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blotthis:

BLESS THIS TEACHER HOLY SHIT

(Source: pleatedjeans, via gonnaslapabitch)

whatthekluck:

Teach them to do it for themselves. 

When our daughter was 15 months old we enrolled her in survival-type swimming lessons via Infant Swimming Resource.   Maybe you’ve heard about this - children as young as 6 months old learning to roll in the water and float? (See more about ISR here).

We had a marvelous instructor who on the very first day, after seeing the fear in our eyes, said to us:

“If you don’t believe she can do it, then you should leave now.  Because I know she can. She needs to know that you believe in her.”

That struck a chord right away.  She was exactly right.  If we didn’t think she could do it, what were we doing there?  I admit I wanted to snatch my daughter out of the water at the very first sign of discomfort.  What I didn’t consider was that my behavior was sending clear signals to my daughter that I didn’t think she could do it.   Of course as parents we wanted to protect her.  The goal of these lessons was to enable her to float, saving herself, if she ever accidentally fell into a body of water. Did we want to sabotage her success?

We trusted in the instructor and in our little girl, and cheered them on through the entire process (which admittedly was at times difficult to observe).  At the end of 7 weeks, my daughter completed the course by ”falling” off the edge of the pool, fully clothed.  After sinking down into the water, she immediately rolled over and floated.  At 15 months, she did this all by herself.

I realized that my children are more capable than I give them credit for.   

Allowing children to do things for themselves is integral to the traditonal Montessori methodology.  A a very young age Montessori students participate in practical life exercises that enable them to do various things for themselves.  This includes what we might consider mundane tasks like getting dressed (buttons, snaps, zippers), cleaning up (washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, laundry), baking, and *gasp* cutting with a knife.  This is done for various reasons.  Read more about it here.

Our daughter made banana bread in class yesterday. She had been watching other children do it.  She knew not to touch the materials or the oven because she had not yet had a lesson, but she was very interested.  The spark in her was ignited.  First she was given a lesson on it by her teacher. Then she partnered with an older student (5 years old) to watch and assist. After a few weeks she is doing it all by herself.  She just turned four.

At home she is delighted to help prepare meals and fold laundry.  She can dress herself, brush her teeth, comb her hair, and toast her own waffles.  She sweeps the floor, and cleans up her own messes.  She is showing her younger brother how these things are done. Without the experience with the swimming instructor,  I would still be “protecting” my kids from things that they are clearly capable of doing. 

It just goes to show you - if you believe in them and show them the proper way, they can do it for themselves. 

(Source: iheartmontessori, via earthmagick)

(Source: tastefullyoffensive, via androidmunemune)

In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes.

The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat.

The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy. 

(via its-empathy)

(via religionisbullshit)

pretendingtheresaplan:

solo-vintage:

World War Two inspired a lot of noteworthy kisses of couples sadly saying goodbye or happily being reunited again. The ones that have become the most famous however—are the “Victory Kisses” that celebrated the end of the war. The most well-known of these images is called “The Sailor and the Nurse”, but its proper title is “V-J Day, Times Square, New York City, 1945”. Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt recalls: “There were thousands of people milling about, in the streets and everywhere. Everybody was kissing each other…And there was also a Navy man running, grabbing anybody, you know, kissing. I ran ahead of him because I had Leica cameras around my neck focused from ten feet to infinity. You only had to shoot…I didn’t even know what was going on, until {he} grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped five times.” This frame of snapshots was captivating—three of the five shots in it were notable but one was perfect. This photograph expressed the exultation, relief, and optimism of a post-war world. The iconic image did not make the cover of Life in 1945, instead it ran small inside. The photograph’s fame grew slowly over the years its notoriety intensified as people began to recognize that it captured a remarkable moment in history.

via

(via caughtinadifferentreality)

Aerogel, also know as frozen smoke, is the world’s lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air. If you hold a small piece in your hand, it’s practically impossible to either see or feel, but if you poke it, it’s like styrofoam. It supports up to 4,000 times its own weight and can withstand a direct blast from two pounds of dynamite. It’s also the best insulator in existence.

(Source: kcjo, via aphroditea)

smarterplanet:

Laser System Paints Information on the Road Ahead   | Technology Review

Ever wondered if you could control your house’s climate, security, and appliances — along with your PCs and peripherals — using Microsoft software? That day may soon dawn, as its Research arm has started testing its home automation software, called HomeOS, in twelve domiciles over the past few months. The budding system views smartphones, printers and air conditioners as network peripherals, controlled by a dedicated gateway computer. The project even has a handful of apps in play, which perform functions like energy monitoring, remote surveillance and face-recognition. This growing list of applications, available through a portal called “HomeStore”, will allow users to easily expand their system’s capabilities. So how does it all work out in the real world? Head past the break, and let Redmond’s research team give you the skinny.

(via futurescope)

free-parking:

photographs of sand magnified 250 times, by Gary Greenberg

(via earthmagick)