If you live far from the Salt Lake Valley, your first response to this post’s title may have been, “Pioneer what?” While students across the United States study westward expansion in school, only in Utah (as far as I know) do pioneers get their own holiday, July 24. Pioneer Day commemorates the day the Mormon … Continue reading
I’m not a person who has a lot of quotations hanging on her walls—in fact, up until today I didn’t have any. But a friend recently sent me a wall decal I love, a quote from Albert Einstein, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” I don’t know when or where Einstein said it, but it makes … Continue reading
One of my favorite childhood memories is ice cream for dinner. Nothing else, just ice cream for dinner. One sweltering night during the un-air conditioned summer, my mother declared it was too hot to cook and we’d just have ice cream. I don’t know what got into my nutritionally-minded mother, but the ice cream dinner … Continue reading
I live in a houseful of cats, so when I spotted a small book with a cat on the cover and the title, I Could Pee on This I was more intrigued than appalled. Then I picked it up and started laughing out loud mid-bookstore. The book is all-too-real to cat owners, but also a … Continue reading
Being married to an actor, I’ve had a lot of experience with costumes. Dressing up to transform into someone else is an experience that doesn’t fade much with time. So for this week, here are creative ways to explore “dress up,” good for children of all ages. Really. Let’s start with good old-fashioned dress up. … Continue reading
When I was a kid, camp entailed tents, backpacks, burnt marshmallows, mosquitoes. Today, it’s not necessarily so. Enter free virtual summer camp for teens–with rockets, animation, and (last year) electric origami! Maker Camp, a collaboration between Maker Media (publisher of Maker magazine) and Google, takes camp in a whole new direction. Instead of swimming and … Continue reading
Now that summer is in full bloom in the U.S. and most children are out of school for a while, it is time to return to weekly “Family Fun” postings. For July and August I’ll post family- friendly activities on Mondays, with more varied posts later in the week. Of course these will include lesson … Continue reading
The cartoon blog xkcd.com calls itself “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” The comics range from mathematical romance: to more explicitly math/physics related topics. The author accurately warns “This comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be … Continue reading
Have you ever wandered through an antique shop, intrigued by the strange machinery and wondering what it all did? Do you know a young person fascinated by gadgets? Or do you teach about inventions and inventing? If so, Jim Murphy’s books Weird and Wacky Inventions and Bizarre and Baffling Inventions, are for you. Set up … Continue reading
Recently, I went with a friend to Greenfield Village, one of Michigan’s historical treasures. Originally opened in 1933, the Village consists of more than 80 historic structures on a site laid out like a New England community, complete with a village green, farmhouses, workshops, shops, a railroad depot, and a bandstand. The Village also includes … Continue reading
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