Kids VT, March 2020

BY KEN PICARD, PAGE 26

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS

COPUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Cathy Resmer cathy@kidsvt.com

COPUBLISHER

Colby Roberts colby@kidsvt.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Alison Novak alison@kidsvt.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mary Ann Lickteig maryann@kidsvt.com

STAFF WRITER/CALENDAR WRITER

Brett Ann Stanciu brett@kidsvt.com

ART DIRECTOR

Kirsten Thompson

MARKETING & EVENTS DIRECTOR

Corey Grenier corey@kidsvt.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Kaitlin Montgomery kaitlin@kidsvt.com

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Gillian English

PROOFREADERS

Carolyn Fox, Katherine Isaacs, Martie Majoros

PRODUCTION MANAGER

John James

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Don Eggert

DESIGNER

Rev. Diane Sullivan

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Matt Weiner

BUSINESS MANAGER

Marcy Carton

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Keegan Albaugh, Meredith Bay-Tyack, Heather Fitzgerald, Astrid Hedbor Lague, Lyndsay Landrey, Ken Picard, Erinn Simon, Tricia Van Vliet

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Andy Brumbaugh, Glenn Russell, Sam Simon

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STAFF QUESTION

In honor of maple season, pancakes or wa es? Why?

Sticking It Out Until Spring

Time for a confession. Before I moved to Vermont 16 years ago, I’d never been to a sugarhouse. Now, my family’s mud season isn’t complete without a pilgrimage to Palmer’s Sugarhouse in Shelburne. In March and April, the family-run sugarhouse — along with many other maple syrup producers around the state — opens its doors to visitors with music, sap boiling demos and food. Lots and lots of food. I’m particularly fond of Palmer’s version of spicy-sweet chili, finished o with maple syrup. They also turn out maple hot dogs, maple-glazed cashews and the slightly odd, but quintessentially Vermont, combination of a donut, a dill pickle and ooey-gooey sugar-on-snow.

March can feel like a bit of a slog in Vermont. Events like Maple Open House Weekend (March 21-22 this year; see our events calendar on page 41 for details!) make it a bit easier to get through the last chapter of winter.

In this month’s issue, we have a wide range of interesting articles that will also help you pass the muddy days. If proficiency-based learning has you scratching your head, turn to page 22 for a deep dive into the topic. In “Taking the Pulse of Proficiency,” you’ll learn about what the educational model entails and why it is being implemented in Vermont. It’s a good starting point if the term “proficiency-based learning” has you scratching your head. And on page 26, check out “Raising the Bar,” a profile of Green Mountain Training Center’s Stefan Hruska. The 75-year-old gymnastics coach has had a long and fascinating career coaching elite gymnasts in both his native Czechoslovakia and in Vermont.

In “Pop Culture” on page 19, Keegan Albaugh writes about changing tables in men’s restrooms (or the lack thereof). In “Growing Up Green” on page 20, Meredith BayTyack explains how to create a capsule wardrobe for your kids. And in “Good Nature” on page 21, a new outdoors column from regular contributor and environmental science instructor Heather Fitzgerald, discover three wild and interesting places to explore the shores of Lake Champlain.

Dreaming of summer? Check out our camp section, starting on page 31, to peruse a wide assortment of summer programs, and read about Get Thee to the Funnery, a longrunning and imaginative summer camp founded by actor and author Peter Gould.

Finally, I’d like to bid adieu to Brooke Bousquet who, for the past seven years, has helmed the art department of Kids Vermont. Brooke has been responsible for the creative covers, engaging graphics and cool style that make our publication stand out on the newsstands. She’s also a badass mom of two boys and an all-around lovely human being. We’ll miss her tons.

ALISON NOVAK, MANAGING EDITOR

Wa es. Because the little holes are like MINI BOWLS to hold more butter, syrup, etc.

COREY GRENIER, MARKETING AND EVENTS DIRECTOR

Pancakes. Because you can put BLUEBERRIES — or, better yet, RASPBERRIES — in them.

MARY ANN LICKTEIG, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Definitely wa es. How else would you maximize the amount of MAPLE SYRUP you can devour?

BRETT ANN STANCIU, STAFF/CALENDAR WRITER

Neither. I’d prefer EGGS BENEDICT.

DIANE SULLIVAN, DESIGNER/COLORING CONTEST CREATOR

No preference; I usually let the kids battle this one out — we do have a great recipe for SWEDISH PANCAKES from an old family friend that’s a crowd pleaser.

KIRSTEN THOMPSON, ART DIRECTOR

CONTRIBUTOR’S NOTE

LYNDSAY LANDREY (“Use Your Words,” page 55) is a writer and advocate who calls Burlington home. Mother to a son whose imagination rivals her own, she blogs about her exploits as a single mom and fearless female at https://medium.com/@ lynsdaylandrey while also working on her first science-fiction novel.

Alison and son Theo at Palmer’s Sugarhouse last maple season

New Kid by Jerry Craft, a book about a boy from Washington Heights who attends a private school where he is one of the few students of color, won the prestigious Newbery Medal, the first time the nearly 100-year-old award has been given to a graphic novel. All those kids who’ve been told to stop doodling by their teachers, this one’s for you.

Two women, a cell biologist and a food scientist, announced that they have grown two key components of breast milk in a lab. Cue baby formula companies quaking in their boots.

KIDS IN THE NEWS Young Woman Warrior

BY ALISON NOVAK

YOGA POSE OF THE MONTH: TRIANGLE

BENEFITS:

• Strengthens core muscles

• Stretches side body, legs, shoulders and chest

• Twisting slightly may improve digestion

STEPS:

1. Begin in star pose

2. Point right toes to the right and bring left toes in slightly

3. Reach out over right leg with right arm as you inhale

Fourteen-year-old Rose Lord of Charlotte sings vocals in an acoustic band called Minimal Prep. That fact is a wee bit ironic, considering that her other hobby, which landed her two appearances on “American Ninja Warrior Junior,” requires maximum prep. Rose is a competitive ninja warrior who’s been training since she was 9 at Regal Gymnastics in Essex. She recalls peeking into the gym’s Ninja Warrior Training Center one day after her gymnastics class and getting excited about all the cool climbing, hanging and jumping obstacles she saw. “I was like, Oh my god, what is this?” she said.

4. Rest right hand on leg or block above or below knee as you exhale

5. Raise left arm over head

6. Gaze up at hand, down at the floor or out to the side

7. Inhale to come up, and repeat on the opposite side

TikTok introduced a new “family safety mode,” where parents can control how long users spend on the music-video app and limit their ability to send and receive messages.

Don’t you just miss those innocent days of watching MTV’s

“Total Request Live” in the basement sometimes?

An 88-year-old crossing guard in Kansas City, known locally as Mr. Bob, died after shielding two boys from a speeding car. A true hero.

“I didn’t know it was a sport you could train for.”

Several years ago, Rose saw a flyer at Regal for a casting call for “American Ninja Warrior Junior,” a Daytime Emmynominated series on Universal Kids in which 9- to 14-year-olds compete as they race across extreme obstacles with names like Crazy Cli anger, Double Tilt Ladders, and the Shrinking and Floating Steps. After sending in a 10-page application, along with photos and videos of her in Regal’s training center to Universal, she was cast in the first season of the show, which aired in 2018-19. In that season, she was eliminated in the semifinals. She wasn’t deterred though. Last year, she reapplied for the second season of the show and was chosen again.

In July, Rose and her mom, Anne Mollo, flew out to Los Angeles for a week of filming. Competing with a camera trained on her created a little added pressure, said Rose, a student at the Schoolhouse in South Burlington. But, she said, the experience was “interesting” and “fun.” The Ninja Warrior community is a supportive and welcoming one, she added, and it was great to be part of a group of kids who had the same “compete-againstyourself, no-aggression mindset” as she does. Rose appeared in the second season premiere on February 22. Those who missed it can watch it on the Universal Kids app or online at universalkids.com.

Rose said she’ll continue to compete in regional and national competitions, and she hopes to be a counselor for Regal’s Ninja Warrior camps this summer. And when she’s not busy scaling walls and swinging from ring to ring, there’s always (minimal) band prep.

#INSTAKIDSVT

Thanks for sharing your cute winter photos with us using the hashtag #instakidsvt. We loved this picture submitted by Elena Reingard of her 22-monthold son Eddie having fun at the Randolph Winterfest in February.

Share photos of your family exploring new places this month.

HERE’S HOW: Follow @kids_vt on Instagram.

Post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #instakidsvt. We’ll select a photo to feature in the next issue.

HAVE FUN!

• Imagine it’s summertime and you are going camping. Your triangle becomes your tent!

• Sing the “I’m a Little Teapot” song while doing this pose

Tag

Pose description courtesy of Susan Cline Lucey, owner of Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga Center in Burlington and Essex. For more information about kids and family yoga classes, visit evolutionprenatalandfamily.com.

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL KIDS

LADY AND THE TRAMP, GOONIES, WALL-E, FINDING NEMO, MONSTERS INC. and CARS.

—TRACY QUINONES

My boys love BIG HERO 6 and the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON movies.

—SAM DECOSTER

Current favorites for my 3-year-old are MOANA, SOUND OF MUSIC, THE ORIGINAL MARY POPPINS and THE MUSIC MAN.

—JENNIFER ROTBLATT

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PONYO and KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE are all big favorites here! For periods of time, they were the only ones my kids would watch because they’re generally less stressful than Disney movies.

—SARAH FREEBERN

NATIONAL VELVET!

—RUTH SHATTUCK BERNSTEIN

NANNY MCPHEE is adorable. It’s kind of like a modern take on Mary Poppins ... if Mary Poppins grew up at Hogwarts.

—LIZZY BUCHMAN

CARS. CARS 2. CARS 3. CARS. CARS. CARS. CARS.

—RACHEL ZELLEM

Our faves are INSIDE OUT, THE OLD AND NEW MARY POPPINS MOVIES, FROZEN (1 AND 2), SING and my kiddos also enjoyed the old HOMEWARD BOUND movie.

—AMANDA JEAN

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA and MCFARLAND, USA are family favorites.

—HEATHER LECKEY

GHOSTBUSTERS, with the first one at the top of the list. Something for everyone in there.

