Living Unabridged

We did our best to have a "back to routine" week, resetting ourselves after the holidays and a lot of traveling. Instead we had to struggle with even basic things while various family members fought off cold symptoms. Several of us spent at least one day this week in bed. No one was sick enough to need a doctor, but feeling feverish and achy is not conducive to schoolwork or housework getting done, obviously.

Anyway, I think we're on the mend now, so fingers crossed for next week being a "normal" week. (She said with tongue firmly in cheek.)

Learning

• 10 Warning Signs Your Child is a Kinesthetic Learner by Lea Ann Garfias. I absolutely loved this post. I also looked around to see if Lea Ann had kidnapped my third daughter, because reading this post is like reading my darling girl's biography, other than the masculine pronouns, of course. Just one example: we called her "Pig-Pen" like the Peanuts character when she was little because you could literally bathe her, dress her and stand her in the middle of the room not touching ANYTHING, and she would still somehow have this little dust cloud around herself within seconds. Teaching this child has been different from her older sisters, whether learning to read or math facts (and I do plan to share some of my tips on this in an upcoming post).
• This post is interesting but it also illustrates the benefit of having children keep a timeline notebook of their own: Horizontal History from Wait but Why. Knowing who was alive at roughly the same time really does help put history in context. (language warning for that site)

Living

• Check Yourself: Sometimes You are the Toxic Person by Heidi Priebe at Thought Catalog. I appreciated this because it helps put all the posts about "Dropping that toxic person" in context. Anyway, I'm always in favor of checking ourselves first. (Something like this: "How am I being toxic in this situation and can I fix that?")
• Star Wars and Fighting for Your Marriage by J at Hot, Holy, & Humorous. Yes, SPOILER ALERT. But this post perfectly explains one of my main problems with the new movie.
• Why Jaded Adults are Buying Stacks of Coloring Books by Joy Pullmann at The Federalist. Personally, I'm in favor of anything that helps people put down their phones for five minutes.

Loving

• David Bowie: The Pulse Returns to the Prodigal by Gregory Alan Thornbury. This is not an attempt to "christianize" the late singer. But it does help put Bowie's life and work in perspective.
• First disclaimer: officiating problems and perceived preferential treatment for certain teams are one reason I am not a football fan. Second disclaimer: I live in Southwest Ohio so I do tend to side with the Bengals, whether you can call me a Fan or not. So, with those disclaimers, I found this interesting: Official Decision by Joe Posnanski.
• Documentaries Like 'Making a Murderer' Are Mostly Agitprop by Mark Hemingway at The Federalist. Maybe it's just a function of my INTJ-ness, but I tend to be wary of most documentaries, especially those that take "everyone" by storm. Sometimes documentary is just another word for propaganda. (Dear Everyone: It's called discernment, get some.)
• This was fascinating and sad: Where The Statues of Paris Were Sent to Die from Messy Nessy Chic.
• Return of Incandescent Light Bulbs as MIT Makes Them More Efficient. I can't wait to buy these. I hate (and I do not use that word lightly) the new bulbs which are more expensive, give worse light, could actually be dangerous if they break, and don't last nearly as long as the packaging proclaims. Did I miss any reasons why this great light bulb bait and switch makes me feel, well, incandescent? (sorry, couldn't resist)

This week:

• Living, Learning, & Loving in 2015. My top 10 favorite posts from 2015.
• 52 Family Game Nights: Forbidden Island. (plus tips for dealing with a poor loser)

Last year on Living Unabridged:

• 5 Days of Raising Readers (including tips for teaching phonics and tips for reading aloud)

What caught your eye this week?