Savvy Kids - May 2014

May 2014 • www.savvykidsofarkansas.com

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Modern Family Part one of our series about how today’s local families are making it work

Summer Slide

How to keep math and reading skills fresh during the school break

Celebrate Mom! ‘Listen To Your Mother’ writers share their stories

Plus...

Mother’s Day gift ideas may 2014 savvy kids

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There’s There’s never never beenbeen a better a better time time to go toto gocollege to college or or an easier an easier wayway to apply to apply for for financial financial aid aid

The Arkansas The Arkansas Department Department of Higher of Higher Education Education reviews reviews and approves and approves academic academic programs programs for theforstate’s the state’s 11 public 11 public universities universities and 22 and public 22 public two-year two-year colleges. colleges.

In addition, In addition, the agency the agency is responsible is responsible for distributing for distributing approximately approximately $150 $150 millionmillion annually annually from state from state revenues revenues and lottery and lottery fundsfunds

For complete For complete information information aboutabout our programs, our programs, visit www.adhe.edu visit www.adhe.edu to to review review program program rules rules and regulations. and regulations.

The eligibility The eligibility requirements requirements and and rules rules governing governing the programs the programs administered administered

by ADHE

by ADHE are subject are subject to to legislative legislative and regulatory and regulatory amendments. amendments.

Please Please e-maile-mail the Financial the Financial Aid Aid

• Application • Application period period is fromisJanuary from January 1 to June 1 to1June for upcoming 1 for upcoming academic academic year year • Must• complete Must complete FAFSA FAFSA as wellasaswell YOUniversal as YOUniversal scholarship scholarship application application • Download • Download free YOUniversal free YOUniversal app forapp anyfor smart any phone smart phone

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may 2014 savvy kids

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Celebrating Celebrating

Urban Farm to table

then and now URBAN FARM TO TABLE

THEN AND NOW

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41 Annual Territorial Fair • Free Saturday, May 10 • 10 am - 4 pm

contents MAY 2014

ON THE COVER:

Calvin and Sloan Austin of Little Rock, photographed by Brian Chilson.

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the modern family Part One of our series on

how today’s local families are making it work

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Meet today’s beekeepers, cheese makers, chicken and backyard gardeners along with their pioneer counterparts at the Historic Arkansas Museum. Dance around the Maypole, walk on stilts, listen to the roaming fiddler and create handmade Mother’s Day cards.

Meet today’s beekeepers, cheese makers, urban chicken keepers and backyard gardeners along with their pioneer counterparts at the Historic Arkansas Museum. Dance around the Maypole, walk on stilts, listen to the roaming fiddler and create handmade Mother’s Day cards.

Foster Care

What’s new in the system and more

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‘Listen To Your Mother’

Read excerpts from local writers’stories about motherhood

Plus...

Adopting a pet, celebrating Mother’s Day and the Little Rock Film Festival 4 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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Summer Slide

Ways to keep math and reading skills fresh during school break

DEPARTMENTS 8 Odds and Ends 10 Little hero 38 Calendar of Events 40 Eats & Treats 44 Savvy arts 46 Pop topics 48 photo of the month 54 kids eat free

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Editor’s Letter

Buzzing with Excitement

publisher

Monika Rued monika@arktimes.com

editor

Photo by Brian Chilson

I know I probably say this a lot, but I’m super excited about this issue! It is issues like this when you realize that hard work really does pay off.

What I’m most excited about is that we’re kicking off a multi-part series, which we’re calling “The Modern Family.”

Starting with this issue and continuing on in the next few months, we’re profiling several families to learn about what it’s like to raise children today.

This month, in Part I, we’re covering same-sex couples with children, and I would like to sincerely thank the Mosleys, the Austins, the Inman-Crawleys, and Neal Dodson and Tim Carr for participating in this story. These gracious local families allowed us into their homes to take photographs and shared their stories with us. I greatly enjoyed meeting all of these parents and their sweet, adorable and energetic children! I hope our readers enjoy their stories as much as I have.

Another exciting thing about our May issue is our coverage of the “Listen To Your Mother: Little Rock” show, where 15 local writers and storytellers are coming together on Mother’s Day to share stories of motherhood. We have the great fortune of publishing excerpts from these pieces. Some are funny, some are heart wrenching, but they are all surely entertaining.

Erica Sweeney ericasweeney@arktimes.com

digital media producer Bryan Moats

editorial art director Patrick Jones

account executive Rose Gladner rose@arktimes.com

Wendy Hickingbotham wendy@arktimes.com Lesa Thomas lesathomas@arktimes.com

production manager Weldon Wilson

advertising coordinators

Roland Gladden, roland@arktimes.com Kelly Schlachter Carr, kellys@arktimes.com

graphic artists

Kai Caddy, Bryan Moats, Patrick Jones, Mike Spain

photographer Brian Chilson

controller

Weldon Wilson

accounts payable Kelly Lyles

it director

Robert Curfman

billing/collections Linda Phillips

circulation director Jack Higgins

Erica Sweeney, Editor ericasweeney@arktimes.com

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inned It!

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we’ve pinned lots of simple craft projects. Find these pins and more at www.pinterest.com/savvykidsmag.

These DIY piñatas are simple to make, and don’t Use leftover plastic Easter eggs and plastic require papier-maché. From blog.chickabug.com. spoons to make festive maracas. From www.danamadeit.com.

6 | savvy k i ds may 2014

ALL MATERIALS ARE HANDLED WITH DUE CARE; HOWEVER, THE PUBLISHER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR CARE AND SAFE RETURN OF UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. ALL LETTERS AND PICTURES SENT TO SAVVYKIDS™ WILL BE TREATED AS INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION AND ARE SUBJECT TO SAVVYKIDS'™ UNRESTRICTED RIGHT TO EDIT OR TO COMMENT EDITORIALLY. 201 E. MARKHAM ST. SUITE 200, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72201 501-375-2985. ALL CONTENTS ©2014 SAVVY KIDS™

Little ones will love assembling these colorful piñata cookies, which are almost too cute to eat.

From www.sheknows.com.

Tissue paper flowers are fun, easy to create and make great decorations. From kidsactivitiesblog.com.

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Different Spokes

ODDS & ENDS

On Saturday, May 10, the Old State House opens its newest exhibit, “Different Spokes,” with a family day full of activities and bicycle demonstrations.

The family-friendly exhibit celebrates the history of bicycling in Arkansas, from past to present, with artifacts, photographs and videos, focusing on all aspects of biking, including safety, technology, bike trails and more, said Georganne Sisco, the museum’s education director.

Opening day family activities, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., include a giant board game on the museum grounds with street signs and large dice, make-your-own-bicycle crafts, high-wheel bicycle demonstrations and other hands-on activities teaching kids about bicycles and bike safety. All activities are free.

The museum is also hosting the first-ever Arkansas Bike/Walk Summit that day. For more information about the summit, visit www.bikewalkar.org.

“Different Spokes” features an 1880s-era wooden bicycle, the world’s first carbon-fiber bicycles made by Brent Trimble of Berryville, a history of trail systems and lots more. The museum relied on contributions from the cycling community to produce the exhibit, museum director Bill Gatewood said.

“I have not participated in any other exhibit that has had this kind of immediate response from the community,” he said. “The passion these people have for their pursuit is overwhelming, and I believe it will be reflected well in this exhibit.”

Throughout the exhibit, open until February 2016, there will be ongoing programing, such as lectures, trick riding shows and demonstrations, Sisco said.

Sisco hopes families will come out to the family day or visit the exhibit to get inspired to start biking. “Bicycling is not only fun, it’s also a good, healthy activity,” she said.

Call 501-324-9685 or visit www.oldstatehouse.com for more information.

Fizz, Boom, Read

“Fizz, Boom, Read” is the national theme for this year’s summer reading programs, and local libraries have many programs and activities in the works. Here is a preview of what libraries are offering this summer.

Central Arkansas Library System

Mailbox Let me just say that I have found my new favorite local mag! I’m a mother of a 1-yearold, and was clueless as to what we could do to help her continue to develop while having fun at the same time, AND I AM SOOO EXCITED I PICKED UP THIS MAGAZINE!!!!!

– Brittney Thomas of Little Rock

Readers from babies to teens can explore science, nature and technology, through story times, experiments, music, magic shows and many great books with the Central Arkansas Library System’s Summer Reading Club, which begins June 16. Summer reading awards week is July 28-Aug. 2.

CALS branches are hosting weekly family nights, story times and other programs. Some notable events include CALS Library Night at the Arkansas Travelers game on July 13. And, Hampstead Stage Company, a national touring children’s theater troupe that brings books to life, is performing and holding workshops.

Hampstead Stage Company will perform at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center on June 18 and 21, and at Ron Robinson Theater on June 19. Theater workshops will be on June 19 at the Main Library’s Level 4 Teen Center and McMath Library.

Early registration for the Summer Reading Club is May 1-26 at www.cals.org. In-person registration and material pickup at all locations begins May 27. For a complete schedule, visit www.cals.org.

William F. Laman Public Library The William F. Laman Public Library’s Summer Reading Program is June 2-July 26.

The North Little Rock library’s weekly programming includes Music Mondays, Creative Playtime on Thursdays and kids’ movies on Fridays. Throughout the summer, there will also be ongoing activities.

June programs include Kids Yoga, Magic Mr. Nick, Music with Leonardo, Live Animals and Storytelling with Craig O’Neill. Arkansas Shakespeare Theater will perform an adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors” for young audiences on June 14. And, Hampstead Stage Company performs “Alice in Wonderland” on June 18.

In July, programs include Mad Science, Hip-Hop Dancing, Live Animals, Tommy Terrific’s Wacky Magic, Steven’s Puppets, Drum Circle, Bug Off Bugs and Laugh with the Staff Storytime. Lamanpalooza, usually held in early August, is the official end of the summer reading program.

For a complete schedule or to sign up for summer reading, call 501-758-1720 or visit www.lamanlibrary.org.

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BRAIN TRAINING. TRAIN THE BRAIN. GET SMARTER.

Don’t let reading and other learning struggles undermine your child’s confidence, add stress to family life, or keep your child too busy with homework to enjoy the fun things in life. Give LearningRx a call to see how we can improve the way your child’s brain thinks, reads, learns, remembers and pays attention.

BRAIN TRAINING REWIRES BRAINS AND CHANGES LIVES.

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LITTLE HERO

little hero

Big Heart

Humble teen helps others behind the scenes Story and Photo by Callie France Sterling

Garran Ellis Cooper Oates, a 14-year-old from Maumelle, began volunteering at the age of 7 and has been volunteering in full force ever since.

“I like volunteering at the women and children’s shelter in Little Rock,” Oates said. “I also have been involved in projects with the American Cancer Society. I have made mastectomy pillows with my younger brother.”

Oates decided that making mastectomy pillows would be a great way to honor the memory of a family friend, Cheryl Starry, who passed away from breast cancer. He has also been involved in making surgical drain aprons for breast cancer patients in the short stay unit at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Oates is a humble teen and prefers to remain behind the scenes when volunteering at Women and Children First and the other organizations he’s committed to.

“The shelter always needs help with sorting donations like clothes and toys,” he said. “I help tidy the closets and office spaces.”

He has many memories from his time spent volunteering at the Women and Children First shelter, and said his favorite time to volunteer is at Christmas.

“My favorite volunteering experience at the shelter was organizing the Christmas presents before their party and delivering a bicycle,” Oates said. “I enjoy helping. I feel useful, although my part is only small. I think volunteering may save the counselors time, and they can focus more on supporting the families at the shelter.”

Oates has also periodically volunteered through Samaritan’s Purse, which hosts Operation Christmas Child.

“Operation Christmas Child is a project where you fill a shoe box with gifts, combs, soaps, candy and more,” Oates said. “Then they are shipped to third world countries for Christmas.”

In addition to Women and Children First, Samaritan’s Purse and the American Cancer Society, Oates is currently collecting quarters for a mission trip to Peru.

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Garran Oates

Outside of volunteering, he enjoys riding his bike, playing bass clarinet, playing video games and digging for crystals in Hot Springs.

Oates, who has dual American and British citizenship because his mother is from the U.K., wants to travel when he gets older. He also wants to continue to serve others.

“I’d like to travel back to Europe one day,” Oates said. “I went to Greece and enjoyed the culture and ancient buildings. I’d like to see more of the world. I will continue helping other people because I think it’s important to let others know that someone cares.”

Tina Camlin, Oates’ mother, is teaching her three sons that giving back is one of the most important aspects in life. Camlin, a nurse, gives back every day.

“I believe a servant’s heart is a beautiful quality and one that I long to nurture in my children,” Camlin said. “I have been a nurse for 26 years, and I believe teaching them empathy towards others is essential. I also believe that life’s most urgent question we ought to ask ourselves is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ which was said by Martin Luther King Jr.” Oates believes that regardless of how small a nice gesture may be, it is always a good thing.

“If I can help a little, hopefully it is a good thing,” Oates said.

For more information about Women and Children First, visit www.wcfarkansas.org or call 501-376-3219 or 1-800-332-4443.

E-CIGARETTES: Q & A WITH DR. GARY WHEELER,

MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH’S TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION PROGRAM SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

WHAT ARE E-CIGARETTES?

E-cigarettes, sometimes called “vapes” or “hookah pens,” are a new product from the tobacco companies. They have cartridges that hold nicotine in liquid form. The cartridge is heated to form a vapor and is released when a user inhales.

ARE E-CIGARETTES SAFER THAN REGULAR CIGARETTES?

E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is extracted from tobacco leaves, is highly addictive, and harms health. The concentration levels of nicotine in e-cigarettes varies—some have been found to contain as much as four times the amount of nicotine in a regular cigarette.

