Alanis, I feel ya, mama. You're trying to get some work done and your kiddo wants your attention. Though trying to hold your cutie while performing a song from your new album on the Fallon show maybe wasn't the greatest idea... or was it?!
Awesome dad of the year goes to this little stinker's poppa. Read the rest
The FTC and the Justice Department are investigating claims that TikTok, the popular social media app with close ties to China, violated a 2019 agreement to protect children's privacy. Read the rest
The pandemic has inspired a slew of great courses for young artists, like this Bite-Sized Art History course that teaches about President Obama's official portraitist Kehinde Wiley and shows young artists how to make their own portrait in his style. Read the rest
The band had to stop and let him flex 😄🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/aBRub7ThzP
— E-zrael Ani (@EzraelAni) June 14, 2020
This kid is incredible. Read the rest
Every year, the 5th graders at Wirtz Elementary School in Paramount, California get to have a big jam session concert with real musicians. It's the brainchild of teacher Eric Caruso, who recognized that a lot of the students came from underserved communities, and could really use the inspiration of an interactive arts program, complete with an awards ceremony and guest artists.
In 2018, the students performed some Big Boi songs. In 2019, they grooved on Sly and the Family Stone. And in 2010, they rocked out to the seminal DC hardcore punk band, Minor Threat.
We're not the first, I hope we're not the last 'Cause I know we're all heading for that adult crash The time is so little, the time belongs to us Why is everybody in such a fucking rush?
Make do with what you have, take what you can get Pay no mind to us, we're just a minor threat
We're just! A minor threat! We're just! A minor threat!
The kids are all right. Read the rest
Pure happiness. Read the rest
My friend Steve Davee posted this fun project to Instructables. It's a perfect project for shut-in parents and kids to do together. Read the rest
Utah Highway Patrol reports on an interesting traffic stop. Read the rest
Years ago, I read a bit of advice in The Whole Earth Catalog, which said a great way to get up to speed on a subject you are interested in is to read a children's book about it. It's excellent advice, and I've made use of it many times over the years.
The best children's books are the ones that were published before 1970. After that, the illustrations started to get crappy, and the writing took a nosedive, too. There are exceptions, but I find it to be the rule.
Here's a winner from 1964: Why Satellites Stay in Orbit, by Sune Engelbrekston and illustrated by Lee Ames. It's a very short book that does a terrific job of explaining precisely one thing: why satellites stay in orbit. This is the kind of book an eight-year-old can read and appreciate.
Why Satellites Stay in Orbit is out-of-print, but copies can be found on Amazon Read the rest
Joanna Charlton shared this video of her daughter crying over closed restaurants and delivery food. This 4-year-old girl speaks for all of us. Read the rest
My buddy Ken Goldberg, a UC Berkeley professor of robotics, his 10-year-old daughter Blooma, and science communicator Ashley Chase wrote a delightful children's book called How to Train Your Robot! Illustrated by Dave Clegg, the story, about a fourth grade robotics club, is a fun and understandable introduction to how deep learning can help robots gain new skills in the messy, unstructured human world.
Thanks to support from the National Science Foundation and UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, How to Train Your Robot is available as a free PDF online and student groups can request free hardcopies!
In this cute Physics Girl video, Diane shows you 20 simple, fun, and educational kitchen experiments you can do with your kids.
To make the video more exciting, Diane turns her demo into a race against the clock, trying to conduct all of the experiments within five minutes. You and your kids can take your time.
Image: YouTube
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BTW: Did you now that our very own Mark Fraunfelder wrote and illustrated a book of these sorts of kitchen counter science experiments, called Mad Professor? You might want that right about now.
At least some things in the world are still adorable. From RTÉ:
The Kelly's have four boys who are just one day shy of their fifth birthday.
Now they have been gifted an early birthday present of quad lambs.
Quadruplet brothers in Co Offaly have met recent arrivals on their family farm - a set of lamb quads pic.twitter.com/6kLQG0rNJL
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 27, 2020
Honestly the whole video is worth it just for the lambs running off at the end.
Quads on the double for Offaly farming family [Teresa Mannion / RTÉ]
Image: Public Domain via PxHere Read the rest
In an interview with Ellen Degeneres, NBA player Dwyane Wade discussed how he and his wife support and empower their teenaged child Zaya.
