April 2016
Fr e e
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
KNOXVILLE
In This Issue... Nourishing The Soul With Music “Children who are undergoing music lessons in one study, had much better verbal and visual skills...”
April 2016 Volume V • Issue IV Adam and Samantha Kalwas, Publishers Advisory Board
Contributing Writers
Sr. Mary Marta Abbott, RSM The Diocese of Knoxville
Jeff Ashin Jeff Comas Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Design! Matters Camp Adam Kalwas Alison Murry Mike O’Hern Juhee Shah Michael K. Smith, Ph.D.
Marie Alcorn United Way of Greater Knoxville Mike Bailey Small Business Representative Paul Parson East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Tracey Matthews Knox County Schools Family and Community Engagement
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Fighting Childhood Obesity: Part 2 “Parents can have a huge impact on their children’s habits by creating a healthy and active home environment and leading by example.” PAGE 5
Reading Knoxville: How the Stock Market Works “Dr. DeGennaro provides insightful explanations of key concepts that are often baffling to the average person.”
Contributing Photos By The Childers Family Jeff Comas Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Design! Matters Camp
Elizabeth Pooley Marketing Professional Lee Tramel Knox County Sheriff ’s Department Liza Zenni The Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville
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Contents
4 Nourishing The Soul With Music
10 Figuring How To Get There From Here
5 Fighting Childhood Obesity: Part 2
11 The Best Things In Life Are Free
6 Reading Knoxville: How the Stock Market
13 Design Matters! Camp: Let’s Get Creative
Works
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14 Spotlight Fit Family: Meet The Childers
7 Talking with Ramon DeGennaro 8 Running Towards A Healthful Lifestyle 9 An Atmosphere For Blossoming A Child’s Intellect
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Nourishing The Soul With Music By Jeff Comas, Director of Knoxville Academy of Music
“T
he effect of music on our bodies” has been a topic of scientific studies for a very long time. We all remember listening to our favorite singer or band for extensive hours and how it lifts our mood and cheers us up. This is important to remember because we all know that modern studies have shown the effects of mood on our overall health, good mood and stress-free life leads to longevity, whereas stress can lead to heart diseases and many brain related dysfunctions. Music therapy has become very popular to reverse some of the effects of old age but what is being given slightly less attention is the huge amounts of benefits listening and learning to play music can have for your child in the long run. According to recent studies, learning to play music gives you benefits for your whole life, even if you’ve stopped playing your instrument. This includes the slower rate of mental aging for people who learned to play music at a young age versus who never did. The people who learned to play music have quick reaction times and high levels of brain activity for a very long period of their lives which is highly beneficial for their well-being. Old age diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia are a result of a decline in one’s cognitive abilities, and it has been observed in multiple researches
“Children who are undergoing music lessons in one study, had much better verbal and visual skills...” that the former music players have a heightened awareness of their surroundings and better cognitive functions which can be observed and have been measured in lab situations. From these observations, it can be easily concluded that the investments made for the learning of music in the earlier stages of life reap benefits throughout the remainder of it. Children who are undergoing music lessons in one study, had much better verbal and visual skills when compared to their peers who didn’t take any music lessons. Those who were learning music were also found to have a better intelligence quotient (IQ) because of the superiority in verbal skills.
