Weekly Favorites 1/12

It's already been more than 10 days since the new year started. I've been busy working on my 100 things to do list and setting goals for this year. This year I've decided to give a go at Bullet Jounal. I'm going to write about it in a few weeks but in the meantime, here are my favorite reads for this past week:

Cats

A nice reminder for veteran cat parents, a concise useful infographic for new cat parents:

Keeping your cat happy indoors infographic 

Education
It's not particularly an eye-opening idea that lanugage and math are not the only areas where you can assess people's smartness but it's still a nice litte video to check out and think about what it means for someone to be "smart"

8 Intelligences: Are You a Jack of All Trades or a Master of One? 

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We haven't tried this activity yet but looks fun

Snow globe sight word free printable activity 

Mind

You know, we always hear a phrase "find ourselves" but this article states that it is not the right mindset. Rather you create yourself, which to me is an intriguing idea.  "If we attach ourselves to something, we are desiring for it to be stable, which directly goes against the forces of the universe." Hmmm
Neuroscience Learns What Buddhism Has Known for Ages: There Is No Constant Self 

I love this quote, as I myself am a bit of a worrisome person

"Worrying means you suffer twice" 

Music

Don't know if true but it'd certainly be nice if these brain functions translate to everyday activities

Science says piano players' brains are very different from everybody else's 

Books

I also have two great children's books we've recently read. The highest mountain of books in the world by Rocio Bonilla is a perfect book for those who want to pass on their love of books to their child. The title itself is appealing to book lovers, don't you think?

Hooray for Today! , a sequel to the fun book Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won, is a yet again fun book to read. The story might look simple with a lot of repetition but perhaps that's a good thing for small children.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flipboard to get notified as soon as I share them

Weekly Favorites 11/13

I haven't been able to read enough to find interesting articles lately but just wanted to share two things this week, which were great hits with Little Guy. Hope you (and your little one) will like them too:

Early childhood education (preschool to kindergarten activity)

Fall Color by Sight Word

Books

A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You 

The Moon Is La Luna

Ever since I showed him Dora the Explore, Little Guy became obssessed with the show (and the Go Diego Go series) and interested in learning Spanish. I don't know what fascinated him so much but these two shows are his current favorites. Perhaps he can identify himself with the kids who speak (and mix) different languages? I know these shows won't make kids actual Spanish speakers right away but he's learned quite a few Spanish words from the show and always asks "what do you say (so and so) in Spanish?" (and we ask the same question to trusted google to get the answer). They definitely helped him interested in learning Spanish.

Now after learning various Spanish words I feel we're ready to read children's books that are written in Spanish and English together to advance our knowledge of the Spanish language. One of those books I found is called The Moon Is La Luna written by Jay M. Harris.

The book contains several silly rhymes that use a mix of English and Spanish, many of which with the words that sound similar in both languages but mean quite different things. For example, una flor in Spanish sounds like the floor in English. Frankly some of the rhymes didn't quite make sense to me but I found many others entertaining and quite funny. My son's favorites that always induce giggles are: Pies in Spanish are feet! (with a funny picture of a foot and a pie) or the one that writes papá means "dad" but papa means "potato" and it goes "so watch how you say it, unless you would like a potato to tuck you in bed".

Again this won't make you a fluent Spanish speaker right away but it's really a fun book for those who are interested in learning Spanish. It certainly made my son more interested in learning the language even further.

Weekly Favorites 10/24

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Early Childhood Education to Music and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Finance

Mall Investors Are Set to Lose Billions as America's Retail Gloom Deepens

How to Save Money

Forget the small stuff. These are the 3 things that'll actually save you money. pic.twitter.com/RVQGA5hzwH

— The Motley Fool (@themotleyfool) October 19, 2016

Language

Brexit is a bloke

Funny Tweet

When Google doesn't have a translation #xl8 #tl8 #translation pic.twitter.com/I6jLdRJ0Eb

— LanguageCrawler (@LanguageCrawler) October 19, 2016

Books

The black and white factory

88 instruments

Weekly Favorites 10-16

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Early Childhood Education to Music and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Bilingualism

7 challenges and solutions for raising a bilingual child
Can A Bilingual Mother Speak Both Languages With Her Child?

Learning Another Language Improves Your Health and Well Being

Books

The Cookie Fiasco 

YouTube

A spooky twist on popular nursery rhymes, perfect for Halloween season 

Weekly Favorites 10-2

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Early Childhood Education to Music and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Finance

My Stock Got Bought Out: What Should I Do Now?

What Happens To Stocks When One Public Company Buys Another?

Health

8 reasons your pain won't go away

50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat

Books

the moon is la luna 

Weekly Favorites 9-25

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Early Childhood Education to Music and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Bilingualism

Thomas Bak: Language lessons to help protect against dementia

Parenting

Is the Social-Emotional Development of Your Highly Sensitive Child Being Misread?

Miscellaneous

I hate making phone calls but this article makes me kind of nostalgic about phone calls: The Death of the Telephone Call

Books

Little Guy and I love this cute and unique ABC book: Apple pie ABC

Weekly Favorites 9-18

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Early Childhood Education to Music and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Yum!

