The elementary choir from the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences sings Pharrell William’s song “Happy.” They sure seem happy -and talented, too! Maybe they’ll make your day start out to be a happy one. -via Daily Picks and Flicks
Photo: First Coast News
Ah, the developmental milestones of a child's life. Smiling that first smile. Uttering the first word. Taking the first step. Now, add this one: getting that first traffic ticket.
Two-year-old Za'Dariyah Mishaw was cruising along the parking lot of her Florida condo complex, fulfilling her need for speed, when she saw that dreaded flashing blue lights coming up behind her.
According to First Coast News, patrol officer Christian Velasco, who gave the lil' speed demon a ticket, said that "she was going pretty fast. It took me a while to catch up to her, but we did, and she was cited."
Za'Dariyah's uncle Keyth Mishaw said, "Everyone always had bad things to say about the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, well, I want to say BIG PROPS to these officers for making a memorable moment for my family." It was Za'Dariyah's first time in her new car, and now she kept telling her mom that she wanted to pay her $4 ticket.The photo of the coppers giving the young kid her first taste of the law has gone viral on Facebook, racking nearly 40,000 shares.
When you’re reading stories to kids at bedtime, you may as well start early in the morning, because it’s their most favorite activity of the day. And why not? They get a great story (or two or three) without having to read it themselves, mom or dad is willing to do whatever it takes, and they focus completely on the child. He doesn’t want a good time like that to ever end. Is there any wonder it takes so long to get children to fall asleep?
What we need is an activity that makes children wind down and get sleepy, but isn’t so pleasant as to make them want to prolong it. When a child gets to a certain age, a parent discovers that magical activity: homework. This comic is from the ever-relatable Lunarbaboon.
A pregnant woman finds out that her child will have Down Syndrome and asked what that will be like. In response, the Italian advocacy group Coor Down (English link) gathered 15 people with Down Syndrome from various countries to answer her question. The video was produced in honor of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st. -via Viral Viral Videos
Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, has been a bedtime staple for over 50 years. What the authors did not expect when the book was published in 1947 was that the internet would allow geeks all over the world to deconstruct the beloved childhood story. Burrito Justice studied the pictures in the book and calculated that the little bunny’s bedtime ritual takes an hour and ten minutes, starting at 7:00 and ending at 8:10. For small children, it often takes that long.
But reaction to the post brought up the progression of the moon across the sky -how did that sync up with the clock? After another analysis of the illustrations, it was determined that the moon’s astronomical progression does not match up with the clock! There are also observations about cross promotion of Brown’s books in Goodnight Moon and her other publications, in the post at Burrito Justice. -via Metafilter
An earlier calculation of the chronological length of the book used only the moon's progression and not the clock on the mantle. A bedtime ritual of six minutes was inferred, which is wildly optimistic, as any parent will tell you.
Photographer Steve McCurry has an epic vision which he has been happily sharing with the world for over 30 years, and his knack for revealing the heart and soul of his subjects makes him the perfect person to call when you need help promoting a humanistic cause.
This photo journey took Steve to Ethiopia, more specifically to the remote Omo Valley region, where he was invited to capture the plight of the Omo children and help spread the word about a great cause.
The Omo Child charity takes care of children who are considered mingi (cursed) by their tribe and either sent to die in the desert or ritualistically murdered.
These unwanted mingi children are given a home and an education thanks to the efforts of Lale Lubuko and photographer John Rowe, founders of Omo Child, and with Steve McCurry’s intimate and illustrative photo series showing the world who their donations are benefitting the Omo children will hopefully receive the funding help they so desperately need.
-Via The Fox Is Black
Stranger danger has never been so cute!
When a Korean mom tries to tell her toddler the important life lesson of not accepting cookies and ice cream from a stranger, this is what happens:
I dare you not to giggle. Whuh, whuh! Via Dramafever.
Laura Kasperzak, 36, has been practicing yoga for 17 years. As you can see, she's very agile. Her young daughter is, too!
Kasperzak calls her daughter a "ham" who enjoys mugging for the camera. She joins her mother in 5-10 minute power yoga sessions. The pair often wear matching outfits and post their photos on an Instagram acccount.
