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Children are constantly learning from their surroundings, which is why it’s important to make certain they grow up in an enriching environment. At an early age, this can mean anything from being close to their parents to interacting with other children. However, as children grow older, they require a comprehensive set of tools and activities in order to challenge and develop their cognitive skills.

Play is one of the most vital aspects of a child’s life. It’s not only a socially enriching activity, but it also helps contribute to a child’s physical, mental and emotional development. Through play, children can discover their surroundings, make connections, apply new skills and learn how things work together. Children also learn to cooperate and share; board games, for example, are a great way for you to incorporate interaction and introduce your child to the concept of following rules and taking turns – ideas which can often be challenging to a child’s developing mind.

Playing with games and puzzles can also spark specific interests in your child, concerning anything from reading and counting to art and sports. Two-year-olds, for example, are particularly apt to develop their motor skills through basic puzzles and shape-sorters, while preschool-aged children develop cause-and-effect and problem-solving skills through more advanced games and conundrums. Creativity is yet another skill which is largely driven by recreational play, as children often gain significant exposure to colours, shapes and characters.

There are a number of toy suppliers that specialise in the manufacture of toys, games and puzzles which aim to stimulate and develop your child’s skills, regardless of his or her age. Whether your child is just beginning to develop motor skills or is old enough to read, he or she will gain immensely from an enriching environment. And remember that a parent’s participation in their child’s play can be truly rewarding as well. Children will often follow or ‘mimic’ an adult’s example of play, as well as derive a sense of self-worth from the praise that they get.



However, it is wise to make certain that any toy, game or puzzle that you give your child meets British and European standards of toy safety. In fact, you can often purchase toys that are developed in compliance with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. After all, ensuring that your child has the right tools to develop physically, emotionally, mentally and socially paves the way toward a brighter future.

Dictionary of American Slang, (4th edition, fully revised and updated) / Robert L. Chapman and Barbara Ann Kipfer (Harper Collins, 2007) Hardcover, 592 p. ISBN 9780061176463

In 1960, Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner issued the first edition of the Dictionary of American Slang. It has proved its worth over the last 50 years, surviving both of its first editors. This fourth edition by Robert L. Chapman and Barbara Ann Kipfer continue the tradition that those pioneers started in paying careful and scholarly attention to spoken English of the kinds no one learns in school.

Some terms come from new technologies, like all of the Internet terms that so many of us feel we should know but don’t. Others come from distinctive cultural communities as varied as prison, street gangs, Valley girls, and Wall Street executives. Technical terms within a profession are intended to communicate something specific to insiders. Various kinds of street talk may be intended to hide meaning from outsiders.

Colloquialisms, technical jargon, vulgarities, advertising or political slogans, and substandard English cover a wide range of usages and communication needs. Language changes quickly, and the fourth edition includes 1,500 new terms. Some will undoubtedly fade from use, perhaps even before they have a chance to be included in a fifth edition. Others will have a long life and perhaps even come to be regarded as standard.

This edition of Dictionary of American Slang follows the example of earlier ones in providing pronunciations, information about the origin of the terms, examples of how to use them appropriately, and warnings about which ones not to use in polite company. People curious about language or counterculture will find it interesting. People confused about what they hear or read will find it very useful.

Dictionary of American Slang has been one of the most important reference works about the English language as spoken and written in America for fifty years now. The All-Purpose Guru Alert features one outstanding selection such as this one every day. Stop by often!

Chardonnay is a thousand year old small village in Mâconnais in the southern portion of France’s burgundy region. The famous wine Chardonnay most likely originated here and was then spread throughout France by the monks. The earliest recorded reference to Chardonnay occurs in 1330 when Cistercian monks built stonewalls around their ‘Clos de Vougeot’ vineyard exclusively planted to Chardonnay grapes. There is another hypothesis that points towards Lebanon when it comes to the origins of Chardonnay, but with no written references. Another direction points to an Austrian vine very similar to Chardonnay, called Morillon. The name Morillon has been used during the middle Ages in the region of Burgundy and was an old name for Chardonnay in the region of Chablis.

Murray Tyrrell from Australia changed the course of history for Chardonnay by bringing the HVD vineyard in 1982. Chardonnay is the most widely planted variety in Australia and also in NZ. There is more Chardonnay than Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz.

Lately Chardonnay has become a common girls name and has had a terrible press starting with the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement. Critics are making case of Riesling and other people are finding Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Viognier worth drinking. But Chardonnay consistently makes better wines in a wider range of climates than any other white variety. It is also responsible for the majority of the world’s finest whites.

Chardonnay is a vigorous, heavy cropping variety with medium sized bunches. Bunches have tightly packed berries forming a single cluster not like loosely spaced Shiraz bunches. A ripe Chardonnay berry is gold yellow in colour with plenty of juice. Berries are small, fragile, thin-skinned and require care during harvest to avoid oxidization. Chardonnay is very sensitive to winemaking practices. Cool climate Chardonnay produces an abundance of fruit flavours. The warmer climate Chardonnays may have less of the fruits but develop wonderful honey, butterscotch, buttery and nutty oily flavours that really fill the mouth. The trend of fermenting Chardonnay in oak barrels and then storing it in new oak can kill the fruit characters. You know there’s too much oak when all you get is vanilla and cinnamon and no fresh fruit.

The new worldwide winemakers have increased the freshness and acidity by sourcing grapes from cooler climates such as Marlborough (New Zealand), Russian River (California), Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula (Australia), Constantia and Walker Bay (South Africa), Casablanca and Leyda (Chile), and Agrelo and the Uco Valley (Argentina). This doesn’t mean that Burgundy is forgotten. Whites from Chablis, the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais are very good value.

Chardonnay is back on top and as Tim Atkin, in an Observer’s article advises “He had more exciting Chardonnays in the past 12 months than in the previous 12 years.”