We’ve discussed in the introduction how mood can have an effect on our overall well-being, it must be remembered that music has a huge role in altering our mood. Music has the potential to evoke certain kinds of responses in the listeners, for example, some music can help us process sadness and sorrow or feel sympathy, while other music may make us feel joy and cheer us up. This effect is amplified in the case of kids who are already full of energy, the secretion of dopamine from listening to happy songs can really make all the difference and provides kids with nearly the same level of happiness as they would get from eating chocolate or getting a reward. Insomnia was once a problem experienced mostly by adults. Kids used to fall asleep the moment they fell on the bed after a long tiring day at school and with friends after school but technology has changed many things and the kids today are not active as their predecessors so many end up suffering from insomnia. Now, music has been shown to reduce heart rates which in turn can induce sleep so this is a good trick to have up your sleeve, when your kids have trouble sleeping during the night. Regardless of your lifestyle and the activities of your children, it is always a good idea to incorporate music lessons in it, it’ll help them for a very long time. Until next time, Jeff Comas Jeff Comas started playing music at 5 years of age. He is the Director of Knoxville Academy of Music. He has been a music educator since 1989, and has given over 40,000 music lessons.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Fighting Childhood Obesity: Part 2 By Juhee Shah, Team Manager and Health and Fitness Coach for Greatness Fitness
L
ast month’s article discussed the prevalence of childhood obesity, habits that can lead to obesity, how obesity affects the lives of children, and recommendations for physical activity. This article will discuss how parents can help prevent obesity and promote a healthy lifestyle for their children. As a kid, I remember my parents shuttling my sister and me from activity to activity. We both participated in many sports, such as tennis, Tae Kwon Do, cross country, track and swimming. To this day, a healthy lifestyle holds importance in both our lives. We continue to be physically active and eat a nutritious diet. Our experience was a direct result of our parents exposing us, from a young age, to an active lifestyle and healthy eating habits. Parents can have a huge impact on their children’s habits by creating a healthy and active home environment and leading by example. After all, actions speak louder than words. The first and most important way that parents can help their children is to set a positive example by leading a healthy lifestyle themselves. • The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity) per week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week • Follow a healthy eating pattern that includes a variety of vegetables, whole fruits, whole grains, a variety of proteins and healthy fats. Try to limit added sugars and trans fats.
g The second way parents can help their children is to become familiar with the
physical activity guidelines for children. Examples of what each category entails are shown in the chart below. • Children should do at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day, most of which should be aerobic activity. • Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity should be included on at least 3 days of the week. • As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily activity, muscle-strengthening activities should be included on at least 3 days of the week. • As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily activity, bone-strengthening activities should be included on at least 3 days of the week. The third way parents can help their children is to incorporate healthy habits into their lifestyle. Examples are listed below. • Make physical activity a part of your family’s daily routine by setting aside a time of the day for this. • Typical activities include walking, hiking, biking, swimming and playing active games, such as basketball, tennis, and catch. • Promote outdoor activities by visiting parks, fields, courts and swimming pools. • Buy children equipment that promote activity, such as basketballs, soccer balls, skates, bikes, frisbees, etc. • Expose children to a variety of team and individual sports. • Limit sedentary behavior, such as watching tv and playing on the computer. Juhee Shah is the Team Manager and Health and Fitness Coach for Greatness Fitness. She has both a B.S. in Kinesiology and a M.S. in Exercise Physiology. Juhee has received her certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is a certified Personal Trainer.
“Parents can have a huge impact on their children’s habits by creating a healthy and active home environment and leading by example.” •
Provide kids with a variety of healthy food options, such as fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods. A general guideline is 85-90% of your family’s diet should be comprised of whole foods. • Limit your children’s intake of packaged and processed foods to approximately 10-15% of their diet. Limit intake of added sugar, as well. • Make sure your children drink enough water throughout the day. Five to 8 year olds should drink 5 glasses per day, 9 to 12 year olds should drink 7 glasses and kids 13 years and older should drink 8 to 10 glasses per day. • Give kids child-sized portions and let them ask for more food if they are still hungry. • Talk to kids about healthy nutrition while shopping and cooking with them. Most important of all, make exercise and healthy eating fun and enjoyable! Children will adopt healthy habits from their parents when they have positive experiences incorporating these habits. Exercise and healthy eating should be an enjoyable way of life!
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Reading Knoxville: How the Stock Market Works Book by Ramon DeGennaro, Reviewed by Michael K. Smith, Ph.D.
