Recently I became a STEP FORWARD literacy volunteer which has given me the opportunity to read to third graders each week. Reading to children has been something that I have found to be surprisingly rewarding. Today, I had the pleasure of being on the opposite side of the table and was read to by my new friend, Christina Washington. Christina has published a new children’s book, “Ms. Pearl Makes a Discovery”, designed to encourage curiosity and get children excited about learning STEAM or science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
“Ms. Pearl Makes a Discovery” has such a creative way of engaging children to explore science. Children are encouraged to see the fun in science by following the example of the exciting characters that reinforce STEAM learning. 
The story takes place at a nature park, where a female scientist named Ms. Pearl performs a variety of experiments in her laboratory with help from her animal friends. Each character in the book is representative of each STEAM section. Sean the Squirrel, Teddy the Turtle, Elle the Elephant, Alex the Alligator, and Max the Monkey. Each character has a special talent while together exploring the fascinating world of STEAM. Readers will witness the shenanigans of Ms. Pearl and her animal friends, and be inspired to reproduce the kid-friendly experiments presented in the book. Ms. Pearl’s character is loosely based on Christina, who also happens to be a Scientist. Mrs. Washington created Ms. Pearl and the STEAM characters to reflect her love for STEAM.
I originally met Christina at the Bossier Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting of her business, Young Scholars, a premier provider of STEM educational programs and services including enrichment programs, custom learning solutions, educational workshops, test prep, and tutoring. 
Christina Washington is such a motivating woman, first and foremost, because she is a scientist (a physicist to be exact). She is an author, educator, Founder of Innovative Learning Solutions, and Founder and Executive Director of Young Scholars, the youth academic division of ILS. She is also a contributing author of two engineering lab manuals and now author of her new children’s book. Christina has received numerous awards for her efforts and continues to be a trailblazer in her industry. Christina is very humble and probably won’t tell you right off that she has participated in research projects at NASA and USDA, so I will tell you for her. WOW – What a woman!
Christina’s self-published book “Ms. Pearl Makes a Discovery” is currently being printed as I write and is available for pre-sale on Amazon, with an approximate ship date of November 19, 2016. All pre-sale orders will be autographed and personalized. Christina Washington is an inspiring woman who is making a great impact in the lives of young people. I encourage you to not only purchase one copy of this book, but purchase many copies to share with school children in your area.
Read more about Christina:
- American Physical Society
- Leadership Girl
- Young Scholars Facebook Page
- Young Scholars Website
- Order your copy of “Ms. Pearl Makes A Discovery on Amazon
I’m excited to see Christina moving full STEAM ahead!
That Just Happened!!
Robin Williams
Marketing Maven, Holiday Lanes
So how does it help Holiday Lanes? It gives us the opportunity to invest in the community. We learn about other organizations and it allows us to be a resource for those people related to the organizations.
d graders is way different than volunteering on a committee. I think this is going to give me energy and make me better at my job.
Open your closet. Let’s get real. How many items in there are you actually wearing? If you are like me, there are still a few pieces hanging out from the 80’s. So when my friend Meg invited me to a clothing swap at her residence, I thought “what’s a clothing swap?”. And then I thought, “no way – there will be nothing there to fit me”. And then I thought “oh goodness, I don’t want people to see the junk in my closet”. Meg shared her invite on Instagram and it explained that a clothing swap was an opportunity to freshen up your wardrobe by swapping items with friends. I actually wanted to go, and then realized it was on a day in which I had a previous engagement. So I missed my opportunity. But then my other friend Mollie, offered to host the next event and I immediately marked it on my calendar so I wouldn’t miss out again.
Swapnista, Meg Davenport, previously worked for a public library and was tasked with setting up a new program that would encourage community involvement. Her original idea was a prom dress swap. (this was pre- Cinderella project, so you know that Meg has big ideas). Her director felt that it might not be just right, so a clothing swap was the chosen project. A clothing swap is a way to get together with friends in a party type atmosphere and share resources, in this case, clothing. Meg says that she has always been the kind of gal who enjoys garage sales and a clothing swap was just a natural progression of the garage sale idea. She figures that if she finds something that she likes and it doesn’t work, rather than pitching it, she will put it aside for the next clothing swap. She says that sometimes she is looking particular items for a one-time event and she may not want to make a big investment. A swap allows for the opportunity to search for items that might fit the bill.
The idea definitely resonated with Mollie Corbett, who attended Meg’s swap. Mollie offered to host a second clothing swap in a larger location and added housewares to the mix. Mollie recognized that Meg’s idea was something that she wanted to share with her circle of friends. Mollie started a private Facebook group and extended invitations to the event that she dubbed “Shreve Swap. The idea is simple. Invite your friends to start looking through their closets and homes. Bring clean, gently used, trade-desired clothing or houseware items that need new homes and start swapping. For each item that you bring to the swap, you can take something home in its place.
“It’s like you get to go shopping without spending any money”. – Katy Larsen
Encourage your friends to clear out their clutter. Give reminders about special events in town. Is it near a certain holiday? Make a suggestion to bring items that are in or off-season. Something that may seem silly might make for a great costume item.
I often wish that I were a culinary artist. It’s not that I totally love the idea of cooking every night or even every other day. I just like having the feeling of accomplishment when I create a beautiful meal, and of course then get to eat it. A few months ago I attended my first “Cook the Book: Ducasse Made Simple” cooking class at 
So now, I am excitedly awaiting the “
The day of the event, I only told four people (two of which were my kids) that I would be speaking that night. I didn’t want the pressure of people giving me encouragement and then bailing on them. I have struggled my entire life with shyness and social anxiety and this was going to be a huge step for me, although, at the time, I had no idea how HUGE. I practiced all day, recording on my iPhone and realized that there was no way that I’d be able to go through with it. My voice was just not there. I worried that no one would even be able to hear me. I was making myself sick with anxiety. As I sat in the audience waiting for my turn, I wasn’t sure until that last second if I could do it, and then I stood up. I walked to the stage and I started 
Let me begin by saying that being blind is no joke. For an evening, I feigned blindness for the sake of learning. As I was thinking of catchy blog titles and things to say, all of the “eye opening” references came to mind. But after the experience, I realized quickly that those silly little comments are not as funny as I originally thought. Imagine only seeing darkness, not being able to see the sun, or your child’s face when they are born. Think about how it would be not to see the food that you are eating.
As my boyfriend Ed, and I approached the table, we immediately saw aprons and eye masks at each place setting. Not just any eye masks, but really swanky, light blocking masks with room for your eyes to blinks. I assumed that was so you would have the ability to keep your eyes open during the experience, while maintaining visual impairment. In the printed program, we found “tips and tricks” for successful dining. We’d need to rely on our other senses and abilities, introduce our table mates, imagine a typical place setting, keep contact with the table, and tips for using utensils and drink ware. What you need to know about me is that I go all in when I participate in events. Once my mask went on, there would be no peeking, so I ran through the tips and got ready to start eating blindly.
Self-consciousness, vanity and confidence: My normal self-consciousness would be challenged if I ever became blind. I noticed as I was sitting at the table I didn’t have much control over what my hair looked like or if my décolletage was exposed. I dropped my salad fork before I ever started eating, and my confidence was not very high that I would be successful in feeding myself.
That Just Happened 