Lawrence Kids / Fall '15

LK

LAWRENCE KIDS

FALL, 2015

Home court advantage

However You Define FAMILY, We’re Here When Yours Needs a HOME. Whether it’s a place practice your jump shot,Fortunately, display trophies or ice your knees, Familiestocome in all shapes and sizes. so do homes.

I can help you find the perfect fit… for all the things that move you.

When your family needs a new home, please let me help you find the perfect fit.

CONTENTS

GET OUTSIDE

08 12 20 26

REUSE

32

SEASON’S READINGS BE ACTIVE SAFE ROUTES S TA C K I N G T H E C O S T O F C H I L D C A R E

a project of

Four Birds Media

info@lawrencekidsmagazine.com (785) 766-5669

Thank you for reading.

Here’s to aWelcome safe and healthy summer. to Autumn!

School is in swing and Halloween justto around the summer. corner.

Let’s befull honest: you probably don’t is want see us this BeThat’s sure to stay safe on the football and soccer fields, picking okay, we get it. You have swimming parties and road trips apples and carving pumpkins. youbumps do get and sleep overs to worry about. But, if you doIfget or bumps or bruises, we’ll be here for you.

bruises from your summer adventures, we’ll be here for you.

Have a great season and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Have fun this summer and please call us before school starts!

Lawrence

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Fall Reading Suggestions from the Librarians at the Lawrence Public Library Picture Books A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School

by Davide Cali

First, some giant ants steal breakfast. Then there are the evil ninjas, massive ape, mysterious mole people, giant blob, and countless other daunting (and astonishing) detours along the way to school.

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! by Elise Parsley

Note to self: If your teacher tells you to bring something from nature for show-and-tell, she does not want you to bring an alligator! Meet Magnolia, who’s determined to have the best show-and-tell of all.

Fiction There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar

Bradley tells lies, pick fights, and nobody likes him.

Except the new school counselor. Funny!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Jess and Leslie are rivals and friends, meeting in the woods in the summer to play in their enchanted land, until a tragedy occurs. Fairly adult topics while still remaining a great kids’ read.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

August was born with a facial difference and is going to his first day of public school: in fifth grade.

How will the kids react? A portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Albie isn’t that great at math and he’s not picked first during gym class. He has yet to find that exceptional thing in his life. Then he gets an awesome new babysitter, Calista, who helps Albie see some of the amazing things in the world and himself. Fans of Wonder and Liar and Spy will love this one.

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

All of the adopted Fletcher kids are vastly different.

Each brother comes from a different culture and their interests are all over the map. Like a creative recipe, the Fletcher family comes together in a wonderful way to create a loving family who has lots of laughs and adventures. Fans of Beverly Cleary will enjoy reading about this unique family.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet is a fearless spy. She knows the quirky behavior of her neighbors through maintaining a route of their windows every day. And she’s ruthless in her observations. Everything is going fine with Harriet until her spy book gets into the wrong hands. What will Harriet learn about herself once people see what she thinks of them?

Graphic Novels Comics Squad: Recess! By Jennifer L. & Matthew Holm and Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Ten of the biggest names in comics unite in this graphic novel! Fans of Babymouse,Lunch Lady, Captain Underpants and Smile will all love this funny collection. For readers who are looking for a new series, they’ll be able to test drive a number of authors all at once!

The Dumbest Idea Ever by Jimmy Gownley

Jimmy used to be the sports star and the top student in his class. After he finds that comic books aren’t appreciated by his teacher, he starts to lose interest in school and goes through a small identity crisis. Creating comics becomes his new passion in life and we learn how the author got his start. Fans of Smile will enjoy this true story

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Be Active Safe Routes

by Karrey Britt of the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department

On a recent morning during her walk to school, Lawrence kindergartner Quinn Maddox giggled as two of her younger siblings picked up cicadas and then showed them to their mom, Kinsey.

“Look,” they said, enthusiastically.

“That enthusiasm,” Kinsey said as she pointed to her children, is just one of the reasons her family enjoys walking to school. “It’s not only a great opportunity to spend time with my kids and explore the outdoors a little bit, but it’s good exercise. We also have friends that we socialize and chat with along the way.”

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department is working in collaboration with the City of Lawrence, Lawrence Public Schools, the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization and LiveWell Lawrence to encourage more families to follow in the footsteps of the Maddox family. That’s because students who walk and bike to school are more active and healthier. Research has shown exercise before school helps children arrive focused and ready to learn.

Students who walk and bike frequently when they are young are more likely to continue these activities into adulthood.

The goal is to reverse the growing rate of childhood inactivity.

In 1969, about 50 percent of children in the United States walked or biked to school. Today, less than 15 percent do.

According to a fall 2014 Health Department survey, only 14 percent of Lawrence students walked or biked to school; yet, 50 percent of them live within a mile from school.

“Kids are wired for physical activity and outdoor time,” said Marilyn Hull, member of the City of Lawrence Pedestrian-Bicycle Issues Task Force and LiveWell Lawrence. “Their brains and body work best when they are in motion and enjoying nature throughout the day. If we want kids to do well academically, we’ve got to give them every opportunity to move.”

