Hey, thought this might be a cool article to read. The activities are really simple and you're probably thinking, "well, I knew that," but when was the last time you actually did one of these activities?

We lived in a pretty fast-paced, multimedia-connected world and sometimes forget how important quality time with loved ones is. So hopefully these might inspire you to bring back family night.

5 Fun Activities For You and Your Family

By Sherri Kruger from ZenFamilyHabits.net

My fondest memories are from those times spent with family. My husband, my sisters, my folks, my in-laws and more recently my kids.

Having fond family memories requires active participation from everyone involved.

Experiences don’t just happen you have to create them.

Here are five fun activities that you can do with your family or use them as inspiration to get you started. Read More…

An amazing performance by a young girl that shows just how much kids can accomplish if you give them the opportunity to.

The video is from a TV show in India for kids till the age of 12 and the girl in the video is one of the contestants. She's got an amazing voice!

The song she's singing is actually incredibly difficult, even for adults!

As all of you know FinerMinds was set up to bring you the best and latest in personal growth.

But a couple of years ago, something happened to me. I became a dad! My son Hayden is now 2 years old. And my focus shifted a little from personal development to teaching myself to become a better parent.

Hayden, during our family trip to Mexico. At 20 months old.

As I poured myself into books on parenting and early infant development I was struck by just how much material was available on raising kids. But what really impressed me was how far modern research had come. Our schooling systems and methods of parenting have barely caught up.

Did you know...

• all kids are born with amazing genius potential. But they lose this abilities as they get older because our current methods of education underestimate young children and actually starve them of the learning they need.
• all kids are born with high degrees of intuition. But lose these as they get older because parents are not trained in recognizing this ability. This type of training for kids is popular in countries like Japan.
• 2 years olds are capable of reading. 2 month olds are capable of saying simple words like "mommy". 6 year-olds can run 3 miles in 30 minutes. Our society underestimates the potential of young children. I've seen all the above in Philadelphia at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. (more on this later). Read More…

"Hello there, it's me, your past self, your inner child..."

Think for one moment just what your child-self might say to you. Would they be happy? Or would they be sad and neglected?

Well, if your inner child could come out and speak, this is what they might say...

Click here or on the picture above to view this awesome animation >>

This animation is by Peter H. Reynolds from FableVision.com, a company that seeks to expand education and help learners reach their full potential. They have some more fun stuff on their website if you want to revisit your childhood. Or better yet, pass it on to your kids. They might get a kick out of it and learn a lot more about themselves and the world.

But for now, my question to you is this:

If your inner child had only 1 sentence to say to you, what would it be?

We often here of savants. In the news, in the movies, and in books.

Their skills seem so far off, so fantastical, that it doesn't even cross our minds that perhaps we or at least our children's children can develop similar skills.

This article below makes an interesting point. Centuries ago, the act of reading silently was thought to be a great and immense feat. A near impossible capability. But now it is common place and it is a given that people can read silently.

So perhaps, in a hundred years or so, the tremendous skills savants have will no longer be restricted. Can human ability really improve itself to such high levels? Read More…

Just kidding. I'm talking about summer break. Specifically for kids in grade school.  Did it ever occur to you to go to school all year round?

Probably not. I've always taken the summer break as a given. In high school, I felt it was my God given right.

But now more and more schools and parents are considering year long school. Instead of playing video games and sleeping till 3 PM, perhaps your children could be doing more with their minds.

Studies have shown time and time again that the brain does stagnate without any intellectual stimulation. Children who attend summer school or camps consistently score higher on testing. Isn't this something we should be worried about?

Give this article a read as it goes through the lives of children who attend year-long schools and the effects it has on them.

Read More…

On the FinerMinds blog we often discuss the highly positive benefits of meditation to your mind and body. Our readers have overwhelmingly commented how regular meditation helps them achieve a physical and mental peak--not achievable to them before. We often speak about the highly positive benefits that meditation has on us, but what about our children, or our grandchildren? Now, pause for a minute and imagine if you had learnt and practiced meditation techniques when you were younger; in your childhood and teenage years. How much more advanced and focused would you be right now?

Remember last week when we spoke about Burt Goldman, The American Monk? Burt has created a program, My Inner Magic, which nourishes creativity in children, helping them tap into their full potential.

My Inner Magic, nourishes the development of creativity in children, and ensures that they can realise their full potential. According to a shocking Harvard study: 98% of children between Age 4 and Age 20 will lose the capabilities for genius that they were naturally born with. A further Harvard study revealed that nearly every child is born with genius capabilities, but after age 20, only a mere 2% retain their talents. This rapid decline in genius capabilities is not genetic, but comes down to nurture. Burt says that the mass education system is partly to blame for not nourishing the minds of our children in such a way that harnesses their full potential.

But could the trend be changing? We dug up an article this week, about an Elementary school in the US who is using meditation techniques to help boost concentration, productivity, and creativity in children. The program utilizes mindfulness techniques, wedged between reading and spelling tests, to slow down childrens breathing and helps boost concentration levels. In the exercise, the sound of a Tibetan bowl is used, to help induce a state of relaxation and focus. Teachers and students alike reported boosts in concentration and their happiness level rose dramatically.

Unfortunately, while such techniques may be trialled in a few classrooms now, it's unlikely that the mainstream education system will catch on any time soon. My Inner Magic works off similar principles, to accelerate your child's learning, improve concentration, and nourish creativity. We recommend My Inner Magic because it is a proven program that can fill the void that the mainstream education system has left in your child's education. No child of yours or your loved ones should lose their genius capabilities. We certainly wouldn't want our children to miss out.

Check out My Inner Magic.

Check out the blog post on The New York Times.

Here's an interesting study relevant to all our blog readers who are parents of young kids.

Scientific America magazine talks about a study that shows that it's more important to teach your kids the importance of hard work as a means for academic success than it is to tell them that they are bright and talented. Apparently kids who are told that they are smart, often look down on hard work and tend to give up when the going gets tough.

This article might go against your beliefs on parenting. Read it with an open mind.

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids

Hint: Don't tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life

By Carol S. Dweck

A brilliant student, Jonathan sailed through grade school. He completed his assignments easily and routinely earned As. Jonathan puzzled over why some of his classmates struggled, and his parents told him he had a special gift. In the seventh grade, however, Jonathan suddenly lost interest in school, refusing to do homework or study for tests. As a consequence, his grades plummeted. His parents tried to boost their son’s confidence by assuring him that he was very smart. But their attempts failed to motivate Jonathan (who is a composite drawn from several children). Schoolwork, their son maintained, was boring and pointless.

Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability—along with confidence in that ability—is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings.

The result plays out in children like Jonathan, who coast through the early grades under the dangerous notion that no-effort academic achievement defines them as smart or gifted. Such children hold an implicit belief that intelligence is innate and fixed, making striving to learn seem far less important than being (or looking) smart. This belief also makes them see challenges, mistakes and even the need to exert effort as threats to their ego rather than as opportunities to improve. And it causes them to lose confidence and motivation when the work is no longer easy for them.

Praising children’s innate abilities, as Jonathan’s parents did, reinforces this mind-set, which can also prevent young athletes or people in the workforce and even marriages from living up to their potential. On the other hand, our studies show that teaching people to have a “growth mind-set,” which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life.

» Read More on Scientific America