—KIM

MEILLEUR

The HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series was huge recently. The NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM series as well. ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, NATIONAL TREASURE, HOME ALONE series and anything related to the Minions or anything that involves solving puzzles/mysteries.

—IRENA CIBRA

A new children’s anthology about women in history includes stories by two graduates of Vermont’s Center for Cartoon Studies. Noisemakers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices & Changed the World, was released in February by Kazoo magazine. Sophie Goldstein, a 2013 CCS graduate, contributed a piece about community organizer Mother Jones, who cofounded the Industrial Workers of the World. Lucy Knisley, class of ’09, writes and draws about famous chef Julia Child. Vermont graphic novelist Alison Bechdel said of the anthology: “All the women in this book were discouraged from doing the work they were born to do. Fortunately, they didn’t let that stop them. Here are their riveting stories told in unputdownable comics. I wish I’d had Noisemakers when I was growing up.”

KIDS SAY WHAT?

PET CORNER

Jessie Jerry of Panton shared this photo of 9-year-old son Sam and 3-year-old lionhead rabbit Bean. Jerry and husband John Diegel run the Fluffy Bunny Rabbit Sanctuary at their home, where Bean is one of eight rescued rabbits. Bean is the friendliest, said Jerry, and is practicing to be a bunny ambassador so he can visit nursing homes. Sam and Bean like to watch bunny videos on YouTube together. “He likes to be pet, and I like to pet him,” said Sam. “I call him the King of Cute.”

“Mommy, I have all the yawns.” JACOB, AGE 6

March is the perfect month to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. On Facebook, we asked parents to tell us about their favorite family flicks.

BY ALISON NOVAK

In Tune With Teens

Fifteen years ago, Vermont filmmaker Bess O’Brien helmed an ambitious project in which teens from across the state worked together to write and perform an original musical. Touching on topics from peer pressure to racial identity, The Voices Project — from Kingdom County Productions, with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont as its main underwriter — toured 11 Vermont towns and was the subject of a New York Times article. This year, O’Brien presents a new reiteration of the project. After making six films in a row, including Vermont-based documentaries The Hungry Heart and Coming Home, O’Brien said she was eager to switch gears and “use a di erent artistic muscle.” In the summer of 2018, she pitched the LISTEN UP PROJECT to the Vermont Department of Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. They committed $100,000 and $150,000 respectively.

Then O’Brien got to work. “You can’t write a show about teens unless you talk to teens,” she said. So, for seven months, she crisscrossed the state interviewing more than 900 teens from diverse backgrounds at schools, community centers, afterschool programs and youth conferences to find out what was happening in their lives, what they valued and what they wanted others to know about them. Next, she and cowriter Gary Miller recruited a team of 15 youths fromaround the state to help write the musical. Now O’Brien is looking for local teen actors and musicians to be part of the production, which will be directed by Northern Vermont University theatre professor

BOOKS Listen and Learn

Jewish community center Chabad of Burlington and children’s consignment store Boho Baby in Williston will cohost a talk and book signing with New Yorkbased author Joanna Faber, who cowrote the parenting guide HOW TO TALK SO LITTLE KIDS WILL LISTEN: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO LIFE WITH CHILDREN AGES 2-7, published in 2017. The book is a follow-up to the best-selling How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen

So Kids Will Talk, cowritten by Joanna’s mother, Adele Faber. That book, first published in 1982 and called “the parenting bible” by the Boston Globe, provides advice on how to cope with children’s negative feelings, encourage cooperation and resolve family conflicts peacefully. Joanna Faber and coauthor Julie King’s book focuses on applying that guidance to the 2- to 7-year-old set.

The idea to bring Faber to Vermont came from Chabad of Burlington program director Draizy Junik. Chabad operates Gan Yeladim Preschool and is opening a Jewish elementary school, Tamim Academy, in the fall. Junik said she’s always thinking about how to empower parents and help them better understand their children. Boho Baby owner Lisa Golding, whose son attends Gan Yeladim, said she’s been eager to host an event like this. “What I love about owning a store is that all day long me and my employees talk and share and support other moms,” Golding said. “I thought this was a great way to connect our village and bring people together.”

The parenting lecture and book signing take place on Thursday, March 26, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Boho Baby (34 Blair Park Rd., Williston). Tickets are $14 for one adult and $25 for two. Buy them at lecture.ticketleap.com. Chabad of Burlington will host a day of professional development for early childhood educators led by Joanna Faber on March 26 from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Email draizy@chabadvt.org for more information or to register.

and Blue Man Group alum Isaac Eddy and musically directed by Lyric Theatre collaborator Nate Venet.

Teen musicians will come together in April to write the songs for the show. Actors will be cast in March and rehearse at Lyndon Institute for three weeks in August. The show will premiere on September 12 and tour for five weekends at 12 locations across the state.

To sign up for acting auditions or to be considered to write music for the Listen Up Project and to learn more, visit listenupvt.org.

TECHNOLOGY Virtual Guidance

Vermont PBS has designed an online workshop, BECOME A MEDIA MENTOR, to help early educators and caregivers find creative and practical ways to use technology with young children. Created by educational consultant Heather Duhamel, the self-paced course includes links to articles about digital literacy and suggestions for online videos and activities that support kids’ learning. It also directs caregivers to a site where they can create their own family media plan, considering options like screen-free zones or times, device curfews, balancing time online and o -line and digital safety. There are two versions of the workshop: one for early educators, which can be counted for professional development credits, and one geared to parents of 2- to 8-year-olds. Many families attending Vermont PBS events have questions about how to safely use digital resources with their children, said Duhamel, a longtime early childhood educator and mom of two. The online course aims to provide answers. “Technology is always better together,” she said.

The cost of the “Become a Media Mentor” workshop is $60 with the code PBS-CARES. Sign up at vermontpbs.org/kids/learn/mediamentor/.

Akol, Martha, Deng, Adut and Ngong

Kids VT: Martha and Akol, you’re parents of three kids in three different schools, and you both work. That sounds busy!

Martha: Adut and Ngong go to afterschool at the same place, so we can pick them both up at the same time.

Deng: And I usually have basketball practice after school.

KVT: Deng, your dad said you play for Mini Metro [competitive league].

Deng: And I also play for my middle school team.

Akol: And he just tried out for another team — a travel team — AAU basketball.

KVT: That’s a lot of basketball. Adut, do you play any sports?

Adut: I play soccer and tennis!

KVT: So this is a very active family! I’m always curious about whether parents feel that it’s more challenging parenting kids when they’re very young, or as they grow and have more of their own interests and activities.

Martha: When kids are small, you’re always trying to find something to entertain them at home. But now, as they grow, we’re on the road a lot. We’re never home!

KVT: Is there something you all like to do together?

Adut: We do puzzles!

Deng: And we play cards.

Akol: And we go to a lot of Deng’s basketball games as a family, too. K

Akol Aguek (right), an international student advisor at the University of Vermont, and Martha Machar (left), deputy finance officer for the city of South Burlington, with kids Deng, 13, Ngong, 4, and Adut, 6

Weaving

While March in Vermont means fluctuating weather, there’s something your family can do to bring consistency, calm and creativity to this fickle month. Try weaving, a process that involves interlacing yarn, fiber, and even leaves and sticks to create a decorative textile. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors wove clothing, baskets, blankets and sails. The basic technique remains the same.

Together, your family can use weaving skills to create wall-worthy art on a budget. Weaving is accessible for most and can help build hand-eye coordination, strengthen fine motor skills and boost mood.

Bradie Hansen, a Burlington-based therapist and fiber artist/handcrafter, says that mindfulness and weaving are

WEAVING BOOKS

Reference books:

Kids Weaving: Projects for Kids of All Ages, by Sarah Swett

Nature’s Art Box: From T-Shirts to Twig Baskets, 65 Cool Projects for Crafty Kids to Make With Natural Materials You Can Find

Anywhere, by Laura C. Martin

Weaving With Children, by Ute Fischer

Picture books:

Weaving the Rainbow, by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson

Abuela’s Weave, by Omar S. Castañeda, illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez

The Weaving of a Dream, by Marilee Heyer

Leave Me Alone!, by Vera Brosgol

Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Ox-Cart Man, by Donald Hall, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

WEBSITES

• afieldguidetoneedlework.com

• healinghandcrafting.com

• woolery.com/blog

intrinsically connected. Hansen grew up surrounded by female artists and handcrafters, and her work evolved from knitting to crocheting to spinning wool and, now, weaving. When her son, Jacob, was younger, she noticed that when he was engaged in fiber arts, the rhythm of his breathing “became deep and slow, similar to yoga breathing.” She volunteers at her children’s classrooms at Shelburne Community School, teaching students to weave, knit, prepare wool and spin yarn. She has come to understand the importance of “giving kids space to experiment with all sorts of materials and textures.” When possible, she creates projects that can be completed in one sitting so that children can see very quickly that they can learn new skills and make beautiful art. K

FRAMED WEAVING PROJECT

Use basic weaving technique and various materials to capture a walk on the beach, a hike through the woods, a family vacation or even your child’s early years (if you use strips of cloth from a favorite baby outfit). The finished work of art will be a tangible memory of shared family moments.

Materials: Scissors, a tapestry needle, a picture frame without the back, sturdy yarn for warp threads, (the longitudinal yarns that are held stationary in tension) and an assortment of materials to weave with including yarn, fabric scraps, grasses, feathers, seagrass, etc.

Step 1

Cut Warps: Cut a length of yarn that, when folded in half, still is at least six inches longer than the frame.

Step 2

Loop Warps: Lay the folded warp yarn on top of the frame, pulling the looped end over the back. Bring the two loose ends through the loop and pull until snug.

Step 3

Tie Warps: At the bottom of the frame, take those two loose ends over the front of the frame and up the back, bringing them up and over themselves, and tie in a bow.

Step 4

Continue Warps: Repeat steps 2 and 3 to create a loom. A quarter of an inch between warp threads is a good place to start, but feel free to experiment with distance.

Step 5

Tie and Weave: Begin with yarn, using about an arm-and-a-half length. Tie one end to the side of the frame. Thread the other end through your tapestry needle and begin weaving. Treat each set of two warp threads as one thread. Go over the first one, under the next, over the third one, under the next, and so on.