Magic Cake is the Latest Dessert Everyone on Pinterest is Obsessed With

Shiitake and Snap Pea Risotto

Books

Anna Dewdney (1965-2016) (the author of that lovable llama llama series. RIP)

The fire Cat

Fire! Fire!

Will you be my friends

Video

Over at Thomas and Toys, we uploaded a fun new video!

Percy and the Little Goat Set Wooden Railway Unboxing video

Weekly Favorites 9-4

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Language to Music to Parenting and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. I have also included children's books that both Little Guy and I liked. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Cats

Cats Are Happier and Healthier When You Make Them Work for Their Food

Enrich Feeding Time| Make a Puzzle Cat Feeder

Education
Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways – we need to stop using unproven, harmful methods

Health

Read in a Quiet Place for a Better Life

Books
The Bear and the Piano
Pookie and Tushka find a little piano

Weekly Favorites 8-29

(Almost) everyday, I share stories I found and liked on the Internet via  Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, the topics ranging from Cats to Bilingualism to Language to Music to Parenting and more. Here are those stories in a more convenient weekly roundup form for you. Starting this week, I'll include children's books that both Little Guy and I liked too. Hope you'll find something that interests you. If you liked these stories don't forget to follow me via one (or more!) of the social media sites above to get notified as soon as I share them:

Bilingualism

7 myths about bilingual individuals that may be holding you back
Q & A: Bilingual homeschooling - how to successfully integrate more than one language?

My parents and I don't speak the same language

Finance

5 Money Secrets the Rich and Frugal Already Know

Kids Activities

3 best toys for intellectual development

Music (Piano) Education

Pre-Reading Music for Young Beginners Bundle (suitable for 4-7 years old)

Translation
How to Spice Up Your Translation

Micellaneous 

The science behind why winning a bronze medal feels better than a silver

I tried to revitalize my depressed hometown’s artistic community and all I got was this lousy house

Books We Read

A Fire Truck Named Red by Randall De Seve

What Little Guy Read This Month

I love books. Reading was one of my favorite activities in my childhood (still is but sadly little time to read). I even made myself a little reading nook in a closet for a comfortable, uninterrupted reading time since I shared a room with my brothers. I love that books can teach you many things, cultivate imagination and quite literally take you anywhere you'd like to go. One thing I definitely would like my son to take after me would be the love of reading (hopefully in both of his languages!), and naturally I enjoy our story time a lot. Luckily Little Guy seems to like reading too :)

So I've decided to share a few books Little Guy read and liked each month here on my blog. I've finally signed up for Goodreads and share the rest of the books he read, some of which he liked and some didn't so much. So please check those out too. I hope one of those books will turn out to be your favorite.

OK, without further ado, here are some of the books we enjoyed this month in no particular order. 

Goldy Luck and The Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

This is such a cute and funny book. As you can imagine it's based on the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story but the main girl in this book is a Chinese girl celebrating Chinese New Year, and the three bears are, naturally, pandas. I like that after making a mess at the panda family's house, Goldy regretted that she ran off and actually went back to their house to apologize and make amends. It's a feel good story for a new year and you can have a glimpse at how other culture celebrates New Year too. I'd think it's a little lengthy for really small children but for this one Little Guy didn't mind it at all. 

Snowmen at night by Caralyn Buehner

A little boy sees the snowman he built looked a bit "off" the next morning, and wonders what the snowman was doing all night. It turns out the snowmen around the neighborhood gathered together and had a lot of fun, like snowball fights, playing baseball etc. This is such a cute way to look at a sad part of making a snowman. Instead of feeling bad about it melting, children can imagine all kinds of activities the snowmen did and that is why they look a little different the next morning. When it was time to return this book to the library, Little Guy actually cried :(

 Hansel and Diesel by David Gordon

This is another one of those stories that's based on a fairy tale. I got this one out from the library because Little Guy likes the trucks and Diesel in Thomas & friends, and he liked the story a lot. The storyline is pretty much the same as Hansel and Gretel but instead of being abandoned in the woods, the brother and the sister decided to go find fuel on their own for the family, came across a fancy gas station and met the wicked winch. It's a funny adaptation of a fairy tale.

You're a Crab! A Moody Day Book by Jenny Whitehead

Last but not least, this is my current favorite :) The book illustrates different emotions comparing to sea animals, for example, crabby crab, silly jellyfish, mean shark, and mopey manatee. The best part I like is that when a child just feels like left alone, they can be a hermit crab and Mom will be one too and stay by their side until they feel better. When Little Guy feels a bit moody, we make a silly puffy fish face or do the octopus hug like in the book, which helps us a lot. Being able to learn names of sea animals is a plus too. The only thing I'd have to say about this book is, because the crab looks scary in the cover picture, Little Guy initially thought this was a scary monster type of book and took a lot of my effort to convince him to read it.

Please also check my goodreads page and Little Guy's "bookshelf" to find more books we read. Thanks.