Decipher The Doodle Contest #6 Winners!

The Answer: According to the pint sized artists this is a picture of my 4-year-old daughter hitting a pinata at a party.  Her hair is in a ponytail.  She is happily swinging a stick at the hanging pinata.

The written letters are the work of my 3-year-old son.  He is attempting to spell the word "Pinata Party."

This work is a definite collaborative effort between the two youngsters.  The artists are trying to convey their want, nay need, for a pinata filled with candy and toys.  Apparently, everyday is a good day to beat something with a stick until it gives you toys and candy.

The Most Correct Answer: This was a hard one.  Again, no one really came up with the most correct answer.  So, we are going to give t-shirts to the two funniest answers instead.

The Funniest Answer:

It's Marge Simpson flipping Homer the bird for not liking that she let her hair down.

- dwnbndtrn

Congratulations! You win a Science vs. Magic T-shirt.

The Other Funniest Answer:

Blueberry Muffin from Strawberry Shortcake about to a) comb her hair, b) smack Strawberry Shortcake, or c) let a genie out of a big-ass frying pan.

- idahogrrl

This answer is especially fitting since the 4-year-old loves, loves, loves Strawberry Shortcake.

Congratulations! You win a Hip Hip Array T-shirt.

Thank you to everyone who participated.  We hope you had as much fun as we did.  If you didn’t win don’t worry!  We will be back with another Decipher The Doodle Contest in a few weeks.

Do you love narwhals? You need to check out this great narwhal baby mobile by Etsy seller unpetitelapin.  The cute little narwhals are handmade using felt.

What baby wouldn't love starring at little unicorns of the sea! Narwhals are awesome.

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The Stewart family of Lesterville, Missouri has earned some impressive bragging rights.  All six of their kids were named valedictorian of Lesterville High School.

It's exciting once, but the Stewart family has celebrated a valedictorian at Lesterville High School six times.

Micah in 1997, Callie in 2000, Josie in 2002, Caleb in 2005, Erika in 2009, and Evan in 2011.

Interestingly, all the kids claim the grades came easy.  Dealing with the social aspect was hard.

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/15079106/six-siblings-earn-high-school-valedictorian

Blame it on the summer heat. Three Georgia youngsters have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. These seemingly sweet girls have been busted by the cops for selling illegal lemonade.  The girls claim they were just trying to raise money to go to a water park.  The police were not amused. Rules are rules.

By a city ordinance, the girls must have a business license, peddler’s permit, and food permit to set up shop, even on residential property.  The permits cost $50 a day and a total of $180 per year.  City officials said it’s their job to keep everyone safe and healthy, and there can be no exceptions to the rules.

“We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance,” Chief Morningstar said.

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Are healthier food options coming to a kids menu near you?

The National Restaurant Association has launched a voluntary program called Kids Live Well.  The program is designed to help parents and children select more healthful meals while they are eating out.

Participating restaurants have agreed to put at least one kids' meal on the menu that includes two or more servings of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy and whole grains. And, the offering has to have 600 calories or less, and less than 35 percent fat and sugar.

Of course burgers and fries will still be on the menu, but now they won't be your only food choices.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/07/13/137818715/chain-restaurants-to-add-more-healthful-kids-meals

This is a strange tale.  A patron at the Zao Island Family Entertainment Center apparently trapped and fished out a small alligator from an enclosure.  Next the man encouraged nearby children to come and pet the alligator.  The alligator, in true gator fashion, bit a 7-year-old boy's finger.  The man put the alligator back into the enclosure and quickly left the theme park.

At the indoor-outdoor amusement venue, alligators are kept in an outdoor pond surrounded by a fence along U.S. Route 30. Visitors can feed them hot dog chunks by dangling them from string attached to provided poles.

Hurst told police a man fashioned a noose out of one of the strings and used it to fish an alligator out of the enclosure. He then invited nearby children to pet it.

The moral of the story?  Don't let your kids talk to strangers holding alligators.

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Photo: Clipart

Are you looking for a great summer baking project to do with your kids?  You need to check out the Corn Dog Cookie tutorial from Munchkin Munchies.  Not only do these cookies look like the real deal, but they come on a stick.  Everyone knows that food on a stick just tastes better.  What? You know I am right.

