Kids VT, December 2015-January 2016
Snow Big Deal: Foster Parents Speak Out, Fifth Graders Ski Free, Cardboard Pinball
Vermont Foster Parents Share Challenges and Rewards
Most mothers have nine months to prepare for the arrival of a new baby. Imagine having only half an hour. “Ann” was relaxing at home with her teenage daughter one Saturday night in October 2014 when the phone rang. A social worker with the Vermont Department for Children and Families was calling to ask if…
Stuttering Students Turn to Groups for Support
Sam King felt paralyzed. His heart was pounding so hard, the junior at Lake Region Union High School in Barton thought he was going to pass out in his psychology class. He and two of his classmates had to put on a skit. Sam had practiced saying his lines during rehearsals. But when it was…
Ski & Ride for Free
This winter, members of an exclusive club will ski and ride for free at Vermont’s alpine resorts and cross-country skiing centers. To collect their complimentary tickets, all they have to do is flash their passports — their Ski Vermont passports, that is. And only a select group of outdoor enthusiasts are eligible: The ones who…
Basement Game Room
Vermonters do a pretty good job of getting outside in the winter, despite the inhospitable weather. However, there are some windy, gray, subzero days that even the hardiest among us find difficult to embrace. For times like this, it’s nice to have an indoor space devoted solely to fun. David and Lisa Howe included one…
New Play Gym Opens in Hinesburg
There’s a new place to play in Hinesburg. Anne Broussard, a local mom of three young sons, opened a cheery play gym called Wiggle Room in October. The former Latin teacher at Essex High School spent the last several years as a stay-at-home mom in France. The experience of living abroad emboldened her to start…
Sweet Pea & Friends: The Sheepover by John and Jennifer Churchman
The cuddly lamb who graces the cover of sweet pea & friends: the sheepover by John and Jennifer Churchman is undeniably cute. Jennifer says she once caught a 6-month-old drooling over the photograph. The picture book, which the husband-and-wife team self-published in August, recounts the true tale of the lamb’s recovery from an injury last…
UVM to Participate in Landmark Adolescent Brain Study
The University of Vermont recently won one of 13 grants from the National Institutes of Health to participate in a landmark, nationwide study about the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain. The Adolescent brain cognitive development study will follow about 10,000 children beginning at ages 9 or 10 through early adulthood. Scientists…
A Slow Simmer: French Onion Soup
My brother and I spent a lot of time, and ate many homemade meals, at my grandmother’s house while we were growing up. That’s where I learned my first lessons about cooking — especially during the holiday season, when my parents often worked extra hours and scrambled to get everything done. Nana’s house was always…
Teen Trent Gutstein Spends Winters — and Summers — on the Slopes
NAME: TRENT GUTSTEIN AGE: 17 TOWN: STOWE Trent Gutstein isn’t sure how many days he spent skiing last year. Let’s just say it was a lot. From November to March, the Stowe High School senior is on snow six days a week as a day student at Mount Mansfield Winter Academy. Aspiring teen ski racers…
How Dad Lit Helped Me Write My Own Fatherhood Story
About a year ago, when my wife, Kate, was eight months pregnant with our first child, my Aunt Diane greeted me at a family Christmas party in Minnesota with a prediction about fatherhood: “You know, when I see you a year from now, you’re going to be fat and bald.” I knew Aunt Diane only…
The Art of… Cardboard Pinball
Kids in Montpelier’s River Rock School after-school program tinkered with ramps and bumpers on a recent November afternoon. They were designing a familiar game: pinball. But theirs were far from the machines found in modern arcades. Rather than electricity, these pinball machines were powered by imagination. And instead of metal and glass, they were made…
How a Former Military Family Manages Life on the Move
The Mathisen family are no strangers to transition. Dad Art was in the military for over two decades, and the family of five has moved approximately 10 times since 1992. In September, the Mathisens relocated once again from southeastern Virginia to Wolcott, Vt., when Art was hired as the chief operating officer of Copley Hospital…
Book-Inspired Contest Winners
Congratulations to these talented young artists who submitted captioned pictures showing themselves having fun with their relatives, inspired by The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop in Burlington. At right, you’ll find one of the winning drawings. Grace Clark, 10, Richmond “When my cousins come, I like…
Best of the Year
Dozens of new children’s books stream into the Kids VT office every year. We often don’t have space to write about them, but we sure do love bringing them home and sharing them with our kids. As 2015 comes to a close, here’s a rundown of some of the best books we’ve received in the…
What’s the best way to get rid of head lice?
Head lice are tiny, wingless insects that live in human hair. Annoying and contagious, these parasites are common, particularly among young children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are between 6 and 12 million lice infestations annually among kids 3 to 11 years old — and the cold weather doesn’t…
Weathering the Winter
As I write this, only a few snowflakes have fallen. But I’ve lived in Vermont long enough to know what Mother Nature has in store for the months ahead. When my husband, Jeff, and I moved here from New York City over 11 years ago, the big piece of advice many people gave us was…
Cold-Weather Destinations to Beat the Winter Blues
Many Vermont families hit the slopes at the first sign of snowfall. But skiing isn’t for everyone. When you don’t have a ski-resort season pass, figuring out fun, family-oriented winter activities can be challenging. So we asked Kids VT staff and contributors to recommend trips and activities — of the non-skiing variety — to spice…