There is a community-wide initiative called “Be Active Safe Routes” that’s working to create these opportunities. cont.

Among the efforts: • Elementary and middle schools in the Lawrence school district are working on implementing classroom lessons and activities that teach safe walking and biking.

• Woodlawn School fifth-graders did a walkability assessment of their neighborhood in September, and then wrote letters to the City Commission explaining the needs of their neighborhood.

• Agencies are providing safety education for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

• The City of Lawrence adopted a Complete Streets policy. A complete street is designed to promote safety and convenience for all users. City engineers are incorporating complete street design elements such as roundabouts, bike lanes and lane reductions into projects.

• Community events are being held to encourage students to bike and walk to school, such as Walk to School Day, Bike to School Day, the Lawrence Community Bike Ride and Bicycle Rodeos.

Denise Johnson, Health and Wellness K-12 Curriculum Coordinator for Lawrence Public Schools, urges parents to be good role models for their children by walking and bicycling with them. If parents need to drive, they can park a distance away from the school and then walk with them the rest of the way, she said. Neighbors also can support the efforts by leading walking school buses or bike trains or simply keeping an eye out for schoolchildren and their safety.

Health Department Director Dan Partridge said his granddaughter, Eliza, a Lawrence first-grader, walks to school every day and he looks forward to every chance he gets to walk with her. “I can tell you there’s a lot more to it than physical wellness. There’s bonding and mental health wellness, and it’s all wrapped up into that simple walk,” he said.

He also knows that not every student has the opportunity that his granddaughter does and that’s what “Be Active Safe Routes” is about. “Together, as a community, we need to have discussions about how to make our communities walkable and bikeable for schoolchildren.

Children need that extra help and extra eye looking over them because they’re not adults and they don’t necessarily recognize the hazards that adults would, and so we need to do our best to have those safe routes. To me, it’s about what kind of community we want to live in.”

To learn more, contact your neighborhood school or visit BeActiveSafeRoutes.com.

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Stacking the Cost of Child Care

by Amelia Arvesen

Learning the ABCs and 123s proves to be more expensive than receiving a college degree in Kansas.

According to Child Care Aware of America’s 2014 State Fact Sheet, Kansas is one of 32 states in which the average annual fees of infant care at a child care center is higher than the cost of public college tuition.

Marie Treichel, provider services manager of Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas, says parents in Lawrence are struggling to afford high quality child care, let alone setting aside a college savings account needed 18 years down the road. cont.

Compared to the estimated in-state tuition at the University of Kansas, the most expensive toddler and infant care in town runs about $1,000 more annually. By the time your kiddo is 4-years-old, you will have paid the equivalent of four years of tuition for them to snack, nap and color.

Of course, figures depend on factors such as the child’s age and the type of facility. Considering those cost, Treichel says Kansas ranks as one of the most expensive states in the county.

“When parents think ‘I’m going to save money for college,’ really the dollars they’re investing should be in the first five years of their child’s life,” Treichel says.

Emphasis is placed on parents to save for higher learning, but Treichel says by the time children are kindergarten age, much of their futures — graduation rates, employment potential and whether or not they’ll end up incarcerated — can be estimated. Therefore, the learning environment during the first few years is crucial.

“What children need are high quality learning environments,” Treichel says. “That can be at home or at a family child care or at a center or it can be a nanny.”

Families make the choice based on personal preference

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— where they believe their child will succeed most — and Treichel says it often boils down to finances. High quality care in a center is expensive and many in Lawrence have a waitlist, so parents choose other avenues.

In the state of Kansas, the cost of care offered by one provider, or an in-home center, is on the lower end of the national average. In Lawrence, however, prices range widely from $5,200 to $11,500.

Of course, another option is to not pay for it altogether.

Nationally, more parents are deciding to stay home rather than fork over monthly payments. In fact, Pew Research reported in 2014 that 29% of mothers stay at home, an increase in decades.

Staying home certainly doesn’t mean children won’t be prepared when they’re ready to enter kindergarten, as long as they’ve met the developmental benchmarks.

“I would never say that a child would have to go into care in order to be successful in school,” Treichel says.

For the Dietrich family, stay-at-home care is the best option. Jacob Dietrich stays home with his 2-year-old daughter, Ella, because he thinks it’s important that he is a main influence in her life.

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Cost of care wasn’t the primary concern, he says, although currently he is unemployed and seeking to start an online business for a flexible, creative way to earn money.

“It was more important for me that one of us is there just because it’s difficult for other people to really care for a kid as much as a parent,” Jacob says.

His wife, Kasey, works full time as the associate director of sales and marketing at Maceli’s Banquet Hall & Catering.

Her income provides just enough to afford life’s necessities like a mortgage and medical bills that saving for Ella to attend college isn’t currently an option.

“I think at this point we just have to hope she turns out really smart and gets some scholarships,” Kasey says. “We’ll save as much as we can along the way but in our current situation, it’s not even a possibility.”

To help families, United Way, committed to addressing human service needs in Douglas County, provides $80,000 a year in scholarships to subsidize care. Erika Dvorske, president and chief executive officer of United Way, says even so, this only helps a small percentage of families in need.

tion to child care providers of homes and facilities.