“W
e’ll learn what stocks actually are and how they are traded. We’ll learn about the risks you’ll take if you invest in stocks, and why you might find buying them attractive despite those risks.” Ramon DeGennaro, a Professor in Banking and Finance at the University of TennesseeKnoxville, explains the reality and the myths of the stock market in his illuminating course, How the Stock Market Works. Published by The Great Courses, this series of 24 lectures can help both students and parents become much more conversant with the language of money and finance and the advantages and disadvantages of buying stocks. Dr. DeGennaro provides insightful explanations of key concepts that are often baffling to the average person. He explains the origins of the stock market, the idea of risk and expected returns, and the benefits of compound interest applied to investments over a long period of time. This course also overviews how to evaluate corporations, how mutual funds work, how to choose a brokerage firm and minimize transaction costs, and trading strategies and common mistakes. His analysis of the stock market suggests two crucial lessons. First, “the historical record tells us that you can make a good deal of money investing in stocks”, especially if you have a diversified portfolio held for longer periods of time. Second, “don’t waste your time and money trying to beat the market.” In
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“Dr. DeGennaro provides insightful explanations of key concepts that are often baffling to the average person.” other words, no one has been able to consistently find a way to pick specific winners and losers in the stock market. Claims that investment counselors can provide huge returns routinely to clients should be viewed skeptically: “The truth is pretty simple: There’s no free lunch. If a deal sounds too good to be true, then it is probably is.” “The stock market is like a teenager,” he wryly notes in explaining efforts to predict the stock market. “Researchers have tried to analyze large one-day market moves to determine their causes but have been unable to find answers.” In other words, the behavior of the stock market from day to day is beyond explanation, a phenomenon also experienced by many parents of
adolescents. Dr. DeGennaro also provides lots of practical advice for the personal investor. His final lecture, “Investing with Confidence”, outlines how to understand your financial position, how to set financial goals, and how to start investing. This advice is tempered with the behavioral biases that can influence the individual investor. For instance, the “overconfidence bias” is the belief that you have a skill that others don’t. The “loss-aversion bias” is “the tendency to avoid admitting a mistake or accepting a bad outcome.” How the Stock Market Works is an entertaining course that will appeal to students from middle school and beyond and also to the parents of these students. Dr. DeGennaro helps his viewers understand the mechanics of money and investment. These topics are seldom the subject of educational curriculum despite their importance. This course can be recommended to all families who want to learn more about the world of the stock market. Michael K. Smith, Ph.D., is owner of TESTPREP EXPERTS (www.testprepexperts.com ) which prepares students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. He is also a consultant to Discovery Education Assessment. He can reached at mike@testprepexperts.com.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Talking with Ramon DeGennaro By Michael K. Smith, Ph.D.
I
l met Ray DeGennaro over coffee at Panera at lunch time on a nice, almost Spring day. Ray had just come from teaching his Introduction eto Finance course at the University of Tennessee. He felt that talking to over 200 students in one of UT’s big lecture halls had strained his voice a bit. Our conversation began with me wondering how he chosen his particular career.
Ray admits that he stumbled into his career in finance. He was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and raised in Oberlin, Ohio. The son of a high school math teacher, Ray was attracted to an academic career, and his early academic efforts were also in education. He earned a Bachelors in Education from Ohio State and then a Masters in Elementary Education from Ohio University. He taught English and Remedial Reading at the high school level until he enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Reading at Ohio State. At this point, he realized that he was no longer completely interested in this subject, so he switched to the university’s Masters in Business Administration program. One day, one of his professors asked him if he wanted to switch into that Ph.D. program. He accepted the offer, and this choice began his lifelong interest into all matters financial. Ray has had a distinguished professional and academic career. He was a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland before he came to the University of Tennessee in 1990. “How was working at the Federal Reserve different from working in academia?” I asked. “It’s surprisingly similar,” he said. At the Federal Reserve, half of his job involved research on monetary issues and financial institutions. The other half involved disseminating this knowledge. “This is exactly what I do at the University level when I conduct research and then teach classes,” Ray said. His enthusiasm for university teaching has been rewarded with several nominations for outstanding teacher awards. Ray has had great success with his Great Course How the Stock Market Works (see review in this issue). He is currently designing another Great Course on International Economic Institutions. This course will overview such organizations as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as examining “Why Nations Fail” and the economic consequences of such failure. He likes the academic environment because it allows him the freedom to research new topics. As our conversation was ending, I must admit that I asked Ray some financial retirement questions. Like I was his student, he worked with me to formulate a precise question that he could answer. Once I had my exact question, I didn’t particularly like the answer. (“That’s just the way it works,” Ray laughed.) We parted with a promise to talk again soon. Michael K. Smith, Ph.D., is owner of TESTPREP EXPERTS (www.testprepexperts.com ) which prepares students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. He is also a consultant to Discovery Education Assessment. He can reached at mike@testprepexperts.com.