U Cant Touch This – Zeke and Luther

Scientists Find Oldest Flute in the World

By Laura Leigh Davidson
July 8, 2009

Editor’s Note: Professor Nicholas Conard shows a 35,000-years-old flute during a press conference in Tuebingen, Germany, on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Scientists say it is the oldest handmade musical instrument yet discovered. (Photo: Daniel Maurer/AP Images)

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Imagine yourself living 35,000 years ago. What would a typical evening in your family’s cave be like? After eating the food your parents hunted and gathered, would you have a rock-throwing contest with your sister? Would you draw pictures in the dirt? A new discovery suggests you might pass the time making music on a flute.

A group of scientists have unearthed a 35,000-year-old flute in Germany. They believe it is the oldest handcrafted musical instrument ever discovered.

Professor Nicholas Conard led the team of archaeologists, or scientists who study the remains of ancient cultures, that found the flute. The team reconstructed the instrument from 12 separate pieces they dug up from the floor of a cave in southern Germany.

The instrument is about eight-and-a-half inches long. It is made from the wing bone of a vulture. (A vulture is a large bird that feeds on the meat of dead animals.) One end of the flute has two V-shaped notches. Conard says that’s where a musician would blow to produce sound. Five finger holes are carved into the instrument. As with modern flutes, the player would cover one or more of the holes while blowing on the flute to make different tones.

“It’s [clearly] the oldest instrument in the world,” Conard told news organization Associated Press (AP). Conard described the historic discovery for the journal Nature in June.

The ancient flute was too fragile to play, so Conard and another researcher made a copy of the instrument from the same type of vulture bone as the original. They were able to play a number of songs, including “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Creative Culture

This flute is just the latest evidence suggesting that early humans in Europe were artistically creative. While researching the same cave where the bone flute was found, Conard’s team discovered a statue of a female made of ivory. They believe that, at 40,000 years old, it is the oldest known sculpture of a human.

The team also found other works of art. Among them were ivory carvings that, pieced together, resemble a horse’s head, and a statue of a half-human, half-lion creature.

Conard and many other experts believe that music and art strengthened the bonds of community for early humans in Europe. In addition, their creativity helped them develop better communication skills. Strong communities and advanced communication skills enabled early humans to survive difficult living conditions to establish the modern societies we have today.

Source: Scholastic News Online

 

 

Galaxy Kids eLibrary At The Car Wash

HAIRSPRAY” Star Nikki Blonsky Joins Colgate

Homeschooling and Socialization of Children

By Apples4theteacher
July 7, 2009

Homeschooling is defined by Preiss (1989) as “the educational alternative in which parents/guardians assume the primary responsibility for the education of their children.” This Digest will offer some background information on homeschooling and discuss conflicting viewpoints culled from research on the socialization of home-schooled children.

 

RAPIDLY ESCALATING NUMBERS

While a Department of Education study in 1990-91 concluded that between 250,000 and 300,000 school-age children were being educated at home, “USA Today” recently cited the Home School Legal Defense Association figures for 1994 as between 750,000 and 1 million–up from only 15,000 in the early ’80s (Thomas, 1994). What is the reason for this explosion?

Mayberry (1991) pinpoints the gradual development of the modern state and public education as arenas which attempt to legitimate themselves by embodying the ideologies of many different public segments. She argues that by considering other agencies of socialization (in this case, the church or the family) as arenas which embody ideologies in contradiction to those transmitted by state institutions, the “context surrounding parental choice to home educate gains clearer focus.” She stresses that “…the decision to home school (or seek other forms of privatized education) represents a political response by people who perceive a threat in the current organization and content of public education.” Thus, the homeschooling movement is directly linked to the State’s struggle to balance contradictory imperatives (Mayberry, 1991).

 

BACKGROUND AND PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

For historical background on homeschooling in America, both Bliss (1989) and Aiex (1994) provide enlightening information. Preiss (1989) offers a concise treatment of the legal aspects of homeschooling.

With the tremendous growth in numbers of the home schooled, there has been a corresponding growth in the market for homeschooling information–indeed, there are now myriad newsletters and books aimed at parents who home school, as well as at least one scholarly newsletter, “Home School Researcher.” According to Preiss (1989), “In 1987, in one home-schooling catalog alone, over 300 suppliers of home-schooling materials are listed.” With the explosion in homeschooling during the past few years, one can only imagine how large the network of professional suppliers of materials is by now.

