quote

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life – Dolly Parton 

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In this age of computers and smart phones, reading to your child is more important than ever. Studies show that technology has made people lonelier than ever.

After scanning a recent grocery flyer, I was surprised to see an ad for boxed lunches for kids. Are parents that busy? Making lunch for your child is Parenting 101.

I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised in an age when 4 year olds hold Apple ipads instead of parents’ hands because parents are too busy to spend time with them.

Sadly we have gone from latchkey children to surrogate parenting. There has got to be a better way.

We’ve forgotten the lesson of Covid. Relationships matter. Our time with our children matters.

One of the truest predictors of future success is the amount of reading that children do at a young age. The amount of time children read and are read to predicts whether they will be successful.

elainemariefineart.com

In the long run there is not much discrimination against superior talent – Carter G. Woodson

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Every President since Gerald Ford has declared February as Black History Month and proclaimed a theme. This year’s theme is Black Health and Wellness.

Carter G. Woodson helped found a group that began what was initially Black History week. They chose the second week in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.

Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American, is praised as the scientist behind the Covid vaccine. Corbett made headlines when she was part of a team that met with President Trump at the National Health Institute. “Corbett said that her participation during that event marked an important step forward for young scientists and people of color.”

She has a track record of excellence. When Corbett was a student she was selected for the Project Seed Project. The program for gifted minority students gave her the opportunity to study chemistry labs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Afterwards she received a full scholarship to the University of Maryland. During the summer, she earned an internship at the NIH.

After graduation began her doctoral studies at Chapel Hill. She worked as a research assistant studying viral infections. She received her PhD in microbiology and immunology.

Time honored her as “Hero of the Year” for her leadership in developing the Covid Vaccine.

Hero of The Year

KizzmekiaCorbett

Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make together for our children. Sitting Bull

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Kenneth Triester designed the sculpture at Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach that took more than four years to build. It was officially dedicated in 1990.

The United Nations has set aside January 27 as International Holocaust Day. It is the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of 7,000 prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Soviet Troops.

The Arts and Humanities…give us hope in moments of struggle and bring us together when nothing else will. Michele Obama

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Art brings people together.

The President’s Proclamation on this year’s National Arts and Humanities Month recognizes the importance of the arts during the Pandemic. The arts not only help us to understand our experiences but lifts our spirits. The arts indeed have the ability to heal our collective wounded spirits.

According to the proclamation, the arts have been recognized as a foundation of our Republic since its beginning. George Washington wrote in 1781, “The arts and sciences are essential to the prosperity of the State and to the ornament and happiness of human life.”

splash and color.com

Fragile Keepsakes

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Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievements.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once one grows up.” I love this quote by Picasso. It brings to mind the precious first drawings my three children created during childhood. I was distraught the other day when one of these fragile keepsakes began to tear inside of a frame. It seems the backing of the frame had come apart along with the drawing.

Society is often good at destroying creativity as well. As children grow up, creativity is often discouraged. Creativity while fragile is the backbone of society. When archeologists study past cultures they often gauge their development by the complexity of the art produced.

There is hope. Many schools have Science, Technology, Art and Math (STEAM) curricula. Creativity is a great way to keep students engaged especially now that so many students are studying online. 

Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievements. A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.