No, your signal strength isn't low. It's just that your fancy new smartphone is made out of wood. Kyle Bean -- an artist whose work we've featured extensively at Neatorama -- made this toy with blocks representing apps that can be removed and re-arranged.

Link Original Artist's website -via Swiss Miss

This beautiful photo by Rudolf Brosztl shows a loving couple counting the days until their daughter will be born. There are three more images in the set at the link.

Link | Photographer's Website

When your kids complain about doing their math homework, let them know that it was always thus, and always shall be. Why, even ancient Sumerian kids had to do math! Here's one math problem that was found inscribed on a clay tablet at Šuruppak, an archaeological dig site in modern-day Iraq:

A loose translation of the problem is: A granary. Each man receives 7 sila of grain. How many men? That is, the tablets concern a highly artificial problem and certainly present a mathematical exercise and not an archival document. The tablets give the statement of the problem and its answer (164571 men - expressed in the sexagesimal system S since we are counting men - with 3 sila left over).

Link -via Boing Boing | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Nic McPhee used under Creative Commons license

My earliest memories of television are scenes from Sesame Street. This nurturing show has engaged children who have grown up, brought more children into the world, and introduced them to the show. There are many reasons why Sesame Street has been so successful -- the clever writing, puppetry, directing -- but perhaps foremost among them is that the show has always been guided by child psychologists who understand how kids think and what they need. Esther Ingils-Arkell has an article at io9 about how they have shaped the show with their professional knowledge:

This is why misanthropic Oscar, one of my favorites, was added. He was there to teach kids that people had radically different points of view. Oscar likes trash, worms, and being mean to people. Kids had to learn, and respect, that there were people like that in the world. Oscar, as nearly the only Sesame Street character who could get angry about anything, also served as a guide for children on how to manage negative emotions, both their own and other people's.

In the early 1980s, Will Lee, the man who played a character called Mr. Hooper on the show, died. Show runners consulted a battery of psychologists who specialized in grief counseling, and conducted studies to see if children could understand the concept of death and deal with it without trauma. Only after that did they go on to film the episode. They scheduled it to appear on Thanksgiving. This seems cruel to the kids, until you take into account that that was the day most likely for parents to be home with their kids, at which point it only seems cruel to the parents. The episode was well received, though, and the show hired other actors.

Link | Image: Children's Television Workshop

This is a great idea for a child's Christmas card! LIFamilies forum user Denise also suggests that parents make these every year and keep them in a scrapbook.

This craft has a key feature that I like: easy. Those of us who lack artistic talent need projects to be accessible.

http://www.lifamilies.com/chat/topic.aspx?ID=469199&P=1 -via Craft

Eventually, your children will outgrow their perfect Star Wars nursery. It'll be time to step up your parenting game. This AT-ST tree house is impressive, but remember: if some other dad in your neighborhood has built one, you'll have to make a tree house that's even grander, like a wooden star destroyer.

Link -via Geekosystem

Ainsley, who do you think that you're trying to fool? This note has too few misspellings to be from your dad.

-via The Hairpin | Photo credit: unknown

Lyndsay at Coco Cake Cupcakes made this marvelous cupcake tableau for a 1-year old's birthday party. The head is covered with fondant and the cupcakes are iced with two different colors swirled together in imitation of Eric Carle's watercolors. Best of all, because it's made of cupcakes, this assembly is easy to divide among party guests.

Link -via My Modern Met

The Scottsdale Gun Club in Scottsdale, Arizona offered kids the opportunity to pose for a photo with Santa, tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and examine his arsenal. Families could also test fire some guns at the range. Notice that the boy in the picture has good trigger discipline and is keeping his muzzle up. Good work, young man.

Link -via MArooned | Image: Unknown Facebook user -via Dave Barry

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The blogger behind Dad and Buried thinks that his son Lucian is engaging in stock trades. But whenever I encounter a baby talking, I now think of the godfather baby meme.

Link -via Urlesque

Madonna's enchanting but largely unknown song "Dear Jessie" speaks of the magical, imaginative world of young children. A set of images by photographer Dara Scully stuck me as quite similar in how they bring that world to life. Presumably there is some Photoshop work involved.

Link -via Colossal | Artist's Website (warning: some fine art nudes)

redditor Honestly_ snapped this perfect shot of his son blissfully asleep on top of a huge Totoro doll from the anime classic My Neighbor Totoro. When he gets older, Honestly_ should make sure that he has another built to scale.

Link -via Boing Boing

(Video Link)

With only 215 students, the high school of St. Ignace, Michigan couldn't support a cheerleading squad. That wasn't really important until its small football team became very successful. The team may go on to the state championships, and the people of St. Ignace want to make sure that they support the source of their local pride. So sixteen moms formed their own cheerleading squad to lead cheers at pep rallies and football games. Rather than be embarrassed, the players are proud of their mothers.

Link -via Oddity Central

(Video Link)

I had an imaginary friend when I was a little boy. Ultimately, she left to go exploring the universe in her flying saucer. It was a good parting, but it is not always so with imaginary friends. Darren Bell tells the sad and then joyful tale of one such special friend named "Imaginary Sam."

Artist's Website -via Kuriositas

When my wife was in labor with our first child, one of the attending nurses asked her in which interior design style we had assembled our nursery. My wife, in magnificent form, responded "Early Garage Sale." She said it in such a perfect deadpan that she convinced the nurse that there was such a style, and had fun running the gag out for a while.

We had only the basics, and were happy with that, but it would have been nice to build an elaborate nursery like this one by the parents of Rocky Olsen. It has everything: a Wampa rug, a Boba Fett lamp, an X-wing fighter mobile, and more. This picture alone doesn't do it justice. Look at the whole photo set at the link.

Link -via Blastr