Kids VT, March 2021
Brighter Days Ahead: Learning Through the Walden Project; Encouraging Kids’ Self-Sufficiency; An Unexpected Journey to Homeschooling; 10 Fun Things to Do This Month
Learning the Art of Slow Birding
Last October, I signed up my family, with great enthusiasm, for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s yearly citizen science survey, Project FeederWatch. The premise is…
Designing Areas of the Home to Encourage Kids’ Self-Sufficiency
Fostering self-sufficiency is a gift to kids and their caregivers. In our family, we encourage independence to build our 4- and 6-year-olds’ self-confidence and awareness…
Good Citizens Are Learning and Doing
The Good Citizen At-Home Challenge is winding up! Entries in the youth civics initiative organized by Kids VT and Seven Days are due on Friday,…
Recipe: Maple Pulled Pork & Brussels Sprouts for Sugaring Season
Because I grew up in Vermont, maple syrup holds a special place in my heart. One of my favorite recipes as a child was my…
Sharing the Weight of Pandemic Exhaustion
The first weeks of the pandemic reminded me of the first weeks with our daughter. She was born a bit early, and we had lots…
How Preschool Music Educators Have Adapted to Virtual Classes
When longtime children’s music teacher and performer Andrea Soberman picked up her guitar, arranged her puppets, and tested the mic and camera on her laptop…
Tips for Navigating Sadness as Winter Grinds On
It was Monday morning, and I had just finished writing my to-do list for the third week of January. I sat down on the couch,…
Kids Contribute to Their Communities Through the Mitzvah Project
Since last April, 12-year-old Orion Cooper of South Burlington has sewn 75 masks from brightly colored bandannas. He’s donated them to the University of Vermont…
A Former Public School Teacher on Homeschooling Her Kids
In the fall of 2020, two months into overseeing remote learning for my three older kids, I wrote in my journal: I’m lucky to exercise…
Something New
My family recently started playing Monopoly while we eat dinner. My 11-year-old son somehow convinced us that we needed the more expansive Mega Edition, so…
Reimagine van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ With This Art Project
When post-impressionist Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh created his renowned painting “The Starry Night” — rendering the night sky with swirling brushstrokes of blue and…
Discover These Award-Winning Books for Young Readers
March is cabin-fever month. While your family might be itching to be outside, the weather often doesn’t cooperate. Although many libraries offer curbside pickup or…
Vermont Visionaries: Project Walden Founder Matthew Schlein
On an arctic day in mid-February, with the temperature hovering around 10 degrees, a school bus pulled into the parking lot of the 230-acre Willowell…
