Lawrence Kids / Summer '18

Lawrence Kids Summer, 2018

Free

Lawrence Kids Summer, 2018

Season’s Readings Seasonal Essentials - The Hennings Gravel Grinders These Lawrence Kids - LK Ultra

08 14 22 32

cover photo by Amber Yoshida

www.amberyoshida.com

a project of Four Birds Media info@lawrencekidsmagazine.com (785) 766-5669 Thank you for reading.

THIS HAS TOO MUCH CHEESE ON IT. SAID NO ONE. EVER.

8th & Mass • Downtown Lawrence

Merchants Ad - KId Mag FNL.indd 1

2/28/18 9:21 AM

juniorjayhawks

Sign up now to be a 2018-2019 Junior Jayhawk! $50 MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES Reserved season ticket to all home Football games Single game ticket to 3 Men’s Basketball home games For the full list of benefits visit, KUAthletics.com/JuniorJayhawks

WEF MEMBERSHIP All Junior Jayhawk memberships will now include a membership to the Williams Education Fund!

Start earning priority points early to build for your future. Please visit WilliamsFund.com for more information.

BOOKS FOR THOSE LAST CRAZY DAYS

OF SUMMER from the librarians at the Lawrence Public Library Illustration from “Baseball is…” illustrated by Raul Colon

You can’t swim all day, so the librarians @ the Lawrence Public Library have a list of great Summer reads!

FICTION Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Springstubb. For whimsical Cody, many things are beautiful, especially ants who say hello by rubbing feelers. But nothing is as beautiful as the first day of summer vacation, and Cody doesn’t want to waste one minute of it. Meanwhile, teenage brother Wyatt is moping over a girl, Mom is stressed about her new job as Head of Shoes, Dad is off hauling chairs in his long-distance truck, and even camp has been closed for the summer. What to do?

Ages 6-10 A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee.When James and Eamon go to a week of Nature Camp and stay at Eamon’s grandparents’ house, it appears that their free time spent staying inside, eating waffles, and playing video games is way more interesting than nature, but who knew what they were really picking up? This is a Caldecott Honor book. Ages 4-6.

Three Bird Summer by Sarah St. Antoine. Adam and his parents have always spent their summers at his grandmother’s rustic cabin on Three Bird Lake. But this year will be differentbecause this year, the lake will belong just to Adam. Then Adam meets Alice, the girl next door. She’s frank, funny, and eager for adventure. And when Adam’s grandma starts to leave strange notes in his room that hint at a hidden treasure at the lake and a love from long ago, Alice is the one person he can rely on to help solve the mysteries of Three Bird Lake. Ages 8-10.

NONFICTION Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems collected by Paul B. Janeczko with Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet. It only takes a few words, if they’re the right words, to create a strong image. The thirty-six poems in this collection remind readers young and old that a few perfect words and pictures can make the world glow. Ages 6-9.

Field Trips with Jim Arnosky: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird Watching, Shore Walking With Jim Arnosky With the celebrated author, naturalist, and artist as your guide, an ordinary hike becomes an eye-opening experience. He’ll help you spot a hawk soaring far overhead, note the details of a dragonfly up close, and identify the tracks you find. All ages.

Muddy Boots by Liza Gardner Walsh. Muddy Boots is for kids and families who value outdoor exploration and unfettered time in nature, featuring mud play, forts, animal tracking and forest wisdom, foraging, insects and worms, bird watching and bird feeding, and many small things for kids to make. The activities encourage all hands to get dirty as they explore the world around them. All ages.

BASEBALL Legends: the Best Players, Games and Teams in Baseball by Howard Bryant. This is a storyteller’s journey through baseball.

Accessible chapters, iconic photos, Top Ten lists for kids to chew on and debate, and a Timeline of the 40 Most Important Moments in Baseball History, this collection covers some of the greatest players from Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron; the greatest teams to take the field; the greatest social triggers, such as Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier. Ages 8 and up.

Baseball is… by Louise Borden, illustrated by Raul Colon. Revel in the fun of this all-American game! Perfect for all ages, Baseball Is... captures the spirit of this cherished pastime in brief poetic description, honoring its legendary past, and eagerly anticipating the future of the sport that is “stitched into our history.”