Okay, so I admit that I love corn dogs nearly as much as my kids do.  That said, this is one project that I am going to have to try out with my kids.   I might, however, attempt to substitute store bought sugar cookie dough for the homemade stuff.

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You Tube Link

Twelve-year-old Jonah Duvall is an online dancing sensation. Watch him dance his heart out to Michael Jackson's Thriller.  This kid is awesome!

Hello Neatoramanauts and welcome to our sixth Decipher The Doodle Contest.  This collaborative doodle was created by my 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.  I dare you to delve into the minds of these pint-sized artists and tell me what their doodle means.

We will award 2 prizes.  One to the first person to come up with the most correct answer.  The second for the funniest but ultimately wrong answer.  The winners will win a T-shirt from the NeatoShop and be featured in next weeks post.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess (suggestion: Science T-shirts / Funny & One Liners).  If you don’t include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay?

Happy commenting!

Update  7/19/2011: The Contest is now over. The winners will be announced shortly.

You Tube Link - via Buzzfeed

Why is everything little kids do so darn cute?  Even their little battles are adorable.

Watch the video above to see one of the cutest arguments ever.

Is cursive writing about to become a dead art?

Cursive handwriting, also known as joined-up writing, has now been eliminated from the Indiana school curriculum.  What's replacing cursive? Keyboarding of course.  Apparently, the schools just don't have time to teach the kids to do both cursive and keyboarding.

The national move away from cursive is being fueled by the Common Core curriculum. That is an effort led by governors in 46 states, including Indiana, to agree to common standards and, eventually, common tests to measure whether kids are learning them. Cursive is not part of the Common Core curriculum. Keyboarding is.

Does the task of teaching my kids cursive writing now fall to me?  Frankly, I am not sure I am at all qualified to do this. I got a "C" in cursive writing.  I knew that grade would come back to haunt me.

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Photo:  Shutterstock

Australian kickboxing champion, John Wayne Parr, is making international headlines for encouraging his 8-year-old daughter to participate in a kickboxing ring fight.   The three round fight may have ended in a draw, but the controversy has just begun:

There was much controversy about the fight, sparking Parr’s father to defend the decision to allow his daughter to compete. He said that the girls would be kitted out with headgear, shin pads and 16-ounce gloves, and that this activity was no worse than other contact sports. “I think everyone’s got one life, so you may as well go it 100 percent,” he said.

Jasmine shed tears in one of the breaks between rounds of the three round fight, which ended in a draw. “I was sort of afraid when she kept kicking my leg,” she said.

Link | Video Clip Link [TODAY Show]

Spelling Bee history has been made in New Mexico.  The first ever Santillana National Spanish Spelling Bee was recently held in Albuquerque.  The competition consisted of 11 students from 4 different states and was conducted entirely in Spanish.

Evelyn Juarez said just participating in the competition was an honor. The seventh grader from the Espanola area won the top prize after battling with eighth grader German Rojero, from Los Lunas, for more than an hour on stage.

Juarez said she will never forget the last word, "Bizantinismo," she spelled correctly that led to her win, even if the definition slipped her mind.

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McDain's restaurant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania is getting some amazing press this week.  No, people aren't talking about their great food. This fine restaurant is all over the news because they plan to ban children under 6-years-old from eating in their establishment.   The ban goes into effect on July 16th.

In an email sent to loyal McDain's customers, owner Mike Vuick wrote, "Beginning July 16, 2011, McDain's Restaurant will no longer admit children under six years of age. We feel that McDain's is not a place for young children. Their volume can't be controlled and many, many times, they have disturbed other customers."

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Did you know that a single strand of hair can actually be dangerous to your child?

Kimberly Grubb brought her baby daughter Norah Saed to University Community Hospital early Friday, because she was crying so much.  That's when doctors discovered one toe was nearly amputated, and others severely swelled because of a hair strand wrapped around them.

Hair tourniquet syndrome is actually a common occurrence.  This is when a hair or thread becomes tightly wrapped around a toe, wrist, or other appendage.  This can cause pain or even lead to loss of the appendage.

How do you avoid Hair Tourniquet Syndrome when you are postpartum and shedding hair like crazy?  The Mom of the baby in the picture suggests simple changes like washing your baby's clothes separately from your own.  You should also check the baby's appendages on a regular basis.

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