in the River Region

Annual Flag Boat Parade

Tuesday, July 4, beginning at 8 a.m. at Kowaliga Marina on Lake Martin. Boats of all sizes parade from Kowaliga Marina to Children’s Harbor and back. Onlookers from the shoreline and water can watch free of charge. Boat registration is due by July 1. Forms can be picked up at any Russell Marine location - Kowaliga, Real Island, The Ridge and River North. For out-of-towners, call (256) 397.1210 to request a form. Registration is free.

Prattville Celebration

Patriotic Concert

Sunday, July 2nd at 3 p.m., Doster Center

Featuring patriotic pieces performed by the Prattville Pops and Community Chorus

Annual 4th of July Parade

On Tuesday, July 4th at 9am, family members of all ages will enjoy the fire engines, candy, floats and more. For more information, call 595-0800

Annual Lion’s Club BBQ

The annual Lion’s Club Bar-B-Q and Camp Stew Sale will take place at Pratt Park July 4th from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Craft Vendors,

BBQ and more. Call 358.1068 for info.

Cardboard Boat Races & Pool Party

10:30 a.m. Pratt Pool Pool Party 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Fireworks Presentation

July 4th and takes place at the Home Place Clock Tower fireworks begin at dark. Visit www.prattvilleal.gov for information.

Russell Lands

Fourth of July Blast: Concert and Fireworks

Join us on the grassy lawn at The AMP for the 4th of July Concert and the Southeast’s largest fireworks show. We are in the planning stages but rest assured when you join us you will have a fun time with great music – then we light the sky with a million colors! Claim your spot early and get ready to have some fun! The Lake Martin Amphitheater is located on Highway 63 about 1 mile south of Kowaliga Bridge. Call (256) 397.1019 or visit www.russelllandsonlakemartin.com

Callaway Gardens

Star Spangled Beach Party

The celebration begins early and lasts well into the night at our annual July 4th Star

Spangled Beach Party at Robin Lake Beach. Highlights include beach activities, live music and our annual Fireworks Extravaganza. Be sure to pack plenty of red, white and blue for this All-American Weekend! Stay tuned for complete schedule of events. Please visit www. callawaygardens.com for more information.

Pike Road Summer Fest

Thursday, June 29 from 6pm-8:30pm

The Town of Pike Road is excited to invite the community to SummerFest, a family-friendly fireworks show on June 29 at the Pike Road Agriculture, Recreation & Performing Arts Park (6281 Trotman Rd). Parking will begin at 6 p.m. at Rolling Hills Park (6001 Rolling Hills Blvd). Please enter by Rolling Hills Blvd. Handicap parking will be available at the East Entrance of the PRARPAP, near the ball fields.

Family-friendly areas with food trucks, kids’ activities like inflatables and yard games, and green space for your lawn chairs and picnic blankets will be open from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.*

*Picnics are welcome, but NO alcoholic beverages are permitted at SummerFest. Lawn chairs and picnic blankets are welcome, but NO tents are permitted at SummerFest.

Fireworks will light up the sky at dark! For more information, please call (334) 272.9883 or visit www.Pikeroad.us

Wetumpka Celebration

Saturday, July 1st Fireworks will be at 8:30 p.m. Please visit for more information and updates or call (334) 567.5147.

Cloverdale-Idlewild Parade

Tuesday, July 4, at 2 p.m. at the corner of Plymouth and Lexington. Ends at Bottom Park on Cloverdale Rd. Drums, bikes, floats; 6 p.m. there will be a band. Dress in your red, white and blue and join this old fashioned 4th of July celebration. Contact Charlie Colvin, 834.6030.

Protect yourself and your baby from COVID-19. Get vaccinated.

COVID-19 can be very serious in pregnant women and vaccination is recommended for women who are pregnant, were recently pregnant, are breastfeeding or trying to get pregnant.

Women with COVID-19 during pregnancy are more likely to experience complications than women who are not. These can affect their pregnancy and developing baby, resulting in preterm birth, stillbirth and other pregnancy complications.

The COVID-19 vaccine has gone through the same strict development studies that all vaccines go through to ensure they are safe. To learn more about COVID-19 and pregnancy, talk to your healthcare provider, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus or go to the Gift of Life Foundation’s website at www.golfound.org and click the Education tab for links to local COVID-19 resources. This message is made possible by a grant from the CDC Foundation.

by Jan Pierce, M.Ed.

Are you one of those parents who wonder if your child’s schedule is too crowded? Do you watch him play video games by the hour and get a little nervous about the long-term effects? Do you wish she had time to “just play” rather than run from school to lessons to team practices?

If you can relate to the above situations, you’re in good company. Take a deep breath. Remember how it used to be when children played freely without a lot of oversight and adult intervention. Can you recall the days when you scraped your knee and just got up and kept playing? When you could sit under a tree and inspect the intricacies of the natural world? When you could dig and build with natural objects? When it seemed there was all the time in the world to just be?

Today’s children need those same healthy, authentic play experiences. They need time to explore the out of doors, time to think and dream. Time to wonder and experiment.

How to begin? It’s easier than you might think. Just unplug and send the kids outside. They won’t need an agenda or directions. Once they find themselves in the great outdoors, they’ll do the rest. Here are eight benefits of unstructured, outdoor play.