Kasperzak and her friend Masumi Goldman operate Two Fit Moms, a website that teaches readers about natural fitness and nutrition. They founded it to promote the idea that people can "turn back the hands of time and be strong, fit and healthy at any age."
-via Visual News
In the latest mental_floss video, John Green gives us the lowdown on children’s TV. I well recall the panic over the seizure-inducing Pokemon show. I couldn’t stand Barney the dinosaur, but I did not know how far some other haters would go to demonize the dino. And then there are many shows included here that I am not at all familiar with, but you may be. Learn something new about the shows you grew up with!
Oh great, a 20-minute home movie about a family vacation. But once I started watching this, I couldn’t stop. Filmmaker Casey Neistat, looking for a little bonding time with his 13-year-old son Owen, decided to go to Peru and see Machu Picchu. Now, the guy who snowboarded through the streets of New York isn’t going to do it the normal tourist way. In addition to taking planes, trains, and automobiles (plus horses and a zip line), they hiked through the Andes for almost a week to get there. Along the way, Neistat learns about the man his son is starting to become. This film is both exciting and touching.
Previously at Neatorama: More from Casey Neistat.
Saturday, the Jackson County, Missouri, Spelling Bee finally came to an end -after two weeks and more than 90 rounds of elimination. Or actually, attempts at elimination. The final two contenders, fifth-grader Sophia Hoffman and seventh-grader Kush Sharma, went 66 rounds and spelled their way through the entire list of available words during the initial spelling bee in February. Officials called a delay while they gathered more words. Two weeks later, the two students went another 30 rounds to decide a winner.
"It took us an hour to find more words," head judge Kaite Stover, a librarian at the Kansas City Public Library Central Branch, told Carter of the competition's first day, on Feb. 22. "And we were looking for words that were not completely archaic and uncommon."
But Hoffman, 11, and Sharma, 13, answered the challenge each time, relying on their knowledge of word origins and prefixes to see them through. After more than five hours, organizers threw up their hands to set up today's event.
The judges brought a fresh batch of 200 words to bear Saturday, from a list provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. They also had around 60 backup words just in case they're needed, the library says.
In the end, Hoffman was eliminated by the word "stifling," and Sharma correctly spelled "definition" and will advance to the national bee. But officials should start preparing now because both students will still be eligible to compete next year. -via Digg
(Image credit: Jackson County Spelling Bee)
Before you hand your smartphone or iPad to your kid to keep 'em quiet, know this: pediatric occupational therapist Chris Rowan has outlined 10 reasons why you shouldn't.
Children aged 3 to 5 who are exposed to technology more than four hours a day - including use of handheld devices like cell phones, tablets, and electronic games - could develop serious behavioral problems and even child developmental delays.
So, Rowan is calling parents, teachers, and even the government to ban the use of all handheld devices for children under the age of 12 years. In this post over at Huffington Post, Rowan explained 10 reasons why, summarized below:
Rowan shares a guideline on the appropriate use of technology for kids of varying ages:
Seems legit! Redditor Lisa831's five year old kid attempted to forge her signature - I'd say the hearts really sold it. That kid is gonna grow up to be juuuust fine, dontcha think?
Did you ever forge your parent's signature when you were a kid? How did it go?
I like Katie Bee's idea. But this is just a temporary solution using materials at hand. If you have a bit more time and money, then I suggest hollowing out a realistic doll, filling it with the beverage of your choice, then slipping it into a Baby Bjorn. It's much more comfortable than a heavy car seat on one arm.
-via 22 Words
Recently a proud father posted this picture of his multitasking son on Facebook, and when a family friend saw the meme potential in the image he decided to post it to Reddit with the caption "Look, tell Clyde he's a dumbass...and then fire him".
Redditors immediately went crazy captioning the image, creating the latest and greatest internet sensation in kid based memes. Here are some of the hilarious results:
The moral of the story- don't share images of your kids on Facebook if your friends are always on Reddit, or your kid might become "The Internet’s Favorite Uncompromising Mini-executive".
-Via 22 Words