Many people do not know that nicotine is an extremely toxic poison that was used as an insecticide for more than 300 years. Too much nicotine can result in poisoning, which can cause nausea, vomiting, and headaches. In addition to nicotine, many toxic compounds are released from e-cigarettes including carcinogens and small particles that can irritate the lungs. There’s simply not enough research behind e-cigarettes to determine if they are safer than regular cigarettes. The bottom line is that we do know they contain nicotine, which is addictive and changes brain chemistry.

HOW EASY IS IT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET E-CIGARETTES?

It’s very easy for kids and teens to get e-cigarettes. In most states, there is no minimum age requirement for buying them, while you have to be 18 to buy regular cigarettes.

Fortunately, the Arkansas Legislature has passed a law which bans the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone younger than 18 and allows police to confiscate e-cigarettes from minors. It’s also illegal for e-cigarettes to be used on public school property, including school busses.

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS?

The first—and probably best—thing a parent can do is talk with their kids about e-cigarettes and tobacco. You may not think they’re listening, but they are. Next, don’t buy into the hype around these new products. These products are not being created with your best interest in mind. Big Tobacco needs new customers and they know how to use manipulative marketing tactics to get them. Remember that “tobacco-free” and “smokefree” does not equal “harm-free.” Lastly, lead by example. If you’re a tobacco user and want to quit, the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW) can help by providing free nicotine replacement therapy and counseling.

I’VE SEEN A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE USING E-CIGARETTES. ARE THEY MORE POPULAR WITH THIS GROUP?

Yes. E-cigarettes are gaining in popularity, especially among middle and high school students in the U.S. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that e-cigarette use in this group has more than doubled in the last couple of years.

E-cigarettes companies are appealing to our youth by using flavors such as “Candy Cane,” “Gummy Bears,” “Skittles,” and “Ice Cream,” which are currently unregulated by the FDA. This is concerning for those of us in the medical field and public health because we know that most lifelong smokers became addicted to nicotine when they were in their teens. We’ve had to work very hard to reduce the smoking rate in youth in Arkansas, and we’re very concerned that e-cigarettes are going to get a new generation addicted to nicotine and undo decades of progress.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WAYS YOU CAN STAND UP TO BIG TOBACCO. VISIT THE SOS PROJECT PREVENT FACEBOOK PAGE AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SOSPROJECTPREVENT.

Arkansas Department of Health

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“Because People Matter” may 2014 savvy kids

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Choose the Right Program to Make this Summer Special.

The arrangements you had during the school year may not work for summer break. Make this summer memorable by choosing a summer care program for your school-age child that offers outdoor activities.

Field trips aside, children need a green space to interact with a group, have fun and burn off energy.

To make sure your summer care program is right for your child, visit our website and download the “Summer Child Care Checklist.“

Department of Human Services Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education

12 | savvy k i ds may 2014

www.ARBetterBeginnings.com • 1-800-445-3316

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Modern Family A Savvy Kids series on how today’s local families are making it work

By Erica Sweeney Today’s families come in all shapes and sizes. While the traditional mom-dad-and-2.5kids makeup still exists, more often children today are being raised by single moms, single dads, two moms, two dads, step-parents and even grandparents.

The diversity that makes up today’s family is being reflected in pop culture, advertising and media. 1980s sitcoms, like “The Cosby Show” and “Roseanne,” with both mom and dad and multiple children, have given way to shows like “Modern Family” and “Two and Half Men,” with single parents, blended families and samesex parents. Advertisements are also increasingly depicting more diversity, like the interracial families and same-sex parents featured in recent JCPenney and Honey Maid commercials.

Families are also busier than ever before. Most often, both parents work and balance their children’s activities, homework and household duties. Families worry about money, time management and reducing stress. They also strive to ensure that every member of the family feels loved and has what they need to succeed.

At Savvy Kids, we feel it’s important to reflect what matters most to local families, and we wanted to examine the ever-changing modern families of Central Arkansas. To

do that, we’re running a series, which we’re calling “The Modern Family.” In the coming months, we’ll highlight the challenges, issues and positives facing local families as they raise healthy, happy children. Each part is focusing on a different type of modern family.

This month, we’re kicking off the series with profiles of four families led by samesex couples. Two of the families have two moms, and two families have two dads. The parents we interviewed discussed becoming parents, how they juggle busy schedules and the challenges that they face.

While these families experience the same ups and downs of raising children as all families, they also face issues that other families do not, including the right to marry and equal parental rights. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more gay couples are raising children in the South than anywhere else in the country. Nationally, 16 percent of samesex couples in this country are raising children. In Arkansas, the number is a little higher at 20 percent.

In our June issue, we’ll continue “The Modern Family” with profiles of single fathers.

Be sure to check back in the coming months to learn more about how families today are making it work.

may 2014 savvy kids

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Two Moms Two Dads Part One

Same-sex parents experience the joys and challenges of raising children while facing an array of legal obstacles

By Erica Sweeney On a recent spring break morning, the three Mosley siblings were full of energy. In their backyard, the girls, Meric, 8, and Cora, 3, buzzed around a treehouse that one of their moms built, while their 10-year-old brother, Breck, hung upside down from the swing set.

Back inside, a few minutes later, the doorbell rang, two playmates arrived and everyone scurried upstairs with delight.

Downstairs, talking over the muffled sounds of laughter and children’s voices, Bridget and Holcomb Mosley describe their family as “goofy.”

“We’re like the Weasleys in Harry Potter,” Bridget said. “We’re traditional. It’s hard to find anything different about us.”

Photo by Brian Chilson

Holcomb and Bridget Mosley, with their children Meric, Cora and Breck 14 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Like most parents today, the Mosleys know all about juggling demanding work schedules, extracurricular activities, chores and homework, along with the worries of raising healthy, happy children. The only difference between them and most Arkansas parents is that the Mosleys are a samesex couple.

Becca Austin, who is raising 5-year-old twins with her partner, Tara, said, “We never try to hide what kind of family we are.”

“We laugh a lot. We’re very close. I feel like we are such a traditional Arkansas family. We eat dinner together at the table every night. We keep a tight budget. We spend a ton of time with extended family. But, maybe that makes us modern because traditional isn’t really the norm anymore.”

The Austins, who live in Little Rock, are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Besides the right to marry, they also strive to have equal rights as parents.

Becca Austin does not have a parent’s full legal rights. Tara Austin, who gave birth to the twins conceived with donor sperm, said she hopes once people get to know their family, they’ll see that “we’re just like any other family” and support their mission to change the law.

“We hope it helps change any misconceptions,” she said. “I want to show people that we’re normal. Our kids are happy and well taken care of. I think we’re good parents.”

Being raised by gay or lesbian parents is just as “normal” for children as it “was for us to have straight parents,” said Neal Dodson, who with partner Tim Carr adopted Ethan, when he was about 9 months old. Dodson has full legal guardianship of Ethan, and Carr has a series of powers of attorney granting him various rights. “[Ethan] thinks it’s a hullabaloo about nothing,” said Dodson, explaining that people frequently ask their son, who turns 18 later this month, what it’s like to have two dads. Since he became a dad, Dodson said gay and lesbian parents have become more accepted, even in the South.

“It’s nothing, a nonissue,” he said. “Being a parent is all-consuming.

We’re just as stressed about money, just as stressed about time and scheduling. We worry when he is sick, about his grades. Everything that goes along with being a parent — it’s exactly the same. There’s no difference, except we’re two guys.”

Dodson and Carr are now dealing with a new phase of parenthood. Ethan graduates from high school this spring and will soon head off to college.

“I’m petrified, but we’re excited for him,” Dodson said. “We know we have raised a kind, caring and compassionate young man. We’ve given him the tools to make his mark. We’ve raised a pretty amazing kid.”

A Juggling Act

Today’s modern families are busier than ever. Parents juggle job duties, household chores and their children’s extracurricular activities, along with spending quality time together, taking time for themselves and raising well-rounded children. Finding balance is essential to making it all work.

Raising twins comes with its own set of challenges, say the Austins – Becca, 33, and Tara, 37. They want their children, Calvin and Sloan, to have their own individual identities and interests, which they try to foster by spending individual quality time with each child. Recently, they placed Calvin and Sloan in separate classes. This fall, the twins start kindergarten.

The family of four enjoys camping, reading and spending time with one another, and grandparents are always around to babysit when Becca and Tara want to spend time as a couple. Becca also coaches Calvin and Sloan’s soccer team.

Having a routine helps minimize stress while keeping activities in check, balancing electronic screen time, having dinner as a family and making healthy food choices, the Austins say. Both parents work full time in the medical field, so they divide duties: Tara handles the morning routine of breakfast and packing lunches, while Becca does the evening routine including bath time.

The Mosleys – Holcomb, 36, and Bridget, 43, – of Little Rock also work full time: Holcomb is an elementary school teacher and Bridget is an epidemiologist. Plus, they are both in graduate school, which they balance with the daily routine of raising three children, including school, soccer practice and music lessons.

“We’re very much involved in all aspects,” said Holcomb, who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to do school work and get breakfast ready by 6 a.m. Taking time for themselves is “one area we struggle with,” she said.

The Mosley family enjoys going to church, hanging out with family, camping, geocaching and spending time outdoors, when they have free time. They are planning a trip to Disney World as soon as 3-year-old Cora is tall enough to meet the rides’ height requirements, Bridget said.

“We’re learning as we go,” she said. “We recognize that what we’re doing as parents is a feat. As long as everyone knows they’re loved, that’s all that matters.”

Tim Carr and Neal Dodson, with son Ethan

Carr and Dodson divvy up their parental roles: “Tim’s more the disciplinarian, and I’m more the softy,” Dodson said. “I don’t know how single parents do it by themselves.”

As a family, they all love cooking, traveling and sitting on their patio listening to Ethan play his guitar. But, raising a teenager sometimes makes quality time difficult.

“Now, we’re not cool,” Dodson said. “Ethan doesn’t want to hang out with us. He’d rather go on a date or hang out with friends.”

For new parents, like Eddie and Stephen Inman-Crawley of Hot Springs, finding balance has its own learning curve. Since adopting 7-month-old daughter Rhett in October, they haven’t had much alone time, but when the baby gets a little older, they plan to get back to the activities they love, like traveling and spending time at Lake Catherine.

Stephen, 43, is a stay-at-home dad, which he says is a “blessing.” And, Eddie, 47, a hairstylist, is trying to work a little less to spend more time with the family. The pair has been friends for more than 20 years, but didn’t become a couple until three years ago, and a year later they had a marriage ceremony at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. (Soon, they plan to travel to another state where same-sex marriage is legal to become legally married.)

The Inman-Crawleys always wanted to have children and knew they wanted to adopt. They experienced the heartbreak of three failed adoption attempts. When Rhett came along, “everything fell into place, it was meant to be,” Stephen said. They were only notified of her adoptive status a week before her birth, and they brought her home when she was a day old.

“I’ve never loved anyone more,” Stephen said. “It’s funny how your priorities shift. You become very selfless. We’re a regular family. We just happen to be in a same-sex relationship. Our everyday life revolves around our child.”

Eddie legally adopted Rhett, and Stephen has several powers of attorney to provide legal coverage for his parenting. “If marriage was legal, we wouldn’t have to do any of that,” Eddie said.

These sentiments are echoed by other gay and lesbian parents in Arkansas. While families with same-sex parents face the same trials and triumphs as all parents, they also have challenges that straight couples with kids do not, including a plethora of legal issues.

Challenges With Legality

Photo by Brian Chilson

In Arkansas, only single individuals and married (opposite-sex) couples can legally adopt children. For same-sex couples in the state, where they cannot legally marry or coadopt children, typically one parent is a legal parent who must grant certain rights to the other parent via powers of attorney, living trusts and other legal documents. This is an expensive and time-consuming process that can complicate doctor’s visits and school registration, Dodson said.

“We have as much legal paperwork as we can,” Becca Austin said.

“It’s not immediately understood that Becca is a parent,” said Tara, who must grant Becca permission to pick up the children from school, according to the school’s policy. On school registration forms, the Austins, who may 2014 savvy kids

| 15

Tara and Becca Austin, with twins Calvin and Sloan

Photo by Brian Chilson

and visiting playmates. Bridget Mosley said she once counted, and, including the parents, kids and pets, there were “12 souls in all” living under one roof.

Stephen Inman-Crawley said he was a very overprotective new parent at first, but everything has been a learning experience, including the first bath and clipping Rhett’s fingernails for the first time. He and Eddie say they hope to teach their daughter about hard work and guide her in the right direction, and most of all show her an abundance of love and support.

For the Inman-Crawleys, the responses from family, friends and the public to their adoption have been positive, though they sometimes get strange looks, Stephen said.

“We don’t take stock in what people say,” Eddie said. “We show love, and that’s the key. It’s no one’s business what we do. We love our child.”

Besides the legal issues and expense associated with co-parenting, the costs of adopting children and the medical procedures associated with insemination are incredibly expensive. Dodson said going to these lengths demonstrates how much many same-sex couples want to be parents.

“Being a parent is the best thing that ever happened to us,” he said.

“What does it mean to be a parent? To love your kid and do anything for them. It’s not for the timid. He’s the first thing we think of when we wake up and the last thing we think of when we fall asleep.”

When comparing same-sex parents to straight parents, he said, “We’re just as boring as they are.”

16 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Photo by Matt Amaro

have been together for 10 years, crossed out “father” and wrote in “parent No. 2.”

Carr said he and Dodson have spent thousands of dollars getting these legal documents, which must be updated annually, “just to protect us from anything.” They have been together for nearly 25 years, and are involved with the Arkansas Initiative for Marriage Equality, a group aiming to put same-sex marriage on the 2016 ballot. Carr, 53, and Dodson, 49, plan to marry once it’s legal in Arkansas.

Bridget and Holcomb Mosley, who have been together for 14 years and got a civil union in Vermont 12 years ago, both gave birth to their children. Bridget gave birth to their oldest child, Breck, and Holcomb gave birth to the two girls. However, Breck and Meric have the same sperm donor, so because she and her brother have the same father, and she and her sister share the same mother, Meric links all three children biologically. Holcomb said this would likely keep all the children together if something were to happen to them.