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Running Towards A Healthful Lifestyle By Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon
T
he 2016 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, which took place April 2-3 in Knoxville, continued its reign as the largest competitive road race in East Tennessee. Now in its 12th year, this year’s race drew nearly 8,000 runners, representing its largest crowd ever. “On behalf of Covenant Health, it is my honor to congratulate the winners and all participants for their efforts today,” said Jim VanderSteeg, Covenant Health president and CEO. “Whether yours was the fastest time or you persevered until you got to the finish line, whether you ran the 5K or completed the full marathon, you’re all winners because you’ve made an important investment in your health.” Race officials have verified the results in various categories, and the winners are as follows: Men’s full marathon: 1. Bryan Morseman of Bath, New York, at 2:25:01 2. James Miller of Johnson City, Tennessee, at 2:36:21 3. Jake Rhyne of Maryville, Tennessee, at 2:51:07 Women’s full marathon: 1. Gina Rouse of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 2:53:16 2. Lynn Baione of Sevierville, Tennessee, at 3:05:03 3. Sarah Eldridge of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 3:20:49 Men’s half marathon: 1. Patrick Cheptoek of Bowling Green, Kentucky, at 1:10:10 2. J. Penny of Johnson City, Tennessee, at 1:14:23 3. Tony Casey of Johnson City, Tennessee, 1:15:16 Women’s half marathon: 1. Lydia Kosgei of Clarksville, Tennessee, 1:22:11 2. Emily Boles of Greensboro, North Carolina, at 1:26:23 3. Barbara Powers of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 1:27:49 Men’s 5K: 1. Nicholas Morgan of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 18:01
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“...you’re all winners because you’ve made an important investment in your health.” 2. Douglas Cross of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 18:20 3. Bobby Haines of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 18:48 Women’s 5K: 1. Kathy Wolski of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 19:11 2. Emily Jones of White Bluff, Tennessee, at 22:33 3. Sue Moring of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 23:03 The race also included several handcyclists and wheelchair competitors. Winners in the handcyclist category for the full marathon are as follows: Men’s Handcycle Marathon: Dane Pilot of Weaverville, North Carolina, at 1:26:10 David Neumer of Kingston, Tennessee, at 1:43:49 Daniel Smith of Elizabethton, Tennessee, at 2:32:34 Women’s Handcycle Marathon: 1. Carly Pearson of Knoxville, Tennessee, at 2:44:24 In addition to individual participants, the race also included a two- and four-person marathon relay. New this year, the men’s and women’s 5K run was held on Saturday, alongside the one-mile Covenant Kids Run. “As the largest health system in East Tennessee, Covenant Health is committed to improving the quality of life in our region through better health,” VanderSteeg added. “That commitment was the impetus behind our decision to sponsor this event the past 12 years, and the reason why we have agreed to continue our sponsorship through 2019. “Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t express my appreciation to the City of Knoxville and to the scores of volunteers who worked to make this entire weekend a resounding success.” For more information, visit www.knoxvillemarathon.com or call 865-6844294.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
An Atmosphere For Blossoming A Child’s Intellect By Alison Murry, Isha Foundation
children can be extremely challenging, but it eRaising also can be the most highly rewarding and fulfilling experiences in your life. If you’re a parent, chances are experienced both the frustration of trying to figure tyou’ve out the “right” way to raise your children and the joy that
comes from watching them grow. The way we raise our children sets the foundation for the rest of their lives. It helps mold and shape them and unleashes their potential for later on in life. Like every child, every parent is different and has a different parenting style. While there aren’t any hard-and-fast rules for raising children, there are qualities in parents that many studies have found essential to nurture happy, healthy children who grow up with the capability to take on the challenges of their lives with self-assurance and ease. According to Dr. Lawrence Steinberg, the author of The Ten Basic Rules of Parenting, good parenting involves cultivating the qualities of honesty, kindness, self-reliance, co-operation, and cheerfulness. Good parenting also involves promoting motivation, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to achieve. It also empowers children to avoid adopting harmful habits, such as drug and alcohol abuse, and helps them grow up to be emotionally balanced adults. Many parents believe that strict parenting will foster good qualities in their children, make them resilient, and keep them from engaging