As her friends and cousins are well into their summer break, it”s a sad day, as Kyla declares, “June will be summer!” (I don”t have the heart to remind her it”s already June; she”s one of only about 674 kids still in school full time around here.)
Kyla will be in school through next Thursday at Stokes-Beard Elementary Technology and Communication Magnet School. And while I think it”s a good move, letting this kindergarten sponge absorb all the knowledge she can while her young mind still thirsts for new knowledge — and has the innate ability to soak it all in –it”s hard to explain to a 6-year-old why she gets to go to school while her friends sleep in, play outside or skip town with family.
Thankfully, field trips to the zoo and enrichment activities are peppered in to boost her excitement and curb the angst.
Plus, don”t kids lose something like half of what they”ve learned during the school year while they are out for summer break? Something like that.
So I”m sold: Let the sponge absorb!
However, if anyone has ideas on how to pitch an 11-month school year to a kindergartner, I”m all ears.
My OWN show
Meanwhile, if you”re an Oprah fan you probably know Oprah Winfrey is hosting a contest, searching for the next TV star.
I am a firm believer in this: Our tomorrows are dependent on our children.
And what better way to reach children across the country than a national TV show?
It never ceases to amaze me the grown-up issues children have to face in today”s world.
Perhaps I was sheltered, or perhaps I have selectively blocked a few things from my mind.
Then, there”s the possibility I was abducted by aliens and they”ve wiped part of my adolescence from my mind.
In any case, I don”t remember ever facing such serious issues when I was in school.
Who stole my candy bar money and who liked whose boyfriend were about all the drama I had in a day”s span. And trust me, that was enough. Girls were possessive about their boyfriends, even though their relationships only lasted a week or so.
Blending in, wearing the right clothes, having a hairstyle people wouldn”t jone on and looking inconspicuous were big priorities for me, too. Somewhere along the way, things changed.
Now, grown-up issues aren”t just for grown-ups anymore.
I, personally, would like to see the challenges facing our children brought to the forefront, so we can tackle them head on.
If you feel the same, visit http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=4079&promo_id=1 and check out my sample clip from “K-12,” a show I”ve proposed about the issues facing our youth today. And while you”re there, be sure to vote for me as the next TV star!!!
I”ll also be auditioning in person for Oprah producers in Atlanta on June 26, so expect an update that week.
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