My sister’s comment about my desk being an island in a sea of books is both not wrong, and got me thinking about why I own so many books. Firstly, as I have discussed elsewhere, they are a bit of a security blanket. The First Reader refers to the home library as my dragon’s hoard.… Read More The Evolution of Language
Another fine lesson from the Lawdog. Since he’s pointed out that truly understanding the situation over there is post-graduate level in several fields, he wanted me to make clear that these are meant as thumbnail sketches off the top of his head. I think they’d make an excellent intro to the topic, and hope he… Read More Lawdog’s Lessons: Tribalism
When they didn’t know that’s what it was. Thanks to a tip from Bustedknuckles, in a post about something else, I discovered that the entire back catalog of Popular Mechanics, back to January 1905, were available online. This is… I have no idea what I’ll use it for. But it’s entertaining just to read… Read More Look into History: Popular Mechanics
I will admit I’ve been pushing to play this game for a while, and the kids were a bit dubious. I don’t blame them – it’s more my topic than theirs. We have several versions of Fluxx, and have had more over the years that got lost along the way – Pirate Fluxx, Zombie Fluxx… Read More Game Review and a (sort-of) Recipe
The Junior Mad Scientist had a problem this morning. We all wound up discussing it for ten minutes. A pool of philosophy in the whirlwind of morning routine. Mornings at the Nut House are a bit chaotic, I will readily admit. One kid is being chivvied through dressing, packing lunch, and take a shower willya?… Read More The Elephant’s Fundament
I was listening to a podcast presenting a brief biography of Andrew Carnegie the other day, and although I’m somewhat familiar with the man, and very familiar with his legacy of libraries, I think the philosophy that led him to establish more than 2500 libraries bears repeating, and often. He believed that compiling knowledge in a… Read More Autodidactism
To follow up with yesterday’s post on very early childhood education, I was looking at photos of my children when they were young, and remembering how they interacted. Because they modeled how they were treated, they taught each other. When the Little Man was 2, and the Eldest was 8 going on nine, she would… Read More Going On
Yesterday I was talking about the love of learning and how we have lost that… or how we have brutally and systemically destroyed that, depending on the schools and teachers you had. I hear far too many stories of my friends’ childhoods to not understand the toll the school system takes. I’ve been contemplating a… Read More Critical Thinking
So, I’ve been reading Dorothy Sayer’s Lost Tools of Learning, which I highly recommend. The pursuit of learning is unquestionably the most important part of success in life. If one cannot learn, and grow, one cannot possibly achieve great things. Whether those greatnesses are to be the best mother possible, or the best mechanic, or… Read More Lost:: Love of Learning
I came home yesterday to find my son with my basket of spices on the counter. Those who read the Case of the Pink Stain will understand why this gave me an uneasy feeling. He had a notebook, and was writing busily in it. “Mama! Come tell me what these are.” He pulled me over… Read More The Spice Basket
In a recent post I mentioned my childhood battle with slugs, and John in Philly commented, infecting me with the delightful mental image of a small girl holding a ten-foot tall slug at bay with her salt sprayer. So why don’t we have ten-foot slugs? Elephants can get that big. Whales get even bigger, although… Read More Hydrostatic Skeletons: Or, why don’t we have ten foot tall slugs?
I miss school. I didn’t think I would, but this week was the beginning of a new semester. One of my former classmates texted me on her way to classes that it wasn’t going to be the same without me. I sat there thinking about the classes I didn’t take, but would have liked to…… Read More Sharpening the Mind