Step 6

Second Row: When you get to the end of the first row, come back the other way. If you went over the last warp thread of the last row, you’ll come under that same warp thread as you head back. Younger kids sometimes have a tough time with this part!

Weaving materials

Step 3: Tie warps

Step 11: Secure loose ends

A place for our youngest visitors to explore

Step 7

Play With Materials: Shake things up by including new colors and materials. You can start a new material at any point in your weaving.

Step 8

Fabric: Use scraps of fabric to add visual interest.

Step 9

WWW.MONTSHIRE.ORG 802.649.2200

Use the same

Sticks and Treasures: weaving technique with cool sticks or other treasures from nature, like dried flowers, straw and grasses.

Step 10

Finalize: If you are using found feathers, make sure to clean them first. (Instructions can be found online.) End your weaving with yarn, working as high as you can in order to stabilize the tapestry and prevent it from coming loose.

Step 11

Loose Ends: Turn your piece over gently and weave in the loose ends of yarn. As pictured with the pink yarn in the photo to the left, go up several rows of weaving and down the next. Snip o loose ends.

Step 12

Secure and Display: Secure bows by either double knotting them at the bottom or by tying the loop from one bow to the loop of the neighboring bow. Cut the loops to make fringe. Get creative and cut the fringe into di erent shapes, secure seashells to the ends or totally unravel the ends to make it wild!

SHOP

LOCALLY FOR

WEAVING MATERIALS AT:

• Mad River Fiber Arts & Mill, 6163 Main Street, Waitsfield (classes available)

• Mountain Fiber Folk, 188 Main Street, Montgomery Center (classes available)

• Must Love Yarn, 2438 Shelburne Road, Suite 2, Shelburne

• Northeast Fiber Arts Center, 7531 Williston Road, Williston

FIND WEAVING CLASSES AT:

• Marshfield School of Weaving 589 Eaton Cemetery Road, Marshfield

• Shelburne Craft School

64 Harbor Road, Shelburne

• Vermont Weaving School

4 Signal Pine Road, Putney

CKS serves learners from pre-school (3 years old) through 8th grade

Valuable! Affordable! Inclusive! Innovative! Come see the benefits yourself!

Financial aid available!

136 Locust Street, Burlington, VT 862-6696 • www.cksvt.org

admissions@cksvt.org facebook.com/cksvt

Step 12: Secure and display weaving

MEALTIME BY ASTRID HEDBOR LAGUE

Swedish Waffles

A light and crispy treat for the holiday of Våffeldagen

When I was a junior in high school, living with my father’s cousin Bebbe in Sweden, I awoke one March morning to waffles. Bebbe informed me that it was Waffle Day, and we would celebrate by having waffles all day. He is the sort of person who can deliver a joke completely straight-faced and make you fall for it, hook, line and sinker. I thought this was for sure the case, so I laughed it off while I ate my waffle. Then, I got to school, and there were waffles for lunch. Biking around town on my way home, every café had waffles. And yes, there were waffles for dinner.

It turns out it was Våffeldagen , a holiday that stems from a mispronunciation. March 25 is the traditional Feast of the Annunciation, or Vårfrudagen (Our Lady’s Day) in Swedish. Well, it turns out that Vårfrudagen sounds an awful lot like Våffeldagen , which is how you say Waffle Day in Swedish. So, over time, the day became less about the conception of Jesus, and more about crispy, delightful waffles.

The traditional Swedish waffle maker makes thin, heart-shaped waffles, and you can readily find this type of waffle iron here in the States. A standard waffle iron works, too, but don’t try to make these waffles in a thick Belgian waffle maker. These waffles only have a little baking powder for leavening, so they won’t fill a Belgian waffle iron and crisp up as they should.

Two kinds of waffles are prominent in Sweden — egg waffles, which are very similar to the waffles you are probably used to, and these light, crispy waffles. Not usually eaten for breakfast, they’re served for dessert or for the ubiquitous Swedish fika , the afternoon (or mid-morning — or early evening!) tradition of coffee and treats that every Swede appreciates. The recipe is ridiculously simple: just flour, baking powder and a little salt folded gently into whipped cream with a little butter and sparkling mineral water. That’s it! Serve them with sweetened whipped cream and jam, or with fruit, and celebrate Våffeldagen like a Swede. K=

CRISPY SWEDISH WAFFLES

(Makes 6)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons butter

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup flour

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• pinch salt

• 2/3 cup sparkling mineral water

FOR TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 1 1/2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

Jam of your choice (I like raspberry)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Whip cream to soft peaks. Gently fold in flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and mineral water and gently fold in to make an even, smooth batter.

2. Whip cream for the topping to stiff peaks, then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar.

3. Preheat waffle iron. Spoon in around 1/2 cup batter and bake until golden brown and crispy. Keep waffles warm in an oven set to 200 degrees. Repeat until all waffles are made. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a spoonful of jam.

PHOTOS: ANDY

BRUMBAUGH

What Should Parents Know About Car Seats?

Driving is among the most dangerous activities parents do with their children. Though most moms and dads know to secure their children in a passenger restraint system, the misuse rate of children’s car seats is high. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, 95 percent of infant car seats were used improperly.

Sergeant Tim Gould works in the training and recruiting division of the Vermont State Police and has spent 16 years promoting child passenger safety. Gould explains the differences between what state law requires and what are considered best practices for keeping kids safe on the road.

KIDS VT: What are the laws involving children’s car seats?

TIM GOULD: So, the first stage is the rear-facing infant seat. Under Vermont law, children are required to be in a rear-facing, five-point harness seat until the age of 1 and until they weigh at least 20 pounds. Once they meet those two criteria, they’re allowed to sit in a forward-facing seat.

KVT: Do you recommend that kids stay rear-facing longer than the law requires?

TG: Yes. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ best-practices recommendation is to keep kids rear-facing for as long as possible, meaning at least until age 2 and until they reach the height and weight limits of their particular seat, which is usually 30 to 45 pounds. Some smaller kids may not reach the upper limits of those seats until age 3 or 4. Convertible seats, or those that can be switched from rear- to forward-facing, generally have higher weight and height limits, meaning that kids can be rearfacing in them longer.

KVT: How long are kids required to be in a five-point harness seat before moving to a booster?

TG: Vermont law says that any child who weighs more than 20 pounds and is older than 1 shall be restrained in a child-restraining system until age 8, but the law is vague on the use of booster seats versus harness seats. Once the child outgrows the five-point harness, they

can move to a booster, which is designed to put the child in a position where the vehicle’s seatbelt fits them properly.

KVT: What’s required after the child reaches age 8?

TG: A lot of parents will say, “OK, no more booster seat required,” and technically that’s correct. It’s not illegal to move out of a booster seat at 8. However, most kids still need one, based on their size and how the seatbelt fits them.

KVT: How do parents know if their child no longer needs a booster?

TG: The best-practice recommendation is that they meet five criteria: First, does the child sit all the way back against the vehicle’s seat? Second, once they buckle up, does the lap belt sit below the stomach and touch their thighs? In other words, if the kid is so small that the lap belt rides up across their belly, they wouldn’t pass the test. Third, is the shoulder belt centered across the shoulder and chest? With some smaller children, if you buckle them up, the shoulder belt will ride up on their neck. Fourth, can their knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat so that their legs hang freely? The fifth criterion is behavioral: Can the child remain seated like that for the entire ride? If they move

even a little, it can put those belts out of position so that they won’t work properly in a crash. The National Safety Council recommends that children meet three criteria before moving out of a booster seat: They are 9 years old; 4 feet, 9 inches tall; and weigh 80 pounds.

KVT: What do you advise parents whose kids want to get out of a booster early because all their friends are out?

TG: This is an area where I see a lot of kids making the transition way too soon. With my own kids, I drew a hard line with them. This should not be a debatable subject. It’s a serious safety matter. Those kids who are out of a booster too early, or sitting in the front seat before they’re big enough, are putting their safety at risk. My advice is just stick to your guns. Make sure they’re ready and it’s appropriate to move to the next level, because once you move them to the next level, it’s going to be a fight to move them back.

KVT: When is it legal for kids to ride in the front seat?

TG: Vermont law doesn’t specifically address that question. The only law covering children in the front seat addresses rear-facing seats, which cannot be secured in front of an active airbag. Ideally, the back seat is always safer for

kids, but if you have a two-door pickup truck with no back seat, you must switch off the passenger-side airbag to transport a child. As long as you can deactivate the airbag, it’s legal, though not ideal. Generally, children should not ride in the front seat of a vehicle until they’re at least 13 and have outgrown a booster seat.

KVT: What are the most common mistakes you see?

TG: One of the most common things I see involves booster seats: If a child is tired or uncomfortable, especially on a long trip, sometimes they’ll slouch over and it will put the seatbelt in a spot where it’s not supposed to be. Or if it’s uncomfortable, they’ll put the shoulder belt behind their back or under their armpit, which actually can be very dangerous. If there’s a crash, rather than the force of the impact being spread out across their shoulders, hips and chest, it can be concentrated in their abdomen, which can cause serious injuries.

Another common error is when the harnesses in both rear- and forwardfacing car seats are not cinched tight enough. If you grab the strap that goes over their shoulder, you shouldn’t be able to pinch any slack.

This time of year, winter clothing can be an issue. You really want to limit the number of layers between the harness and the child because that reduces its effectiveness. So, with the infant seats that you carry in and out of the house, get the child secured in it, then put blankets over them to carry them out to the car.

KVT: What’s the fine for violations?

TG: For a first violation, the fine is $25. For a second violation it’s $50 and for the third, it’s $100 — and drivers can be stopped for this violation alone. However, this is an area of the law that tends to get treated more with public education. When we do seat-check events, we want people coming in, getting educated and getting these issues corrected. The last thing we want is to have them leave with a ticket. K

Find local car seat fitting stations at beseatsmart.org/permanent-car-seatfitting-stations.php.

© AVIAHUISMANPHOTOGRAPHY DREAMSTIME.COM

Farm Bedroom

Sometimes 6-year-old Wyatt Bogie forgets how unusual his bedroom is. And then he’ll have a friend over for a playdate. “And they’ll go in, and they’re like, Whoa!” said Wyatt’s mom, Amanda Gilman-Bogie.