Dirt on Their Skirts by Doreen Rappaport. You had to be really, really good to play in the 1946 championship game between the Racine Belles and the Rockford Peaches. Margaret thrills to every crack of the bat. Someday she hopes to join her heroes like Sophie “the Flash” Kurys and Betty “Moe” Trezza. Based on written accounts and on the memories of the players themselves. Ages 5-8

Seasonal Essentials Justin, Sarah, Nate (9), Amalia (3) & niece Emmie (4) Henning Share Their List of Seasonal Must Dos... photos by Amber Yoshida

From the Henning Home...

1. Lawrence Library: When the temps go up, there’s nothing better than picking up new

books at the library. An hour can melt by as the kids find new favorite stories. We’ll often crawl into one of the reading cubes and curl up with an adventure. Plus, the summer reading list is fun and motivating.

2. Lawrence Farmer’s Market: If your kids aren’t interested in vegetables, the farmers’ market is the best cure for that. Pretty rainbow radishes, green zebra tomatoes, purple cauliflower—they will literally eat almost anything we find there because it’s all so beautiful.

3. Plants for everyone: Speaking of vegetables, every year we plant a vegetable and herb garden. The kids go with us to Pendleton’s Country Market and Vinland Valley Nursery at the beginning of the summer and LOVE to check the progress of their plants every night before bed. Over the years we’ve collected a grapevine, blackberry and elderberry bushes, and fruit trees—cherry, peach, pear—too, which means lots of harvest fun as a family.

4. Wohletz Farm Fresh strawberry picking: The season is short, but there’s nothing like coming home with ten pounds of strawberries. We make fresh ice cream, pie, strawberry shortcake—yum.

5. Water play: Sprinklers, a homemade water table, even simple spray bottles. If we can’t get the kids to the pool, we do our best to bring the water to them.

6. The Natural History Museum and Spencer Art Museum at KU. We’ll go at least twice a year and both are so inspiring and interesting no matter how often we go. It’s a great way to beat the heat and sneak in some education for everyone over the school break.

7. Road-tripping: We hike Rocky Mountain National Park every year. This is definitely a summer essential even if it’s a special treat.

8. We visit local wineries (This one’s for the parents): A favorite is the Kansas Transplant from Bluejacket Crossing.

9. And ACTION: Last summer our oldest wrote and directed a film starring his friends. He has big hopes of making another this year, which will mean several “shoots” and from the looks of the script, dancing to half The Greatest Showman soundtrack.

10. Watermelon. Enough said.

STUDENT. ADVENTURER. RIDES A BIKE. RIDE AND DRIVE LIKE A GROWN-UP.

Jafiya — Sixth-grader Drivers: Please don’t kid around.

TRAVEL WITH CARE

Gravel Grinders Will Shultz is leading a resurgence of high school cyclists that are taking the race off the road & onto the dirt. photos by Amber Yoshida

“There’s something appealing about the challenge of racing. I like the fact that it’s just me against the road.” - Will Shultz

Will Shultz adding miles outside of Lawrence.

There aren’t a lot of kids in Lawrence that would consider hopping on their bike, finding a desolate gravel road and riding for hours in the summer sun.

took off.”

The two Lawrence kids sprinted to the end, taking turns leading to cut the wind.

Will Shultz can’t get enough of it.

“I don’t think I can really explain it,” he says with a chuckle. “No, not many of my friends are into it, but that might be part of the appeal.”

Shultz, who will be a junior at Free State High School this August, started road cycling a few years ago. After starting a job at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike, he quickly took to cruising on the gravel roads circling Lawrence.

“I’ve been riding and racing mountain bikes for a few years, so moving onto gravel roads was a pretty natural progression,” Shultz explains. “There’s a really great group of riders at Sunflower and everyone there is super supportive of each other and always willing to answer a question or help find a route to ride.”

Shultz’s passion for grinding on gravel was rewarded this June when he won the inaugural high school race at the annual Dirty Kanza in Emporia. The 200-mile Dirty Kanza is one of the preeminent gravel bike races in the country. The high school division was a 32-mile trek on many of the minimum maintenance roads the main course uses.

“We decided to cross the finish line together, since we both worked pretty hard during the race,” Shultz said.