While the law doesn’t give them equal rights as couples or parents, families with same-sex parents also say they sometimes experience uneasiness from others in the community.

However, the ones featured here say they have not experienced outright discrimination in Central Arkansas.

Holcomb Mosley said her family tends to gravitate to other families — with gay and straight parents — who have children. She said there are five or six other families with same-sex parents at her children’s school. Only once, she said, did one of her kids’ friends’ parents not allow their child to visit for a play date because of the nature of her and Bridget’s relationship.

“We can’t take ourselves too seriously,” Holcomb said. “We roll with the punches.”

Stephen and Eddie Inman-Crawley, with Rhett Usually, the Mosley house is full of kids, pets

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| 17

Opening Homes and Hearts

Foster parenting has many ups and downs, but provides a valuable service to children in Arkansas

By Erica Sweeney

Improving the System With the number of children in foster care outnumbering qualified foster homes in the state nearly four to one, the Arkansas Department of Human Services has some initiatives in the works to help balance the problem.

The Differential Response Program kicked off in August 2013 to provide families with services and supports in cases of low-risk allegations of neglect before putting children in foster care.

Leslie Sebren, program administrator for DHS’s Division of Children and Family Services, said Differential Response offers a “prevention approach” to improve child safety, permanency and overall well-being. The goal is to keep families together and reduce the number of kids in foster care.

“We look at the needs of the family and what we can do as an agency to offer services to prevent families from getting deeper into [the system],” Sebren said.

The program engages the entire family and provides education about the resources available, such as local food banks, so families can learn to be self-sufficient, she said.

“These are families who want help,” DHS spokeswoman Kate Luck said. “They are willing to cooperate with us because we are not putting the family on the defensive.

We’re working with them to find services.”

Because the program is relatively new, Luck said statistics are not yet avail18 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Though foster families are paid, the money is nothing, Tammy explained. She said the job of a foster parent is to love the children as one’s own, even if it’s only for a short time period. But, when Lily, now 2, and Cooper, now 3, came into their home, they knew these children would be a permanent part of the family.

Both Lily and Cooper had experienced neglect and were developmentally behind, she said. Once in the Batchelor home, both kids “thrived [and] caught up so fast.”

While the Batchelors legally adopted Lily and Cooper, more often children leave foster care to return to their biological parents or to a relative’s home. This is the most difficult part of being foster parents, Tammy said.

“When you’ve invested so much time, and they have to say goodbye, that’s when it’s hard,” she said. “But, we realize it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Many families hope to adopt their foster children, but it is not always possible.

Foster care is often a temporary solution while biological parents get back on their feet. Last year, there were nearly 700 adoptions through the state system, Luck said.

Tammy said her family always hopes to continue some type of relationship with their former foster children, but it doesn’t always work out.

Another difficult aspect of foster parenting is the unknown. Tammy said they never know when they’ll get a call for a child to be placed or when a child will leave, and little information is provided about the children placed in the home.

She said they always try to be prepared, sometimes using pots and pans as toys.

Blucker said the work of a foster parent isn’t always easy, but it’s “bigger than the struggles.”

“In giving of yourself and opening your home and heart to children, you are making a difference in a child and family’s life,” she said.

Visit www.fosterarkansas.org for more details about becoming a foster parent.

Cooper and Lily Batchelor

Initiatives strive to provide better foster care options

By Erica Sweeney able to show the program’s impact, but there has been a positive response from the community.

To increase the number of foster homes in the state, DCFS recently received the Diligent Recruitment of Families for Children in the Foster Care System federal grant, Sebren said. Funds will be used to recruit homes willing to accept difficult-to-place populations, such as older children, pregnant teens, teen moms, children with special needs or high-risk medical conditions, and large sibling groups.

When a child is placed in foster care and a certified foster home is not available, DCFS looks for other placement options, including homes of relatives, group shelters, residential care facilities or mental health facilities. Act 478, sponsored by Rep. Sheilla Lampkin (D-Monticello), was passed last year to add “fictive kin” as a placement option.

“Fictive kin” refers to individuals, like family friends or teachers, who are not blood relatives, but have a close emotional connection to the child. DHS is currently revising requirements for provisional foster care to include this additional placement option.

Even with initiatives to improve the state’s foster care system, Luck said more foster homes are always needed. And, though it can take up to six months to become certified, foster families provide valuable services to children in need all over Arkansas.

Photo submitted by Tammy Batchelor

The path to becoming a certified home is a time-consuming process, and the life of a foster parent has many ups and downs. Children come and go. Relationships are developed and redeveloped, and hopes of adoption are sometimes dashed.

Tammy and Todd Batchelor of Little Rock said the difficult and sometimes heart-wrenching aspects of foster-parenthood are diminished by knowing they are helping children in need. They have been foster parents for almost five years. Nine children have passed through their home, and they adopted two of the children they fostered.

The couple, both 44, knew they wanted to adopt, so they became certified as a foster/adoptive home through the Department of Human Services. The certification process was slow and time consuming, with paperwork, home visits and interviews, Tammy said. Each year, they must complete 15 hours of continuing education.

“It’s all just part of the process,” she said. “There’s such a need for these innocent children who’ve seen hard times. You see the difference you truly make, and it’s humbling.”

In Arkansas, around 4,000 children are in the foster-care system at any given time, and there are only about 1,100 foster homes in the state, said DHS spokeswoman Kate Luck. DHS declined to provide the number of individual or two-person foster homes, and Luck said the agency does not track the number of homes by gender.

Individuals and couples demonstrating a stable relationship, who are at least age 21 and meet health, housing and resource requirements, may become certified foster homes. Applicants must also be CPR and first-aid certified, complete 30 hours of training, and all members of a household over age 14 must pass a criminal background check. There is also a home inspection.

Children are placed according to foster parents’ preferences of age, sex and race or number of children, said Cecile Blucker, director of the DHS Division of Children and Family Services.

Families receive a monthly payment of $410-$500 per child, depending on age.

Higher payments may be available for children with special needs, Blucker said.

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CALL The

There are more than 4,000 children awaiting a loving home in Arkansas at any given time, more than four times the number of available foster families.

One Little Rock-based organization, The CALL, is working to change that.

The CALL, or Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime, is a faith-based nonprofit organization launched in 2006. It provides training and support for potential foster and adoptive parents within a church setting using the same training materials offered through the state Department of Human Services.

“Kids who don’t find a foster home wind up in emergency shelters for up to 45 days, or they may be housed in a rehabilitation facility, whether or not they need it,” said Lauri Currier, CALL executive director. “Others wind up in group homes, which are usually geared toward older children.”

Currier said given that most youngsters seeking foster care come from abusive, criminal or otherwise dysfunctional households, such options do little more than warehouse them, sometimes until they age out in their late teens.

Foster and adoptive homes, meanwhile, provide a much better alternative for helping them move past the difficulties they have experienced and reducing the likelihood they will continue the cycle in their adult lives.

The CALL recruits interested individuals by partnering with churches of all denominations, tapping into reservoirs of potential foster or adoptive families.

“The CALL acts as a church’s tool to serve the local orphan population,” Currier said. “Sometimes a church wants to build a ministry like this but they don’t know how to go about it. We’re their link between the state agency and their interested church members.”

CALL representatives, through their relationships with churches across the state, introduce congregations to the need for more

Little Rock-based organization addresses foster care crisis in state

By Dwain Hebda

foster and adoptive homes through informational presentations. Interested congregants then apply for the CALL’s certification programs, which utilize the same materials as DHS’s Division of Children and Family Services uses in state-sponsored training.

All prospective candidates’ eligibility is evaluated according to DCFS guidelines, including background checks administered by the state agency. Families looking to foster or adopt through the CALL must meet an additional requirement by the organization: Families must demonstrate affiliation with a faith congregation. (Faith affiliation is not a requirement of DCFS.) This requirement is rooted in the CALL’s philosophy that such a community is vital to supporting families as they take on this new challenge in the life of their family.

“We want people to be plugged in to a church because we believe that in order for them to be successful in this, they will need ongoing support,” Currier said.

“We believe a major source of that support is through their church family.”

The CALL also does not work with cohabitating couples, but refers these couples to DCFS for certification, Currier said.

The CALL has also been successful in streamlining the certification process by amending the structure of the classes it offers. Going through the state’s certification process, which is farmed out to third-party vendors at five locations around Arkansas, individuals attend one three-hour class per week for 10 weeks. The CALL process covers the exact same material in two weekend training sessions, or four days of instruction. This reduced time commitment for certification removes what many people regard as a barrier to their getting involved in the foster or adoptive parent education process, Currier said.

Finally, The CALL shepherds certified individuals through the remaining steps of the process, which includes home visits and other state-mandated details such as insurance and other provisions prior to placement of foster children or pursuant to adoption.

“Our family support coordinators keep connected with these families throughout the process,” Currier said. “This can be a member of our staff or an affiliate volunteer who walks them through the process and keeps them moving in the right direction.”

Originally operating just in Pulaski County, The CALL went statewide in 2011, and today covers 27 Arkansas counties with four more in the process of forming affiliates. Since 2007, more than 1,200 families have completed weekend training events. Of these, 646 foster families and 195 adoptive families have been opened.

The effort is growing: 2013 accounted for one-third of the weekend training events in the groups’ history (51), one-fourth of the families completed training (312), and 191 of total foster homes and 80 of total adoptive families opened. An additional 270 foster and adoptive families are already in the process just through the first quarter of 2014. Currier said the group’s goal is to open 500 total foster and adoptive families by the end of the year.

For more information on becoming a foster or adoptive family or to have The CALL speak at your church, call 501-907-1048 or visit the organization’s website at www.thecallinarkansas.org or on Facebook. Individuals inside Pulaski County can also contact the local affiliate at 501-823-0607 or via email at pulaskicounty@thecallinarkansas.org.

Dwain Hebda is a writer and editor living in Little Rock. He and his wife Darlene are the parents of four grown children. The emptied-nesters enjoy their time traveling, working out and spoiling their two dogs.

20 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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r e h t o M Locals share their stories of motherhood at a live Mother’s Day performance

22 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Photo by Brian Chilson

On Mother’s Day, local writers and storytellers are sharing their stories of motherhood, as part of a national live-readings show called “Listen To Your Mother.”

“It’s a celebration of what it is to be a mother,” said the show’s co-director Kyran Pittman. “It’s a dynamic show, curated to a lot of different moods and tones.”

Thirty-two cities nationwide participate in “Listen To Your Mother.” This year marks the first in Central Arkansas. Previously, the state’s show was based in Northwest Arkansas.

“Listen To Your Mother: Little Rock” is 3 p.m. May 11 at the Arkansas Repertory Theater. Readings will later be added to the national show’s YouTube channel.

The production team, including Pittman, director Sarabeth Jones, producer Donna Hall and co-director Kerri Jackson Case, selected 15 local writers (14 women and one man) to participate in the show, out of about 35 who submitted stories. Stories discuss motherhood in some form: Some storytellers share their own experiences in parenting, and others discuss their own mothers.

“The experience of motherhood is universal,” Case said. “But expectations are changing. We’re talking honestly about that.”

Attending the show is a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day, Hall said.

“It’s going to be a really fun afternoon,” she said. Stories are funny, sad and heart-warming.

Ten percent of the proceeds go to The Nest, a new women’s shelter being developed by The Van, Jones said.

Read excerpts from the 15 “Listen To Your Mother: Little Rock” storytellers in the following pages. Visit listentoyourmothershow.com/ The “Listen To Your Mother: Little Rock” production team: Co-Director Kyran littlerock/ for more information and to purchase tickets.

Pittman, Director Sarabeth Jones, Co-Director Kerri Jackson Case and Producer Donna Hall.

“ Locked Up ”

“ The Frog Story ”

by Carolyn Bechtold

A group of young men, handcuffed and shackled together, were ushered into the courtroom. One by one, the deputy unlocked the handcuffs and the men were instructed to sit on a long wooden bench against the wall.

As my eyes scanned the men, I stopped at the young man seated third from the left. My eyes instantly filled with tears. Oh my God! It was My Son – My Baby – My First Born. I just sat there staring in disbelief, tears streaming down my face.

My ex-husband had the unfortunate task of calling me the day before to give me the news that Brian had been arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Arrested… Marijuana… Distribution. What did it all mean? It sure wasn’t supposed to happen to MY FAMILY. It was supposed to happen to bad families; families that didn’t care about their children; families where one or both parents were drug addicts. Not to MY Family. I’m a good mother!

by Jane Balgavy

“Oh my GAWWWWWWD, Jane, what have you done to that poor frog?”

I tried to explain. I showed her my assignment, my notebook paper with my hypothesis clearly spelled out. It seemed so, so, scientific.

“YOU HAVE MURDERED A FRAWWWWWWG!” I was devastated.

Mother stood back and put her open faced palms on her hips. She sighed deeply.

“Well, you’re going to have to have a funeral.”

“ Center ”

“ What I Know ”

by Katherine Blackmon Before the plus sign on the quickly purchased drugstore test, Before the trip to the doctor, just to be sure, Before her heartbeat blipped on a screen – I knew.

I felt her, like a flame taking hold of the tip of a match, Sizzling to life Between my hip bones – And little did I know, This would be the last time I would see those Hip bones – Cradled in the center of my being.

Cradled in that place that holds hands with gravity And keeps me from drifting out and away.

I knew.

I knew she was there.

She was my center.

by Leah Braswell

I don’t know what it feels like to have two moms. I don’t know how long I can keep my sons’ lives healthy and happy and bully-free. But you breeders don’t know the answers to those questions for your kids, either.

If it weren’t a gay house, it would be some other type of house. You know, one of those adjectives we use to describe families and people who aren’t ourselves: rich, crazy, perfect, disabled, trashy. We all have something that someone else doesn’t like.

