16-year old Timothy Doner of New York City started learning Hebrew to better understand Israeli rap music. Now he can speak 23 languages, including Hindi, Arabic, Latin, Swahili and Ojibwe. Doner uses the Internet to have conversations with people around the world and quickly absorbs new languages as he does so.
-via Slate (warning: auto-sound)
It's true. You can keep the receipt, but it won't do you any good. And they never tell you about the no returns policy until after you leave the hospital.
Link -via Pleated Jeans
Any time you want to add to a child's reading experience, whether the child is yours or someone else's, a book from this list will be much appreciated. I counted 13 that I had as a child; most of the others weren't written that long ago. Check out the reasoning behind all 25 at Flavorwire. Link
Photographer Andy Prokh documented his daughter's lifelong relationship with her cat LiLu Blue Royal Lada. The pictures of these best friends are both funny and adorable. See more at Flavorwire. Link
(Image credit: Andy Prokh)
Photo: Ethan Pines/The Wall Street Journal
Tiger Mom has finally met her match. Meet Suzanne Evans, author and self-professed Machiavellian Mom, who used the maxims of Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince to become, well, a better mom. Case in point:
'A Captain ought…[to] endeavor with every art to divide the forces of the enemy, either by making him suspicious of his men…or by giving him cause…to separate his forces and, because of this, become weaker.'
I was already familiar with the strategy of "divide and conquer"; our kids are masters at pitting my husband and me against each other to get what they want. I decided it was time to use this maxim to my own advantage.
To that end, I "divided" Teddy and my 8-year-old stepson Daniel by pitting them against each other in a not-so-friendly competition over who could do better in school.
"Excellent!" I praised Teddy when she brought home a nearly perfect second-grade report card. I then rewarded her with a celebratory family dinner at the restaurant of her choice. On the other front, Daniel, whose report card wasn't so stellar, got nothing, other than the shame of losing the competition—to his younger sister no less, as I reminded him.
But this defeat ignited his competitive spirit, and by the end of the school year, both Teddy and Daniel brought home outstanding report cards. Bottom line: By setting my kids against each other, I ultimately got what I wanted from them…and they both benefited.
See if you too can become a better parent through Machiavelli: Link
7-year old Jack Hoffman has been fighting brain cancer for 2 years. He's a big fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The team has been helping Jack and his family through the ordeal. Yesterday, the team let him have the ball during a play. Jack ran 69 yards to score a touchdown. Excuse me, but there's some dust in my eyes.
Link -via American Digest
A little girl wants a hoverboard like those in the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II, but building one is difficult. So she finds a workaround. This film by Sydney Freeland was part of the PBS 2013 Online Film Festival. -via Laughing Squid
Look in the lower right corner of the screenshot. Yes, that's Pinky and the Brain, the would-be world conquerors from the television series of the same name. This preschool and elementary school is in the capital city of Nigeria. Presumably the Brain is using it to train loyal followers for his next plan.
Happy Easter from my family to yours. May your surgared up kids fall asleep early tonight. And, may we all not have nightmares of the scary pink cupcake monster shown in the last photo. Roar!!!
What's better than walking the dog with your mom? Watching your mom run after the dog, right after you let go of the leash, of course! Here's a little girl Lucy giggling devilishly after she accomplished her brilliant scheme.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
Joann Moser's 8-year old daughter insisted that her 2-year old brother was sneaking into her room at night to take her toys. "Just lock the door." That's not enough if you have a toddler who knows how to pick a lock and hide the evidence of his crime before escaping.
Link -Thanks, Wifey!
Idle
hands are the devil's playground notwithstanding, some experts now believe
that you should let children be bored, so they can develop their innate
ability to be creative:
Dr Teresa Belton told the BBC cultural expectations that children should be constantly active could hamper the development of their imagination. [...]
Dr Belton said: "Lack of things to do spurred her to talk to people she would not otherwise have engaged with and to try activities she would not, under other circumstances, have experienced, such as talking to elderly neighbours and learning to bake cakes.
"Boredom is often associated with solitude and Syal spent hours of her early life staring out of the window across fields and woods, watching the changing weather and seasons.
"But importantly boredom made her write. She kept a diary from a young age, filling it with observations, short stories, poems, and diatribe. And she attributes these early beginnings to becoming a writer late in life."
Hannah Richardson of the BBC explains: Link
Photographer Masashi Mitsui captured the serenity of a sleeping baby as it is being carried in a basket by a boy (brother?) in Nepal. Do you think your baby can sleep as soundly in a basket like that? Link
The Sydney Symphony held a competition to come up with better lyrics for the opening to Carmina Burana (affectionately known at Neatorama as "O Fortuna"). This is the winning entry, from Matthew Hodge. The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs performed it at the recent concert series, which ended tonight. -via Metafilter
Little Elisabetta sang an Italian children's song in hard rock style. Then musician Christian Ice (who may or may not be her father -he didn't say) wrote an original song to accompany her. You can see the original video before the music was added. She may grow up to be a star! -via Daily of the Day
