the forum, but not the blog, and didn't even know there was a section for that!

Our daughter is starting Kinder at a public school this fall. She is taller than most her age and her birthday falls in the middle of the school year. She is also way ahead in Math, Reading, and Geography (at a 1st or 2nd grade level in all). She matches completely the profile we were given of gifted learners and would probably be able to test out of Kinder and maybe even 1st grade. We've opted to apply for the gt program instead of accelerating her to a higher grade, though, because of her maturity level as well as some minor OT issues. Are we making the right choice? I am very concerned about it and opinions and advice would be useful. Thanks in advance!

I agree. The situation in Australia is similar to ours and as such, some will see it as an opportunity and others as misfortune. But there are other markets, like Japan, that are continuing to grow and thrive.

Yes, I have read the bankruptcy paperwork. Consultants are the most fundamental part of their business and they have no business without consultants. They have a breakdown of the filing faq's as well as a letter to their fans here: http://creativememories.com/restructuring/. I have been in communications with many consultants, some are positive and some are negative about the situation. Change is never easy. I can't speak for others, but personally, I feel very supported and feel like they have a much stronger focus on helping their consultants than what I've seen at other companies I've worked at.

Antioch Company is the parent company of Creative Memories.

As a consultant, based on the webinars and meetings I've been able to participate in, I don't think they will disappear. The bankruptcy helps them to deal with the debts they have and allows them to restructure.. Pages and albums are still going to continue to be available. They recently did an overhaul of their training and have some great new corporate leaders in place. I am confident that the new products and processes going in to place will be better for the company, customers, and consultants.

I'm doing some homeschooling over summer with my daughter and plan to do it every year. She gets bored having no "work" to do. She starts kinder in fall and we are just finishing up the primary mathematics book 1A for Singapore Math as well as the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 easy lessons. I'd also like to have some simple activities/lessons that she can do at home at her own throughout the school year if she gets bored. Any suggestions? Also, I've been reading aloud to her. We've read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, and are two books away from being done on the Chronicles of Narnia series. I'd like to get her interested in history at some point. What would be best for this? The Story of the World series or The Mystery of History or something else? Thanks in advance for your help!

This is exactly why CM is changing. They currently have over 500 products in their line and are returning to a more basic product line.

First off, let me say, I am an independent consultant, not a corporate employee of CM. However, they have been very open with all of the consultants through a series of webinars. Here's what I know (of course there are still some unknowns- and I do believe the motion was granted today): 1. Gift Certificates need to be redeemed before the August deadline. This is true. I am not exactly sure why, but remember, CM is a party plan company and so its competitors are Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, etc, not Hobby Lobby. 2. The Rewards Club is ending, but the consultants can still give special offers of their own. 3. The CURRENT products are either "While Supplies Last" or "Last Chance." So, there will still be traditional and digital, and fast to fab, but there will be new contracts in place with various companies (this is no different than before other than the items may be produced by another group). Again, don't worry. They will still have products for all styles, but this type of bankruptcy ends old contracts, requires new ones, etc. 4. Traditional is the basis of the company and will continue to be part of the product line. 5. Digital will still be part of the company, but there will be different partnerships and a different format for digital. If you have Storybook or Memory Manager, go ahead and update them if you haven't. They will still be supported by the company that produced them.

nm