Today’s Washington Post state’s that kids are still reading the longtime faves, Dr. Seuss, E.B. White and others. J.K. Rawlings fares very well for kids in 5th grade and older. Renaissance Learning has compiled data taken from online quizzes children answer about the books they read. Data is broken down by age, sex, region, and […]

It’s esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Whew, 26 letters. I’ve even had one of these. It doesn’t hurt. Anybody have any long words?

We’ve all been anxiously waiting to find out. Now it’s official. The Oxford University Press Word of the Year is ….locavore. That’s right. I can honestly say I have never used this word. Ever. I don’t think I’ve ever read it anywhere. Anybody else like me?
Locavore is used to:
describe and promote the practice of eating […]

I’ve written on this subject before on using podcasts and Skype to learn Chinese or Spanish. But one cannot stop progress; here is another very cool web tool by Mango Languages offering free online instruction in nine languages for English speakers and in English for Polish and Spanish speakers.
I’ve clicked my way through some Spanish […]

Seven years ago when our oldest was in English 10 the recommended dictionary was Webster’s 1828 Edition. We already had a collection of dictionaries, a newer Webster, Oxford, Merriam-Webster, American Heritage and several cheap pocket paperbacks. I really didn’t want to cough up more bucks for another one. We were off the hook when I […]