Authentic Play

Today’s kids are steeped in a virtual world. They’re adept at computer use, coding, programming and the like, and that’s fine. They need to understand the technological world. But they also need authentic, handson experiences that can’t be had in a classroom or computer lab. They need to be grounded in the real world and able to engage in real-life experiences. They need to do real-time observation, exploration and interaction with the real world. They need the sensory experiences of watching a bird find a worm, of tracking the tiny veins and capillaries on a leaf, of squishing dirt and water together into mud. Kids need to play self-created games and make up their own rules. They need to learn how to try and fail and try again to make their play creations work.

Enhanced Decision-Making

Children need to know how to listen and follow directions in the classroom and in other activities such as sports. But they also need the opportunity to play independent. They need to decide to create something or explore something and then make their own plan. They need to cooperate with others to follow the rules to their own kid-made games. They need the freedom to adapt rules to their current situation and then evaluate whether or not their plan worked. All of these skills are strengthened when kids are allowed to play outside independently.

Active vs Sedentary Play

We all know the statistics on the overall health of today’s kids. Too many are overweight and unfit. Too many are lethargic and uninspired. In short, many of our kids don’t move enough to be happy and healthy. But knowing isn’t the same as doing. Parents need to push through a bit of resistance and insist that our children go outside whether it’s for time in their own backyard or access to a larger natural environment. While parks can offer some of the necessary ingredients to healthier play, wilder natural environments such as hiking trails or woodlands are even better. Nothing inspires kids to build forts and create their own games more than an untouched-by-man setting.

Room for Wonder and Joy

Watching spiders spin a web. Catching grasshoppers in a jar. Hearing birds sing in the trees and seeing them drop bits of food into the open beaks of their hatchlings. Wandering a beach, picking up beautiful shells or bits of driftwood, smelling the scent of grasses on a warm summer day. We all need opportunities to absorb the wonder of nature and to experience the joy of being part of the natural world. Give your kids the chance to do these simple things. They’ll benefit immensely.

Better Classroom Performance

Some schools are experimenting with longer recesses and more frequent breaks in their school day and, wonder of wonders, every one of them reports better behavior and engagement in the classroom. When kids are given enough time to move and play, they’re better able to focus their attention on classroom work. They feel better, they perform better. It’s not rocket science. In other studies, it’s reported that children who play more outside get a better night’s sleep. A wellrested child is better able to focus attention and “get into” lessons in class. Children who get enough chances for active play feel more content and happy. Happier kids have lower levels of stress which produces better classroom performance.

Self-Reliance Through Exploration

We like it when our children are able to follow directions—when they’re “coachable,” and that is an important skill. But it’s also important for kids to learn how to operate via their own internal rules and understandings. Children benefit when they’re able to manage their own behaviors based on their convictions, when they can make a plan and follow it through. When they can try and fail and try again to accomplish a task. All of these skills can only be practiced when kids have the chance to engage in unstructured play free of adult supervision and oversight. It may be hard to break the pattern of over-managing our kids’ lives, but it’s vital that we do so.

Improved Social Skills and Interaction

If you’ve ever watched a group of kids play a game of softball you might see more arguing about the rules than actual play. But what you’re seeing is social skills in the making. Older kids will make the rules and try to enforce them. Quieter kids will be given chances to play (or not) and bossy kids will try to run the show. In the middle of the chaos, children will learn how the world of rules works and they’ll play a little ball too. When children are free of adult supervision, they build leadership skills and learn to work as a community. Is it pretty? Not always, but there are always lessons learned. In some of the school where increased free play has been introduced with fewer rules and the attitude of “safe enough,” the children earlier seen as bullies have emerged as leaders. Why? Because they’ve been successful in more active, hands-on play and have been given the chance to expend pent-up energy in all-out activity.

Improved Mental Health

The rise in mental health problems amongst kids as young as pre-school is a testament to our over-managed, over-tested and earlier to learn environment. The skills that used to be taught in first grade must now be mastered in Kindergarten. The results are children with a too-hurried and too stressful world. There will always be expectations in the learning world, but for those children who enjoy more free time, more authentic outdoor fun and more opportunity to run and play, the better they’ll feel about themselves and their life. We give our children a great gift when we encourage and champion free play in the great out of doors.

Dancer Wins Award for Most Entertaining

Danielle Stewart won the Most Entertaining award of the day at Dance Troupe, Inc competition! She did a solo to My Boyfriend’s Back and rocked the stage! Danielle is full of personality when she performs. She’s a dance team member at Tonya Speed’s Dance Connection.

Tonya Speed’s Dance Connection Scores at DTI

TSDC dance teams competed in Clanton, Alabama at Dance Troupe, Inc, with 38 dance routines including solos, duets & groups! All were awarded Platinums and High Golds, plus several First Place overalls. Our production piece was High School Musical, which featured our seven seniors: Zaina Marcum, Molly Miles, Heavenly Armstrong, Kynlee Barnes, Amy Treloar, Kiersten Jones, Holly Hammond) won

OVERALL Production & Platinum! Great job to our 44 dancers known as the DC Strutters!