We’re starting up a new feature on the blog: A Book a Day. The third week of every month, we’ll pick a theme, and each day (Monday-Friday) one of us will talk about one of our books that fits into the theme.
So, to inaugurate the feature, I bring you the first book of our Back to School theme: In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage.
It seems fitting that we should start a brand-new feature on a brand-new blog by talking about the beginning of the school year. Each new year, new school, new class is a new beginning, building on where you’ve been but taking you someplace different. Take, for instance, Augusta Savage. Ceramics and sculpture were always a part of her life; from a very young age, she made little clay figures out of the clay she found in her back yard. Her father didn’t approve and money was tight, so she practiced her art quietly as she grew up, got married, had a daughter, and was widowed. It wasn’t until she was twenty-seven that she went to art school and became a professional artist.
An article entitled 
published on May 26, 2009, by Knox News states, “Summer slide. Although it sounds like some kind of toy, educators use the phrase to describe the dangerous loss in skills that occurs during the months of summer vacation—particularly reading proficiency.” There is great advice in this article to help you keep your kids from falling victim to the “summer slide.”
And they like it!
When you leave your parents’ home you officially become an adult. Your newfound freedom allows you to make your own decisions without anyone telling you what to do. How exhilarating! You sleep when you’re tired. You eat when you’re hungry and drink when you’re thirsty. But personal freedom extends way beyond one’s basic needs. This freedom also allows you to try things you’ve always wanted to try, like having a Coke for breakfast. How about lunch and dinner? Three to four helpings of your favorite dish, why not? Speaking from a male perspective, there is something really exciting about eating large quantities!