Day 4004: Barbershop and 4-H.

"Change": ink and collage.

 

Want music?

    Click here: Charlie Puth, One Call Away

2GN2S

   A Hero ...

   In 2008, first grade teacher Alvin Irby stopped by a Bronx barbershop after school for a haircut. Before long, one of his students came in. He looked a little antsy and bored, and Irby remembered thinking the child would probably have a better time with a book. That moment stayed with Irby, and he started  Barbershop Books. Since 2013, the nonprofit has brought more than 50,000 free children’s books to more than 200 barbershops in predominantly Black neighborhoods across the country. Literacy rates among Black students have been distressingly low for decades, and the pandemic didn't help. Irby is working to change that, but not by helping children practice phonics or decode words. While he acknowledges those skills are essential, his approach is different: He wants to encourage boys to read for fun, on their own.

Read the full story here.

 

It's 4-H time in Indiana ...

As shown a year ago, I received permission to share photos of the 4-H competition. My thanks to my cousin Katha's daughter, Alana for sending me pictures and info on her grandchildren's entries.

Abbi’s 3 projects that are going on to State Fair. Flowers, Weather & Sewing. 

 

 

Dean is in Mini 4-H and did Legos & Model Building, Woodworking

  

 

Alivia's Feeder calf, steer, 2 heifers

   

Some of Abbi’s sheep & Alivia helped.

   

Dean learning to show from Abbi.

Jackson wants to learn all this too… so he took things for the Open Show as he isn’t old enough yet to be in Mini 4-H(K-2) He won Sweepstakes with the purple petunias.

He had helped Gma plant them & water them with his squirt gun!  Thanks Alana!  

      

Jackson

 

 

  4-H didn’t have Wearable Arts as a State project, but     since she was Grand Champion this year she gets to go to the State Fair in General Arts& Crafts. 🍀

Lucie

   Founded in 1902, 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development".

 

 

 

 

A 2+ minute video, Prairie Dog Alert, here.

 

Just because ...

     

Sandhill Crane

Monday's Smiles ...
 

 

 

         Thanks for coming by today ...

 

 

Day 4003: First Pilot and Best Birthday.

   

"Displaced": junk mail collage, digital

Want music?

    Click here: Sean Mendez, When You're Gone.

 

2GN2S ... 

Dream Flight

 

Silva McLeod grew up on the Tongan island of Vava’u, with no electricity or running water. Now, she's one of only a few Tongans ever to get a pilot’s license, and the first Tongan woman to do so. As a girl, she loved running to watch as planes flew over Vava'u, but her dream of aviation didn't ignite until she met and married an Australian man and she took her first flight off her island home. On her 32nd birthday, her husband presented her with a certificate for a basic introductory training flight. The rest was history: First, she got her student license, then a restricted license, followed by a commercial license. Eventually, she was able to teach student pilots and fly small aircraft herself. At age 37, she became a full-time pilot for Royal Tongan Airlines. “Never look to the top of the mountain,” she says by way of advice. “Because that’s when you quit. It’s too high, too hard. But if you just focus on that step in front, chip away bit by bit, before you know it you have advanced right up halfway to the mountain.”

Read the full story here. 

Best birthday mail ever

 

  I love it when little kids get obsessed over everyday heroes like garbage collectors or mail carriers. That's important work! They deserve a little childhood obsession. Colby, a young boy in Connecticut, loves watching the mail being delivered and especially loves his local hero, Mailman Mike. So for his second birthday, his mother Jessica Bergman worked with the local post office to organize a little mail truck parade. Colby was obviously over the moon, and the celebration came complete with special guests: Some garbage trucks (complete with garbage pickup!) Then Mailman Mike unloaded yet another gift: A toddler-sized mail truck.

Watch the whole video below.

 

 

A 2 minute video, Colby's birthday, here.

 

 

Just because ...

  

Golden-bellied Grosbeak

Sunday's Smiles ...

 

 

                     Thanks for coming by today ...