in harmful behavior. But some experts disagree with this point of view. According to Dr. Laura Markham, author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting, years of research on parenting styles has consistently shown that strict parenting actually raises kids with lower self-esteem and worse behavior. So, what is the best way to parent your children? This question is often asked to yogi and visionary, Sadhguru, during his public talks and programs. Below, is an excerpt where Sadhguru shares his insights on parenting well: “If you want to grow your garden, you don’t sit there every day and try to extract flowers or fruits out of it. You just maintain the atmosphere and it grows well, isn’t it? That is all you can do, and that is all that should be done. If parents are truly concerned about their children, they must raise their children in such a way that the child will never have any need for the parent. The process of loving should always be a liberating process, not an entangling process. When the child is born, allow the child to look around, spend time with nature and spend time with himself. Create an atmosphere of love and support and don’t try to impose your morals, ideas, beliefs, or whatever in any way. Just helping him to look at life as a human being is very essential for his wellbeing and the wellbeing of the world. At the same time, the perils of living in this world are always there. It could be drugs, it could be an accident, it could be various perversions – all these things are there. But what you need to understand is whether you like it or not, today or tomorrow, your child has to learn to live with his own intelligence, making his own choices as to how much of what he has to do in his life. The sooner he gets equipped for this, the better. This does not mean you push a young child on the street to learn his own ways. You don’t try to counter-influence him with your own morality and values. You just help him to look at his life with more intelligence, rather than being influenced by this or that. If the child feels most comfortable at home, he will naturally try to spend more time there than outside. Right now, a street corner may feel like a more comfortable place for him than being at home because of the impositions in the As Outreach Coordinator for Isha Foundation, USA, Alison Murry draws on over 25 years of experience in training, education and communications in health science, wellness, and holistic living. Alison has been a daily practitioner of classical yoga and meditation since it cured her of severe spinal pain in 1998.
“The way we raise our children sets the foundation for the rest of their lives.”
home ground. If that discomfort is not there, he will not make the street corner his sanctuary. But that does not mean he is not going to be exposed to the hard realities of the world. He will always be, and they will influence him in some way or the other. But always, the parent encouraging the child to learn to think for himself, to use his own intelligence to see what is best for him is the best insurance you have so that the child grows up well.” Sadhguru is a world-renowned yogi and the founder of Isha Foundation, a nonprofit public service organization offering the benefits of classical yoga to over 7 million people over the last 35 years. The Isha Institute of Inner-sciences is a world class destination for classical yoga and meditation situated 2hrs from Knoxville in Tennessee’s spectacular Upper Cumberland. The Isha Institute features two distinctive meditation halls offering over 50,000 square feet of tranquil, vibrant space dedicated especially for yoga and meditation. Isha Institute hosts Free Yoga Day each month, offering a day long family-friendly series of free yoga sessions to bring wellbeing to the local community. Isha offers a full range of programs from beginner to advanced, including week long residential yoga camps just for kids. For more information, visit www.IshaUSA.org.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Figuring How To Get There From Here By Mike O’Hern, Center Director of Mathnasium of West Knoxville
H
ave you ever tried to wrap your head around something that just doesn’t seem possible, but it is? I remember a couple of summers ago fighting with what’s referred to as “The Monty Hall Problem” until it seemed like I was going to go nuts. Since I don’t want you to go nuts, I won’t go into it here. Maybe in the future, I’ll feel a little less magnanimous and tell you anyway. I was recently asked about one of those things that just doesn’t seem right, but it really is. Here we go. First, you know that 0.9 is really close to 1, right? But 0.99 is much closer. So 0.999 is getting crushingly close, right? But what about 0.99999999999? Could you fit your feeler gauge between that number and 1? Yes, if you can find a small enough feeler gauge. But if we put enough nines in there, can we get to 1? That brings us to the kicker. What about 0.999…? How close is that? The “…” after the nines means that the nines go on forever, never stopping. (If I were writing by hand, I would simply write 0.9 and put a bar over the 9. However, I’m not smart enough to get my computer to do that.) What if I told you that no, you can’t fit your feeler gauge between 0.999…
“What if I told you that no, you can’t fit your feeler gauge between 0.999… and 1 because 0.999… and 1 because 0.999… = 1? We got there! “That’s not possible!” you cry. Okay, I’ll admit that I felt the same way, and because I’m such a sweetheart I’m not going to just say it and leave you to figure it out. Actually, there are multiple ways to show this to be true, but I’ll stick with the ones that are simplest and don’t require knowledge of high-level math. (I’m not trying to “dumb anything down,” mind you. It’s just that I prefer the simplest way to get somewhere myself!)
