Skip to main content

The Scrambled States



To say that The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Kellar has been a favorite in our house lately, is the understatement of the year. If you haven't read this one, you're missing out. I'm ashamed to say that my 5 year old son often corrects me when putting the puzzle of the US states. Owen and Marcus are officially obsessed with the United States geography.

The boys received a hand-me-down puzzle of the 50 states for xmas and have since learned all the state names and flags. In fact, we spent a good number of mornings learning to sing this:



For the record: Marcus wants to visit Georgia, and insists that we live in Texas, and that John lives in Massachusetts (where he recently traveled for work). Owen would like to do a road trip to Nevada, Colorado, Utah & San Francisco. Mommy & Daddy are exploring possible routes for a summer exploration of the continental US.

Comments

Anonymous said…
We have a 50 states puzzle as well. Natalie is quick to tell everyone that we live in the Alligator, since the Florida piece has a picture of one on it. :)
Anonymous said…
Those play doh replicas are truly impressive!!
Amy P said…
Iowa! Come to Iowa!!

Popular posts from this blog

A view from your shut down

The Daily Dish has been posting reader emails reporting on their " view from the shutdown ." If you think this doesn't affect you, or if you know all too well how bad this is, take a look at the growing collection of poignant stories. No one is in this alone except for the nutjobs in the House. I decided to email Andrew with my own view. I plan to send a similar letter to my congressperson. Dear Andrew, I am a professor of astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA houses one of the largest, if not the largest collection of PhD astronomers in the United States, with over 300 professional astronomers and roughly 100 doctoral and predoctoral students on a small campus a few blocks west of Harvard Yard. Under the umbrella of the CfA are about 20 Harvard astronomy professors, and 50 tenure-track Smithsonian researchers. A large fraction of the latter are civil servants currently on furlough and unable to come to work. In total, 147 FTEs

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke  which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d