Last year, at baseball practice, a little boy finally put two and two together when I went in the dugout to gather Ross’ things. “You have two moms? No fair! I wish I had two moms.”

I’m going to tell you one more thing that I know. In a few weeks, I will take the stand to tell a judge that I am a mother and that I deserve to adopt my kids legally. He’s going to ask me when I knew for sure that I was a parent. I’m going to tell him that there are some truths that are so much bigger than facts.

“ Popularity Tastes Awful and Other Truths I’ll Tell My Daughter “

by Ginny Hensley

I heard through the History class grapevine that the party organizers would be charging $5 per beer, so I came prepared with $30, thinking surely six beers would do the trick, right? There I was, sitting on a couch with girls I barely knew, drinking warm beer through a straw. My first sip of popularity hit my attention-parched mouth. And it was disgusting.

But I soldiered through, became sufficiently drunk and proceeded with the confidence only offered by inebriation. I was on top of the world! I was funny, self-assured and boys actually wanted to talk to me!

Then, from the shadows, I heard a deep male voice beckon, “young lady in the red jacket, come with me.” And I did go with him. Straight to the Conway Police Department. I was handcuffed and placed in the back of the squad car, all the while screaming “This is God punishing me!” Those words are actually in the police report.

Come Monday when I returned to school, I was popular all right. In fact, I bypassed popular and went straight to notorious.

Continued on page 24 may 2014 savvy kids

| 23

Listen To Your Mother Continued from page 23 “ What Moms Know ”

“ Welcome to the Club ”

by Bobby Harrison

by Allison Herndon

As I went to bed that night, I had the thought then that I’d had countless times before and more than plenty since. What things do Mom’s really know? Are they just bluffing? Or do they really have some sort of crazy, mystical, psychic hotline insight into the depths of our hearts and hurts and hopes?

And if so, if they have some sixth sense, it brings a certain question to mind...a thought that just kinda lingered...the thing I searched my ceiling for...all those countless nights in bed during the days leading up to the 10th grade: Should you really listen to your mother?

Does the house really need to be vacuumed everyday?

Will the check-in folks at the airport really upgrade you to that empty first class seat because you brushed your teeth, combed your hair and tucked your button-up shirt into your freshly ironed khakis?

Can I really do ANYTHING I put my heart and mind to?

The best thing my mom did was to make the whole thing – the entire process – sound like winning the lottery. Becoming a woman, according to mom, was a gift. Only girls got this gift. Describing something to me as “for girls only” immediately made it a winner. … … I wasn’t overly excited about the being a mom part quite yet, but becoming a woman? SIGN ME UP! High heels, hips, boobs, eating chocolate, sipping wine coolers, carrying around oversized handbags full of lipstick? YES ma’am, I was born ready for that.

“ Mom & John Travolta ”

“ Room 218 ”

by Jen Holsted

by Melissa McCurdy

But Mom’s love of dance didn’t limit itself to watching movies. And she was determined that I would love to dance, too. So Tuesdays became Dance Lesson Night. Being 13 was bad enough. Being forced into a musty church gym and spoon fed the waltz and the fox trot was torture.

The simple agony of waiting for a boy to choose me as his partner was multiplied by the fact that Mom sat to the side grinning the whole time.

“You don’t want to be socially inept, do you?” she would say whenever I complained – as if a 7th grader were anything but. So I went every week and dutifully learned all the steps, but my heart just wasn’t in it.

Sometimes I would look over at Mom and see her leaning back against the wall, her eyes closed, smiling. Smiling as she watched John Travolta move through the crowd to ask her to dance.

The bleakness over the past 72 hours has made me seek shelter at a hotel. My husband has been gone for three days, the children have declared all out warfare on each other, and I’ve turned into the crazy woman in the attic that Charlotte Bronte couldn’t even dream of writing.

I’ve come to the end of my rope (or any other appropriate cliché). I’ve lost all ability to mother. I’m nothing more than a cook, a launderer and maid. The clothes I wash, that I ask to be put away, get thrown under the bed. The food I cook gets sneered at and pushed away. The floors I mop, the toilets I clean, the sinks I scrub, the tables I dust, the rugs I vacuum, all are ceremoniously stomped, spit, or pee’d into or upon, and without thanks or recognition. My husband just received a promotion, and I realized no one will ever promote me to anything again. No employee of the month, no bonuses, no conference lectures. Nothing. Yes, I’m whining (you may start criticizing here), but I’m also trying to breathe, because I feel like I have kudzu growing over every internal organ I have and it’s choking me to death.

“ First Night Away ”

by Kendra Skaggs

Someday, probably not in the near future, we might get to spend a night away without kids.

Oh how I dream to spend as long as I want in a hot shower without responding to questions and requests, to pee without screams penetrating the door and little fingers trying to dig their way under, and to sleep. To sleep! ALL. NIGHT. LONG. My husband is squirming again. Apparently that isn’t what he envisions.

My poor husband.

It’s been 13 months since we brought her home. It was a miracle that we were able to do it. Some days since, it’s felt like a miracle we survived that 24 | savvy k i ds may 2014

first year.

My daughter used to hurt herself. Not the fall and bruise her knee kind of hurt. No, this infliction is indescribable. You have to experience it to understand. I don’t think anything has ever pierced my soul like watching her bite herself. The teeth marks were deep and purple. In these times, it was truly as if she were possessed. In fact, my eight-year-old son told me one day that parts of Polina belonged to the devil. I don’t know where he got the idea, but I couldn’t help but agree.

Continued on page 26

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Listen To Your Mother Continued from page 24 “ Heart of a Mother ”

“ Accept ”

by Sarah Orsborn

by Julie Kohl

My mother-in-law wrapped up one pink and one blue tiny little onesie in identical packages and told me to pick one. She said the color we chose would indicate if we were having a boy or a girl. It didn’t matter to me but when I pulled out that pink onesie I immediately began thinking of names and imagining how I would decorate the nursery and all the cute little clothes I would get to buy. I began to accept the role of mother and accept that we were going to soon be a family of three.

Unfortunately, as quickly as all the joy came, so came the sorrow when on March 18th I had to accept that there was no tiny heartbeat and I had to accept when the doctor said, “I think you have lost the baby.”

We found out that due to a heart defect I never knew I’d always had, my heart was weak, and my twin pregnancy which stretched my belly to the point I thought my babies might simply crack my skin open and hatch out like chicks, had stressed my heart nearly to the point of breaking, to the point of congestive heart failure. My heart muscle was weak, but my mother-heart is strong.

After facing down death, nothing other than death seems quite as scary. The most terrifying experience of my life made me fearless. Life may be beyond my control, but whatever it throws my way, I can take it. I can drop my near death experience like a punchline and laugh in its face.

I can defy my own heart on a daily basis, because this heart is no longer just a heart made of muscle that didn’t quite come together right – it’s the heart of a mother.

“ Longing Fulfilled ”

“ A Mom of One’s Own ”

by Stacey Valley

by Jennifer Barnett Reed

She’d been dead less than 24 hours when I stole the jingle elf. It was New Year’s Day and my father was at the funeral home and because we didn’t know what else to do, my sister and my cousins and I were taking down my parents’ Christmas tree.

The jingle elf was older than I am, and to me, his smiling plastic face and gangly red bell-and-sequin limbs embodied all that was warm and precious about my childhood Christmases. To my siblings, he was a creepy little pipe-cleaner Chuckie who would one day murder us all in our beds.

My mother had loved him like I did and she was gone, so I stuffed him in my purse without asking and I took him home.

I called my momma (who lived just a few blocks away) – GET OVER HERE NOW – WE’RE GETTING A BABY! I think I may have hung up on her in my excitement. Mom quickly came over, and we waited with such anticipation. We were like two little kids waiting to open Christmas presents!

Then the two social workers arrived carrying a car seat covered by a blanket to protect the child from the pouring rain. I answered the door and let them in. Paperwork, and more paperwork, and a few instructions, then they handed me the most beautiful little six pound bundle of pure joy. I held back the tears. I was in love instantly. … I whispered to mom, we’ll call her Marley.

“ Growing Through Conversation and Kisses ”

by Barbara Scorza

Then I had my first son. Having a son was a blessing. I am not a girly girl and I don’t think I could be the mother to a girly girl. So, this was good. God knew me and my heart, and he gave me a son.

Then he started to talk. And talk. And talk. Okay, what is this? How have I failed him? Why did he think silence was a crime? Silence was good.

Well, the more words he learned, the more words he used. I had to find a way around this. I bought books, the kinds with the cassette tape that read the story and prompt you to turn the page.

He was still too young to read, but not too young to talk my ear off. … This was good for about two years and 50 books, and then it lost its appeal. Now he knew even more words.

26 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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• Center adjacent to Family Zone at Heifer International.

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MONICA VERMA, M.D. is the only private practice ophthalmologist in Arkansas specializing in the eye care needs of children.

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» Blocked Tear Ducts » Amblyopia » Motility Disorders » Chalazion/Syes/Eyelid Disorders » Genetic Syndromes » Red and Painful Eyes » Medical Cornea » Comprehensive Ophthalmology may 2014 savvy kids

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Bella Boutique 5623 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock 501-603-5373 Gorgeous gray Lucite hinge bracelets by Alexis Bittar with cubic zirconia rivets.

Fringe clothing 112 River Market Ave. Little Rock 501-376-7000 A kimono-style wrap is not only on trend but also easy to wear.

Throw it on over jeans and a tank or a beautiful dress.

mother’s day G i f t

G u i d e

May 11 is Mother’s Day, the Super Bowl of holidays for that special woman in your life. So, we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you! We have great local gift ideas to celebrate Mom.

Pout Pleasant Ridge Town Center Little Rock 501-224-8222 Laura Mercier is a perfect blend of 20 SPF skincare and makeup that hydrates skin and softens fine lines with a sheer hint of colour for a healthy, dewy glow.

28 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Tulips 5817 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock 501-614-7343 Melanie Auld creates cool, colorful, modern jewelry, with amazing stones sourced from all over the world.

Paper, Scissors, little rock 300 River Market Ave., Ste 105 Little Rock 501-291-0551 These Brixloft leather cuffs are made locally by two North Little Rock women who upcycle vintage pieces to create one-of-a-kind beautiful jewelry.

Indigo The Promenade at Chenal Little Rock 501-821-2808 Sleek black Botkier crossbody handbag with gold chain detail.

Rhea Drug 2801 Kavanaugh Blvd. Little Rock 501-663-4131 Moms love to be pampered. Soap & Paper Factory candles, soaps, hand creams and bubble bath are designed with the environment in mind. The allnatural, beautifully scented handmade products are also wrapped in exquisite earth friendly packages.

The Social Type 5819 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock 501-661-9929 This fabulous, functional and simply irresistible calendar can be customized with several swatches and your favorite monogram.

Warren’s Shoes the promenade at chenal Little Rock 501-821-5970 Dolce Vita Vasni gold sliver wedge ankle strap sandal is perfect for any of your summer looks.

Kristin Todd Accessories Pleasant Ridge Town Center Little Rock 501-223-9191 Moon and Lola acrylic monogram necklaces and bracelets in script or block font. Select your color, monogram size and chain.

may 2014 savvy kids

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Abundant Life School “Education with a Difference”

“We love the convenience of having all 3 of our kids at the same school, under the care of teachers who love them and truly want them to succeed. At Abundant Life they are provided with a high quality, biblically based education.”

– Joe & Holly Dunn

4K-12th Grade

Preparing for college by educating spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially • Small Class Sizes • Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math Programs • Full/Half Day 4K and 5K • K-12 Technology Opportunities • Concurrent College/High School Courses • Before/After School Care 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

• Expanded High School Curriculum with Online Courses • Arkansas Activities Association Member • Basketball, Cheer, Baseball, Softball, Track, and Golf

“I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10

Tour (501) 835-3120 Call For ACall Tour For (501) A 835-3120 9200 Highway 107 · Sherwood 9200 Highway 107 • Sherwood abundantlifeschool.org

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WHEN CORBIN CAME TO US, HE COULDN’T UNDERSTAND A SIMPLE STORY. NOW, HE READS THEM TO HIS PARENTS.

Student and clients join us for all kinds of reasons, whether they need evaluations, therapy or a different educational setting. ACCESS uses innovative, multi­sensory teaching methods. We offer everything from speech and reading to feeding techniques and educational technology.

Our services build a foundation for reading skills and future academic success so your child can hit milestones with his peers.

501-217-8600 · ACCESSGROUPINC.ORG · @ACCESSGROUPINC

EVALUATION & RESOURCE CENTER · SPEECH, PHYSICAL & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY · ACADEMIC THERAPY · PRESCHOOL · ACADEMY · YOUNG ADULT PROGRAM

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501-221-1160 may 2014 savvy kids

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How to help children retain reading and math skills when school is out

By Stacey Margaret Jones Adults often look back with nostalgia on their summer vacations. As warmly as grown-ups remember, school kids look forward even more energetically to the last day of school and months of warm-weather fun.

But weeks and weeks out of school can have negative consequences for some children when it comes to academic progress over their elementary school years. This back-tracking is called the “summer slide,” and educators and parents who notice the problem have some ideas on how to fight the loss.

Tracy Tucker, director of curriculum and instruction for the Arkansas Department of Education, identifies summer slide in students who don’t retain the skills and knowledge from the previous school year over the summer.

Not all kids will experience this loss of academic ground, Tucker said. “Some students never miss a beat, but for others, they may lose many of their reading skills, dropping down multiple levels in the fall.”

Rosie Coleman, executive director of elementary education for the North Little Rock School District, said summer slide is an understandable outcome of the traditional school year. “When little to no instruction occurs for any significant amount of time, students tend to digress academically because they are not using the skills on a daily basis that they are required to use in school five days a week.”

