Excerpt from Mary Shelley's book - Frankenstein

This excerpt appeared in the scene where Victor realized that the victim that he had been claimed to murder was, Henry Clerval, his best friend.

Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents: how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

Vocab:

interment - burial, entombment, inhumation, sepulture

affright - To arouse fear in; terrify

doom - (n.) Fate, especially a tragic or ruinous one. (v.) To destine to an unhappy end.

a turnkey - (old-fashioned) a jailer

assize - a session of a court

Baby Minds

Key developmental windows in young children:

1. Social Attachment (0 - 18 months):

**Without positive social experiences during babies first eighteen months, the ability to develop secure, trusting relationships becomes much less likely. 

2. Motor Skills (prenatal - 4 years):

3. Speech and Vocabulary (0 - 3 years):

**The more language baby hears, the larger his vocabulary will be throughout his childhood. It is language spoken directly to a child during this language learning period that is most effective in building strong circuitry to support vocabulary growth and proficient language skills. 

4. Math and Logic (1 - 4 years):

**Stacking blocks and knocking them down, stringing wooden beads onto a piece of yarn, or counting a row of raisins before eating them one by one are all experiences that help a child become a skilled mathematical and logical thinker. 

5. Music (3 - 12 years):

** Some researchers suspect that the optimal window for learning to play an instruments begins to close around then to twelve years.