Einstein Never Used Flashcards

For those of you wanting to branch out from the fiction realm, I have been reading a really interesting book called "Einstein Never Used Flashcard...How our Children Really Learn and why they need to play more and memorize less" by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and a couple other women. They are all involved in Child Development and Behavior and have PhD's of one sort of another, but they have spent their careers analyzing the current trend of pushing children to succeed both academically and extra-curricullar-ly at very early ages. Really interesting reading on how and when our brains really learn things, and they de-bunk a lot of myths such as the Mozart effect by explaining what the research actually found before commercial industry twisted it and ran. They discuss all the things kids learn just by playing and how necessary that is to their development, and the anxiety that comes with trying to push them too fast into structured, "adultified" activities.

Good way to expand your knowledge and understanding on how kids tick as supported by research, and makes you not feel so guilty about kids not being a part of every possible sport, preschool program, and tutoring session being offered. Turns out a loving home and lots of free, imaginative play are actually the keys to a successful, well-rounded, creative, critical thinking adult. Sounds eerily familiar, like many of our general authorities have been telling us this for a long time....

Murder Mystery

I just finished a book by Simon Brett called Murder in the Museum. I thought it was a well written, well paced murder mystery. A good easy holiday read. It is apparently the fourth in the Feathering Mysteries set that he writes, but he writes a whole lot of others too. It's always fun to find a new-to-me author that has a big selection of books to keep trying.

Finally...

...I have had time to read again, what with work having slowed down so much. I just read "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton. I really, really liked it. It tells a story of a young girl abandoned on a ship set for Australia from England. It switches between a few different time periods, telling the story of her life and the mysteries she is trying to discover. It was really well written. I recommend to everyone. If you decide to read it, don't be dismayed by it's size. It is over 500 pages, but is an easy read and is broken into a lot of chapters, so it doesn't seem that long.
-Emily

Thank goodness for our childhood....

I just finished reading a book called The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It is the memoirs of the author's childhood and I found it quite fascinating that she grew up this way. Her father was a dreamer and her mother quite anti-establishment/hippie. They spent their childhood wandering from town to town and never really settling down. Her father never held job for very long and the kids basically raised themselves. The amazing part of the story is how they all became such grounded, decent human beings out of all of it.

If you have the chance, pick it up and give it a read. It may change your perspetive on how everyone else really lives.

Done

I finished Mockingjay last night and I really enjoyed it. Dan read it first, and he's been waiting all week to talkt to me about it, so we had to hash it out last night. We were both thoroughly satisfied with the ending. Unlike Harry Potter that left me wishing Harry had actually shown some guts or actual skill and fought someone for real, I was so happy that Katniss was able to show her courage and be a part of the rebellion while at the same time exhibiting her compassion and the lessons she learned in the arena. The author didn't leave her off the hook from having to make tough choices. And, unlike Twilight, Suzanne Collins has an easy-to-read but grab-you-so-you-can't-let-go kind of style to her writing that I never got tired of. Her characters were multilayered and developed and the plot kept on being interesting right to the end.

If you haven't picked up this series yet, it's well worth it. A diamond in the rough that has not received as much attention as it really deserves.

Jen

So Good

Well, I read Mockingjay and I loved it. I totally got teary at the end because that is how lame I am! The whole time I was reading it, I just kept thinking how much I wanted to re-read the first two books. I definitely recommend it to everyone for a good read!!!!

Mockingjay

I just wanted to remind everyone that the third installment in the Hunger Games series comes out in about a month! I am very excited. I just leant mine to a girl at work, and she is enjoying them. I want to read them again before the next one comes out I think. -Emily