Often, it’s the most at-risk students who show the most loss between school years, but that is not always the case. Reading and math are the primary areas in which elementary students demonstrate summer slide, said

several educators in Central Arkansas.

And though many parents resist the idea of loading children up with tutors and formal academic work over the summer, others grow concerned when they see their children losing ground and even becoming less confident students because of their decreasing ability in one or two areas.

Heather Collins, 40, a Little Rock commercial photographer and editor, noticed that her daughter, Maggie, a rising fifth-grader, was starting to struggle with math, though she had been a straight-A student “since birth.”

“Over the past couple of school years, we noticed her growing frustration and dwindling confidence in math, especially in homework and SOAR testing,” she said.

“I knew we needed to help her find the ‘math switch’ in her brain,” said Collins, whose twin sister is a math and science teacher in Little Rock. She has been acting as Maggie’s summer tutor now for several summers.

That tutoring is working. “Tutoring has brought about a sense of relief and confidence that Mags has been lacking for awhile,” Collins said. “She sees tutoring as a way to catch up to – and even get ahead of – her peers.”

But Maggie has a full slate of summer activities as well, so she has time to enjoy kid-dom. “She still goes to day camp and basketball camp, swims, gardens, has sleepovers and so on,” said Collins. “But this is a kid who calls out license plates with all numbers that factor evenly into the largest; she’s probably going to like math tutoring.”

Summer Learning Bryan Redditt, owner of the Huntington Learning Center in Little Rock, has suggested several summer activities to keep reading and math skills fresh.

Most of these activities can be enjoyed at home and as a family.

Reading Activities:

• Help your child find books in the library that interest him or her.

• Create a summer book club that includes your child’s friends, or make it a family event to read the books and gather to discuss them.

• If you read books from which films have been made, schedule a family and friends movie night once the book has been finished by everyone.

• Remember, all reading is helpful. Magazines and comic books that keep a child engaged will do a lot more good than taking three months off reading altogether.

• Start a family study topic to last all summer. Read up on the Civil War, 32 | savvy k i ds may 2014

At-home reading and math projects

insects, dinosaurs or some other topic everyone agrees on. Museum trips can supplement the library books everyone reads. Help children form questions and then help him or her find the answers.

Math Activities:

• Young children can help parents count things throughout the house within the routines of day-to-day life. Older children can measure for cooking and can work with fractions.

• Help children calculate savings in stores, estimate the total bill as you shop or just identify numbers if they are at that level.

• Plan a road trip together and estimate how long it will take to drive based on speed limits and distance. Ask kids to calculate costs and budgets and make choices based on money available for the trip.

Programs to Help with Summer Slide For families without a subject-specific tutor in the family like Collins, there are still a number of programs available in the summer that can also be fun for children.

Tucker listed educational camps sponsored by colleges and universities, libraries, 4-H and schools. Some elementary schools open their libraries for part of the summer as well. The Boys and Girls Club in Little Rock piloted a successful program last year (see sidebar).

Coleman said NLRSD has a resource for families, “ZUNI for Kids,” which is an online tool full of grade-level academic activities to keep kids engaged.

“Parents are given their own code to get into the system, and students can learn all summer,” she said. The district also recommends other activities, such as studying math facts, challenging board games, summer reading programs and lots of exercise, which stimulates the brain.

There are also organizations dedicated to academic progress that parents can make use of if that best suits their children and families.

Bryan Redditt, owner of the Huntington Learning Center in Little Rock, noted many research studies that prove empirically what parents and teachers may notice from year to year in individual students.

“Summer slide is especially harmful to students who are already behind and struggle to catch up,” Redditt said. “But even students who do well during the school year can lose about two months in achievement during summer, especially in math.”

He recommends keeping students engaged academically throughout the summer, and, as Collins found, personalized tutors are a very effective way to address academic trouble spots and prepare for the next school year.

One of the best ways parents can help their kids, whether they’ve experienced summer loss before or not, is to read with them over the break.

“Research recommends 20 minutes per day,” said Tucker of the ADE. Coleman agreed, giving her No. 1 recommendation for mitigating summer slide: “Read! Read! Read!”

And Redditt reminded parents that engaging children in regular educational activities can go a long way toward “turning summer loss into summer gain!”

Stacey Margaret Jones is a freelance writer and independent market researcher in Conway, where she lives with her husband, cat and three dogs. She is working on her master’s of fine arts in creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas.

Project Read

Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas expanding reading program in all seven clubs One local program dedicated to reducing or reversing summer slide in at-risk children has realized verifiable success.

According to Sarah Riffle, director of development of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas, the organization’s Project READ 2020, was piloted last year in three clubs over the summer and targeted students reading below grade level.

Reading teachers were on the clubs’ staffs and, with parent permission, got student reading scores for group placements. Each group had reading intervention time for 30 minutes Monday through Thursday each week.

“At the end of the summer PR2020 program, data showed a 93 percent success rate,” Riffle said. “Of our 105 participants, 6 percent gained three reading levels, 13 percent gained two reading levels, 41 percent gained one reading level, and 33 percent stayed the same.”

With those results, Riffle reported the Boys and Girls Club will expand the program to all seven of its clubs for summer 2014.

A place where children with learning differences and developmental disabilities can grow and develop in an environment tailored to meet their unique needs.

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OUTPATIENT THERAPY SERVICES Occupational · Physical · Speech If your child has been diagnosed with a development disorder: Autism, Asperger syndrome, PDD, Down syndrome, Apraxia or other language disorders, or sensory integration issues, contact us today for more information or to schedule an evaluation for your child.

(501) 663-6965 · 1600 Riverfront Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas We work with a variety of private insurance providers as well as ARKids 1st, Medicaid, TEFRA and TRICARE. may 2014 savvy kids

| 33

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Wh y

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d Yo u A l u o d Sh

Pet? Pet ownership teaches children valuable lessons and life skills

By Callie France Sterling

If you’re skeptical about adopting a pet for your child, you may be not aware of all the benefits that pets can bring to your family. Owning a pet can teach and reinforce responsibility, reduce anxiety, reduce potential allergies and be a life-changing companion for children.

“Having a pet can teach a child responsibility,” said Faith Baldwin of Sherwood Humane Animal Services. “It can also be a great way for kids to learn how much goes into caring for something that is a living and breathing creature.”

It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of U.S. households have at least one pet.

With all the fun aspects of pet ownership come responsibilities such as grooming, providing water, feeding and walking. Involving children in these responsibilities that are essential for a pet’s health and well being provides the valuable experiences that they can later use in school, relationships and eventually parenthood.

“The general belief is that there are health benefits to owning pets, both in terms of psychological growth and development, as well as physical health benefits,” Dr. James Griffin, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in an NIH newsletter.

34 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Health benefits include allergy prevention, blood pressure reduction, asthma prevention and increased exercising habits. If children are exposed to pets at an early age, they may become accustomed to potential allergens such as dog or cat dander. Increased exercise from playing outside with pets will lead to an overall healthier lifestyle.

“Having a pet can reduce stress and loneliness,” said Susan Shaddox of Last Chance Arkansas, an organization dedicated to rescuing animals. “Pets can increase bonding between siblings and gets kids outside to walk and exercise. They can also teach kids compassion and nurturing skills.”

Additionally, pets can help children who are beginning to read because they tend to be a less intimidating audience for children reading aloud.

This provides new readers with valuable practice without feeling embarrassed or judged by their audience.

Pets tend to also provide and develop social interaction skills, because they provide unconditional love, affection and playfulness.

Although dogs and cats are often the most common pet choices, many types of pets can provide various benefits to children. “While people with dogs often experience the greatest health benefits, a pet doesn’t necessarily have to be a dog or a cat. Even watching fish in an aquarium can help reduce muscle tension and lower pulse rate,” states www.helpguide.org.

If a dog or cat is not the right choice for your family, other pet choices include turtles, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, hermit crabs, chinchillas and more. The possibilities are endless when it comes to choosing a pet for your child.

Overall pet owners tend to be healthier, mentally and physically, than non-pet owners. And, the impact that a pet can make on a child’s life is boundless.

Callie France Sterling is a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Central Arkansas. She has a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in print as well as broadcast. She loves photography, scrapbooking, writing and going on adventures with her husband and their two dogs.

Splash Zone

Water Park at pleasure Park

School’s Out Celebration Friday, May 23, 2014 • 6pm-9pm

School will be out soon and we’re having a party! Grab your swimsuits, towels and friends and head to Splash Zone for an evening swim.

Kick your summer off with a splash!

Admission $5 Slides FREE - Must be 48” or taller to ride slides Concessions Available. Handicap Accessible.

For More Information Call 501-982-4171

Splash Zone Water Park Season OPENING MEMORIAL WEEKEND

May 24–26 • 12-6pm

Summer fun starts this weekend at Splash Zone. Jacksonville’s premier water park features a plunge pool with two water slides, a water tunnel, the umbrella-shaped Rain Drop and Dew Drop water showers, as well as the kids-only Tea Cup. Admission $5 • Slides $1 Mon-Fri 11am-7pm | Sat, Sun & Holidays 12-6 pm For More Information Call 501-982-4171 Or 501-982-SWIM (7946)

Dates, time, & location subject to change.

Splash Zone Water Park • Pleasure Park 201 W Martin St • Jacksonville CITYOFJACKSONVILLE.NET may 2014 savvy kids

| 35

Special needs

Battling NF

Local clinic and foundation are dedicated to raising awareness and caring for children with neurofibromatosis

By Dwain Hebda

One of today’s most common childhood diseases can stunt growth, bring on difficulty in school, cause blindness and deafness and spawn tumors that can disfigure or even turn cancerous. Yet it’s likely you’ve never heard of neurofibromatosis.

“NF is very widespread, very common,” said Dr. Rolla Shbarou, medical director of Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s Neurofibromatosis Clinic. “It occurs in one out of about every 3,000 births.”

According to the Children’s Tumor Foundation, this makes NF more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease combined. Globally, the genetic disorder affects more than 2 million people.

The disease is broken into three categories: NF1, NF2 and schwannomatosis. In all three, the condition causes internal or external tumors to grow on nerve cells. Tumors may be at or near the surface, benign and removed surgically or, in more serious cases, grow deeper in the body, affecting a number of body systems.

NF1 is the most common strain and, as Shbarou points out, is often mild to moderate, although it can lead to skeletal abnormalities, disfigurement and loss of limbs. It is particularly distinguished by its impact on learning. Children with NF1 are five times more likely to have varying degrees of learning disabilities than the general population.

In addition to these problems, NF2 patients also frequently suffer tumors on cranial nerves, commonly causing deafness and severe balance problems, and on optical nerves causing vision problems, cataracts and retinal abnormalities.

Schwannomatosis, the most recently diagnosed strain, is both the rarest and relatively least understood of the three.

Shbarou said the hereditary aspect of the disease is pronounced. Children of affected parents have a 50 percent chance of being born with NF. While the category of what’s handed down is always the same (i.e., an NF1 parent will only pass NF1 to their offspring), the severity of the condition may differ from parent to child.

“Families may not be aware that the parents have the disease,” she said.

“One time a family brought in a five-month-old for diagnosis. The child had some very pronounced physical signs, but I also noticed some spots on the father and, after talking to him, discovered he didn’t know he had NF.” Those spots, referred to as “au lait,” are the most common early indicator of NF in children. Babies and toddlers that display six or more of the dark splotches, between one-quarter and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, should receive further diagnosis, especially if there is a hereditary element.

Given that having one or two au lait spots – as about 10 percent of the general population do – isn’t an indicator of NF, missed or incorrect diagnosis used to be common. However, as more became understood about the 36 | savvy k i ds may 2014

prevalence, symptoms and genesis of the disease, the level of aptitude among physicians has followed suit.

“The medical community is well aware of the disease and what to look for, even in those cases that are not well recognized by the general population,” Shbarou said. “Our medical students receive thorough training in this area and readily identify symptoms when you ask them about it.”

The presence of dedicated clinics, such as Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s, is another sign that the emphasis on proper diagnosis, treatment and support of NF patients and their families is growing. While there is currently no cure, there is a variety of means for managing the disease, often in concert with various specialists. Helping families navigate these complicated waters through a central point of contact is one of the clinic’s most impactful services.

“A family that’s dealing with NF often has to see so many specialists and learn a whole new medical language,” said Lesley Oslica, president of the Arkansas chapter of the Children’s Tumor Foundation and parent of a child with NF. “Having this clinic is like having a home base, that go-to resource to help navigate the various channels.”

Oslica’s daughter, now grown, wasn’t properly diagnosed until about age 10, five years after her mother first noticed something suspicious. The family’s physician at the time wrote off the telltale au lait spots as birthmarks and chided Oslica for “worrying too much.”

Throughout her tenure in the leadership of the state’s CTF chapter, she’s never forgotten the helplessness she felt during that time.

“In addition to raising funds for research and promoting awareness, supporting families is our most important work,” she said. “As a parent, having a community that can relate to what you’re going through is something relatively new. We give families the confidence that they aren’t alone; there are others going through the same thing they are.”

The Arkansas chapter raises funds for its programs through Dancing For Our Stars, a gala event in September that brought in a record $100,000 last year. It also supports NF Endurance Team, whereby runners in events such as the Little Rock Marathon solicit pledges to coincide with their participation.

Money raised goes to several initiatives, including research, supporting the ACH clinic and providing sponsorship for young NF patients to attend a summer camp in Utah.

To volunteer or to learn more, visit the group’s website at www.ctfarkansas.com.

Dwain Hebda is a writer and editor living in Little Rock. He and his wife Darlene are the parents of four grown children. The emptied-nesters enjoy their time traveling, working out and spoiling their two dogs.

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We’ve Been Helping Kids Be Kids for Over 100 Years One of Snell Laboratory’s most rewarding challenges is handling the precise fit, fabrication and adjustments of each pediatric device we provide.

