Kids VT, November 2019
Bearing Gifts: Shop Local for Presents That Stand the Test of Time; Parents Pen Original Lullabies; Homemade Blankets for Hospitalized Kids; Fitness Pro Moms Share Exercise Advice
Mealtime: Thanksgiving Leftover Pie
In my family, we love Thanksgiving food — juicy turkey, tender stuffing, tangy cranberry sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, crunchy green beans, and subtly sweet roasted squash. Every year, I look for interesting ways to use the abundant leftovers once the main event is over. After watching The Great British Baking Show, I became enamored with…
Mom Takes Notes: What I’m Thankful For
One of my favorite things about being the parent of a 2-year-old is being able to witness my daughter paying attention to the smallest details and expressing joy about them. It’s contagious. If you had asked me a few years ago what I was thankful for, my list would have probably taken a long time…
Scout & Co. Showcases Portraits by Winooski Middle Schoolers
Self-portraits made by middle school students in Winooski will be displayed at Scout & Co. coffee and ice cream shop on East Allen Street as part of an exhibit entitled “Identity Through Art,” which runs through the end of November. The 28 portraits of students in grades 6, 7 and 8 celebrate the diversity of…
How I Came to Understand My Introverted Daughter
You know that song in Frozen where Anna and Elsa are getting ready for the ball, their first big social engagement since Elsa found out she had magical (and dangerous) ice powers? The whole first half of the song features bubbly Anna, giddily singing about how many salad plates her family has been hoarding and…
Yoga Pose of the Month: Warrior III / Flying Bird Pose
This balancing pose strengthens the entire body while improving balance, coordination and focus. Steps: Stand in mountain pose Bring right toes behind you on the mat Inhale and bring arms out wide to the sides like wings Exhale and look at a point that is not moving Inhale and lift toes up off the ground…
True Gratitude
In September, I took my family to Burlington’s Community Sailing Center for a presentation by 24-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker. At age 14, Dekker embarked on a solo two-year sailing trip around the world — chronicled in the excellent 2013 documentary Maidentrip — becoming the youngest person to complete the journey. In her talk, Dekker…
A Guide for Identifying Trees During Stick Season
There’s usually a point each November when Vermont seemingly transforms from fall to winter overnight. One day the leaves are vibrant hues of red and yellow. Then the wind blows or the rain falls, and the trees turn brown and become almost bare. It’s easy to disparage stick season, but there’s still beauty to be…
A Sneak Peek at ‘Mister Chris and Friends’ Second Season on Vermont PBS
In 1969, a year after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, Fred Rogers invited Officer Clemmons, the friendly neighborhood policeman, to dip his feet into a wading pool during an episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The message was unmistakable: an African-American man and a white man peacefully sharing cool water and a towel at a time…
What Do Parents Need to Know About ADHD?
A generation ago, children who didn’t perform well in school were often labeled as “unmotivated” or “daydreamers.” Others who couldn’t sit still or misbehaved in class were sometimes seen as fidgety, lazy or the products of bad parenting. Today, health care professionals recognize that those behaviors can be symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, a…
Shop Local for Gifts that Stand the Test of Time
Imagine the following: You buy a present for your child — something they’ve been begging for since last year. Within one week, one day or one hour of said gift being unwrapped, it’s abandoned in the corner of the room, never to be touched again. It’s a scenario that has happened to even the most…
Retired Principal Leads Effort to Bring Handmade Blankets to Hospitalized Kids
On March 24, 2018, the day she finished radiation treatment for breast cancer, Joyce Irvine’s grandson Gordon turned 2 months old and was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. The childhood cancer that develops from immature nerve cells had invaded his stomach, liver, kidneys and heart — “like an octopus with tentacles,” Irvine said — and…
Local Fitness Pro Moms Help Pregnant and Postnatal Women Exercise
A woman’s body is truly a marvel as it goes about growing another human. Blood volume increases, skin stretches, joints and ligaments loosen, and organs move to accommodate the growing baby. And once baby arrives, mom’s body can produce food and, at the same time, readjust to its nonpregnant state. Staying fit through it all…
Agency of Education Names 2020 Vermont Teacher of the Year
Five years ago, Elisabeth “Bibba” Kahn returned to her alma mater, Montpelier’s Main Street Middle School, to teach French and Spanish. In mid-October, students lined the gym bleachers for an all-school assembly and cheered as Madame Kahn was named the 2020 Vermont Teacher of the Year. Her new role will take her around the state…
The Strike Zone Helps Baseball Players Sharpen their Skills
Baseball and softball players can take their game to the next level at a new 17,000 square-foot indoor academy in Essex Junction. Richmond native and 2010 Mount Mansfield Union High School graduate Dan French opened the Strike Zone in September. “We’re developing baseball and softball players mechanically, physically and mentally through various programs and various…
Vermont Donor Milk Center to Open in Early 2020
When newborn babies at some Vermont hospitals, including the University of Vermont Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center, need supplemental breast milk, the hospital can provide pasteurized donor milk. But once the babies are discharged, parents are on their own. If they want to continue feeding supplemental pasteurized breast milk, they have to mail…
‘Frozen in Vermont’ To Transform Higher Ground Into Winter Wonderland
The words “frozen in Vermont” may conjure up less than idyllic images. But Alex Crothers and Lyndsy Blais are about to change that. The owners of Higher Ground and Wildflowers Studio, respectively, are teaming up to throw a winter spectacular that showcases the beauty of the season, without the hassle to bundle up. They plan…
Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project Helps Parents at Lund Write Original Songs
In a classroom at the Lund Family Center in Burlington, Lund resident and mom of three Julia* waded through the messy, nonlinear process of writing a song. Julia had already worked with instructors from Writers for Recovery to brainstorm ideas for lyrics to a lullaby for her children. Now it was time to put the…
