Summer Lovin' 2026: Thank you all for joining us on August 8 for our 1st birthday party celebration at Elaine's Literary Salon in Old Town, Alexandria — Children's Book Authors, Student Art Exhibit, Student musicians, Craft projects, and more! • Scroll down and click around to find our daily features, Meet our new columnists and sponsors, and Submit your work for publication

Inkandescent Kids Story of the Day

“What Does Being Ready for the Real World Actually Look Like?,” asks HomeschoolOT founder Sarah Collins

A Note from the InkandescentKids editors: If it’s Friday, it’s time for our weekly spotlight on HomeschoolOT founder Sarah Collins, who will be sharing her insights with us. Be sure to follow Sarah at homeschoolot.com.

Adults talk a lot about preparing kids for the “real world.” Usually that conversation includes grades, graduation, college, or getting a job.

Those things matter, but being ready for adulthood involves a lot more than what appears on your transcript.

For the 100th episode of The OT is IN podcast, I interviewed my daughter, who recently graduated from our homeschool. As she prepares for college, we talked about what homeschooling taught her. Some of the most important things weren’t academic.

They were skills she had been practicing for years without necessarily realizing she was preparing for adulthood.

Managing your time. When you’re younger, adults manage much of your schedule. As you get older, you have to decide when to start an assignment, how to balance school with activities, and what to do when you realize something is taking longer than expected.

Knowing when you need help. Independence does not mean doing everything alone. It means recognizing when something isn’t working and knowing how to ask a parent, teacher, coach, or friend for help.

Doing things that are hard. My daughter remembered struggling to learn to type when she was younger. She eventually learned, but not on the timeline she expected. Being ready for adulthood doesn’t mean everything becomes easy. It means becoming better at figuring out what to do when something is difficult.

Building relationships. Friends, siblings, teammates, coworkers, and other people in your community give you opportunities to practice communicating, cooperating, disagreeing, apologizing, and solving problems.

Taking ownership. Maybe you can start keeping track of your own schedule, emailing a teacher with a question, making your lunch, setting your alarm, or planning when you’ll finish your schoolwork. Small responsibilities are practice for bigger ones later.

You don’t need to have adulthood figured out before you graduate. In fact, no one does.

Being ready for the real world means knowing yourself a little better, taking increasing responsibility for your life, asking for help when you need it, and learning from the times things don’t go according to plan.

That preparation is already happening, one small responsibility at a time.

Sarah Collins, founder of HomeschoolOT

About Sarah Collins, MSOT, OTR/L, occupational therapist, homeschool mom, author, and founder of HomeschoolOT. With more than 17 years of experience supporting children and families, she helps parents understand how learning, movement, sensory processing, executive functioning, and daily life skills work together.

Since beginning her own homeschool journey in 2017, Sarah has combined her professional expertise with real-life experience, helping families create learning environments that honor each child’s unique strengths and challenges. Through HomeschoolOT and The OT is IN podcast, she shares practical strategies that help parents move beyond curriculum choices and better understand how their children learn best.

Sarah believes that homeschooling is not about recreating school at home. It is about helping children grow into capable, confident learners while building strong family relationships along the way.

Learn more: homeschoolot.com

Read more articles in the Summer 2026 issue of Inkandescent Kids

The Zebra newspaper: “They Built an ‘AI-Free Zone’ for Kids—And It All Started at a Neighborhood Restaurant”

August 9, 2026 — The Zebra reporter Lisa-Helene Lawson attended our August 8 InkandescentKids.com Children’s Book Fair and 1st Birthday Bash at Elaine’s restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria. In the article, she explains: How three women behind Inkandescent Kids are getting children off TikTok, out of AI, and into the reporter’s notebook as their magazine turns one. Scroll down to read the article, and click here to check it out in TheZebra.com.

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Meet two student musicans on Saturday, Aug. 8 who will be performing at our InkandescentKids Book Fair and Birthday Bash

Meet Elizabeth Lane: An award-winning 21-year-old Singer-Songwriter born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia — at 15, Elizabeth started writing songs after her vocal coach from Rock of Ages Music, Taisha Estrada, encouraged her to do so. She has recorded and released 18 original songs since then, including a full-length album, and has garnered over 300,000 streams worldwide.

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Meet Del Ray, VA native — college senior Elizabeth Lane, who is performing at our August 8, 2026 book fair and 1st Birthday Bash, noon to 4pm: Elaine’s, 208 Queen Street in Old Town Alexandria

Meet the musician: Elizabeth Lane is an award-winning 21-year-old Singer-Songwriter born & raised in Alexandria, Virginia. At 15, she started writing songs after her vocal coach from Rock of Ages Music, Taisha Estrada, encouraged her to do so. She has recorded and released 18 original songs since then, including a full-length album, and has garnered over 300,000 streams worldwide.

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Veteran, mom, and storyteller She’Meka Wilson is on a mission with her popular Jade the Hippo books

About the Author: She’Meka Wilson is a passionate children’s book author and creative storyteller, best known for her uplifting series featuring Jade the Hippo. Inspired by her own experiences as a mother and veteran, She’Meka creates heartfelt stories that empower young readers to face their fears, express themselves, and believe in their unique strengths. Through her publishing brand Life in Pink, she’s on a mission to bring joy, representation, and confidence to children everywhere, one colorful, rhyming story at a time. When she’s not writing, She’Meka enjoys spending quality time with her family in Maryland.Learn more: lifein-pink.com

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Student musician Gia Attiken is performing at our August 8 Birthday Bash, noon to 4pm: Elaine’s, 208 Queen Street in Old Town Alexandria

Meet Gia Attiken: Music has been the driving force in Gia Attiken’s life for as long as she can remember. Inspired by watching her father perform when she was just three years old, she has spent over a decade developing her skills as a musician, songwriter, and performer. She is classically trained in piano with 13 years of study and is also proficient in guitar, giving her a versatile foundation across multiple genres and styles.

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History comes alive in Irene Bennett’s new novel, “Battle of the Artisans,” portrays the making of the very real Bells of Marquis Yi, a 2500-year-old National Treasure of China

Meet the Author: Irene Vinyard Bennett has wide experience as a writer and educational minister. Her debut novel, BATTLE OF THE ARTISANS: Making the Bells of Marquis Yi, won the International Proverse Prize of 2022.  It is the first story about the Bronze-Age Bells of Marquis Yi, a National Treasure of China.

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Meet Rob Heber, co-author, Founders’ Font and publisher, Ranger Sacred Honor Publishing

About the Author: In February 2026, Rob Heber co-founded Ranger Sacred Honor Publishing with fellow Army Ranger Sean Hagerty. Together, they co-authored Founders’ Font, a children’s book that teaches critical thinking, introduces STEM concepts, and our nation’s foundational cursive by helping young readers understand and engage with America’s founding documents. Their mission is to preserve cursive as an essential skill that strengthens natural brilliance, literacy, art, historical understanding, and civic engagement for future generations. Learn more about the book below, and here: rangersacredhonorpublishing.com

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Meet Sean Hagerty, Inkandescent Kids Book Fair Attending Author!

About the book: Parents and educators, this is a brilliant and exciting book for our children. A book for every son, daughter, or grandchild. Before the alphabet became a collection of keystrokes on a screen, it was something children carefully learned by hand—one letter, one word, and one thought at a time. The simple act of putting pen to paper was once recognized as an essential part of learning, helping young minds develop focus, memory, creativity, and the ability to express themselves with clarity and purpose.

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