The Animal Issue July 2015 (Kids VT)
Backyard Bat House; Pretzels for Pups; Summer Day-Cations
Vermont Day-cations: Ausable Chasm & Dog Mountain
School’s out, and “Day-cations” are in. Every summer, Kids VT seeks out family-friendly destinations where you and your kids can experience the natural beauty and unique culture of our region. They’re all places you can visit in a day. Each of our three summer issues features two recommended trips, complete with tips on nearby dining…
How the Baby Helped Us Rediscover Our Cat
Before we became parents, my husband and I loved our cat like a child. She snuggled with me and Daniel when we watched movies. She slept in our bed every night. My phone was filled with photos of Haley, in all her runty glory. Our cat is unique. We sometimes describe her as a goblin…
Fairy-House Making
Fairies are famously elusive. But keen-eyed kids know that all it takes is a little time in nature to find — or build — a fairy house. Half a dozen such preschoolers gathered in a field at the Green Mountain Audubon Center one recent morning to make magical miniature dwellings from natural materials. Early-childhood-education specialist…
What Parents Should Know About Ticks and Lyme Disease
Ticks are a big problem in Vermont. As a result of climate change, the so-called “tick line” has steadily moved north over the past few years to include the whole state. About half the state’s deer ticks now carry Lyme disease, according to Lyndon State College biology professor Alan Geise. In 2013, Vermont had more Lyme disease cases…
Sitting Down With the Flynn’s Artistic Director, Steve MacQueen
Dad: Steve MacQueen, artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts Mom: Kim MacQueen, managing editor at Champlain College Publishing Initiative Daughters: Claire, 16, and Rose, 12 A self-described Air Force brat, Steve MacQueen, 51, grew up all over the country. In 1983, he enrolled at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he…
Book-Inspired Contest Winners
Congratulations to these talented young artists who submitted captioned drawings of their favorite summer outings inspired by Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop in Burlington. Here you’ll find one of the winning drawings. Ruby Harrison, 8, Middlebury I love to go camping by the…
Featured Creatures: Books With Animals As Main Characters
For this month’s issue, Kids VT asked local librarians to recommend books with animals as main characters. Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems The two friends in this story — part of Willems’ popular Elephant and Piggie series — take different approaches to anticipation. Gerald the elephant quickly loses his patience, while Piggie tries…
Fort Ethan Allen Parade Grounds & Park
Address: Dalton Drive, Essex You’ve probably driven by this expansive play area, set back from bustling Route 15, before — perhaps telling your kids you’d stop some other day. Next time, just pull over. It’s worth it. Climbers will scramble for the ladders, stairs and steps leading to three tall slides on the main play…
The Animal Issue: Crazy for Creatures
Recently, My 5-year-old son, Theo, ran to the front of our house from the backyard with a huge grin on his face, his hands gently cupping something in front of him. “It’s Mr. Toady,” he announced, spreading his palms to reveal a brown, bumpy and not particularly attractive creature. “He’s my best friend.” My family…
How to Deal When Your “Fur Baby” is Unseated By the Real Thing
Last May I was out for a walk with my dog and week-old son when we ran into a friend. She peered into the baby carrier at Russell, then patted my dog on the head. “Sorry, Josie,” she said to our scrappy mixed-breed. “You’ve been demoted.” Over the course of my pregnancy, people asked my…
Learning How to Fly Fish
The difference between fly fishing and reel fishing isn’t just about gear or technique; it’s about philosophy. That much becomes clear after talking to 14-year-old Zach Favreau. “With fly fishing, you’re a lot closer to the fish and you can almost see it from how they see it,” he told me. “Instead of just sitting…
Building Bat Houses in Burlington’s South End
Parents: Robin and Steve Guillian Daughter: Sloane, 11 Eleven-year-old Sloane Guillian of Burlington loves all animals, but she has a special fondness for bats. “They help with mosquitoes, they’re not going to hurt you and they’re really sweet creatures,” she says. The fifth-grader feels so strongly about protecting Vermont’s brown bats that she built a…
Behind-the-Scenes Tours at the ECHO Center
If you’ve ever visited Burlington’s ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, you’ve probably come face to face with slippery and slimy creatures such as 40-pound lake sturgeon, red-eyed tree frogs, spiny softshell turtles and eastern ratsnakes. Curious about who keeps these creatures happy and healthy? ECHO’s animal experts recently began leading behind-the-scenes tours for groups…
One To Watch: Sonia Nussbaum
Name: Sonia Nussbaum Age: 13 Town: Richmond Sonia Nussbaum has made a big name for herself in the local animal-welfare world. So big that when she signed in at a Humane Society of Chittenden County event six years ago, the board member working at the table asked, “The Sonia Nussbaum?” That’s because Sonia has been…
Tamara Ellis Smith’s Debut Novel, Another Kind of Hurricane
The seed for Tamara Ellis Smith’s debut novel, Another kind of hurricane, was planted 10 years ago, when she was en route to the Vermont State Police barracks in Williston to donate food and clothes to a Hurricane Katrina relief drive. “Who is going to get my pants?” asked her then-4-year-old son, Luc. “I don’t…
STEM Day School to Open in Shelburne in Fall
Sage Bagnato, a Charlotte mom of three, has studied neuroscience and education at Harvard and worked as a classroom teacher, educational diagnostician and learning specialist. She’s putting that experience to use this fall when she opens Vermont Day School, an independent K-5 school off Route 7 in Shelburne. Over the last 20 years, Bagnato has…
Making Peanut-Butter-Pretzel Pup Treats
I bugged my husband for years about getting a puppy. But Sam always argued that we should wait until all three of our kids were out of diapers before we became pet owners. He had a point. I grew up with dogs but was never responsible for raising one. As an adult, I knew it…
