Back To School Issue 2019
Inside Vermont’s Last One-Room Schoolhouse; Technology With a Human Touch; Little Libraries Around the State; Giving Student License to Squirm
The Art of… Active Sitting
Since schools have existed, teachers have been telling kids to sit still and pay attention. But what if that pedagogical wisdom is all wrong? That’s the assertion of Turner Osler, a University of Vermont professor and former trauma surgeon and research epidemiologist, who founded innovative chair company QOR360 with his son, Lex. The father-son duo…
If You Build It: Little Libraries Blend Books and Community Engagement
Nearly a decade ago, Windsor resident Amanda Smith learned about Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization that supports communities in creating freestanding boxes where people can swap books. She always thought it would be fun to start one of her own. So when her family moved to a neighborhood with lots of foot traffic a…
What Do Parents and Caregivers Need to Know About Scoliosis?
Normally, the human spine curves from front to back, forming an S-shaped curve when viewed from the side. However, in a small percentage of people, the spine curves to the left, right or both ways, forming a C or S shape when viewed head on. When that curvature is more than 10 degrees off midline,…
Destination Recreation: Smugglers’ Notch
I’ve driven through Smugglers’ Notch, the Mount Mansfield pass that connects Jeffersonville to Stowe, many times. But recently, when a friend came to visit, we decided to make the Notch itself our destination. As long as you’re not driving a tractor-trailer, the road alone — Route 108 — is enjoyable, though it gets very narrow…
C is for Cannabis: Now That It’s Legal, What Do We Tell Our Kids About Marijuana?
While our parents might have been able to pretend that marijuana didn’t exist when we were growing up — and avoid the discomfort of talking about it — if you’re raising kids in Vermont today, there’s no hiding your head in the sand. To date, 33 states, including Vermont, and the District of Columbia have…
Tech With a Human Touch: Cyber Civics Teaches Middle Schoolers to Think Critically and Ethically About the Digital World
In this virtual age, let’s sink our hands into what is real. In this age of light-speed communication, let’s learn how to use our inner voices. In this age of increasingly powerful machines, let’s learn to use the incredible powers within. Once a week, middle schoolers at Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne recite these…
Habitat: Layn Family Farm
Don’t plant your sweet corn beside your cow corn,” warns 8-year-old Natalie Layn. “Corn cross-pollinates, and your sweet corn will taste terrible.” The vivacious ponytailed girl knows what she’s talking about. She’s part of the fifth generation of Layns to live on the 960-acre Monkton dairy farm where her father, Curtis, grew up. Curtis and…
Kids in the News: Star Swimmer
At 7 a.m. on Tuesday, August 13, while most 15-year-olds were likely still sleeping, Geo DeBrosse of Hinesburg was leaving Port Kent, N.Y. for a 6.5-mile swim across Lake Champlain. Accompanied by his dad, John DeBrosse, in one boat; his mom, Suzie McCoy, and neighbors in a second boat; and his friend, Seb Jacobs, on…
Blocks with Character
She’s an early childhood educator. He’s a mechanical engineer. Together, Becky and Josh Mandell of Underhill — parents of kids ages 2 and 5 — recently started Ish, a small business that makes uniquely shaped blocks for all ages. The company name is borrowed from the popular picture book by Peter H. Reynolds which, says…
Baby on Board
Picture this: You load your two kids into the car so that you can drop off the older one at preschool. Afterward, you aren’t quite ready to head home. So, where do you go? This is the kind of scenario the folks at Shelburne Museum had in mind when they decided to offer stroller tours,…
Acting Out
Starting this fall, dramatically inclined young people will have a new place to hone their craft when professional theater company Vermont Stage launches a program geared to tweens and teens. Vermont Stage Youth Company at Main Street Landing will offer 12-week sessions in the fall and spring, as well as a summer 2020 program, focused…
Mom Takes Notes, September 2019
Every year it arrives like a national holiday but still catches me by surprise: in the middle of a summer day, I discover the first Back to School catalog in my mailbox. For a split second, I am back to being an 11-year-old, sensing the impending loss of freedom, the nervousness of the unknown and…
Madeleines: Two Varieties of a French Classic
When my mother, sister and I traveled to southwestern France last summer for a family wedding, we ate some of the best food of our lives. One traditional French dessert that I was eager to try was the madeleine, a bite-sized, buttery, scallop-shaped sponge cake. However, we couldn’t find them in the small town of…
Yoga Pose of the Month: Warrior 2
Try this powerful standing pose to build stamina, focus and stability for going back to school. Warrior 2 stretches the hips, strengthens the legs and expands the shoulders so we can breathe more deeply. It’s fun to add in a positive affirmation while in warrior 2, like “I AM STRONG!” Steps: Bring your legs out…
No Easy Task: A High School Administrator on Engaging Students to Meet the Challenges of Our Time
When my son was 5 years old, we were home together on a lovely summer Saturday. He wanted to stay inside, and threw a small tantrum when I told him he had to come out to work in the yard. Earlier in the week, he and I had dug up some broken bricks from a…
Mixed Emotions
Stumble down the internet rabbit hole this time of year, and you’ll find competing narratives about how parents feel after sending their kids back to school. On one hand, you have viral photos of ecstatic moms (because it’s always moms) giving each other high fives in their bathrobes, or enjoying a fancy lunch out while…
Jewel of a School: Traditions Are Strong at Vermont’s Last One-Room Schoolhouse
The Elmore School begins classes this fall with a 42 percent increase in enrollment over last year. A spike like that might find other schools scrambling to hire teachers, converting closets to classrooms and sending students they still can’t accommodate to other schools in the district. But none of that will happen here. With less…