Think for a minute about 1/3. To write this as a decimal fraction you would write 0.333… Yes, the threes go on forever. Now let’s add up three of them:
1/3
0.333…
1/3
0.333…
+ 1/3
+ 0.333…
1
0.999…
Okay, so 0.999… equals 1 because 3 x (1/3) is the same as 3 x (0.333…). Not convinced yet? Too simple? I thought so. You’re so stubborn. Let’s try it another way. On this one, we will start with the statement that something is equal to our nasty little mystery number like this: x = 0.999…, then use some simple algebra to figure out what is equal to it. We’ll multiply the whole equation by ten, then subtract the initial equation from that. Looks like this:
10x = 9.999…
- x = 0.999…
9x = 9
1x = 1, or simply x = 1
Now I know you’re saying, “but if you multiply a number by ten, then there would be a zero at the end of it!” But in this case there isn’t, because the nines go on forever, so all the multiplying does is move the decimal place. The bottom line is that if you have 0.9999 etc with a finite (limited) number of nines, you’ll get really, really close to 1 without hitting it, but if the nines never stop, you’re there. Turns out you can get there from here! As owner and director at Mathnasium (a math learning center in West Knoxville (www.mathnasium.com/westknoxville) for the past five years, Mike has extensive experience teaching children and young adults the foundations of math concepts that are crucial to building their confidence and engagement with math throughout life.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
The Best Things In Life Are Free By Jeff Ashin, CEO, Young-Williams Animal Center.
I
nterested in making a change in your community? One of the best places to volunteer may be right near you-- an animal shelter. There are numerous ways that your kids can help homeless pets at Young-Williams Animal Center. Volunteering is a wonderful way to learn, have fun and give back to your community. At YWAC, you must be 16 years or older to work with or around animals on-site, but there are many other means of actively getting involved. At first, teaching the concept of compassion could be quite the challenge, especially if children are young and have a limited perspective of the world. By volunteering to help animals in need, your kids or teenagers can learn the concept of compassion and empathy, and also how it applies to the world around them, including their peers. It’s been shown that volunteering even just one hour a week can help boost self-esteem. Children learn what’s it’s like to have a civic responsibility.
You will also help strengthen the bond with your child, by performing an activity together. Whether you make toys, stuff envelopes for an educational fmailing or assist with a fundraising event, your children can make a difference in the lives of animals. Our Paws for Reading program provides enrichment opportunities for our many shelter pets and also helps provide animal welfare education and outreach to younger audiences. Children in grades 1 through 8 participate to improve their literacy skills by reading books to cats and dogs at the Young-
Williams Animal Center location on Bearden Hill. Working in a volunteer capacity will help your kids gain new skills by putting them in a position that will require them to gain and utilize the things they’ve learned. Whether it’s proper care of animals or another community organization, every volunteer act will help your youngsters learn new skills and valuable lessons. Volunteering for an animal shelter will also help boost physical activity. With modern technology, so many favorite activities of today’s kids require nothing more than an electronic device and a comfortable place to sit. Getting your kids involved in volunteering has physical benefits in addition to the many psychological and emotional ones. Kids may not always realize where they’re interests lie, due simply to the fact that they haven’t been exposed to them yet. Budding veterinarians may feel that spark as a result of volunteering at the local animal shelter. Young-Williams Animal Center takes in nearly 12,000 animals a year. Every pet has a story and a sweet soul waiting to be helped. Jeff Ashin is the CEO of Young-Williams Animal Center, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit animal welfare organization and the official shelter for Knoxville and Knox County. The center offers pet adoption at two locations and affordable spay/neuter solutions. For more information visit www.young-williams.org
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Design Matters! Camp: Let’s Get Creative By Design Matters! Camp
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esign Matters! Camp is for Lego-lovin’, out-ofthe-box thinking, process-minded, creative, curious and motivated high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. This week-long, immersive experience is for students who look at the world differently and imagine ways to improve it. It is for those who are drawn to using creativity to solve problems and design to impact society. What: Design Matters! Camp When: July 10-15, 2016 (overnight camp) Who: Rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors Where: University of Tennessee, Knoxville RSVP: archdesign.utk.edu/design-matters-camp Contact: 865-974-3232, 865-974-5265, designmatters@utk.edu Social: facebook.com/UtCoadDesignMatters BIG ORANGE FOR A WEEK Design Matters! Camp is hosted by the UT College of Architecture and Design in its award-winning building in the heart of