That’s similar to the reaction she had when Wyatt was 3, and the Berlin family was at her in-laws’ Ryegate home for Sunday dinner when Papa Bud told Wyatt he had a surprise for him in the garage. “And we went into the garage and there was this giant tractor bed on the back of a flatbed trailer,” Gilman-Bogie said. She and her husband, Brian, had no idea that his dad was building it.

“I’m a big John Deere fan, and I just sat down and decided to build him a bed,” said Bud Bogie, a collector who owns seven John Deere tractors. He modeled Wyatt’s twin bed on a tractor he owns. He didn’t use a pattern or kit, he said, “just made it

up.” (He built a second for a charity raffle, and he built a princess castle bed for Wyatt’s cousin.) The loader on Wyatt’s bed has a door on the front and gives Wyatt a place to store books and toys — “things he wants to hide from his brothers,” his mom said.

Once she fully comprehended the gift, Gilman-Bogie got to work to give it a proper home. She painted Wyatt’s bedroom walls light blue to look like sky. Then she painted green, rolling hills — freehand. “I figured there’s really no right or wrong to it,” she said. She used stencils to add a red barn, a silo that says, “Wyatt’s Farm,” a few stalks of corn, a fence and farm animals. She got the stencils from online retailer My Wonderful Walls. They’re adhesive and sturdy enough that she passed them on to a friend who used them to paint a toy room.

“This is totally something that the average mom can do because I have no artistic ability at all,” she said. Painting took about 30 hours. Gilman-Bogie’s mother-in-law helped, she said, “but mostly, it was a labor of love for me.”

As a finishing touch, she threaded two small burlap bags onto a curtain rod to make a valance. In addition to the bed, the room has a chest of drawers and the bookcase that she built in high school shop class.

“My bedroom is awesome,” said Wyatt, who pretends he’s driving his tractor bed. He likes to tag along when his dad, a full-time farmer, does chores, and he runs outside to ride on a real tractor when Brian bales hay. His mom often runs after him yelling, “Put your shoes on! Put your shoes on!” A “cloverbud” in the Trailblazers 4-H club, Wyatt asked for a baby cow

for Christmas. “But we had to turn that request down and tell him no, he wasn’t quite ready for that, because that would mean that Mom and Dad had a baby cow...’’ GilmanBogie said. For now, he’ll have to settle for the happy Holstein on his bedroom wall. His brothers, twins Maxwell and Sawyer, turn 2 in March and share a “pretty simple bedroom,” Gilman-Bogie said. It’s “painted a sweet, neutral color,” she said, has wild animal photos on the wall, and holds two cribs, a reclining rocker and an antique dresser. “I do hope that we can do a fun space for them in maybe a year or two, when we kind of get a better sense of what they might be interested in,” Gilman-Bogie said. “It could also largely hinge on whether or not Papa rolls into the driveway with some statement piece of furniture that Mom’s then planning a room around!" K

HABITAT BY MARY ANN LICKTEIG

Wyatt Bogie at age 3, when his tractor bed was brand new

Wyatt and Papa Bud

Music Book

When she was 6 years old, Melissa Perley took piano lessons alongside her father. While he didn’t stick with them, Perley persisted. Now a performing cellist and private music teacher to about 20 children and adults, the Berlin resident recently added the title of author to her repertoire. Her first children’s book, The Violin Family, was released by Rootstock Publishing last November.

The book, illustrated by Chelsea resident Fiona Lee MacLean, tells the story of a family of five stringed instruments. Basil, the Bass, and Celia, the Violoncello have three children — a viola and two little violins. The whimsically illustrated book, set in Vermont, tells the tale of little Violet Violin, who takes a tumble during a performance at the Barnard Farmers Market and loses her voice. Although frightened that she won’t succeed, she works to regain her voice — with the support of her family. A glossary at the book’s end defines musical terms like quintet and scroll.

With a mission to connect kids with stringed instruments, Perley, the mother of four adult sons, travels to schools and bookstores to read her story. During these visits, she brings a selection of instruments for curious kids and adults to handle and try.

Over tea at the North Branch Café in Montpelier, Perley shared a glimpse into her creative endeavors with Kids VT. She and her husband, luthier and composer Paul Perley, live and work at their off-the-beaten-path studio, Paul Perley Cellos, on Berlin Pond. Paul repairs stringed instruments and sells cellos, and the couple also raise sheep. “Here’s this small business in the woods,” Perley said, “and people will come from all over the world to look at instruments. I love that you don’t have to fit into an exact mold to make that kind of life work.”

Kids VT: What made you want to write a book about music for children?

MELISSA PERLEY: I see the school systems lacking in funding for these programs. When I take these instruments to schools, you can’t believe how many kids don’t even know what a stringed instrument is. They look at my cello and say, What is it? They think it’s a guitar. The reason I made fictional characters instead of a straight nonfiction account was because I wanted to reach families and young children and take what I term the “highbrowed-ness” out of stringed instruments. We’re losing this amazing style of music.

KVT: How did you and local illustrator Fiona Lee MacLean pair up?

MP: [After my original artwork fell through], I was kind of at ground zero again. But I just thought, I’m going to figure this out. My husband said to me, what if you put it out on Front Porch Forum and advertised? I was discouraged, but, as I like to tell my students, frustration is not part of the process; frustration is the process. So I put the ad in, and I got 35 responses from professional illustrators. Beautiful work. That’s how I found Fiona MacLean. We just jibed.

KVT: Why did you insist the characters look like instruments and not personified instruments?

MP: I thought she did a really wonderful job making them exactly what I wanted. No one would look at the instruments and say, Is that a cello? On one hand, the characters are eating pancakes, but on the other hand, they don’t have hands. If I’m just giving you factual information about these instruments, the book doesn’t really do the job it’s supposed to do. I wanted to tell a story that resonates about acceptance and about family, so it’s more than just a factual book.

KVT: How do you envision caregivers and kids enjoying your book?

MP: I wanted this book to have the same feeling of books I loved when I read to my own children — and I read to them a ton. I wanted that feeling that we are loved; that when we finished, you felt full; and when you saw the illustrations, they made you feel cozy. K

This interview has been edited and condensed for space and clarity.

Learn more about Melissa Perley at paulperleycellos.com. Find Fiona Lee MacLean’s artwork at fionaleestudios.com.

Melissa Perley

Skating Rink at Spruce Peak Village

7416 Mountain Road, Stowe

On a crisp and snowy day, my family packed our car with our winter gear and headed to the mountain — not to ski, but to ice skate.

We had heard there was free ice skating at the base of Spruce Peak, the smaller sister mountain at Stowe Mountain Resort. It was ideal skiing weather, and we arrived to find the Spruce Peak parking lot full. Two helpful parking attendants advised us to park on the Mount Mansfield side

of Route 108 (also called Mountain Road), then take the Over Easy Gondola to Spruce Peak. That gondola travels high above the parking lots and offers excellent views of Smugglers’ Notch and a crystal clear stream below. (Note: This is a different gondola than the one that takes skiers to the top of Mount Mansfield.)

Once at Spruce Peak, my partner Tristan, our 5-year-old daughter, Elise, and I located the base lodge, where skate

rentals are available. There’s an efficient computerized system for renting skates.

I was happy to find mine warm, fresh out of the resort’s fancy drying racks, when I put them on.

We headed back out into the bright, sunny winter day and made our way

through the crowds of skiers toward the skating rink. There, a patio was set up with cushioned chairs and rubber flooring that is safe to walk on with skates. Outdoor speakers played music, like fun, upbeat tunes by Tears for Fears and Lizzo.

As soon as Elise’s skates were on, she jumped up and headed straight to the ice. I, on the other hand, felt a little wobbly on my blades. As I tottered toward the rink to join Elise, I had the most elementary thought: Ice is very slippery.

It had been about 20 years since Tristan or I had skated, and it wasn’t entirely like riding a bike. It took a few rounds to get our legs under us, and I still wouldn’t say I felt confident. But it put a huge smile on all of our faces to feel our bodies gliding over the ice. Elise did fall a few times, landing softly on her bum, but she wasn’t deterred. We found a metal skate trainer that kids can hold onto for support, and that turned out to be key for her getting comfortable on the ice. There were three of these devices available, and we saw many other kids using them throughout the day.

The views at the rink were incredible,

GET THE DETAILS:

Ice skate at Spruce Peak Village from noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The skating season lasts until April 5 if conditions allow. As the weather gets warmer, call ahead to check hours. Bring your own skates or rent them at the Spruce Peak base lodge for $17 per pair. Park for free at Stowe Mountain Resort, on the other side of Route 108, then take the free Over Easy Gondola to Spruce Peak. While you’re there, check out the indoor Kid Zone where, for $32 per child and $38 per adult, families can enjoy top rock climbing and bouldering.

Dining options in Spruce Peak Village include the Skinny Pancake for crêpes, the Pantry for gourmet sandwiches and the Canteen for pizza and subs — but expect to pay high prices for food and drink. For shopping, check out the children’s outdoor outfitter and a toy and candy store. Find more information at sprucepeak.com/play/ winter-activities-iceskating.

allowing us to watch skiers snaking down the Spruce Peak trails. Mount Mansfield towered over us, shining bright white against the clear blue sky.

The fun tunes, picturesque environment and warm sun kept the vibes high while we enjoyed the rink. And, once our feet were too tired to skate any more, we sat in the cushioned chairs to soak up the scene. We decided then and there that we would buy our own ice skates so we could enjoy the rink again before the season ended.

Skating is free in this picturesque ski village

Elise uses a skate trainer for balance

The views at the rink were incredible, allowing us to watch skiers snaking down the Spruce Peak trails.

BY KEEGAN ALBAUGH

No Small Change

Last winter, my family of four found ourselves wandering the aisles of Michaels in South Burlington on a Saturday afternoon. We had no particular reason for the trip, other than to get out of the house for a couple of hours in the dead of winter.

My partner, Stephanie, was browsing the toy section with our 2-year-old daughter, Coraline, while I pushed 4-month-old Penelope around in a stroller, hoping she would nap. After a few laps around the store, I started thinking she was close to falling asleep. Then I heard that unmistakable sound erupt from Penelope’s bottom: “PTTTFFFFHBBTT!”

The odor that followed only confirmed my suspicions. I made a U-turn with the stroller, and redirected our flight path to the nearest restroom.

