Hello  Everyone,

It’s that time of year again when I reach out to others to gather supplies for children

art and book supplies to place into bags for children to have activities to do in the summer.

Though this is something I do  year around because I of the opportunity to be in contact with families  with children.

I hope you are making plans for your children to be active in activities that will enhance their lives.  May it be a new hobby, sport, or a simple learning opportunity in an interest the child has.

On the nasa.org  website,  there are many learning activities that are not only space related, but relatable science experiments that affect your life in general  and  earth.  They have a great stem program as well.

I have 2 grandsons and both are champion basketball players, but the younger one who’s  11 years old,  want to learn cooking.  I just think that is great!  Now, I have to relay, that both boys are addicted to the video games and that seems to be almost the norm for many other families.  It is a serious matter, because how much of life are they not knowing about?    I mean the simple things.

One of the ideas I have, and because many families don’t have the money to spend for camps, and various other programs, that there be  something the community can do to keep children busy. Many families are already doing child share and care.  So many parents have to work and rely on other parents in the community that they have made friends with to take turns in watching children who might be alone those hours the parents work.  If you have that type of relationship with your neighbors,  what a great thing that is.

Now,  getting back to my summertime idea is for individuals get together  who are experts in a subject and to offer free classes in their homes or even in their yards, patios  and in the parks.    Have everyone pack a great lunch,  bring pencils and paper and get creative.

I had such an event at my house with pony rental and all.  It was a great day.  It was spontaneous in many ways.  Those  there,  were asked to teach something in 20 minutes or so  for the children to learn something.  My teaching in the group was to show what you can do with a scarf in 4 to 5 different ways. Someone else showed some karate self-defense lessons,  Another taught some sign language  basics. It was a great day as the workshop had flower arrangement,  wood work building,  nail painting, makeup designs,  tee-shirt painting,  coloring etc.

My mother , who drove from an hour away, bought 4 more children when things was almost over.  They were all in for the food and to pick up their tee-shirts to design. I felt like it was my second shift as we started at 8 am. The neighborhood children all strolled over at 2 pm. I was  glad they came, but they missed a lot of the other fun.  The Pony rides was over and so was the Expert demonstrations.

She said I was really advertising as I had on full body tights with a belt,  two

hair braids with a headband and barefoot.  I never thought about it as advertising as I hardly had time to get dress with pant, blouse and shoes. I  was so in it, that I never gave it a thought. I open the door and a beautiful pony was at the door standing with the owner.   If I can find a picture of it,  you would agree with my  mother.  However, when you are a grass root person, you don’t have time for trivial things.

There’s a lot you can do for your children this summer. The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open and know where they are at all times.

Personally, I never pick up a child even when they are with my very own , unless I have them call for permission, name, telephone number and any medical concerns such as peanut allergies etc.

Talk to others about the plans they have for their children.  If you can,  give your child swimming lessons.  There are many drowning accidents with small children who wanders into the swimming  pool area and  children who can’t swim.  The stats are  high in that more African-American children have more drowning deaths than other ethnic groups.  The affordability and accessibility have a lot to do with many families who do not sign their kids up.  My theory is for the adult parent in the home learn to swim so that in the event it become  necessary, you can jump in and save your child.  The rule always stay,  that if you don’t know how to swim, don’t jump in, but instead go or call for help and or find a pole (a broom for an instance) or empty plastic container  that  will help the person stay afloat.  Consider having a close circuit monitor in your home that will put in view your swimming pool.  And again, an alarm to attach to your  pool gate could be the best safety measure. It don’t hurt to research the rules and regulations of having a pool in your community and to view your insurance policy to  ensure  you have enough coverage in the event someone get hurt.   Make sure you know which of your child’s friends can swim and who can’t and have various swimming vest sizes on hand.   For a large party at the pool, you might consider hiring a  certified  Life Guard.  (sounds extreme, but what a piece of mind)     Lets hope that everyone be safe and have fun in the water no matter  where you are.

Make this summer a family event whenever you can.  Family time is very important as it seems today, hardly anyone meet up, event  for dinner due to complexity in schedules.  Nature centers are all around and many cost very little if any, to visit.

If you would like to donate funds to my summer book and art supply bags  campaign,  you can do so  at:  Paypal.me/tharcum

or  my ID thelmaharcum@yahoo.com

or you can send donations to Thelma Harcum, P.O. Box 4746 Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08034

Childlren’s Books, Barnes and Noble gift cards, art supplies, paper, pencils be sent to: Thelma Harcum 17 Pickwick La, Willingboro, NJ 08046

What I want to leave you with is the thought of Planning.  There is much we all can do and one of them is to make a plan in advance  Make a plan now for all that you want to do later.

Planning for your child’s vacation  be about fundraising such as  selling items you no longer need and budgeting  to have the funds you need.    Look for those great deals such as a discount with the second child-or the third child free.  Your community paper will have lots of offers I’m sure.  I will update interesting places and things to do!

Thank you for visiting my site. Thank you for any contribution you give and wishing you the best of health and life!

Win a door prize from the list: Jewelry, sequined tote bag, a copy of my album-Love Songs Explosion. 10 winners will be selected for your donation of any amount.

Update: The Khan Academy is offering the Breakthrough Junior Challenge/250.000 college scholarship to anyone ages 13 to 18.
Go to https://www.khanacademy.org/about
The Khan Academy is one of the best places you can learn for free on almost any subject. You can also download their app on your phone to continue you connection.
The Khan Academy is an opportunity of a lifetime no matter who you are to continue your learning process, thereby enhancing you life. I support this organization and hope you do too. You can learn without prejudice and climb to the level you want to attain with freedom of mind, heart and soul!
Thelma Harcum

My background is in Music, Art, Medical, and Writing