Kids VT, August 2016
Girl-Powered Mountain Biking; Magic Harry Potter Bus; Fair Season, The Weekender: Adirondacks; Tiny House Living with a Toddler
Girls Mountain Biking
Twenty girls clad in bike shorts and colorful cycling jerseys stood in a circle at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston, sharing creative names they had just made up for themselves. Names like “Magnificent Maddie,” “Awesome Ada,” “Monkey Mae” and “Excited Emma.” Ice-breaking activities like these help get them in gear at the center’s…
Magic Harry Potter Bus
When Kyle Clark decided to build an RV for his family of six, he approached the project using the same method his Burlington tech company, Venture.co, employs to help launch startups: He crowd-sourced the necessary goods and services. In February 2015, Clark purchased a retired 2003 school bus in New York. He then posted requests…
Harvesting Dry Beans
In the June issue, I wrote about planting beans with your kids. If all’s gone well, the beans are now fully grown and hanging on the bushes, starting to dry down. The next step — separating all those beans from their shells — is fun and fast, but first let’s review the all-important drying process.…
Make a Splash at the SelkieMermaid School
Calling all aspiring Ariels. The SelkieMermaid School opened this summer at the Edge in Williston, giving swimmers ages 7 and up the chance to don stretchy tails and glide through the water like sirens of the sea. The school — the first of its kind in New England — was created by Ontario native and…
Fundraising for a Safe Place
When Champlain Valley Union High School student Emma Lieberman started having panic attacks at school last year, she got permission from her teachers to leave the classroom to calm down. But she often ended up in the nurse’s office, staring up at flickering lights. “I eventually calmed down,” she remembers, “but it wasn’t a calming…
Fire It Up for the Campfire Cook-Off Contest
Pride yourself on a tasty campfire concoction? Tent-pitching gourmands have a chance to win prizes including free camping, firewood, Vermont products and bragging rights in the first Campfire Cook-Off Contest, organized by Vermont State Parks. To enter, submit a video no more than two minutes long showing yourself preparing your favorite dish, along with a…
A New Magazine for Girls Who Rule
A new quarterly publication for girls ages 5 to 10 has a Vermont connection. Kazoo, touted as “a magazine for girls who aren’t afraid to make some noise,” is printed at Lane Press in South Burlington. And the inaugural Summer 2016 issue features an original comic, “How to Draw a Cat,” by Vermont resident and…
A Vermont Gymnast Takes a Leap — Into the School of American Ballet
NAME: Mathias Toro TOWN: Rochester AGE: 9 Mathias Toro doesn’t sit still. On a recent summer evening, while his dad, Alejandro, chatted with a reporter, the lithe and springy 9-year-old did round-offs, handstands and splits on the Rochester town green. Mati, as his family calls him, began doing gymnastics at age 4. But soon he’ll put…
Out to Eat: Picnic Social
August is prime time for picnicking. For a more sophisticated version of the summertime activity, there’s Picnic Social, a new kid-friendly restaurant located in the Field Guide Hotel. My family checked out the stylish spot in late June. The hotel and restaurant occupy the former Ye Olde England Inne. When that property fell into foreclosure…
Hello, Muddah: What I Learned This Summer at my Own Mommy Camp
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Back when snow covered the trees and the school bus rolled up every morning at 7:30 a.m. to whisk my little ones away for the day, I decided I would spend the first week of summer vacation with 9-year-old Dillon and 7-year-old Harper. Sure, I had…
The Art Of… Glassblowing
Every summer morning, my sons ask what we’re going to do for fun. It is, they remind me, summer vacation. As we melt into August, we’ve exhausted our go-to list. Beach with friends? Check. Bristol Falls with cousins? Check. Creemees, creemees, creemees? Check, check, check. Thanks to John Chiles, I was able to give an…
Less Is More
From my artsy and unconventional mom, my two sisters and I all inherited a deep love of thrift-store shopping. There’s something mysterious and romantic about walking into a Goodwill or consignment shop and methodically sifting through the merchandise in search of some abandoned treasure. I also find great satisfaction in getting a deal. But that…
Table for Two: A Single Mother on Eating Healthy, Internal Dialogue and Finding “Me” Moments
It’s sunset on a humid summer night, and Linda Berlin’s west-facing house is filled with golden rays. Toys float and shimmer on the surface of the backyard pool, a reminder of the playful games she and her 12-year-old daughter, Karina, enjoyed the night before. As a single mom, Berlin juggles working, paying the bills, maintaining…
Active Readers: The Story Behind StoryWalks
In 2007, retired Montpelier resident Anne Ferguson wanted to create a literacy resource that would also get families outside and moving. Her idea: take apart simply written, visually appealing picture books, laminate each page and mount them on four-foot mahogany stakes spaced out along a trail. She calls it the StoryWalk Project, a name she’s…
When Should Parents Start Discussing Sex with Their Kids?
Cindy Pierce insists she’ll discuss anything with her kids, and she’s on a mission to help other parents do the same. The New Hampshire-based sex educator, comedic storyteller and mom of three teenagers navigates topics like sexuality, porn and peer pressure with humor and leaves judgment aside. Pierce’s 2015 book, Sexploitation: Helping Kids Develop Healthy…
Sugarbush Resort — in the Summer
On hot summer days, my family longs for cool alpine air. Luckily, many Vermont ski areas offer year-round activities. Last month, my 8-year-old son, Zac, and I visited Sugarbush Resort for a ride on the chairlift and to try out the zip line and bungee trampoline. Our adventure started with a drive on Route 17,…
Vermont Day-cations: Soaking up the Fun in Long Lake, N.Y.
The Adirondacks’ High Peaks region can be a mixed bag for summer vacationing with kids. When the weather is sunny and warm, the recreational opportunities are limitless: trails to hike; peaks to climb; lakes and rivers to swim, paddle and fish; and numerous beaches to explore. The cool mountain evenings are ideal for s’mores and…
Living Small: A Family of Three Makes a Tiny House Their Home
Tiny houses are a big phenomenon. Stories of miniature abodes grace magazines, social media and blogs, and fuel TV shows like “Tiny House Nation,” “Tiny House, Big Living” and “Tiny Luxury.” Yet as the average U.S. house size creeps upward — from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,679 square feet in 2013, according to…
