7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 187)

1
I had one of those crazy moments this week, where common sense departs and you think for a moment you could indeed be superwoman.  Soccer season begins soon and we received an email  regarding our 7 year son’s team, asking for a coach and manager. For a moment, just one crazy moment I thought that I should volunteer to be manager.  Then I considered that I have three children to shuttle to games and another who is refereeing and I’ll have a pre-schooler and a wee babe.. sanity returned, I didn’t volunteer.

2
I really think most parks nowadays are boring, maybe safer but certainly they don’t provide much scope for imagination.  Therefore PC knew an article about Household Items Better Than School Play Equipment would interest me.
“Milk crates, buckets and other household items are better at getting kids active and promoting their creativity than traditional school playground equipment, an Australian study has found.”
One school is providing precisely that, I’ve been recalling my school playground and the hours my friends and I spent playing in our ‘house’ ‘constructed’ from a few log ‘walls’ and strategically placed sticks.

3
Last week I discussed the grammatical correctness of lighted vs lit Charlotte responded, ” I think the reason ‘lit’ has decreased in American English usage is because it has become a slang term for getting incredibly drunk. Not just a little drunk, but incredibly intoxicated.” I’ve never heard of that slang, it just doesn’t make sense.  Then again maybe our Australian slang terms for totally intoxicated wouldn’t make sense to an American either, such as paralytic, blind, pissed, for a start.

4
Read an interesting post this week, The Critical Subject Your Homeschool Curriculum is missing and it’s …Memory Work.  Having re-committed to memory work this year I found myself nodding throughout the post.  Two things that have continually astounded me the past several weeks are; the pride the children take in their memory work, and their ability to memorise large chunks of knowledge.

5
Have you ever wondered if you are a Speed Reader?  I know I’m not, but I was sure I was a fast reader, this speed reading test confirmed.  Apparently I read 579 words per minute, which makes me faster than 132% of the American average. Maintaining my speed I could read ‘War and Peace’ in 16 hours and 54 minutes. What is your reading speed?  I’s particularly love to know my daughter Anna Maria’s reading speed because I’m sure she is a speed reader.

6
I learnt something new this week I’ve been wanting to know how to do.  When I watermark photos in Picmonkey I’ve wanted to include a small copyright symbol, but I couldn’t work out how. Simply all is needed is ALT0169, © ta da!

7
Saved the best news till last.  Our daughter Princess has revamped and resurrected her blog, a brand new look creating fresh enthusiasm.  Not to be left out Jelly Bean started a blog too, along with a new blog pseudonym (just to confuse you), Rose Red.  The girls are often busy planning and collaborating what to write about next.  Princess totally amazed me with her latest post, she shot some excellent photos, cropped, watermarked and uploaded them without any assistance.  When I asked her in amazement, “How did you know what to do when I haven’t told you how?” She answered, “I’ve just watched you.”  If you feel inclined they’d love you to visit and leave them an encouraging comment.

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