Our professional staff takes great care to ensure that your child continues along at the most appropriate developmental pace, based on his or her condition and needs. The ultimate goal with every pediatric patient is to restore or enable maximum mobility, so that they can feel confident just being a kid.

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For more information contact the HELPLINE: 800.643.8258 or visit us at http://humanservices.arkansas.gov/ddds/Pages/FirstConnectionsProgram.aspx

may 2014 savvy kids

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Calendar

may2014

Calendar of Events 7TH ANNUAL PAWS ON THE RUNWAY May 1: The 7th Annual Paws on the Runway will benefit Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals and features some of the finest fashion and furry friends that Little Rock has to offer. THV’s Alyse Eady will serve as emcee for this fun and fashionable event. Guests will enjoy food, beverages, auctions, a fashion show featuring both human and canine models, and meet a few of C.A.R.E.’s adoptable animals. 6-9 p.m. at Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. General admission: $50; runway seating: $75; or Table of six: $1,000. Call 501-603-2273.

TECH CITY AT MOD May 1-11: The Museum of Discovery’s “Tech City” exhibit continues through May 11. The exhibit features 12 interactive stations that allow visitors to solve problems that engineers face each day on the job.

The exhibit’s hands-on activities, multimedia computers and video appeal to a variety of learning styles for both younger and older visitors. Visit www.museumofdiscovery.org.

RELAY FOR LIFE OF GREATER LITTLE ROCK May 2: Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraiser. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Family friendly events are free and open to the public. 6 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center. For details, email amy@ pearson-cpa.com.

ACCESS GARDENS MAY FRIDAY PLANT SALES May 2, 16, 23 and 30: Grab some eye-catching container plants and other garden beauties, like flowers, hanging baskets and containers, at ACCESS Gardens!

“Don’s T,” ACCESS’ powerful, popular and all-natural fertilizer, will be available for $5 per gallon. ACCESS Gardens helps individuals with language and learning disabilities achieve their highest level of independence in activities of daily living, leisure skills, vocational development, social skills and community integration. Students participate in every aspect of the sales, from planning

May

S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 38 | savvy k i ds may 2014

what to grow and caring for the plants to pricing and logging inventory and providing customer assistance. Proceeds benefit ACCESS. Sales are at the Stella Boyle Smith Campus, 10618 Breckenridge Drive, Little Rock. Sale times: Fridays in May, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

33RD ANNUAL TOAD SUCK DAZE May 2-4: From local and national entertainment to kids’ entertainment, from arts and crafts to anything you can eat on a stick, from the 5K/10K race to the World Famous Toad Races, Toad Suck Daze has something for everyone. This free admission family festival has awarded more than $1.3 million to education initiatives in Faulkner County. For more information, call 501-327-7788.

‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’ AT CHILDREN’S THEATER May 2-11: For years, the king and queen have wanted a child. So when their sweet princess is finally born, they invite the entire kingdom except one bad fairy. What follows in this classic tale of love, courage, and the triumph of good over evil is sure to leave audiences of all ages feeling happily ever after. “Sleeping Beauty” is written by Alan Keith Smith and is based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, with illustration by David Hohn. Show times are Fridays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

Admission: $10 for members; $12.50 for non-members. Call 501-372-4000 or visit www.arkarts.com.

BREAKFAST WITH BEARS May 3: Join the Little Rock Zoo for a breakfast buffet in Cafe Africa and a unique keeper chat all about bears! Seating is limited and reservations are a must. Breakfast with Animals starts at 8 a.m. Members: $12.95, child and $16.95, adult; nonMembers: $16.95, child and $21.95, adult.

Price includes admission for the entire day.

For more information or to make reservations, call 501-661-7218.

WONDERS OF WILDFLOWERS May 3: Bring the whole family for information on the importance of native habitats and the unique relationships between native plants and animals. Guided trail walks, demonstrations and more. Event place: Nature Cabin, Hot Springs. Admission: Free.

Call 501-844-4176.

MOTHER’S DAY CRAFT-A-PALOOZA May 3: The Amy Sanders Library in Sherwood will be having a Mother’s Day Craft-A-Palooza from 10 a.m. to noon. Make a craft to celebrate mom on her special day. Kids of all ages are welcome. Call 501-835-7756.

TOUR DE TOAD BIKE RIDE May 3: An official event of Toad Suck Daze, Tour de Toad is a bike ride to raise funds to increase adult literacy in Faulkner and Pulaski counties. New this year is our IRON TOAD event, where Literacy Action of Central Arkansas is awarding a special medal to those who complete both the Kiwanis Toad Run and the Tour de Toad ride. The Kiwanis Toad Run is at 8 a.m., and Tour de Toad ride begins at 1 p.m. at the Conway High School Field House.

Cyclists can pick between 25- and 46-mile routes. All levels of cyclists are welcome.

Registration is $35 and available at Active. com (keyword: Tour de Toad). Updated information, including route maps, is available at https://www.facebook.com/ TourDeToad.

PIONEER VILLAGE SPRING FEST May 3-4: Pioneer Village (1200 Higginson Street, Searcy) is a collection of 19th century buildings, farm equipment and other items of historic interest. The event features costumed guides, camp-fire cooking, handmade pioneer crafts, live animals, music, food, games and activities for children. This is a very family-oriented event. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. on May 3 and 1 p.m. on May 4. Admission: Free, donations accepted. Proceeds benefit the museum. Call 501-580-6633 or visit www. whitecountypioneermuseum.org.

KAYAK CAMPOUT May 3-4: Join us for our popular overnight kayaking adventure. The trip includes meals and evening programs as well as information on the history, geology and wildlife of Lake Ouachita. Bring your own kayak and supplies or rent them from us. Space is limited. Meeting place: Marina Boat Ramp, Lake Ouachita. Admission: $85.

Call 501-767-9366 for more information.

BEAR AWARENESS WEEK May 4-10: The Little Rock Zoo is hosting a series of events during the week to celebrate bears. The events focus on black bear safety in America. Help clean up a campsite and learn about how to have a safe camping experience in bear country.

There will be keeper chats throughout the week, along with crafts for kids and information for adults. Stop by anytime during the week to enjoy this celebration. Visit www.littlerockzoo.com for details.

DISNEY ON ICE: ROCKIN’ EVER AFTER May 7-11: Get ready to rock out with some of the most magical idols of all in a musical showcase that features the hottest tunes and talent from across the kingdom in Disney On Ice presents “Rockin’ Ever After” at Verizon Arena. Jam to a Scottish jig as a group of royal contenders from the latest

Disney-Pixar film, “Brave,” competes to win the heart of adventurous, sharp-shooting Merida, making her on-ice debut. Experience a show-stopping performance as Sebastian breaks out of his shell for one night only to make waves with Ariel. A chorus of harmless hooligans from “Tangled” unleashes musical mayhem when visited by the sassy and spirited Rapunzel and her charming ally, Flynn.

And, get your feet moving as the Beast and his castle’s enchanted entourage take center stage in a spectacular show for Belle. Tickets are $16-$51. For more information and show times, visit ticketmaster.com.

2ND ANNUAL FREEDOM FEST SCHOOL DAYS May 9: The Annual School Days will take place at the former DeValls Bluff School Grounds from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. All schools are invited to learn about history from 10-15 living history stations. Space is limited, RSVP is required. At 6 p.m., there will be a communitywide prayer service with a theme of racial harmony, and a screening of the AETN documentary, “The Edge of Conflict” at 7:30 p.m. For more information about these events, visit facebook.com/ FortLincolnFreedomFest, or call (870) 9982012 or (501) 516-6064.

53rd ANNUAL YOUNG ARKANSAS ARTISTS EXHIBIT May 9-July 27: The Young Arkansas Artists exhibition showcases artwork by Arkansas students in grades K-12. More than 600 works in a wide variety of media are entered annually. Members of the Arkansas Art Educators Association judge the entries, selecting approximately 125 works for the exhibition. One “Best of Class” and two “Honorable Mentions” are selected for each grade by a guest juror. Each winner’s school receives a monetary prize to help fund the school’s arts program. Selections from the Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition travel to schools and other venues in Arkansas as part of the Arts Center’s State Services traveling exhibition program. For more information, visit www.arkarts.com.

ACCESS GARDENS MOTHER’S DAY PLANT SALES May 9-10: Grab some eye-catching container plants and other garden beauties, like flowers, hanging baskets and containers, at ACCESS Gardens! “Don’s T,” ACCESS’ powerful, popular and all-natural fertilizer, will be available for $5 per gallon.

ACCESS Gardens helps individuals with language and learning disabilities achieve their highest level of independence in activities of daily living, leisure skills, vocational development, social skills and community integration. Students participate in every aspect of the sales, from planning what to grow and caring for the plants to pricing and logging inventory and providing customer assistance. Proceeds benefit ACCESS. Sales are at the Stella Boyle Smith Campus, 10618 Breckenridge Drive, Little Rock. Sale times: May 9, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; May 10, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

MIGRATORY BIRD DAY May 10: The Little Rock Zoo is hosting a Migratory Bird day from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit www.littlerockzoo.com for details.

LIL’ WILD ONES: BIRD BEAK BUFFET May 10: Ever notice all the different kinds of beaks birds have? Come on out to learn what purpose these different sizes and shapes serve. After our discussion, we’ll all join in a fun activity to give kids a shot at eating like a bird. Held at the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center (602 President Clinton Avenue, LR) at 2 p.m. Call 501-907-0636 ext. 104.

HEIFER HOUR: LET’S CELEBRATE CHICKS! May 10: This month’s Heifer Hour theme is “Let’s Celebrate Chicks.” In 1967, Heifer gave its one millionth chick to families in need around the world. Come learn why chicks, ducks and geese are so important to families while making your own chick ornament. 11 a.m.-noon at Heifer Village.

Call 501-907-8800 for details.

CRAZY GOOD ADVENTURE May 10: This is an interactive workshop where family members can develop new, stronger ways of connecting with one another. This workshop is hosted by Tracy J. Nicholas, author of “Is Your Child Really Fine?” Held at the Arkansas 4-H Center, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. $40 per person, which includes lunch, snacks and supplies.

To register, call 501-492-9571 or email crazygoodadventure@gmail.com.

MAY PARK OF THE MONTH May 10: This is a free, family fun day for all ages. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Galloway Park, Jacksonville. Call 501-982-4171.

DISABILITY AWARENESS WALK May 10: The first-ever Disability Awareness Walk is at Bishop Park in Bryant from 10 a.m. to noon. The event features music, silent auction, crafts and food. Admission is $10. Proceeds benefit Heart Camp for kids with special needs.

‘DIFFERENT SPOKES’ FAMILY DAY May 10: The Old State House Museum is opening its new exhibit, “Different Spokes,” with a family day full of activities and bicycle demonstrations. The familyfriendly exhibit, on view until February 2016, celebrates the history of bicycling in Arkansas, from past to present, with artifacts, photographs and videos. The family day is 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and features a giant board game on the museum grounds with street signs and large dice, make-your-own-bicycle crafts, high-wheel bicycle demonstrations and other hands-on activities teaching kids about bicycles and bike safety. All activities are free. Visit www. oldstatehouse.com for details.

4TH ANNUAL FORT LINCOLN FEST May 10: The 4th Annual Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest is at the DeValls Bluff Community Center & Museum. The event features two stages with 12 forms of entertainment along with 12 musical acts, an antique car display, a bass tournament, the annual 5K run/family 2K walk, shuttle rides all day to the actual Fort Lincoln, arts and crafts, food, a rock climbing wall, the UAMS Mammo Van, 50 living historians and other

activities for the entire family. The festival is 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Free. Call 870-581-7202 or visit facebook.com/FortLincolnFreedomFest for details.

LISTEN TO YOUR MOthER: LITTLE ROCK May 11: “Listen To Your Mother: Little Rock” is part of a national spoken-word series. Hear 15 local writers and storytellers share their stories of motherhood at the Arkansas Repertory Theater at 3 p.m. Visit listentoyourmothershow.com/littlerock/ for tickets and details.

LITTLE ROCK FILM FESTIVAL May 12-18: The 8th Annual Little Rock Film Festival features films, panels, parties and other events, including plenty of family-friendly events. Activities are held at a variety of venues. For a schedule of events and to purchase passes, visit www. littlerockfilmfestival.org.

FIZZ! BOOM! READ! FAMILY NIGHT May 13: Laman Library’s family night features stories, games and more to get kids ready for the summer reading program. 6-7 p.m. Visit www.lamanlibrary. org for details.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS GO RED FOR WOMEN LUNCHEON May 14: The Central Arkansas Go Red For Women Luncheon is part of the American Heart Association’s national movement, created by women, for women, dedicated to uncovering the truth about women and heart disease. The 2014 luncheon will feature motivational speaker Linda Larson, who, using a little humor and a lot of energy, will provide tips for reducing stress and living heart-healthy. Noon, Marriott Ballroom, 3 Statehouse, Little Rock. Tickets are $125. Visit www.CentralARGoRed.Heart. org for details.

ARKANSAS HERITAGE DAY May 17: May is Arkansas Heritage Month.

Spend Saturday celebrating the state’s rich heritage in Arkansas’s first state park, Petit Jean State Park. History oriented programming will include a look back at Civil War times in Arkansas. Call 501-727-5441 for more information.

ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY May 17: The Little Rock Zoo is hosting a day of activities, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

There will be a special endangered species scavenger hunt for the whole family, leading hunters all over the zoo to learn about various endangered species represented at the zoo and what you can do to help. There will also be keeper chats throughout the day, a conservation table and docents spread throughout the zoo with education ambassador animals. Visit www.littlerockzoo.com for details.

INTRO TO GARDENING WORKSHOP May 17: The Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott is hosting a gardening workshop, with topics including the creation of an heirloom sharecropper’s garden, the why and how of composting, starting from seeds vs. transplants, and more tips and tricks

on how to keep your garden green. The class is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Beginners and the experienced are invited. Space is limited, so preregistration is a must. Admission is $10.