Big Orange Country. It provides an immersive experience in both design instruction and college life for motivated students who want to learn about design in the built environment and the considerations that shape it. Register today at archdesign.utk.edu/design-matters-camp. WHERE WILL I STAY? WHAT WILL I DO? Students stay in one of the well-appointed residence halls on UT’s campus, and during the week, they will be engaged in a variety of activities that challenge their thinking about design, hands-on instruction in design, field trips to area locations for design interpretation and activities on the UT campus. Students will learn more about design thinking and the many career options open to graduates with design degrees. The camp concludes on Friday, July 15, with a celebratory lunch for campers and their families. SCHOLARSHIPS + REGISTRATION Now in its eighth year, Design Matters! Camp is the only summer camp of its kind in the region. Scholarships are available (deadline May 2), and registration is very limited. Register today at archdesign.utk.edu/designmatters-camp. For reduced tuition, register before April 15. The UT College of Architecture and Design is celebrating its 50th year of influencing design around the world. For more information, visit www. archdesign.utk.edu.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
Spotlight Fit Family: Meet The Childers By Adam Kalwas, Publisher and CEO of Knoxville Parent Magazine
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he My Fit Family Challenge is making its first appearance in the Knoxville area. This program is dedicated in promoting healthy living to not only families, but to anyone that is willing. Knoxville Parent will be sharing three editorials starting this month until June about two families that have set goals for themselves in order to be active together, and improve in areas that they felt needed more attention. Our families understand the task set before them and are willing to fulfill their goals once the challenge is completed on June 26th. Let’s meet the first Spotlight family, the Childers.
“They want to be role models for their two boys by instilling healthy behaviors such as, eating less junk foods and being active as a family. ”
will be their planned vacation time. Courtney and John state that vacations present a potential John and Courtney, with their sons threat to eating habits, as well as being motived Crawford (left) and Cole (right). to consistently being motivated to being active. Who Are The Childers? Vacations are a time of rest and relaxation, but The Childers family is made up of Husband and Father, John Childers, that doesn’t always mean opportunities for being active will be missing. Wife and Mother, Courtney Childers, and their two sons, Crawford (4.5 Vacations might even present ways to make simple things like walking years old) and Cole (1.5 years old). John and Courtney are originally from more interesting because of the different surrounding environment. Same Pulaski, TN where they started out as high school sweethearts. John works goes for eating habits. The Childers love to eat seafood, and they do so in sales, while Courtney is professor at the University of Tennessee. As a when they go for a beach vacation together. Also, they very much enjoy family, the Childers love to watch and play sports, travel, and visit family swimming. They are in the water so much that Courtney calls her family a in Northern Alabama. They enjoy spending time together out on the bunch of “water dogs”. They cannot get enough of jumping, diving, playing, Tennessee River when they get the chance. and swimming in all manners of water. What Is Their Goal For The Challenge? Courtney and John both are aware of important it is in creating a healthier environment for their two sons, especially since Crawford and Cole are still so young. They want to be role models for their two boys by instilling healthy behaviors such as, eating less junk foods and being active as a family. This will show their sons that being active doesn’t have to seem like a chore, and instead it can be looked at as something fun and positive. Courtney and John are taking this opportunity to better themselves and their children because they understand the value of togetherness and living healthy lives for as long as they can. What Difficulties Will They Face? Since the Challenge is set during the summer, the Childers family knows they may run into some speed bumps along the way. The biggest factor
The My Fit Family Challenge starts May 1st and will last for 8 weeks. Knoxville Parent encourages others in the Knoxville community to follow in the footsteps of the Childers family and take the Challenge themselves! By registering online at www.myfitfamilychallenge.com, participants have chances to win weekly prizes. All that is required is logging you and your family’s minutes online at least once a week. Being active just got a lot more intereting! Tune in next month as we introduce our next and final Spotlight family. Until then, lets all do our best to promote health in our Knoxville community! Adam Kalwas is the Publisher and CEO for Knoxville Parent Magazine. He is a proud husband, and he wants to shed positive light towards families in the greater Knoxville area for many years to come. Adam is graduating from the University of Tennesse in May 2016.
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016
And More!
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Knoxville Parent • April 2016