The granddaddy of all the providers of courses for home study is the venerable Calvert School of Baltimore, which, for many years, was almost the only institution which offered correspondence courses below college level. It was founded in 1906 and has enrolled, through the years, upwards of 360,000 students in its home instruction courses. It has, of course, been joined by other entities in the past decade.

 

WHY PARENTS HOME SCHOOL

Parents home school for a wide variety of reasons–for example, many parents still live in areas where schools are not readily available (a number of rural areas and some parts of Alaska come to mind), and many parents are anxious about the physical well being of their children in an increasingly more violent school setting. Still others simply feel that they can give their children a better education at home. According to Mayberry (1991), however, two groups of parents home school primarily for ideological reasons:

• deeply religious parents
• “New Age” parents.

Mayberry surveyed 1600 Oregon families who home schooled, receiving a 35% response rate to her questions. Their responses led her to conclude that the two groups cited perceived homeschooling as an activity that provided them a way to reproduce their “way-of-life” by controlling the content of their children’s education. She reports: “…the meanings and values embodied in public education were not the ones that these parents wanted articulated to their children” (Mayberry, 1991).

 

SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN

Does the research show any clear-cut advantages or disadvantages to homeschooling, in relation to the social and emotional development of children schooled at home? Does the home-schooled youngster do as well in measures of interpersonal skills and communication skills as the conventionally schooled child?

The stereotypical home-schooled child is often portrayed as being shy, passive, and lethargic because of his/her isolation from the normal socialization found in formal schooling. Critics further allege that the self-concept of the home-schooled child suffers from lack of exposure to a more conventional environment (Stough, 1992).

Another socialization-related accusation faced by home educators is that of overprotecting their children from the real world. If this is true, however, at least one researcher (Bliss, 1989) does not consider this to be a serious problem. She argues that “Protection during early, developmental years for purposes of nurturing and growth is evident in many arenas: plant, animal, and aquatic. Why should it be considered wrong or bad in the most vital arena, human development?”

Stough (1992),looking particularly at socialization, compared 30 home-schooling families and 32 conventionally schooling families, families with children 7-14 years of age. According to the findings, children who were schooled at home “gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society…at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children.” The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups. Stough maintains that “insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children.”

This echoes the findings of Taylor (1987). Using one of the best validated self-concept scales available, Taylor’s random sampling of home-schooled children (45,000) found that half of these children scored at or above the 91st percentile–47% higher than the average, conventionally schooled child. He concludes: “Since self concept is considered to be a basic dynamic of positive sociability, this answers the often heard skepticism suggesting that home schoolers are inferior in socialization” (Taylor, 1987).

From the findings of these two studies, it would appear that the concerns expressed by teachers, administrators, and legislators about socialization and homeschooling might be unfounded. Indeed, Bliss (1989) contends that it is in the formal educational system’s setting that children first experience negative socialization, conformity, and peer pressure. According to her, “This is a setting of large groups, segmented by age, with a variation of authority figures…the individual, with his/her developmental needs, becomes overpowered by the expectations and demand of others–equal in age and equally developmentally needy.”

Webb (1989), one of the few researchers who has examined aspects of the adult lives of wholly or partly home-educated people, found that all who had attempted higher education were successful and that their socialization was often better than that of their schooled peers.

 

MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED

At this point, more research on homeschooling is necessary–what we have is inconclusive about many of its aspects. Although more and deeper studies are certainly called for, the population to be studied is not readily accessible to researchers. And the types of research that can be done are still limited to case studies of families or to surveys of self- reports by participants.

Notably, the success or failure of the homeschooling experience depends inevitably on the success or failure of the family’s interpersonal relationships. Homeschooling is a complex issue and represents a tremendous commitment on the part of the parents–in most cases, the father must function as the sole breadwinner, and the mother must spend most of her time instructing her children.

For now, we will let Preiss (1989) have the last word. She says: “Because homeschooling contains so many diverse and changing factors, each family situation is unique. Yet there exists within the home-schooling community a sense of unity which transcends ideological, political, and religious concerns. That unity lies in the parents’ commitment to the education of their children, whose welfare is their primary concern.”

