It was a big rush around your house the other day, and once you got where you were headed, you suddenly realized that you forgot your hat.
Your mom is always reminding you to use your head with things like this, and now - because your head is cold - you wish you'd listened. You've tried everything to become a smarter kid. Can you train your brain?
Take a peek at the new book "How to Be a Genius" and see. You may be surprised to know that your brain is way ahead of you.
Think about all the things you can do now that you couldn't do when you were a baby. You can run, play games, sing, remember your address and follow a joke. And you can do it because of your brain, and because it grew as you grew and learned. In fact, by the time you were 3 years old, your brain had tripled in size.
There are two halves to your brain, the left side and the right side. If you are good at language, math and writing, your left brain is dominant. If you're good at art and music, your right brain is the one in charge. But that doesn't mean you don't use both sides of your brain, because you do: for instance, your right brain processes what your left eye sees, and vice versa. Plus, just like you're right- or left-handed, you can be right-footed or left-eyed.
Complicated? A little. But use your brain, and follow along.
Nobody else in the world has a brain like yours. Your brain can think about things both logically and illogically. It can envision what has never been built, and can appreciate what already has. It can figure things out by inference, and it can take you somewhere else through imagination.
Your brain, like a big file-cabinet, stores information that is important and gets rid of what isn't. So if you do poorly on a test, you can blame your brain, see?
The good news is that you can train your brain to work better by building neurons with puzzles and games, which can be kind of fun. And if you work hard enough, you might be the next Mozart, Gandhi, da Vinci, or Anning!
Got a budding M.D. in your house?
If you do, getting "How to Be a Genius" is smart thinking. Using child-friendly photos, cartoon drawings, and small info-bites that are easy to read, this book gives curious children a basic, although surprisingly thorough, overview of how their brains work in conjunction with the rest of their bodies and their senses.
Mixed in with the information are puzzles to try and experiments that will help lead kids into different-thinking modes. This is one of those books that kids can browse without worry about missing something, and that you can enjoy, too.
If your child is looking to get ahead in life, look for "How to Be a Genius." For 10-to-14-year-olds, having this book around is a no-brainer.
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books.