“The first-place prize was a trophy and a Garmin bike computer. I took the trophy and Henry got the computer.”

Shultz and the others have already began planning to take on the full 200-mile course next summer. The win, however, only increased Shultz’s desire to race more.

He’s been working with a cycling coach for about a year and his desire to stay on the bike grows each day.

“There’s something appealing about the challenge of racing,” he explains. “I like the fact that it’s just me against the road. I have to rely on myself and I have to handle all the challenges that happen. If something goes wrong, I have to figure it out. I think it’s a good life lesson.”

While Shultz enjoys the solitary nature of long-distance cycling, he’s actively sharing his passion with others.

He’s the founding member of the Free State High School cycling club and expects membership to grow this year.

At the start of the race Shultz and fellow Lawrence kids Charles Hughes and Henry Nelson bolted from the starting line, taking an early lead. Hughes, who was riding with a broken hand, fell back a bit while Shultz and Nelson pushed the pace. The duo, along with a third rider, pulled away from the crowd and began to distance themselves from the pack.

“We have about 25 people that ride with us, which is pretty cool,” he says. “I see the group growing more this year. I know a lot of other kids have asked me about it.”

“We were about half-way done and about to turn around and start riding against the wind, which changes things,” Shultz says. “Henry and I had both been working pretty hard taking leads. The third rider was also doing some pulls, which helped. I think the race really changed when we hit a wet spot.”

“I love riding around this area,” Shultz says. “I’ve been able to see so many really beautiful areas most people will never see. Kansas is really pretty great.”

Most riders dismounted from their bikes and trekked the 100 feet of muddy road. Shultz made a tactical decision to stay on his bike and went around the mud as best he could.

“When I cleared the mud I looked back at Henry and yelled at him ‘Let’s go!’ He got back on his bike and we

Shultz’s long-term plans include studying engineering somewhere in Colorado and continuing to race. He’s not, however, in a hurry to leave Kansas.

Shultz explains one “big-time idea” he hatched while talking with Dan Hughes at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike.

“We talked about riding across the entire state of Kansas,” Shultz says. “But that’s been done by a bunch of people. So I asked Dan if there was an all-gravel route through the state. After a minute he said he didn’t think so. So, we got out the map and started looking at routes.”

LK

Charlie Hughes

These

Lawrence Kids...

LK Ultra

Inez Robinson, Aoife Conway, Lily Pryor & August Hyde are challenging gender expectations & pushing musical boundaries.. photos by Amber Yoshida

Names / instrument(s) Inez Robinson (they/them) Guitar and Vocals Aoife Conway (they/them) Drums Lily Pryor (she/her) Bass August Hyde (he/him) Keyboard How did you all meet?

We met through Girls Rock Lawrence, a music camp for girls, transgender, and gender-nonconforming youth.

When did you decide you wanted to form a band?

Three of us (Inez, Lily, Aoife) were put into a band at Girls Rock and August later joined when we started playing shows outside of camp.

You describe your band as an “indigenous-fronted queer indie rock band.” Can you elaborate?

We are queer, our lead singer is indigenous, and we play indie rock music. We feel the need to represent our intersections because they’re underrepresented in the music industry.

Who do you consider your biggest influences?

Our biggest musical influences are bands like The Spook School, Mom Jeans., and Remember Sports.

Do you have any major goals for the band?

We’d like to release music and play more shows, but most of all we just wanna have fun!

How have your friends supported (or not) the band?

Lots of our friends try to come to every show and buy our merch and support us in any way they can. We also get lots of support from the Girls Rock Lawrence community.

What is the best part of being in the band? And the most challenging part?

The best part is that it’s super fun and a really good creative outlet. The most challenging part is that all of our schedules are different so it can be difficult to book shows and have practice.

What advice would you give younger kids thinking about learning an instrument?

Don’t give up after the first try and if you enjoy it you shouldn’t stop even if people tell you you’re bad.

What is one thing you want Lawrence to know about LK Ultra?

We’re not a girl band no matter what we look like. We get a lot of condescending comments because of the stereotypes associated with our perceived gender and age. We know what we’re doing and we aren’t scared to call people out for belittling us.

LK