Kids VT, Summer 2024
Seven Ways to Help 6- to 10-Year-Olds Become More Self-Reliant; Fun Family Hikes; Recipe for Berry Tartlets; Mo Willems Exhibit at ECHO
Obituary: Theodor “Ted” Bogner, 1935-2024
Thirty-six-year IBM engineer loved bowling, golf and the New York Yankees
Obituary: Dr. Edward E. Nawotka Jr., 1940-2024
U.S. Army colonel and co-owner of local dentistry practice loved coin collecting, supporting the Second Amendment and watching the Detroit Lions play football
State Officials Pitch Juvenile Facility to Vergennes Residents
State leaders headed to the Vergennes Opera House on Wednesday evening to make the case for building a secure juvenile treatment facility in the Little City. Vermont has lacked a place to house and treat justice-involved youths since the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex closed in 2020 amid allegations that children were abused by…
Obituary: David Alan Jenkins, 1935-2024
Former Vermont Superior Court judge lived by two principles: service above self and a strong Christian faith
The Pigeon and Friends Land in Burlington
A new exhibit at ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain lets visitors immerse themselves in the imaginative world of a celebrated children’s book author. “The Pigeon Comes to Burlington! A Mo Willems Exhibit” opened at ECHO on May 25. Willems could be called the Taylor Swift of children’s books right now. He wrote and illustrated…
There’s More to Explore at Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum
The newly expanded Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum is now open to the public; it hosted a celebratory block party on May 11. Visitors can walk through a woodland, climb on a “mountain” and stand inside the control booth of a 13-foot-tall robot. The lead designer behind the new experience is Manchester resident Yoshi Akiyama, a former…
Independence Days: Seven Ways to Help 6- to 10-Year-Olds Become More Self-Reliant
Last month my wife, Ann-Elise, and I watched as our teenage children cleared another developmental milestone: They drove by themselves to Massachusetts to catch a flight to Seattle, where they spent a few days hanging out with their cousins. We got up at 5:30 a.m. to see them off. Graham, 18, was behind the wheel;…
Libraries Help Kids Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Reading 1,000 books to your kids sounds daunting, but it’s actually easier than you might expect according to Megan Estey Butterfield, youth librarian at Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library. “If you’re reading at least one book with your child every day, then by the time they go to kindergarten, you will have read over 1,000 books…
Vermont Kids Compete Creatively in Destination Imagination
“A broken jar, a bit of stone — the remains of the past are all around us. Have you ever wondered what those things might have been used for or what they meant to the people who made them?” That’s the tantalizing beginning of the 2023-24 scientific challenge posed by Destination Imagination. Each academic year,…
Mealtime: Capturing the Flavor of Summer With Frangipane Berry Tartlets
Every year for my sister’s birthday on July 1, I try to make a fun dessert that incorporates summer berries, especially blueberries and strawberries. She isn’t a cake fan, so it’s a creative challenge. Last year, I made a tart with berries and frangipane (a delightful almond cream). When I was looking for inspiration for…
Use Your Words: Find Myself Longing for Summer
Summer is not my favorite season, summer is not really my jam, but as June, July, and August approach in their usual pack, I find myself longing for the winding days, the heat that slowly drives us all crazy, crazy enough to leap bare-legged into freezing Lake Champlain and actually enjoy it. Summer is not…
Editor’s Note: Make the Most of It
Wow, that happened fast. I’m referring to the onset of summer — I swear it was just stick season, but I thought I saw a firefly in my lush, green yard last night! I’m also thinking of my son’s adolescence; Graham graduates from Winooski High School on June 15. He was still in preschool when…
In Case You Missed It: Can’t Miss Summer Events
Fourteen weeks separate Memorial Day and Labor Day, the unofficial start and end of summer, respectively. That sounds like a lot of time, but don’t be fooled: Summer will go by in a flash. It always does. Best, then, to take full advantage and pack your days with everything that makes summer in Vermont great:…
Hit the Trails: Five Fun Family Hikes
Vermont is known as the Green Mountain State for good reason. Options abound to get your family into the woods. From easy saunters to impressive peaks, there’s no shortage of treks suited to all ages and abilities. Here are a few suggestions from the Kids VT archives, first published in 2011 and 2019 — and…