I parked the stroller outside of the men’s room and removed Penelope from her seat, trying to ensure that whatever had been captured by her diaper stayed there. With the diaper bag in one hand and Penelope balanced on my hip, I pushed open the door with my behind.

As the door shut behind me, my eyes searched for the changing table. Hmmmmm, nothing in plain sight, I thought to myself. I looked in each of the stalls. Nothing. I did another scan of the small room just to make sure I wasn’t missing something. No changing table.

I left the restroom. Maybe there’s a family-friendly location set aside for changing diapers, I told myself.

I approached an employee in a room across the hallway.

“Excuse me, do you folks have a changing table?” I asked. The immediate look of embarrassment on her face gave me the answer I was already beginning to suspect.

“We only have a changing table in the women’s room,” replied the employee in an apologetic voice. “You’re welcome to change your baby over here.” She pointed

to a table in the classroom space that was set up for a crafting activity that was beginning shortly.

I politely declined. And for the first time in my life, I stated the following words: “I’d like to speak with your manager.”

I spent the next several minutes talking with an empathetic manager, who admitted the changing table issue was not one she had ever thought about. And I get it. Before I had children, I hadn’t thought about the issue either. When you’ve never been forced to change a baby on a dirty bathroom floor, it’s easy to ignore that this is a reality for many people.

Some parents reading this column might recall the image of 31-year-old father, Donte Palmer, squatting in the corner of a bathroom in Jacksonville, Fla., with his 1-year-old son sprawled across his lap as he changed his diaper. That photo, taken by Palmer’s 12-yearold son, went viral and inspired the #SquatForChange movement. Diaper company Pampers, changing table company Koala Kare Products, and musician John Legend, a dad of two young children, teamed up with Palmer to create a campaign to install 5,000 changing tables in public restrooms across North America by 2021.

The federal government has also passed legislation regarding access to changing tables. In 2016, president Barack Obama signed the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation (BABIES) Act, which requires that changing tables accessible to all people are available on every floor of federal public buildings. In 2018, the New York City Council approved a law that requires new and renovated buildings to have changing tables for everyone, regardless of gender, to use.

Progress is happening. But there’s also still a lot to be done.

When changing tables are found predominantly in women’s restrooms, it sends a message that it is women’s responsibility to take care of children. But in modern families, not only are childcare responsibilities shared more equally, often times parents don’t fit the traditional heterosexual, cisgender, non-disabled, cookie-cutter mold.

I think about single dads and stay-at-home fathers, who need restrooms to change their children. I think about same-sex male couples. I think about transgender and non-binary individuals, and the lack of gender-neutral restrooms in general. I think about caregivers with limited mobility, who may have difficulty using your average changing table. I think about children with special needs, who may require larger changing areas as they get older. I think about all those people caring for children who aren’t given access to the things required to take care of them.

Today, if you go into the men’s restroom at Michaels in South Burlington, you’ll find a changing table. After our conversation, the manager ordered one the following Monday. This kind of response, combined with changes in legislation and successful movements like #SquatForChange, fill me with hope that providing accessible changing tables for all is gaining momentum.

And it proves to me that, in ways big and small, people can make a difference when it comes to creating more gender equity in parenting. Sometimes it’s just a matter of speaking up. K

A frustrating experience at a local store leads to a win for dads

When changing tables are found predominantly in women’s restrooms, it sends a message that it is women’s responsibility to take care of children.

Keegan with daughters Penelope and Coraline

Dress With Less

Creating a capsule wardrobe for kids

Baby and kids’ clothing may be fun to buy, but clothing manufacturing has a tremendous negative impact on the earth, especially “fast fashion” outlets that churn out millions of garments a year. The fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. (It takes 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans!) Textile dyeing causes water pollution, as the dyes are often poured into rivers and ditches and seep into the groundwater at dumping sites. There is a human toll as well, since many garment workers are underpaid and unfairly treated. Large-scale change is certainly needed, but individuals can make a difference by buying used and buying fewer things.

One way to lessen your impact is to create a capsule wardrobe — a manageable number of clothing items that can be mixed and matched.

Your kids might be utilizing a capsule wardrobe without even realizing it. Telltale signs are that they have go-to items they wear multiple times a week or items that absolutely must be washed before packing for a weekend trip. Or you may notice that the same clothes are pushed aside over and over again in order to get to more well-liked pieces.

Instead of succumbing to overflowing drawers, lighten your mental and your laundry loads by taking these simple steps toward a fashionable and sustainable solution.

Step 1:

Begin by sorting and purging the garments in your kids’ closets and drawers. Set items aside that are too small, damaged or rarely worn. Beware those items that you love, but your child simply doesn’t wear. Pack those things away if you don’t want to resell or donate them right away, but get them out of the main clothing area. Depending on a child’s age and temperament, you may want them to take the lead on this decluttering step, or not be involved at all.

Step 2:

Find your perfect wardrobe formula by identifying a “uniform” first, and then factor in laundry frequency. One of my kids likes to wear tights, a dress and a cardigan nearly every day in the fall and winter.

WANT MORE?

Check out these resources:

• Watch the documentary The True Cost about the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and people around the world at truecostmovie.com.

• Follow Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) and @ajabarber on Instagram.

• Read Simple Happy Parenting: The Secret of Less for Calmer Parents and Happier Kids by Denaye Barahona.

Sometimes we substitute a heavier-weight dress for the dress-sweater combo, or leggings and socks instead of tights. Overall, though, she has a clear style direction that is easy to replicate.

After I figure out the basic uniforms my children wear, I consider how often I do laundry to determine how many outfits we need. In my house, we aim for seven full outfits for each kid and then add three outfits to keep at school. We stash two more in the diaper bag (er, since none of my kids wears diapers

anymore, can we still call it that?) for accidents of all kinds.

Step 3:

Once I purge what doesn’t fit and what doesn’t get worn, I sort the clothes we’re keeping into complete outfits. This is the step that will tell you if you have lots of items that don’t really go together, or if you need a few more pieces to complete outfits. This is also a good time to determine a color scheme. Color is a great way to simplify a kid’s

wardrobe. You can choose one bold color and fill the rest of the capsule with neutrals. Or you can pick three to four coordinating colors to stick with. If you love color and pattern, go for it! Just be aware of what you and your kid like, and make sure there are enough pieces to mix and match.

Step 4:

Fill in the gaps with specific items. Buying less, no matter what you’re buying, is better for the planet. Take it a step further and buy secondhand if you can. We have some great local consignment shops, including Dirt Chic in Burlington, Boho Baby and Once Upon a Child in Williston and Relish Threads in Shelburne. Apps like Kidizen and thredUP are also great places to look for specific items. Or organize a clothing swap with friends and family. If you’re buying new, look for natural fibers like cotton, linen and hemp that could potentially be composted at the end of their useful life. If you can afford the upfront cost, kids’ clothing companies that use eco-friendly dyes and sustainable, ethical practices are becoming more readily available, though they tend to have a higher price tag.

When filling out a capsule wardrobe, make a clear list instead of just having a general idea in mind. Knowing that you’re looking for a pair of black or navy leggings instead of “stuff my kid will like” limits unnecessary purchases. When shopping secondhand, make sure you consider sizing. Used items might be slightly smaller than the label suggests due to being washed many times. Buying bigger is likely better.

Step 5:

Switch out your capsule seasonally, or less frequently. In Vermont, our seasons don’t tend to cooperate with a calendar. In May, we might still be bundling up, and in early October, we may still be using summer clothing. I like to get a handle on my kids’ next clothing capsule a month or so before I anticipate a big change in temperature so I have time to scan consignment and thrift shops for what they may need. K

For more low-waste-living tips, follow Bay-Tyack at @MeredithTested on Instagram.

Buying less, no matter what you’re buying, is better for the planet.

The capsule wardrobe of Meredith’s 3-year-old daughter

BY HEATHER FITZGERALD

Where Earth Meets Water

Three spots to explore a rare forest perched on the bluffs of Lake Champlain

already know what a treasure it is. If you haven’t, sign up for a free pass (though donations are accepted) at rockpointvt.org/visitor-passes. Rock Point is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, and parking is available at the lot across from the diocesan building at 5 Rock Point Road; the road is the first right after Burlington High School. Look for the sign that says “Park here for trails.” You can explore Rock Point for days and not see it all, but to find the cedars, look at the map on the web page where you get your pass and walk along either branch of the one-lane road towards the Holy Trinity and Sunset Ridge trails. (The northern part of the Holy Trinity Trail traverses a grove of hemlocks — also beautiful — but if you keep heading south you’ll end up in the cedars.)

You may be familiar with the part of Kingsland Bay State Park in Ferrisburgh that houses the historic Hawley House and other buildings if you have attended an event there, but my favorite part of the 264 acres is a different spot. Park at the lot on Town Beach Road. You will first walk through an old pasture with many red cedars, growing today because the cows snacked on other species of plants and trees and let the red cedars grow. You’ll soon come to the less-prickly white cedars and the shoreline.

In my college marine biology class, I was amazed when the professor casually mentioned the forests and wetlands that used to line nearly the entire Atlantic seacoast. When I thought of the coast, I thought of the Jersey Shore, with houses as far as the eye could see.

After college, when I visited a beach that was part of a national park, I struggled to comprehend forest running all the way to the beach, but my mind went back to my professor’s words and I realized, “This is what it must have looked like everywhere!”

It’s not quite as hard to picture what Lake Champlain’s coastline used to look like as it is New Jersey’s. But — since humans do love to have their own little slice of the water — protected, public shoreline access is still a rare and special thing.

On Lake Champlain, undeveloped coastline often contains a rare natural community called Limestone Bluff Cedar-Pine Forest. This community grows on cliffs with extremely shallow soil over nutrient-rich bedrock. Northern white cedars thrive on these windswept bluffs.

In a similar community in Ontario, some of the cedars are nearly 1,000 years old. The oldest age I’ve heard about for any trees along Lake Champlain is around 300 years; most of our original cedars were logged. Still, whenever I walk here, I look at the twisted trunks and branches and remember that they are

probably much more ancient than they look. Some species of trees, like cottonwoods, tend to put on thick rings every year and gain girth relatively quickly. But cedars growing out of rock may only put on a fraction of an inch a year.