 

Source: Apples 4 The Teacher

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Recall – Drop Side Cribs

By Safe Kids
July 7, 2009

On July 2, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of 400,000 Simplicity drop side cribs due to suffocation risk.  The crib’s plastic hardware can break or deform, causing the drop side to detach. When the drop side detaches, it creates a space between the drop side and the crib mattress. Infants and toddlers can roll into this space and become entrapped, which can lead to suffocation.

The CPSC is aware of one death involving an 8-month-old who became entrapped between the drop side of the crib and the crib mattress and suffocated. The agency is also aware of 25 additional incidents involving the drop side detaching from the crib.  In two of the incidents, children became entrapped between the drop side and the crib mattress, but the children were not injured.

The cribs were sold at department stores, children’s stores, and mass merchandisers nationwide from January of 2005 through June of 2009 for between $150 and $300.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cribs and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby.

For more information, including a list of model numbers, read the CPSC recall notice

The CPSC has also compiled a complete listing of Simplicity recalls

Source: USA Safekids

Editor’s Notes: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Remembering ‘A Life Worth, Overlooked’

MARTHA GILLIS
Springfield
 July 7, 2009

 Editor’s Note: This was written in the Washington Post on July 5, 2009. We believe that it is worth sharing with you the readers. Please past this on to others.

My nephew, Brian Bradshaw, was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan on June 25, the same day that Michael Jackson died. Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week? There were several of them, and our family crossed paths with the family of another fallen soldier at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies come “home.” Only the media in Brian’s hometown and where he was stationed before his deployment covered his death.

I remember Brian as a toddler wandering around in cowboy boots and hat, not seeing the need for any other clothing. He grew into a thoroughly decent person with a wry sense of humor. He loved wolves and history. Most Christmases, I gave him a biography or some analysis of the Civil War. He read such things for pleasure.

He had old-fashioned values and believed that military service was patriotic and that actions counted more than talk. He wasn’t much for talking, although he could communicate volumes with a raised eyebrow.

He was a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor. He carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial “shrines,” while this soldier’s death goes unheralded?

It makes me want to scream.

Source: Washington Post

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Evian Roller Babies US

Berry Shortcake

By Alicia Cantrell
July 4, 2009

Description

Festive, fruity and delicious cake for all of your patriotic holidays.

Ingredients

Dough:
2 3/4 Cups Cake Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp plus 1 Tsp Baking Powder
Tsp Salt
10 tbsp chilled unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
Berry Mixture
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries
1 pint strawberries
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 can of whipped cream

 

Directions

In a food processor, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined by turning the processor on and off quickly a few times. Add butter then pulse until just combined. With the motor running, pour heavy cream through the feed tube, just before the dough forms a ball.

Lightly flour a work surface and gently knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Roll out dough to a round 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 7 circles with a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Knead the leftover scraps together, roll and cut out 3 more circles.

Line one baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the dough circle on tray. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake for 5 minutes in a 375 degree oven and then reduce the heat to 350 degree oven. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden and firm to the touch.

While the dough cools, mix the berries. Combine 1 pint blueberries, 1 pint raspberries, and 1 pint strawberries with 2 tbsp sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then add 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp orange zest. Gently mix and set aside.

When ready to serve, split each shortcake in half and warm slightly. Place the bottom half of the shortcake on a dessert plate. Squirt whipped cream on the cake and arrange a cup of the berry mixture over and around the ice cream. Top with the additional whipped cream. Serve immediately while the shortcake is still warm.

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min
Total Time: 45 Min

Servings: 6

Source: Eversave

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

4 of July Patriotic Punch Cups

by Family Fun
July 4, 2009

Look-alike plastic cups have a way of losing themselves in a crowd. Reduce mix-ups (and waste) with guest-decorated designs.

 

 

 

 

 

CRAFT MATERIALS:

	Plastic cups
	Large and small star stickers (red, white, and blue)
	Placard
	Marker
Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less

 

1. Add a large red, white, or blue star sticker to each cup, along with a few smaller stars for decoration.
2. Next to an assortment of markers, set up a placard directing guests to choose a cup for the event and write their name on it.
 
Source: Family Fun

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

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