Kids VT, Spring 2022
The Camp Issue: Summer Camp Guide; Nature Camps for Kids; Dad’s Tips on Getting a Grip; Mom’s Thrift Store Lessons; Tae Kwon Do For All
Summer Camp Could Help Boost Kids’ Social Skills and Sense of Connection This Year
It’s a tough time to be a kid. In December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning about the mental health crisis facing youth across the country. “Even before the pandemic,” he said, “an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased…
Good Nature: How to Be in the Woods
If you want to get your child off the screen and into the woods this summer, there are many camps to choose from. Many of them offer an up-close experience with nature. But those experiences vary dramatically, and it’s important to understand how before you put down a deposit. Some years ago, I spent a…
Mom Takes Notes, Spring 2022
Some years ago, soon after I had started using Pinterest, I saw a sentence on someone’s board: “Julia Child didn’t start learning to cook until she was 37.” This notion that someone could begin a successful career later in life mesmerized me. It contradicted everything I had thought before. I had believed that to be…
Musical Notes: A Haven for Young Musicians in Weston
Amal Biskin has been playing the violin since age 5. Her parents, both musicians, required it. “It was as fundamental and obligatory as doing my homework or brushing my teeth,” she said. A New York City native, her training included private lessons and attending an intensive music school from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 2017,…
Pop Culture: Rules for Emotional Regulation
I was cleaning the kitchen in early January when I came across a stack of artwork my 5-year-old daughter, Coraline, had brought home from school. I took a break from cleaning to glance through her recent creations: houses, animals, people. The usual. However, as I flipped through the pile, one image in particular caught my…
Secondhand Style: Three Things I Learned From Thrifting With My Mom
My daughter has officially entered toddlerhood. She’s no longer content to play with a toy while I work; she wants to be involved. It’s made me excited to have her participate in all my favorite things, including thrifting. Any time I’m chasing my girl down a thrift store aisle, I remember visiting similar stores with…
Short Stuff: Contests, Competitions and Family-Friendly Fundraisers
Go Jump in a Lake Who in their right mind dives into an ice-cold lake in the winter? Kids, families and groups who sign up for the Penguin Plunge, an annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Vermont. The nonprofit provides opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to participate in sports. Teams of plungers collect money for…
Vermont Visionaries: Kellie Thomas, Tae Kwon Do Instructor
Three years ago, when Kathy Atwood’s granddaughters began taking tae kwon do lessons, she and her husband, Bruce, began going to the school to watch the girls take the tests required to advance to the next rank. The two girls punched, kicked and broke boards with their feet. It looked so fun that Kathy convinced…
Use Your Words: I Made a Kid. He’s Pretty Cool, but ‘Everything Hurts, and I’m Dying’
When my son was born, he was what the doctor called “sunny-side up:” He came out headfirst, but instead of facing my rear, he was facing my front. It’s less common for babies to emerge this way, and it made for a complicated delivery. Because of the angle and size of his head, my little…
Editor’s Note: Lots to Learn
D, B, A, Y, G, L, U: What’s a word that uses all these letters? That’s the question I kept asking myself the other day while playing the New York Times Spelling Bee game on my phone. I’d come back to the puzzle periodically, shuffling the letters and trying different combinations. I’ve always loved word…
