You’ve made it to the end of the school year! Were those last weeks crazy-busy with parent-attendance requirements? Read Motoko Rich's article for some inconspicuous commiseration. 1 There’s an intriguing TED Talk on the logical minds of babies. How scientists do this research is fascinating. Watch it to upgrade your baby observation skills. 2 Dr. Judy Willis has written a short primer on the neuroscience of learning. It's pitched to teachers, but during summer, parents are the teachers. 3 Want to know more about the art and science of talking with babies? Maybe you've heard this kind of chatting referred to as "language dancing." This new study calls it a “conversational duet.” 4 Do you say, "I'm not a math person"? TED.com put together this playlist just for you! 5
Parenting
1 Mom and Dad Have Their Own Set of Finals - Motoko Rich, New York Times
The Benefits of Slow Parenting - Jaci Conry, Boston Globe
Lifelong Damages of Harsh Parenting - Morgan E. Peck, Scientific American/Salon
Let's Agree to Stop Judging Each Other's Parenting Styles - Julie Scagell, The Mid
What's Your Teen Doing This Summer? In Defense of Nothing. - Julie Lythcott-Haims, NYT
Are Scary Scenes on TV Really Damaging Your Child? - Kathleen Lees, Science World Report
Learning
2 The Surprisingly Logical Minds of Babies - Laura Schulz, TED Talk
3 How the Memory Works In Learning - Judy Willis, TeachThought
4 Talk 'With' Not Just 'At' Your Child - Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, Philly.com
How Early Academic Training Retards Intellectual Development - Peter Gray, Psychology Today
What Poverty Does to the Young Brain - Madeline Ostrander, The New Yorker
Education
Bill Gates, College Dropout: Don't Be Like Me - David Leonhardt, The Upshot, NYT
College Board Jumps Into SAT Coaching as Test Changes Loom - Eleanor Chute, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Why Minecraft Rewrites the Playbook for Learning - Mimi Ito, BoingBoing
Can Text Messages and Interventions Nudge Students Through School? - Justin Reich, Mind/Shift
An App That Predicts GPA - Anya Kamenetz, nprEd
Why Technology Alone Won't Fix Schools - Kentaro Toyama, The Atlantic
The Common Core Can't Speed Up Child Development - Joseph Ganem, The Baltimore Sun
Resources
Official SAT Practice - Khan Academy
20 STEM Activities for Kids This Summer - TeachThought
5 6 TED Talks for People Who Hated Math in High School - TED.com
Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation - Common Sense Graphite
Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!