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Are you an e-book or paper book reader?

I'm half-way through The Kitchen House .... so far so good, but I have a feeling the book will be a sad tale in the end. What are you reading?

Why we need to let kids be creative By Carolina A. Miranda, Parenting.com It's a brisk winter morning in New York City and a class of bubbly preschoolers have burst into Room 5 of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School for a period of free play. Amid an explosion of drawing, coloring, and play-dough kneading, Maxine, 3, and Harper, 4, two towheaded girls in pink skirts, are building a tower out of colorful wood blocks. Their structure, however, is top-heavy, and it begins to wobble. The pair stops and scrutinizes their work. Harper dismantles the tower and starts to rebuild. "Let's put it like this," she tells Maxine, using the biggest blocks to create a solid foundation. Up the tower goes again, this time standing firmly on a solid base. This may not seem like a remarkable activity -- kids build stuff and pull it apart on a daily basis. But what Harper did in revising her construction methods was to engage a two-step thought process known as "divergent thinking." First, her mind flipped through her knowledge on the geometry of blocks (cubes are sturdy; cones, not so much). Then it generated new ideas for how she might use them (place large cubes at the bottom, instead of on top). Divergent thinking is key to problem solving and is the backbone of creativity -- understanding what is, and then imagining the possibilities of what could be. The word "creativity," in our society, tends to be applied to artistic endeavors. But divergent thinking is an essential part of everyday life, whether it's navigating office politics or devising a new social-media network. When a toddler figures out that he can climb a strategically placed chair to reach a cookie on the kitchen counter, he has engaged in highly creative problem solving (to the chagrin of his parents). "We all have creative potential," says Mark Runco, Ph.D., director of the University of Georgia's Torrance Center for Creativity & Talent Development. "Our job as parents and teachers is to help kids fulfill it." Whether that potential is being fulfilled is another story entirely. Kyung Hee Kim, Ph.D., an educational psychologist at the College of William & Mary, in Virginia, has spent the past decade poring over the creativity scores of more than 300,000 American K-12 students. The news is not good: "Creativity scores have significantly decreased since 1990," she says. Moreover, "creativity scores for kindergartners through third-graders decreased the most, and those from the fourth through sixth grades decreased by the next largest amount." Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/03/living/let-kids-be-creative-p/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8

1. Being honest with myself and my dearest friends 2. New babies in our extended family 3. My sweet sweet momma:)

CNN.com - American photography icon Eastman Kodak has seen more than a 90% drop in shares over the past year, which has lead to speculation about a possible bankruptcy. The 131-year-old camera company, whose main focus was film, has suffered financially since the digital revolution. Over the years, the saying “Kodak Moment” has become a popular synonym for a priceless memory captured by a photo. Did you use or do you still use Kodak film? If so, share your most memorable analog Kodak Moment with iReport and tell us what made that moment so special. Your photo could be featured on CNN. http://ireport.cnn.com/topics/726798?hpt=hp_bn1

I know I just posted about James Morrison, but now the Train album is out and I'm really loving it! It’s called “California 37.” I heard the first single off it, “Drive By,” and it’s great. My kids are even singing it! I think I may need to see them on this tour. I have loved Train since their first hit “Meet Virginia” off their first album in 1998. From there, they had me with “Drops of Jupiter” from their second album. And their last release “Save Me, San Francisco” produced 3 hits “Hey, Soul Sister”, “If It’s Love” and “Marry Me.” Who didn’t love “Hey, Soul Sister?” Pat Monahan’s voice is truly amazing. Check out their awesome site http://trainline.com to view their tour dates and click here to buy the album on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/California-37-Train/dp/B007G3H8Y0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334676539&sr=8-1 or click here to buy it on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/california-37/id514598046. You can like Train on Facebook, just click here: http://www.facebook.com/Train. I am so glad that Train has a new album out and I want to pass along this info to all of the other moms out there!!! I work for Miles Of Marketing (www.milesofmarketing.com) and they provided this information to me.

Miss Lori thinks we are all responsible for the sexualization of children like Isabella Barrett from Toddlers and Tiaras .... I think this is a must read for everyone. http://www.misslori.tv/2012/02/07/miss-lori-thinks-we-are-responsible-for-sexualization-of-children-like-isabella-from-toddlers-and-tiaras/

Hi Everyone, I am new to the Motherhood site and soon to be a SAHM. I have 2 girls age 7 and 2 and daughter number 3 is due at the end of March. I am finally going to be able to be a SAHM due to the fact that i found a way to make an income from home and not have to put my girls in daycare. Any tips? A lot of people i know say that staying at home isn't easy and that its a lot of work. I am looking forward to it and can't wait but can understand what people mean. I am sure there are times when you just need some mommy alone time but my kids are my world so I am sure I am going to love it! Counting the days down until i can be a SAHM

The White House's Big Earth Day Announcement by Josh Loposer http://www.greendaily.com/2010/04/22/the-white-houses-big-earth-day-announcement Want a a free home energy upgrade courtesy of the federal government? As part of the White House's official Earth Day festivities, Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the "Retrofit Ramp-Up," a plan to dole out $452M in energy retrofits to 25 communities across the country. Using funds set aside by the Recovery Act, contractors will literally be going door-to-door to offer Americans a chance at a free energy-saving upgrade. The only problem is that you have to live in one of these 25 privileged communities. Lucky for me, my town made the cut. Did yours? (mine didn't make the cut - bummer - but I think this is great! And I know we have lots of Michigan moms on here - the State of Michigan is listed so you'll have to let us know if you get to participate in this!)

Hi my name is Jennifer, i am a mother to a 2 year old little girl named Kylie. I just left my previous parent forum due to all the drama and bashing, hopefully this place will be different. Although i liked being able to create your own topic over there so much more than having to search for somewhere to post.

I recently joined my 7 yr. old son in Cub Scouts. My older boys did the same back in the 1990's. Still a traditional group & still a good thing for kids to do.