Today is the last day of the school year for my two older kids, as well as the rest of Chatham County public school students. Bring on the summer fun!

Whether it's the pool, the beach, or boating activities, there are countless fun ways to spend time around the water. So this is a perfect time to review or learn what drowning really looks like. It's not how they portray it on television.

So I've been a mom for more than nine years, and I've now experienced my first time washing and drying crayons with the laundry. Let's just say it's not a good thing to do. It is something to avoid if at all possible.

My first-grader left six crayons in the pocket of his dress pants after church on Sunday. He forgot about them and tossed the pants into the hamper. I failed to check the pockets and away they went into the wash.

Recently our family was enjoying a beautiful, sunny day by hiking on the nature trail behind the Skidaway Island Aquarium. We stopped for a time to explore a marshy area where the kids tried to catch fiddler crabs and look at shells. My 7-year-old son was especially happy to catch the little crabs, admire them, and send them on their way.

JumpBunch Sports and Fitness for kids is offering a summer session at

Summer Breeze on Wilmington Island

FREE INTRODUCTORY CLASS held June 3rd at 9:30 am

Session fun begins June 10- Aug 5th (NO CLASS HELD JULY 1t)

www.jumpbunch.com

Facebook: JumpBunch of Greater Savannah

Our home is being overrun with stuffed animals. Just ask my husband, who has vowed never to buy the kids another stuffed animal. Ever. So this week, of course, I took my youngest to Build-A-Bear where he used his birthday money to buy a new dog. (Sorry, honey!)

Kids love animals. My children are fortunate to live in a family that has two dogs and four hermit crabs. We have also temporarily cared for a variety of lizards, snakes, frogs, caterpillars, and such. We are definitely animal-friendly at our house.

And yet my kids want more. They continually ask for more pets of different kinds. Birds, lizards, fish, mice, anything. Instead of being content with our current critters, my children yearn for more.

Yesterday afternoon my boys were playing together with little plastic army men. The trouble was that my 7-year-old was not playing very nicely or fairly with his little brother, which did not make my little guy too happy, to say the least.

There is an ongoing competition in town. Every month the first-graders in my son's class compete to see who can read the most books. They record the books/chapters they read on reading logs. At the end of the month, the child who has read the most books/chapters wins a prize – usually a fun magazine - from the teacher.

It seems to be birthday party season around our family right now. Our children had three birthday party invitations for this weekend alone, plus our youngest turned 4 on Friday. That makes for a lot of celebrating, gift-giving, and cake-eating.

How do you handle all of your kid's toys and trinkets? My children tend to be on the pack rat end of the spectrum. They love their stuff. When asked if we can get rid of something, they immediately protest. They will cite the importance of that particular piece of plastic based on its connection to their preschool teacher, for example.

So I have a dilemma. As more stuff comes into our home, other stuff must move out. Do I make the kids decide what to pass on to others or do I decide while they are not home?