Cedars also grow in a special way: Different sections of roots connect to specific sections of the trunk, so if a falling rock takes out one section of root or trunk, the rest is relatively unscathed.

When my son was small, I avoided the trails that ran along the cliffs when it was icy, but these bluffs with gnarled white cedars clinging to the rocky cliffs have spectacular views and are worth seeking out. Although I am quite taken with the cedars, these bluffs also are home to rare plants, unusual birds and bobcat dens.

Here are three great places where you can wander among them:

Rock Point, which together with the Arms Forest encompasses 160 acres that have just been conserved by the Lake Champlain Land Trust, is the “wild, green heart of Burlington,” in the words of Alicia Daniel, the city’s field naturalist. If you have been here before, you

There is also so much to see in the 584 acres of Niquette Bay State Park in Colchester. To find the gnarled cedars of the limestone bluff community, take the Burns Trail to Cedar Point. The trail runs about a mile over fairly flat terrain. Entry to the park is free before the first week in May.

One last tip: Something that can make the lingering snow of March more bearable is appreciating the way the snow makes the changes that are always happening more obvious for those of us with wimpy human senses. If you can go back to the same place two days in a row, you might be amazed by how different the snow conditions are — crisp one day, but mushy from a 10-degree rise in temperature the next, for example. You’ll also be able to see signs left by overnight visitors — tracks, yes, but also, often, pee. Sometimes this can be quite dramatic!

It’s a reminder that you are sharing the land with bobcats, foxes, coyotes and countless other organisms. Whether you’re looking at the trees, the view or animal signs, these areas are oases in the developed landscape of Addison and Chittenden counties. K

PHOTOS: BEN WANG

Heather Fitzgerald teaches field ecology and environmental science at the Community College of Vermont and the University of Vermont.

Heather’s son, Jesse, at Rock Point in 2010

Taking the Pulse of Proficiency

What’s the future of this learning model in Vermont?

BY ALISON NOVAK

If you’re a parent with school-aged kids, chances are you’ve heard the term “proficiency-based learning.” It’s a hot topic, and for good reason: Vermont’s Education Quality Standards, adopted by the State Board of Education in 2013 and implemented the following spring, call for all high schools to use proficiency-based graduation requirements by the time the current class of seniors graduates, in June.

While the rollout has gone relatively smoothly in some schools, the confusion and pushback in others have sent ripples all the way to the Statehouse. In some school districts, parents have voiced concern that new, lengthy transcripts are confusing and will hurt their children’s college acceptance chances. One principal abruptly resigned amid such a controversy at his high school. Another school recalculated GPAs while students were in the midst of applying to colleges. A 2019 survey of 1,000 Vermont-National Education Association members found that more than half of them did not think they received adequate resources to make the transition to a proficiency-based learning system.

The state has now backpedaled on the deadline, and a group of legislators has moved to make the whole system optional. When the State Board met in January to hear testimony about the proficiency-based learning approach, the meeting lasted seven hours.

One Vermont private high school has capitalized on the uncertainty by marketing itself to prospective parents and students with a simple question: Tired of proficiency?

What follows is our attempt to unpack the proficiency paradigm and explain how Vermont came to adopt it. We’ll show you what it looks like at Champlain Valley Union High School, which began implementing the approach more than a decade ago, years before the state required schools to do so.

WHAT VERMONT REQUIRES

In short, a Vermont student needs to demonstrate proficiency in the seven curriculum areas the state requires — and complete any other requirements

their school district sets — in order to graduate. Passing an exam is just one way for students to demonstrate proficiency. Others include creating a portfolio, performance or project.

The state leaves implementation details to local school districts and supervisory unions. Beyond requiring them to provide appropriate, personalized learning opportunities — both in and out of school — designed to ensure that all students can meet graduation requirements, state standards don’t spell out what teaching or grading should look like.

Some schools have made major changes to their approach to adopt proficiencybased learning, which is also known as standards-based, competency-based and mastery-based learning. The Vermont Agency of Education o ers a lengthy definition online: “Proficiency-based Learning is any system of academic instruction, assessment, and reporting that is based on learners demonstrating proficiency in knowledge, skills, and abilities they are expected to learn before progressing to the next level or challenge.”

Mike McRaith, assistant director of the Vermont Principals’ Association and former principal of Montpelier High School, puts it in simpler terms: “Proficiency-based learning is a

© ALPHASPIRIT | DREAMSTIME.COM

well-established framework for schools to help answer two basic questions: ‘What will students learn?’ and ‘How will we know they have learned it?’”

As the deadline to implement proficiency-based graduation requirements looms, questions remain about its future in Vermont.

Publicly, Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French has stated that the 2020 implementation deadline is not a “hard-and-fast date.” Ted Fisher, director of communications and legislative a airs for the Agency of Education, clarified French’s position in a February email. “Secretary French would like to see school boards and supervisory unions successfully implement strong proficiency-based systems. Doing this well takes time,” he wrote. Though the Agency of Education does not plan to ask the State Board of Education to change the Education Quality Standards, Fisher continued, “districts who take more time to implement a strong system are not out of compliance.”

Earlier this year, four state legislators introduced a bill, H.665, to make proficiency-based learning and proficiency-based graduation requirements voluntary. Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe), the lead sponsor of the bill,

said she introduced it because of the confusion and challenges implementation has caused. The Agency of Education has given “very little direction” to school districts in terms of how proficiency-based learning should be implemented, she added, and the initiative could undermine Vermont’s good reputation for educational quality.

Some point to Maine as a cautionary tale. In 2012, that state passed a law requiring the class of 2021 to demonstrate proficiency in eight di erent subject areas in order to graduate high school. The initiative was “plagued by insu cient funding and inadequate guidance from the top,” according to the Hechinger Report, and the law was repealed in 2018.

In January, the Vermont State Board of Education held a marathon seven-hour meeting at Rutland High School in which educators, students and parents gave testimony about proficiency-based learning. Many speakers touted its benefits — from the clarity that specific learning targets give teachers and students to the more collaborative environment created in classrooms — and urged the state to stay the course. Others labeled it confusing and demotivating to students and lamented the lack of data on its e ectiveness.

It’s possible that both sides are right. In Vermont, schools are locally controlled, which means local school boards determine how to implement state education policy. Consequently, proficiency-based learning can look di erent from district to district.

Vermont-NEA president Don Tinney emphasized this point to lawmakers last year. “Anyone would be hard-pressed to find any two school districts that have implemented this new approach in the same way,” he said.

PROFICIENCY IN ACTION

Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg began implementing proficiency-based learning before the most recent Education Quality Standards were adopted. In place for more than a decade, the system has become embedded in the way educators teach and students learn. A visit there provides a

snapshot into what proficiency-based learning looks like after years of professional development, teacher collaboration and practice.

On a Monday morning in February, students in Katie Kuntz’s ninth-grade humanities class are on week four of a six-week unit on world religions and religious conflicts. Prior to proficiencybased learning, students would likely have learned about the conflicts at the same pace and, at the end of the unit, taken a test to measure how well they could recall the content.

Now, the focus is on how well students can demonstrate specific skills using the course content, instead of just focusing on the content alone. Kuntz and her teaching partner, Katie Antos-Ketcham, have worked with the six other ninth-grade humanities teachers to develop a K-U-D chart for the yearlong course — specifying what they want students to know, understand and be able to do by June. Included in that chart are the topics they will study and literature they will use, as well as 12 learning targets — skills including critical thinking, making a claim and writing organization — that they want students to acquire. Each of those 12 targets has a four-point rubric, or learning scale, that explicitly states what students need to do to show proficiency. And each learning target is designed to provide evidence that students are meeting one of the school’s 14 proficiency-based graduation standards.

All of CVU’s learning targets are transferable, meaning they are skills that can be applied across courses and discipline areas. For example, making a claim and critical thinking are skills that students can use not just in humanities, but in science and life after high school, as well.

Kuntz and Antos-Ketcham, who have been teaching at CVU for more than 19 and 17 years, respectively, say that proficiency-based learning has changed their teaching practices for the better and made it easier to get to know their students as learners.

Kuntz says that thinking about what students should be able to know, understand and do by the end of a unit or course has given her teaching more focus and specificity. While the content she’s teaching hasn’t necessarily changed — students still read Homer’s The Odyssey in freshman humanities, for example — she has had to be more precise about what she wants students to learn by engaging with the material.

In recent weeks, Kuntz’s students have been working on the “evidence” learning target, which calls for students to use multiple relevant and specific pieces of evidence to develop a claim. Individually or in pairs, they’ve identified

a religious conflict they want to study in more depth — from the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and begun their research. A note-taking chart provides students with a place to answer specific questions: Who are the major groups involved in the conflict? What are the reasons for the conflict? How have people tried to solve the conflict?

At the bottom of the chart, the learning scale for the evidence target states what

scales that state what a student must do to achieve a 1, 2, 3 or 4 in each of them.

In a Think Tank elective for 10th through 12th graders taught by Stan Williams and Emily Rinkema, students are tasked with identifying a problem or issue in the school, then designing a project to address it. This semester, students’ projects range from making a mobile cart with yoga mats, adult coloring books and more items that students can use to mitigate stress, to organizing a breakfast club where

students will have to do to achieve a 1, 2, 3 or 4, providing students with a clear pathway to achieve the learning target and giving teachers a rubric to evaluate students’ work. By breaking down the curriculum into learning targets, teachers can pinpoint students’ specific areas of weakness, then personalize instruction to help address individual needs.

Freshman Juliette Chant, who is studying India and Pakistan’s conflict over the Kashmir region, says learning scales are helpful because they make it easy to know what she needs to do to meet or exceed each learning target.

On this recent Monday, Kuntz introduces two new learning targets related to communication — voice and physical expression — that students will need to demonstrate when they give presentations about their religious conflict in a few weeks. She shows them learning

students can discuss mental health issues, to creating a podcast for NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge. As they work to implement their diverse projects, all students are being assessed on the same four learning targets — evaluation, synthesis, iterative process, and media production and use.

Under proficiency-based learning, assessments fall into two categories — formative and summative. Formative assessments are small, precise tasks teachers assign to help determine what instruction a student still needs to meet learning targets. These assessments also help students see their progress and don’t count toward a final grade. Rather, they are designed to help students build the skills that will be more formally assessed, in the form of an essay, project, performance or exam, at the end of the unit — called a summative assessment.