“The challenge associated with childcare is that it requires someone who believes in it and who has formal training,” Dvorske says.

As kids get older, child care costs decrease by thousands simply because less attention is required. They can feed themselves the lunches you pack. They can tie their own shoes. They are potty trained. They become increasingly independent.

Without being able to predict the future costs and trends of education, the Dietrich’s say they are taking it as it comes and doing their best. They are expecting a second child.

They have even considered home schooling.

The hope is, Treichel says, parents will raise children who grow into competent adults who don’t need to rely on systems in order to function. Which is why parents maybe feel the pressure to siphon money away for their child’s college fund.

But first children must learn the alphabet. First comes day care.

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Dvorske says United Way also provides additional educa-

Welcome back to school, from our families to yours!

Galen Van Blaricum, D.D.S.

Nealy Newkirk, D.D.S.

Brad Adams, D.D.S.

3310 MESA WAY / LAWRENCE, KS / (785) 843-2636 WWW.FREESTATE.DENTAL

Meet us at the Market.

Fall is here and we’re busy on the farm. We’d love to see you at our place. Please join us at our annual Holiday Open House the last two weekends of November (21-22 & 28-29). We’ll have all the goods you’ve come to expect to help make your homes even more beautiful and your meals even more delicious.

And don’t forget to put the Annual Farmers’ Holiday Market on your calendar! Join us Saturday, December 12, at the Lawrence Holiday Inn. - Karen & John Pendleton

1446 E 1850 Rd / Lawrence, Kansas

(785) 843-1409 / www.Pendletons.com

GET OUTSIDE:

Monarch Watching

“Secret garden” was the first thought that came to mind when I walked up to the Monarch Watch headquarters in KU’s West Campus as jewel-tone butterflies flittered and soared over my shoulders. I didn’t expect that nestled in an outfit of new university buildings and freshly manicured lawns that a pocket of pollinator paradise would exist, but it does and it’s enchanting.

The Monarch Watch headquarters garden has small, winding paths towering with fragrant, vibrant plant life. Butterflies and other pollinators abound and are busy at work collecting nectar. A bunny hops along one hedge to another, notices my children and I and dashes. The plants are meticulously labeled throughout the gardens and decorated with sculptures, bug houses, and birdbaths. Step inside the greenhouse for a game of monarch I-Spy as many monarch caterpillars and butterflies can be found in their various life stages. This past visit, we were able to witness a real treat: a monarch chrysalis!

Monarch Watch is a national nonprofit that originated right here in Lawrence, Kansas through the University of Kansas with a mission to educate, conserve, and conduct research on the monarch butterfly, it’s habitat, and migration.

In the fall, millions of monarch butterflies travel across Canada and the US on a remarkable 2,500-mile southbound journey to Mexico to escape winter weather. In early to mid-September, monarchs make their way through the Lawrence area for a passing visit during their travels. Among one of the many commitments of the Monarch Watch program is to encourage individuals and organizations to erect and maintain Monarch Waystations. These Monarch Waystations are gardens equipped with plant life such as milkweeds and nectar plants that provide nourishment and the resources necessary for the monarch butterfly. Think of it this way, waystations are kind of like much needed water stops while running a marathon. The establishment of Monarch Waystations helps contribute to the conservation of the monarch butterfly while it makes its truly amazing journey south for the winter and back north in the spring. If you or your children feel inspired to start your own Monarch Waystation, seed kits are available to purchase online through monarchwatch.org and schools and nonprofits are eligible to receive free milkweeds. More info about starting and registering a waystation can be found online at monarchwatch.com.

As the days start to cool, visiting the Monarch Watch headquater garden is the perfect little escape. Bonus: It’s free of charge! Best times to visit are evenings and weekends as parking is restricted to those with student or faculty parking passes. Fall is the best time for monarch watching, but if you don’t make it to the Monarch Watch headquarters in time for the season, don’t worry. The monarchs will make their way back north for a passing “hello” come springtime.

Learn more: Website: monarchwatch.org Facebook: facebook.com/monarchwatch Twitter: @monarchwatch

Rebecca Zarazan Dunn is a mama of two, strong-willed girls. She likes to wander Lawrence in search of its wild secrets and blogs about children’s books, nature exploration and art education on her website sturdyforcommonthings.com

Transform your Lawrence Kids magazine into alphabet magnets for endless fun at the fridge. Not only will this keep the kiddos occupied while you try to get dinner sorted out, but it’s also a fun way to practice letter recognition and spelling. (Don’t tell kids about that last “learning” part.)

Materials · Lawrence Kids Magazine · Scissors · Double-stick Tape · Magnets (I used ProMag Button Magnets) Rebecca Zarazan Dunn Alphabet Magnets

How To Make Your Own Alphabet Magnets: 1. Cut out a variety of letters from Lawrence Kids Magazine.

2. Using double-stick tape... tape the cutout letters to the magnets.

3. Apply magnets to your refrigerator! Who knew learning how to spell your name or studying for a spelling test could be so fun?