The Money Issue April 2015 (Kids VT)
Financial literacy lessons for kids — and parents
Local Children’s Book Author Pens New Mystery
Supersleuth Edmund Xavier Lonnrot, code name “Eddie Red,” learns that crime doesn’t take a vacation in a new book by Bristol author Marcia Wells. In Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery In Mayan Mexico, the 11-year-old protagonist employs his photographic memory, drawing skills and the help of his best friend, Jonah, to clear Eddie’s father after he…
High School Kids Teach STEM and Business Workshops
High school students typically go to school to take classes, but in South Burlington, a group of students is teaching them. Juniors Clark Deng and Derek Gagnon and sophomores Alex Chaulot and Nathan Kakalec are providing free workshops in science, technology, engineering, math and business to K-12 students through their new organization, Exploration: STEMB. The…
How Financial Therapy Led to a Happy Fiscal Union
“I’m not getting knocked up until we have $18,000 in the bank.” That was my response when my husband, Jon, brought up the topic of kids a few years into our marriage. I don’t remember how I came up with that number, but I do remember why: I was a freelance writer without a regular…
What Should Parents Know About the Risk of Measles in Vermont?
The recent measles outbreak, which started last December at Disneyland in California, has once again shone a national spotlight on the issue of childhood vaccines. Vermont is one of 20 states in which parents can opt out of vaccines for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. As a result, the Green Mountain State is home to…
Write-Your-Own Contest Winners
Congratulations to these enthusiastic young writers who submitted their stories about making the world more beautiful, inspired by Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop in Burlington. We were dazzled by your delightful descriptions. Below you’ll find one of the winning stories. “Once upon a time, in the city…
Books to Treasure
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson, Ages 3-5 Every Sunday, CJ and his grandmother ride the bus through their city. The young boy wonders why they have to get off in a dirty part of town, and why he doesn’t have the electronic gadgets the other boys…
Coloring Contest Winners
Baa, baa, beautiful! We loved thumbing through the 128 entries we received last month, featuring a four-leaf-clover-carrying, St. Patrick’s Day-celebrating sheep. Young artists put crayon, colored pencil and marker to paper to create black sheep, leprechaun sheep, a disco sheep, an NBA-playing sheep, a “mega-bionic sheep” and even an “evil sheep!” Keep the creativity coming,…
Money Matters
I recently undertook an experiment with my 7-year-old daughter, Mira. Before heading to Burlington’s indoor farmers market, I handed her two crisp $20 bills and gave her a job: She would be responsible for all the shopping that day. I told her what we needed for the week — eggs, vegetables, bread and cheese. I…
Adopted Kids Find Common Ground at Camp ForMe
Summer camp is all about bonding. OK, it’s also about swimming, kayaking and roasting marshmallows. But kids won’t return year after year unless they’ve made connections with fellow campers. That’s a big part of the appeal of Camp ForMe. The day camp, held at Stowe High School for two weeks each summer, brings together kids…
Performer Lida Winfield Turns Her Academic Struggles Into a Teaching Tool
It wasn’t your typical keynote presentation. Lida Winfield got personal at the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education’s annual conference in March. “I’m warning you. My work is weird,” she explained to a ballroom of 250 middle school students and educators at the University of Vermont’s Davis Center. “I don’t have a PowerPoint. I’m going…
How to Talk With Kids About Money
Our kids need to get smart about money. From an early age, they’re bombarded by messages from savvy marketers eager to sell them snacks, toys, apps and clothes. In their teen years, they’ll have to make an informed decision about something much pricier: a college education. Who better to teach kids about money than their…
Parisi Speed School
Every day kids toting water bottles tumble through the doors at the Parisi Speed School, located at the Edge in Williston. They range from pixie dynamos, like 4-foot-6-inch tae kwon do black belt Macey McGovern, to star high school athletes. Razor-stubbled South Burlington senior Connor Bradley, 6-feet-2-inches, plays hockey and baseball. Other kids play soccer,…
How Do You Feel About Involving Your Children in the Family Business?
Earl Handy, Shelburne Owner, Handy’s Lunch, Daughter Genevieve, 6; Son Nicholas, 6 My grandparents started Handy’s Lunch in 1945. While they were on vacation in 1958, my dad, who was 28, closed the grocery store that was part of the business; it just wasn’t lucrative. When my grandfather found out, he fired my dad —…
Family Sugar House
Parents: Phil and Abigail Young Kids: Astrid, 9, and twins Elijah and Oliver, 5 If the Youngs want a sweet treat this time of year, they don’t have to go far. The Morrisville family produces maple syrup in a backyard sugarhouse. During sugaring season, Phil and Abigail Young drill taps into maple trees on their…
One to Watch : Wyatt Leombruno-Nicholson
Age: 10 Town: Underhill It all began with a doodle. About three years ago, when Wyatt Leombruno-Nicholson was in second grade, his friend made a face at him during class. “It was a weird, cross-eyed funny face,” he explains. Inspired, Wyatt put pencil to paper to create a spare and silly cartoon face with big…
Kids City Prepares to Close
Kids City will soon shut its doors. The independent children’s department store, which opened in South Burlington three years ago, will close by mid-June, general manager Tina Benoit said. Owner Steve Levy cites “unforeseen circumstances” for the decision. His other store, Toy City in Keene, N.H., will remain open, he said, and he has no…
Rice and Beans
As a cook at the Burlington Children’s Space, it’s my job to make healthy and tasty meals on a tight budget. I do the same for my family of five. So it’s no surprise that one of my go-to BCS lunches evolved into one of our favorite dinners at home: rice and beans with roasted…
Bow and Arrow Making
The woodshop at the Shelburne Craft School is filled with the scratching sound of planes against wood — that’s to be expected. What’s surprising is the age of the craftspeople. On a recent weekday afternoon, 10-year-olds Eliza Brooks and Tess Everett stand atop wooden platforms diligently shaping pieces of red oak, looking for just the…