For more information, call 501-961-1409 or email Lydia.Leatherwood@arkansas.gov.

CHIHULY AT CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER May 17-31: The Clinton Presidential Center presents the artwork of renowned American artist Dale Chihuly. Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941, Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the glass medium from the realm of craft to fine art. He is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world in historic cities, museums and gardens. An immersive and astounding visual presentation of color, shape and form. This exhibition is organized by the Clinton Presidential Center in partnership with Chihuly Studio, and will be on view until Jan. 5, 2015. For more information, visit www. clintonfoundation.org.

MOVIE MADNESS AT CALS: CATCHING FIRE (PG-13) May 20: The Amy Sanders Library in Sherwood is showing “Catching Fire” (PG13) of the “Hunger Games” series starting at 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 501-835-7756.

LITTLE BEGINNINGS TODDLER PROGRAM May 21: This month’s Little Beginnings Toddler Program at the Old State House Museum is all about bicycles. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. The program is for children ages 2-4 accompanied by a parent.

Each month the class highlights a different topic with hands-on activities, music making, movement and storytelling. Admission is free, no day care or school groups please.

Call (501) 324-9685 for more information.

MEMBER NIGHT AT M.A.S.M. May 22: Mark your calendar for a special night with a members-only preview of the Mid-America Science Museum’s exciting summer exhibit “Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes & Other Riches.” Activities include “floating cows” where you’ll have a chance to learn about the awesomely weird 50 million-year-old (but newly discovered) muck fish from the Amazon!

For more information, call 501-767-3461 or visit midamericamuseum.org.

from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Students from around the state will work in teams to create science fair-style presentations about the geography, history and culture of Brazil, China, Egypt, Chile, England and Kenya. Students will share music, cultural performances, arts, crafts and food from around the world with their peers. Projects will be judged based on originality, creativity, research and depth of understanding.

Prizes include an iPad and Kindle Fires. To register and for more information, email jwillis@clintonfoundation.org or call 501748-0472.

COMMUNITY OVERNIGHT: SNORE & SOAR May 23-24: Have you ever wondered what the Zoo is like after dark? Grab your tent and sleeping bag to sleep under the stars at the Little Rock Zoo’s Snore & Soar.

This special overnight is designed just for families with children, ages 6-12 (with guardian). Event time: 6 p.m. on May 23, until 9 a.m. on the 24th. Event cost: $29.75 for members; $35 for nonmembers. Space is limited; register by May 12. Sign up at www.littlerockzoo.com.

RIVERFEST 2014 May 23-25: This music and arts festival is three days of fun on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock and North Little Rock. Five stages, hundreds of acts and special attractions for the whole family.

For more information, visit www.riverfestarkansas.com.

ROCK RUN 8K May 24: The Rock Run 8K (course is USATF certified), begins on Rebsamen Road in Murray Park. The Rock Run 8K is one of the fastest race courses in the state, with only two turns and very flat topography. (Note: Route is subject to change at this time. Information will be updated). For more information, call 501-227-3600.

SCHOOL’S OUT CELEBRATION & MOVIE May 23: School will be out soon and we’re having a party! Grab your swimsuits, towels and friends, and head to Splash Zone for an evening swim. Then dry off while watching a family-friendly movie in the park at sundown. Must be 48 inches or taller to ride the slides. Concessions available. Admission: $5; slides free. Event time: 6-9 p.m. For more information, call 501-982-4171.

CELEBRATING CULTURES May 23: In partnership with Riverfest, the Clinton Foundation is hosting the third annual Celebrating Cultures event, may 2014 savvy kids

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Eats & Treats

5 forTips a

Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed Story and Photos by Daniel Walker Attention kids and dads, this message is for you. Mother’s Day is upon us and you know you’ve got a lot to be grateful for in Mother. Isn’t it time to show Mom just how much she means to you? It’s time you started Mother’s Day off right, and the best days begin with breakfast ... the best breakfasts are served in bed.

If you’ve never served Mom breakfast in bed, give it a shot this year. Allow Mom to relax and step away from the stove while you serve her and show her just how much you care about her. Here are five kid-friendly tips for making breakfast in bed a success – Mom is sure to eat them right up.

1. Pretty Parfaits Take a clean, sparkling serving glass and layer it with fruit, yogurt and crunchy stuff. We like to use Greek yogurt as our mom likes the tangy, thick nature of it, plus it can also be a bit healthier than some of the more processed and sugar-filled varieties. We layer with fresh blueberries and raspberries and top with granola or honey. It’s simple and quick, and kids can easily assist in stacking the glass full of Mom’s favorite ingredients.

2. Puffy Pancakes Who doesn’t love pancakes? While your kids might not be old enough to flip a flapjack on the griddle, even the youngest tykes can get in on the action by helping mix the batter, drop in additional ingredients such as fruit or chocolate chips, or top it off with whipped cream or syrup. You might even consider offering Mom a miniature “pancake bar” by serving her pancakes plain but alongside several small bowls filled with potential toppings, like butter, syrup, peanut butter, chocolate chips, berries, bananas or nuts.

3. Egg in a Hole One of our favorite breakfast items is simply prepared by cutting a hole in toast, plopping an egg in the middle of it, and lightly frying it up with some butter on each side. This affectionately named “Egg in a Hole” is a salty, savory treat that kids find fun and entertaining to create. We let our kids cut a hole in the bread with a cookie cutter and drop the egg inside while the bread rests in the pan. Dad usually finishes it off by gently cooking it on both sides.

4. Fresh Juice It’s not nearly as simple a cracking open a carton of grocery-store-bought juice, but taking the time to hand-squeeze orange or grapefruit juice with the kids is a gesture Mom will certainly notice. Our kids love just about anything they get to squeeze and mash, so this treat comes quite naturally to them.

It helps to have one of those cheap, plastic or glass manual orange juicers to make your efforts a bit more fruitful, but just buy a good number of oranges or grapefruits and let the kids have fun with it. It’s sure to mean a lot to Mom.

5. Delightful Decorations We like to set up Mom’s breakfast on a tray that she can easily manage in bed. But adding a few finishing touches to the serving tray makes breakfast even more delightful. Try adding a small vase with a few flowers for a bit more decorative appeal. Place the kids’ cards in there so she can read them as soon as she wakes up. The paper, the TV remote, a crossword puzzle – add anything Mom would need to relax and enjoy herself in the morning. Just remember to clean up after yourselves! No mom wants to be left with a messy kitchen on her special day.

Daniel Walker is a resident physician in dermatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a freelance food writer and blogger for the Arkansas Times. He and his wife have two kids, Max and Vivian, and live in Little Rock.

40 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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A

Familyof Cooks

Searcy siblings have compiled awardwinning recipes into a cookbook

By Erica Sweeney

The Williams siblings: Daniel, Stephanie, Emma, Meredith and Benjamin

The five children in the Williams family of Searcy are all award-winning cooks. They are often a featured cooking segment on KATV (Channel 7), and on May 1 they will release their first cookbook.

“A Treat for the Week … And More: Cooking with the Williams” features more than 150 original recipes, including desserts, breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with ideas for food gifts and military care packages, food facts and Arkansas facts, said mom Ruth Williams.

The recipes are all simple to make and include ingredients that most people already have stocked in their pantries, said Meredith Williams, a freshman at the University of Central Arkansas and the family’s second oldest child. She and her siblings — Ben, 21, Stephanie, 16, Emma, 14, and Daniel, 12 — set up a “test kitchen” at home, she said, to decide which recipes to include in the book.

“We collected recipes from each other,” Meredith, 18, said. “Everyone helped. It’s not a cookbook to intimidate people by; it’s a cookbook to wow people by.”

Some recipes in the book are borrowed from friends and family, but the Williamses tweaked them and gave credit to the original source. Each sibling included his or her featured dish.

Cooking has always played an important role with the Williams family.

All five children began competing in regional, state and national cooking competitions at young ages, and all have won several titles, some even in adult categories. Their monthly segments on KATV began as part of Meredith’s prize package when she won the state Junior Beef Cookoff.

The creativity and chemistry involved are what Meredith enjoys most about cooking.

“It’s fascinating,” she said. “It’s cool that you can put all these ingredients together.”

She enjoys making sweets and rice dishes most, and said each of her siblings has his or her own specialties. For example, Emma and Daniel enjoy making breakfast foods, she said.

Cooking is also a way for her family to get together and “eating is our big motivator,” she said. They also enjoy watching cooking shows, such as “Good Eats,” “Chopped” and “The Next Food Network Star.”

Meredith Williams said learning to cook is a life skill that makes youngsters well-rounded and is a money-saver and much healthier than store-bought foods.

“You learn so much,” she said. “If you want to start cooking at home, this is the cookbook to buy.”

“A Treat for the Week … And More: Cooking with the Williams” is available for purchase on May 1 online at www.cookingwiththewilliams.com. The book will also be available at select retailers, which will be listed on the Cooking with the Williams Facebook page.

Creamy Cherry Delight 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (softened) 1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple 1 (20 oz.) can cherry pie filling 2 cups whipping cream ½ cup sugar

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk and whisk well. Stir in pineapple and cherry pie filling and mix well. Set aside. In a large mix42 | savvy k i ds may 2014

ing bowl, combine whipping cream and sugar; mix well with a mixer until stiff and holds shape. Fold whipping cream into the cheese and cherry mixture until well mixed.

Place the mixture into parfait or dessert cups and top with cherries and/or nuts. It can also be served in a large decorative bowl with garnish. This is a quick and easy dessert. Its pretty color is appealing to the eye, and it also tastes great.

Makes 16 servings.

This recipe appears in “A Treat for the Week … And More: Cooking with the Williams.”

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Reel Education

The 2014 Little Rock Film Festival offers educational programming for young filmmakers

By Erica Sweeney Each year, the Little Rock Film Festival features a variety of films for mom and dad to enjoy. But, there are also educational events tailored to the younger crowd.

On May 14, two master classes will give budding filmmakers a taste of what filmmaking is all about, said Casey Sanders, education and youth program director at the LRFF and a producer at Arkansas Educational Television Network.

The morning session focuses on developing stories, including creating outlines, scriptwriting and pitching ideas. Later, breakout groups will provide a more hands-on experience. Professionals in the film industry will be on hand to guide students through the process. The session ends with students presenting their film pitches.

“It’s a nice mixture of hearing from professionals and hands-on work,” Sanders said.

The second master class in the afternoon focuses on directing, working with actors and interviewing, along with camera work, audio and lighting.

These workshops are co-sponsored by AETN and LRFF. The curriculum covered is at the high-school, or possibly middle-school, level, Sanders said.

“We try to make sure we present information that’s accessible to students that haven’t done film work, and that we’re feeding creativity and that thirst for knowledge,” she said.

The master classes are free and open to school groups and individual students. To sign up, call 501-682-4190 or email csanders@aetn.org, and visit www.aetn.org/ studentselects for more details.

The following day, May 15, films chosen for the AETN Student Selects: A Young Filmmaker’s Showcase will be screened at the festival. One young filmmaker will be

awarded the Thea Foundation scholarship in filmmaking. Earlier this year, students from all over the state submitted films in a variety of genres to be considered for the showcase and scholarship.

Because many students travel to Little Rock for the LRFF events and stay overnight, they will receive passes to attend other film screenings, Sanders said.

“We want them to be part of the overall festival,” she said. “It’s important for them to come in contact with filmmakers and be a part of the audience to get the whole experience.”

Throughout the festival, May 12-18, Sanders said there will likely be additional presentations and screenings aimed at youth.

She said the educational events at the LRFF can inspire young filmmakers and give them the tools to take their interest a step further.

“We can make short films with our iPhones now,” she said. “This is something that a young person can do over the summer. They can tell a personal story or uncover something they’re interested in or use filmmaking to explore a topic.”

For a more detailed schedule of the Little Rock Film Festival’s events, visit www.

littlerockfilmfestival.org.

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Poptopics

Nobody Told Me This Stuff:

Not Being Too Judgmental

By Robert Bell

As of this writing, Mother’s Day is a few weeks away. I like to think I’ve always shown the proper level of gratitude to my mom, though I’m sure she can recall some occasions when she felt that she was something less than fully appreciated. But lately, raising my own kids, I’ve begun to feel a much deeper level of thankfulness, both for her and for my mother-in-law, for my late grandmother and my wife’s grandmother, and really for all the moms who pick up laundry and forgotten toys, who clean up messes and wipe noses (and other, uh, areas), who cook and clean and kiss boo-boos and tolerate all kinds of indignities large and small in the day-to-day grind that is raising young’uns.

I’d always understood that as the reason why there was a special day for moms, but I’ve got a much realer idea of what this whole parenting thing is actually like now.

But as much as we as a culture like to think we exalt moms, how we pay them lip service this one day a year, maybe bring them breakfast in bed or take them out to brunch or give them a gift certificate for a spa package, we sure do tend to judge them pretty harshly the rest of the time.

A few weeks ago, I took my son to the playground on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon. He was a blur, orbiting the jungle gym, with occasional jaunts up the stairs and down the slide. An older kid, maybe 5, started running around with us. “Watch this!” he cried out before going down the

slide head-first. He kinda glommed onto our playtime, which was fine. But he was obviously desperate for some attention, which his visibly annoyed young mother seemed unable to give to him, absorbed as she was in whatever was happening on her smartphone.

“Can I play with you guys?” he asked.

“You leave them alone,” she scolded him from behind her gigantic sunglasses.

God, my heart broke.

“No, it’s OK,” I said. “He can play with us.”

“Yay!” he yelled. “Hey, hey, watch me go down the slide again!”

We all played together for another 15 minutes or so before it was time for us to move on. And for a while after that, I harbored quite a bit of contempt for this woman who couldn’t even be bothered to play with her own son at the playground, who wouldn’t even really acknowledge his existence. What a horrible mother, right?