In the ninth-grade humanities unit on world religion, for example, the conflict chart students have filled out will be used to assess the evidence target; a presentation on the conflict they have studied will assess the two communication targets; and a graphic organizer on the five major religions will address the critical thinking target. Scores on each of the learning targets are shown on an online portal called JumpRope, and a final grade for the course is a weighted average of a student’s performance on all the learning targets for the class — with targets that have been assessed more frequently given more weight.

One point often raised by critics of proficiency-based learning is that the practice of reassessment, or allowing students to retake a summative assessment if they don’t perform well, decreases students’ work ethic and academic rigor. But at CVU, redos are rare. Freshman Kate Boget explained that in order to redo an assessment at CVU, students need to get a parent’s signature, meet with a teacher to explain why they want to redo the assignment and, if they get approval, do the work again. She said she’d rather do well the first time than go through that process.

Union High School junior Maddie Evans with a “stress-free” cart she designed for her Think Tank elective

Middle school students at Shelburne Community School work on the evidence learning target

Proficiency-based learning is a well-established framework for schools to help answer two basic questions: “What will students learn?” and “How will we know they have learned it?”

MIKE MCRAITH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VERMONT PRINCIPALS’ ASSOCIATION

HOW WE GOT HERE

Vermont officially adopted proficiency-based graduation requirements in late 2013. In December of that year, the State Board of Education approved new education standards that shifted the focus from input to outcomes, or, as the Agency of Education explains online, “from a focus on courses and Carnegie units (seat time) to a focus on mastery of content.”

The Education Quality Standards require that the class of 2020 demonstrate proficiency in seven curriculum areas (see below) — and fufill any other requirements specified by their school district — in order to graduate.

The change stems from a state law — also adopted in 2013 — that requires schools to develop personal learning plans for students and to allow students to learn outside the classroom, including online, at a workplace, in a career or technical center, or in college. That law, Act 77, is called the “flexible pathways initiative.” Students can take different paths to graduation, and yet their diplomas need to mean something, said Rebecca Holcombe, who was Vermont’s secretary of education from January 2014 until April 2018. “So that’s the logic of proficiencybased graduation [requirements],” Holcombe said. “If they’re taking different roads, how do you know they’re getting to the same place?”

Though this approach is new, the idea is rooted in educational theories the state has been discussing for years. The Agency of Education’s website goes so far as to trace it to John Dewey, the academic philosopher — born in Burlington in 1859 — who believed that education should be based on the principle of learning through doing.

“Things sort of come around again and again,” said Holcombe, now a Democratic candidate for governor. “I mean, nothing we’re talking about now is something that people haven’t tried to figure out how to tackle before.”

Throughout the last two decades, the state has studied “flexible pathways” and proficiency-based graduation requirements. Laws have moved incrementally in that direction. Movement accelerated under governor Peter Shumlin, who made education reform a priority during his tenure from 2011 through 2016.

about 45 percent of Vermont students who started ninth grade continued their education beyond high school.

Six months later, in July 2013 — in response to Shumlin’s agenda and as a result of years of work by educators and policy makers — the legislature passed Act 77.

Neither the law nor state education standards specify how teaching should be carried out in schools or what report cards should look like. Local school districts make those decisions.

Krista Huling, a social studies teacher at South Burlington High School, was on the State Board of Education when the new standards were adopted. (She resigned in August to serve on Holcombe’s campaign.) “I think how we got here was just, education leaders at the time really wanted more for their students,” she said. With the world changing as fast as it is, teachers don’t even know what kinds of jobs their students will get, so they need to prepare them to be creative thinkers, comfortable with technology, who can interact with each other, Huling said. “This idea [is] that we are trying to create a system that is more flexible for our students. So that way, they have more opportunities in the future, not less.”

-MARY ANN LICKTEIG

The curriculum content state standards require:

1. Literacy (including critical thinking, language, reading, speaking and listening, and writing)

2. Mathematical content and practices (including numbers, operations, and the concepts of algebra and geometry by the end of grade 10)

3. Scientific inquiry and content knowledge (including the concepts of life sciences, physical sciences, Earth and space sciences, and engineering design)

4. Global citizenship (including the concepts of civics, economics, geography, world language, cultural studies and history)

5. Physical education and health education

Proficiency

CVU senior and student body copresident Beckett Pintair said that while he believes proficiency-based learning still has room for improvement in terms of its implementation, he believes it has the potential to be “incredibly positive” for students. “PBL can give kids the chance to focus on the actual learning instead of what grade they will get for the class. This will change kids’ mindsets and motivate kids to learn, rather than shutting them down, punishing them for what they don’t know.”

SET UP FOR SUCCESS

CVU is well equipped to implement proficiency-based learning for a number of reasons. It discovered the model years before the state mandated proficiencybased graduation requirements. Its teachers have had years of professional development on the subject. And the two educators who helped bring the model to the school — Williams and Rinkema — have written a book on the topic and now spend half of their time working as proficiency-based learning coordinators for the Champlain Valley School District, which, in addition to CVU, includes four K-8 schools in Shelburne, Williston, Hinesburg and Charlotte.

It really started out as a “grassroots initiative,” CVU principal Adam Bunting said.

6. Artistic expression (including visual, media and performing arts) Transferable skills (including communication, collaboration, creativity, innovation, inquiry, problem solving and the use of technology) for high school juniors and seniors to take college

In his 2012 budget address, Shumlin said that the state’s education system was too rigid to adequately serve diverse learners. “Flexibility is critical for all students,” he said, calling for an expansion of school choice, allowing dual enrollment for high school juniors and seniors to take college courses for college credit and allowing students to enroll full time in college during their senior year.

7. solving and

Twelve years ago, Williams and Rinkema were both on sabbatical from CVU when their research into differentiating courses and raising rigor for students led them to proficiency-based learning. Its method of establishing clear learning targets seemed to them to be the key to meeting the needs of all students. They brought back their findings and have spent the years since working with other educators at CVU, and now at the district’s middle schools, to implement the method.

In 2019, their proficiency-based learning guide for educators, The Standards-Based Classroom: Make Learning the Goal, was published by Corwin Press.

“The high school degree that brought success and a lifetime job in the old economy

The following year, Shumlin devoted his entire 2013 State of the State address to education, calling it “the state’s greatest economic development tool … If we stand by, if we fail to innovate, and if we refuse to change, we will slip behind...” he said. “The high school degree that brought success and a lifetime job in the old economy ensures a low-wage future in the tech economy.” Sixty-two percent of job openings in the coming decade would require postsecondary education, Shumlin said, yet only

Proficiency-based learning is more than an external mandate at CVU, Rinkema said. It has “staying power” and is part of the “long-term vision” of the district, she said.

CVU has deliberately made incremental changes. Though the methods for teaching and learning and the ways grades are calculated have changed, students’ scores are converted to letter grades four times a year, and they still receive GPAs. Transcriptssent to colleges still look the same. At the state

If they’re taking different roads, how do you know they’re getting to the same place?

REBECCA HOLCOMBE, FORMER VERMONT SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

board meeting, Rinkema described this decision to hang on to what was familiar to families as “a bit of a compromise” the school made in order to have more freedom to change instructional and assessment practices. Bunting said he sees the current grading practice as a bridge to where CVU is hopefully headed — transcripts that reflect what students know and are able to do rather than just provide an aggregate grade. But, he said of the school’s decision not to change the way transcripts look, “our sense was the community wasn’t ready — yet.”

Both Bellows Free AcademySt. Albans and U-32 are examples of schools that changed their student transcripts to reflect proficiencies and ran into trouble.

In October, BFA principal Chris Mosca resigned after the school released several versions of student transcripts, some of which were cumbersome and difficult to understand. At U-32, student GPAs — which had been calculated using a proficiency-based grading scale — were recalculated in December after some larger, out-of-state universities requested a conversion chart to a traditional grading system.

For its part, the Agency of Education does not take a position on how school districts or supervisory union should structure their grading practices. Though the agency has provided school districts with resources on the topic, including a 2018 research brief on proficiency-based grading practices, “grading is a local decision,” said Fisher.

A PLAN FOR COLLABORATION?

When proficiency-based learning is not implemented with full fidelity or understanding, it won’t work, Williams said. It’s not a “program” that schools “can just plug in and have ready to go.”

Implementation requires thoughtful planning and team effort, Williams and Rinkema say. Shifting to a model of teaching that challenges the way teachers have traditionally done things “is not going to go smoothly,” they write in their book. “It’s going to be messy and rocky and contentious and uncomfortable. You will get things wrong. You will make mistakes.”

Williams stressed the importance of Vermont schools having common language around the tenets of proficiency-based learning, adding that

a lack of common vocabulary makes sharing and collaborating a challenge. He also thinks the Agency of Education should act as a resource for schools that are having difficulty implementing proficiency-based learning, connecting educators struggling with specific aspects of the model with those who have had success.

“We have so much experience and so many resources to offer each other, but we don’t have systems and structures in place to make this easy,” Williams and Rinkema wrote in their prepared testimony for the State Board of Education meeting in January. “It’s so important that we work together as a state to maintain fidelity to the simplicity of the foundational principles, while navigating the complexities of implementation.”

Pat Fitzsimmons, the proficiency-based learning team leader at the Agency of Education, said the agency has provided professional learning opportunities and tools to help educators implement proficiency-based learning. And agency spokesperson Fisher said there is “a combined effort” of organizations such as the Vermont Principals’ Association, the Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont Curriculum Leaders Association to support proficiency-based learning in the state.

CVU principal Bunting suggested the Agency of Education needs more funding to support the initiative. And, in turn, he said, the agency needs to provide more opportunities for educators around the state to collaborate to improve their practices.

As principal of a school that has worked for years to create a proficiencybased system, Bunting said that if Vermont were to abandon its move toward the model, it would send a bad message to educators, especially those who were early adopters and are making gains with students. It would also empower what Bunting calls the “really dangerous” type of thinking that all educational change is a pendulum, swinging in one direction for a few years and then back a few years later.

Vermont has the opportunity to assume the “leadership mantle,” when it comes to proficiency-based learning, he said.

