I just read a fascinating thought from Caitlin Flanagan in the Atlantic this month about why teenage girls read:

The salient fact of an adolescent girl’s existence is her need for a secret emotional life—one that she slips into during her sulks and silences, during her endless hours alone in her room, or even just when she’s gazing out the classroom window while all of Modern European History, or the niceties of the passé composé, sluice past her. This means that she is a

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This week Andy began a new earning enterprise. And his work world looks a whole lot different than mine at his age. Forget mowing lawns (our neighbors don’t have them). Delivering newspapers is out of the question (long ago this job was moved from bike-riding kids to underemployed drivers). Babysitting is out (just not interested). In the 21st century, the best job for underage kids is selling family castoffs on eBay.

He did well with his first item, all the while considering it an experiment. In other words, the bar was…

This morning I added another item to my growing “technology happy list:” Now kids can give to a worthy cause by playing online games. I’m always looking for ways to help my kids see how important it is to look beyond themselves, and I love that this ties together kids’ passion for games with doing good. An excerpt from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society newsletter explains how Pledgeplay came about:

Taylor Carol, of Dana Point, CA, was a typical 11-year-old boy, into sports and video games. But when he got hit by a pitch

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I totally agree with Hank Williams’ thought here that the fun factor in Apple products relates to what’s missing in education these days.