But what did I know about her life aside from that one small slice of one afternoon? Maybe she’d been playing with him all morning long and was exhausted because she’d also been up late the night before with her threemonth-old. Maybe she was a single mom who didn’t have any help and just wanted a minute to herself to look at Facebook after a long week working and raising a kid. Maybe she really was a terrible, lazy mom who didn’t give her child enough attention. Maybe she wasn’t even the kid’s mom at all. Who knows? Not me.

Yet I’d sure enough jumped straight to that conclusion. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s that many of us expect our own moms to be superhuman, to give and give and keep on going. And when something happens to remind us that they are, in fact, just human beings like the rest of us, we react as if it were some kind of major failing when we really should know that they get tired and impatient and bored and angry just like all the other nonmoms out there who don’t face such expectations and judgment. And we should still appreciate them just as much, all year long and not just on one day.

:|

Robert Bell is a freelance writer who lives in Fayetteville with his wife and two children.

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PHOTO OF THE MONTH Zamarrian Moore, 5, of North Little Rock

Photo submitted by Tremell Moore

Submit your photos to the Savvy Kids “Photo of the Month.”

Email snapshots (no professional photography) of your youngsters to ericasweeney@arktimes.com. Include the child’s name, age and hometown. Each month we’ll choose one to publish, so be sure to check out the next issue to see if your photo was selected.

FOR ALL YOUR CONGRATS

GRAD! CLASS OF 2014

CUSTOM INVITATIONS · DECORATIONS · TABLEWARE · BAKING SUPPLIES • EVERYTHING TO MAKE A CANDY BUFFET · HELIUM BALLOONS 48 | savvy k i ds may 2014

Events Heifer Village Hosts Spring Fling Photos by Matt Amaro

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Heifer Village hosted an array of activities during its Spring Fling event March 24-29. Youngsters got the chance to learn how to make a difference around the world while enjoying crafts, scavenger hunts, dress-up and other games.

1. Bronwyn Winn 2. Carson Callahan 3. Kameron Parker and Quincy Williams 4. Riley Murray and Parker Brothers 5. Ryann Mathis 6. Vann Lee

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PARTY SUPPLIES

THE DISCOUNT PARTY SUPER STORE

11218 Rodney Parham (Pleasant Valley Plaza) • Little Rock • 501-223-4929 4822 North Hills Blvd. • N. Little Rock (off McCain, next to Kroger) • 501-978-3154 may 2014 savvy kids

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Events

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Rollin’ By the River FunWalk Photos by Patrick Jones The Arkansas Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council hosted the first Rollin’ By the River FunWalk on March 22 at the Clinton Presidential Center. The event was a celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and featured live music, crafts, exhibits, face painting, games and more.

1. Bailey and Bethany Crow 2. Van Carver 3. Mary Olive Owens 4. Fun activites 5. Madison, Hunter and Christopher Wilson

Arkansas Arts Center Holds Spring Break Workshop Photos by Matt Amaro The Arkansas Arts Center held a two-day workshop for ages 6-9 during spring break on March 24-25.

Students got the chance to create works of art, including painting, printmaking, sculpture and papiermâché. They also enjoyed a performance of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

50 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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Social Media We can help you use it.

Businesses in Arkansas Businesses in Arkansas, large and small, use social media to connect with customers and sell their products and services.

Running a successful social media campaign takes time and a unique combination of marketing, communication and customer service skills.

Four Sessions Available June 24-26 • July 8-10 July 22-24 • July 29-31

Brochures and Registration forms at www.LittleRockChristian.com/ summerprograms

Space Is Limited, Enroll Today!

Call Carla at (501) 975-3441 or Email Carla.Kenyon@LittleRockChristian.com

Held at Little Rock Christian Academy • 19010 Cantrell Road

summer of

That’s where we come in.

Arkansas Times Social Media is staffed by experienced professionals who know how to get maximum benefit from social media engagement. Our services are priced affordably for Arkansas small businesses.

discovery

To find out more, contact Monika Rued - Director of Arkansas Times Social Media

501-375-2985

College Boot Camp

A 2-1/2 day program open to all area rising seniors and designed to help ready their college applications.

• Admissions/Scholarship Essays and Resumés Written & Edited • Interview Skills/Practice/Feedback • Q&A with College Reps • College Applications Completed!

monika@arktimes.com

monday openings summer camp summer programming birthday parties learn more at museumofdiscovery.org

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL JUNE 9-13, 2014 FAMILY NIGHT, JUNE 11TH 9:00 A.M. TO NOON 6:30 TO 8:00 P.M.

What kid doesn’t want to be a special agent and use hightech gadgets and tools to discover the truth? While at Agency D3, kids can put their investigative skills to work as they collect and log evidence about the life of Jesus. As special agents, they will examine eyewitness reports, physical proof, and biblical accounts to uncover and defend the truth about who Jesus really is.

REGISTER ONLINE TODAY!

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH LITTLE ROCK 62 Pleasant Valley Drive | Little Rock | 501-227- 0010

www.firstbaptistlittlerock.org may 2014 savvy kids

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Events

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Sid the Science Kid Visits MOD Photos by Matt Amaro The Museum of Discovery partnered with the Arkansas Educational Television Network to bring Sid the Science Kid, from PBS KIDS, to the museum on March 27-28. Youngsters got to meet Sid and take photos with him.

There were also science-themed activities for kids to enjoy, and PBS KIDS programming was shown throughout the event.

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1. Sid the Science Kid and friends 2. Aubrey Thompson 3. Ava Pekron 4. Molly Lucy 5. Abigail Thompson

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Clinton Center Hosts Instrumental Petting Zoo Photos by Matt Amaro The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Clinton Presidential Center teamed up to offer an Instrumental Petting Zoo during spring break, March 24-28. Members of the ASO were on hand to demonstrate instruments and inspire budding musicians. Kids had the opportunity to play and learn about different musical instruments.

1. Dylan Charles 2. Ella Jones 3. Jacob Marshall 4. Logan Warren 5. Tyler Edwards

52 | savvy k i ds may 2014

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Caribbean Cabaret

Poolside island fare, tropical libations, dancing under the stars, live & silent auctions.

Individual Tickets $75 • Purchase in Advance: wcfarkansas.ejoinme.org/cabaret

For details or more information, contact c Brandi Wiseman: bwiseman@wcfarkansas.org • 501.376.3219

may 2014 savvy kids

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kids eat free Below is a listing of locations and days in which kids 12 and under can eat free with a paid adult (unless otherwise noted).

Kids Eat FREE!

EVERY DAY

CiCi’s Pizza Ages 3 and under eat free at buffet.

Conway: 1250 Old Morrilton Hwy, (501) 764-0600 Hot Springs: 3321 Central Ave., (501) 321-2400 Jacksonville: 120 John Harden Drive, (501) 241-2224 N. Little Rock: 2815 Lakewood Village, (501) 753-1182 Golden Corral Ages 3 and under eat free at buffet.

N. Little Rock: 5001 Warden Road, (501) 771-4605 JJ’s Grill Free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal. All day. Kids 12 and under.

Conway: 1010 Main St., (501) 336-1000 Larry’s Pizza Ages 4 and under.

Bryant: 4500 Hwy 5 North, (501) 847-5003 Cabot: 2798 South Second St., (501) 843-7992 Conway: 1068 Markhan, (501) 329-3131 Little Rock: 1122 S. Center St., (501) 372-6004; 12911 Cantrell Road, (501) 224-8804; 801 S. Bowman, (501) 400-8260 N. Little Rock: 5933 JFK Blvd., (501) 812-5353 Marco’s Pizza North Little Rock: 5007 JFK Blvd., 753-8100, order online at marcos.com Free small one-topping pizza per child, dine-in only, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Maximum of two free pizzas with purchase of at least one medium pizza, six-inch sub or small salad.

San Francisco Bread One free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal, after 5 p.m.

Hot Springs: 261 Cornerstone Blvd., (501) 525-7322 Zaxby’s One kid’s meal per adult meal purchased. 5 p.m. to close.

Dine-in only.

Jacksonville: 209 Marshall Road, (501) 241-0546 Maumelle: 104 Carnahan Drive, (501) 851-9777 Sherwood: 208 Brookswood Road, (501) 833-9777

MONDAY

American Pie Pizza Kids eat free after 4 p.m.

Little Rock: 10912 Colonel Glenn Road, (501) 225-1900 Maumelle: 9709 Maumelle Blvd., (501) 758-8800 N. Little Rock: 4830 North Hills Blvd., (501) 753-0081 Chick-Fil-A First Monday of each month N. Little Rock: 4320 McCain Blvd., (501) 945-1818 Gusano’s Chicago-Style Pizzeria Kids’ Night for 12 and under. 8-inch pepperoni or cheese pizzas are $1.99.

Conway: 2915 Dave Ward Drive, (501) 329-1100 Little Rock: 313 President Clinton Ave., (501) 374-1441 54 | savvy k i ds may 2014

The Promenade at Chenal Get a free kid’s meal with a paid adult at the following restaurants located at The Promenade at Chenal: A.W. Lin’s Asian Cuisine, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, The Tavern Sports Grill, Big Orange, Local Lime and YaYa’s Euro Bistro. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., lunch and dinner kids menu entrees only.

Kids must be 12 and under (limit 1 kids meal per each adult entrée ordered). Drinks not included. Not valid with any other discount or offer. See restaurants for details.

Little Rock: 17711 Chenal Parkway, (501) 821-5552.

Shorty Small’s Up to two kids’ meals free per paying adult.

Little Rock: 1110 N. Rodney Parham, (501) 224-3344 Ta Molly’s $1.99 kid’s meal with purchase of adult meal, 5-9 p.m.

Bryant: 206 W. Commerce St., (501) 653-2600

TUESDAY

Arkansas Burger Company One free kid’s meal per adult meal purchase. dine-in only, 5-9 p.m.

Little Rock: 7410 Cantrell Road, (501) 663-0600 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s One kid’s meal per adult meal purchased, 4 p.m. to close.

Maumelle: 115 Audubon Drive, (501) 803-3500 Denny’s Restaurant Ages 10 and under, 4-7 p.m.

Little Rock: 310 S. Shackleford, (501) 224-8264 Golden Corral Discounted prices for kids 12 and under, and ages 3 and under always eat free.

N. Little Rock: 5001 Warden Road, (501) 771-4605 Mooyah Burgers One free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal, 5-9 p.m.

Little Rock: 14810 Cantrell Road, (501) 868-1091

THURSDAY

Captain D’s Benton: 1419 Military Road, (501) 778-7909 Jacksonville: 1109 W. Main St., (501) 982-3330 Little Rock: 6301 Colonel Glenn Road, (501) 568-6244 N. Little Rock: 5320 JFK Blvd., (501) 758-5144 Mexico Chiquito One free kid’s meal per adult entrée for kids 12 and under. dine-in only.

Conway: 1135 Skyline Drive, (501) 205-1985 Jacksonville: 1524 W. Main St., (501) 982-0533 Little Rock: 13924 Cantrell, (501) 217-0700; 11406 W. Markham, (501) 217-0647 N. Little Rock: 4511 Camp Robinson, (501) 771-1604 Moe’s Southwest Grill 4 p.m. to close. One free kid’s meal with paid adult meal.

Bryant: 7409 Alcoa Road, (501) 778-3111 Conway: 625 Salem Road, (501) 336-6500 Little Rock: 12312 Chenal Pkwy, (501) 223-3378 N. Little Rock: 4834 North Hills Blvd., (501) 812-5577

SATURDAY

Boston’s Gourmet Pizza Restaurant Little Rock: 3201 Bankhead Drive, (501) 235-2000 Denny’s Restaurant Ages 10 and under, 4-7 p.m.

Little Rock: 4300 S. University, (501) 562-5651; 310 S. Shackleford, (501) 224-8264 Dixie Café $1.99 kids’ meals with purchase of an adult meal, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids 12 and under.

Little Rock: 1301 Rebsamen Park Road, (501) 663-9336; 10700 Rodney Parham, (501) 224-3728; 10011 Interstate 30, (501) 568-6444 North Little Rock: 2724 Lakewood Village Pl., (501) 758-4777 Cabot: 302 S. Rockwood, (501) 843-1700 Conway: 1101 Fendley Drive, (501) 327-4777

Pizza Hut 5-8 p.m., dine-in only Little Rock: 11410 W. Markham St., (501) 228-7000

Luby’s Cafeteria Little Rock: 12501 West Markham, (501) 219-1567

Stromboli’s One free kid’s meal (12 and under) per adult meal purchased at regular price. dine-in only. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Conway: 605 Salem Road, (501) 327-3700

Boston’s Gourmet Pizza Restaurant Little Rock: 3201 Bankhead Drive, (501) 235-2000

WEDNESDAY

Zaxby’s One kid’s meal per adult meal purchased.

Bryant: 2207 N. Reynolds Road, (501) 847-3800 (ages 10 and under) Cabot: 2215 W. Main St., (501) 941-2601 (ages 12 and under) Conway: 3800 Dave Ward Drive, (501) 329-5000 (ages 12 and under)

SUNDAY

Corky’s Kid’s meals are half off, 4 p.m. to close Little Rock: 12005 Westhaven Drive, (501) 954-7427

If you know of other places with a kids eat free or discounted kids meals, let us know! Call (501) 375-2985 or email ericasweeney@arktimes.com.

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#1 Zoo Drive | Little Rock, Arkansas | 501.666.2406 HANG THIS POSTER PAGE IN YOUR ROOM

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POINTE YOUR FAMILY IN A

BRIGHTER DIRECTION. When families become stressed by behavioral issues, they need a caring environment.

Pinnacle Pointe is the largest children and adolescent behavioral care hospital in Arkansas.

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1-800-880-3322 | www.pinnaclepointehospital.com 11501 Financial Centre Parkway | Little Rock, AR 72211