“I can’t articulate strongly enough how disappointed I would be if our state backs off this.” K

I can’t articulate strongly enough how disappointed I would be if our state backs off this.

HIGH SCHOOL

Raising the Bar

BY KEN PICARD

PHOTOS BY GLENN RUSSELL

Ahalf dozen teenage gymnasts took turns practicing dismounts o the balance beams on a recent weeknight at the Green Mountain Training Center. The girls’ competitive team trains at least 15 hours per week in the 12,500-square-foot gym, which is nestled amid warehouses and loading docks in a Williston industrial park.

As her teammates looked on, 18-yearold Tali Giubardo, a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, performed a series of leaps, scissor kicks and turns before soaring o the end of the beam in a backflip, sticking the landing.

Next up was Delaney Brown, 17, who casually walked backward along the 4-inch-wide beam without even glancing at her feet. Sporting a blond ponytail and blue leotard, Brown suddenly jutted her arms overhead and brought her hands together as though she were clutching an invisible beach ball. She then rotated forward in an aerial, or hands-free cartwheel, before executing a “round o full” — a backflip with a twist — onto the mat below. Aside from a small step on the landing, it was flawless.

Watching nearby in quiet concentration

was the only male on the gymnastics floor: Stefan Hruska, a short, white-haired man in baggy sweatpants, white sneakers and a gray GMTC sweatshirt. To a casual observer, the 75-year-old coach, standing with his arms crossed, one hand clutching his bearded chin, didn’t appear to be doing much.

But when he occasionally corrected a gymnast’s form or o ered advice, everyone listened intently. Hruska speaks choppy English in a thick Slovak accent, and he can be di cult to understand, especially when the gym is noisy. But the young athletes listen closely for another reason, too: Hruska knows what it takes to become a serious competitive gymnast.

Before emigrating to the United States in 1994, the Czechoslovakian-born Hruska coached many of his country’s elite gymnasts, some of whom competed in world championships, including the Olympics. Hruska himself competed for more than a decade before becoming a coach and an international men’s gymnastics judge for European and World Cup championships. The late Vladimir Cernusak, a member of the International Olympic Committee and

founding president of the Slovak Olympic Committee, gave Hruska the honorary title of “model coach” for his service to their country’s gymnastics community.

Since Hruska’s move to Vermont, athletes have sought him out. They have won state gymnastics titles and spots on college varsity teams. Others have gone on to apply their aerial skills to freestyle skiing and Hollywood stunt work.

A former elite Slovak coach helps Green Mountain gymnasts stick their landings

Hruska coaching in Czechoslovakia

Coach Stefan Hruska working with a gymnast at the Green Mountain Training Center in Williston

However, most of Hruska’s students and their parents know little or nothing about his international credentials or his depth of knowledge. Hruska is a quiet and modest man who coaches girls of all ages and abilities, most of whom will never compete at the elite level.

Even the most accomplished gymnasts who practice at GMTC have only a vague notion of Hruska’s professional career. During a break from their recent practice, they described him as a strict but lovable coach who cares deeply about his athletes, their health and the sport of gymnastics.

“He’s like my grandpa!” Brown said with a laugh. The 17-year-old high school senior from Peru, N.Y., has known Hruska since she was 3, when her older sister started training with him at his former gym in Winooski, Hruska Gymnastics Academy. A four-time Vermont state champion, Brown now commutes three hours round trip, four days a week, to train at GMTC. In January she signed with the women’s varsity team at the State University of New York Cortland, but she plans to continue training with Hruska during summer breaks.

“He’s literally the nicest coach I’ve ever met,” said CVU senior Laurynn Bombardier, who’s also trained with Hruska for years. “He makes me want to do better to please him and make him proud of my gymnastics.”

“He’s also really caring toward your body,” Giubardo added. “If you’re hurt he’s like, ‘Don’t do it. Wait until you’re healthy.’ It’s about quality over quantity.”

Giubardo described Hruska as the most knowledgeable and helpful coach she’s ever had, even if he occasionally has trouble explaining what he wants her to do.

“He’ll say it in his language, and we’ll guess what he means,” Bombardier chimed in. “Most of the time we can figure it out.” And when they can’t, she added, he’ll grab a chunk of gymnastics chalk and draw it on a mat.

Bombardier and Giubardo are members of the CVU gymnastics team that won the high school state championship in February.

Robin Bourdeau, owner of GMTC, has known Hruska for 20 years, ever since her daughters took gymnastics with him at his academy in Winooski. According to Bourdeau, Hruska trained virtually all her other coaches to spot gymnasts on the apparatus.

“His spotting skills are amazing,” she said. Watching a gymnast on the uneven parallel bars, Hruska will move in silent synchronicity with her routine.

“Stefan has never once dropped me, which I can’t say about other coaches,”

Bombardier said. “Somehow, he gets in and catches you. I don’t know how he does it.”

But despite having taught literally thousands of Vermont athletes over the years, including varsity gymnasts at the University of Vermont, Hruska isn’t widely known in Vermont outside the gymnastics community, Bourdeau said.

“This is not just another job he does. This is truly his profession,” she added. “He understands the sports science behind it. He’s a brilliant, brilliant man.”

FROM EASTERN BLOC TO WESTERN VERMONT

Hruska, who lives in Colchester with his wife, Viera, was born near Nitra, Czechoslovakia, in what’s now the Slovak Republic. Because Hruska sometimes has difficulty understanding and expressing himself in English, his son, Martin, a former UVM gymnast, translated from their native Slovak.

Hruska was about 11 when he started gymnastics and discovered his natural aptitude for the sport. His village had no gymnastics club, so he had to travel to another town to train. Hruska went on to attend Charles University in Prague, then Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, in southwestern Slovakia, where he earned a doctorate in physical education.

Hruska was a competitive gymnast in Czechoslovakia for more than 10 years, until gymnastics-related injuries to his left knee effectively ended his athletic career when he was in his twenties. For the next 18 years, he worked as head coach of the men’s gymnastic program at

TSM Dukla, a training facility in Banská Bystrica, a city in central Slovakia. Hruska never trained female athletes before coming to the United States.

Coaching elite gymnasts in what was then a Soviet Bloc country had its pros and cons. As Hruska explained, children with the most promising athletic abilities were sent from an early age to train at separate schools, where their tuition, coaching, travel, room and board were paid for by the government. While the environment allowed athletes freedom to concentrate on their training, Hruska said, it could be stressful for athletes and coaches alike, who were under tremendous pressure to bring home medals.

Hruska went on to judge national and international competitions. And while he never accompanied athletes to the Olympics as a coach, he was part of teams that trained the Czech gymnasts who competed in Montréal in 1976, in Moscow in 1980 and those who qualified

for the 1984 games in Los Angeles. Those gymnasts didn’t get to compete because Czechoslovakia was one of several Soviet Bloc countries that boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in retaliation for the Western boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviets’ 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

In August 1994, Hruska, then a professor at Matej Bel University, in Banská Bystrica, had an opportunity to work in the U.S., so he accepted a coaching position at Champlain Valley Gymnastics in South Burlington. Because the educational opportunities in this country were better for his two children, the Hruska family decided to settle in the U.S. permanently.

In 1998 Hruska starting working in the UVM athletic department, which allowed his children to attend the university tuition-free. Hruska went on to coach the UVM men’s varsity team; there, he explained, several of his gymnasts helped him improve his English. (He still carries in his briefcase the small green notebook where he jotted down expressions they taught him.) He also worked part time as a physical education lecturer in the department of education.

In 2001 the Winooski gym where Hruska had coached part time closed. Bourdeau, who now owns GMTC, was part of a committee of concerned parents who explored various options for replacing the gym. At the time, Bourdeau knew very little about gymnastics herself — she’d sold office furniture for 18 years — but she decided to open a gym nonetheless and offered Hruska the head coaching job.

Hruska was still working at UVM then, so he accepted the position part time, then briefly opened his own gym. But he returned to GMTC in 2010 and has been with the Williston training center ever since.

A number of top U.S. athletes have worked with Hruska over the years, including Megan Nick of Shelburne. The now 23-year-old took up gymnastics

He makes me want to do better to please him and make him proud of my gymnastics.

LAURYNN BOMBARDIER

Hruska and gymnasts Delaney Brown (left) and Tali Giubardo

Hruska giving balance beam tips to gymnast Laurynn Bombardier

Raising the Bar

when she was 3 and started training with Hruska when she was in fourth grade. As she recalled in a recent phone interview, Hruska was different from her other coaches, in part because he used very different drills and conditioning regimens he’d developed in Eastern Europe.

“He was a real change-up,” she said. “Stefan was strict, but he was able to make it a fun environment.”

When Nick was 17, she was invited by the U.S. Ski Team to attend a tryout camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., to learn freestyle, or aerial, skiing. After a week of demonstrating her tumbling, strength, water ramp and trampoline skills, she was one of six athletes chosen to train with the team for international competition.

Nick, who’s been on the U.S. aerials team since 2016, had two top-10 world finishes in 2019. Just last month, she landed on her first World Cup podium with a second-place finish in Deer Valley, Utah. Now a student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Nick is training for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. She gives Hruska a lot of credit for teaching her the spatial awareness she needed to become a world-class freestyler. As she put it, “It’s easier to teach [gymnasts] how to ski than to teach skiers the air awareness needed for aerials.”

Indeed, USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, has long promoted the sport with the slogan “Begin

Here. Go Anywhere.” As Nick explained, the core physical skills developed in gymnastics — balance, coordination, strength, agility, air awareness — are applicable to a range of other sports.

And professions. Another former student of Hruska’s who still uses his gymnastics skills is Justice Hedenberg.

The 27-year-old, who divides his time between Hinesburg and Long Beach, N.Y., works as a Hollywood stunt performer. His stunts have been featured on TV series including “Homeland,” “Daredevil,” “Gotham” and “Tell Me a Story,” as well as in such films as Ghostbusters (2016) and the sci-fi action comedy Free Guy, due out in July.

“When you’re a preteen wanting to get involved in gymnastics, Stefan offered a pretty awesome spot for young boys and men to train,” Hedenberg said in a phone interview. “He was the best … He had a good program and knew his stuff.”

Years later, Hedenberg still remembers improving his skills with Hruska at GMTC. Specifically, he was trying to nail down a “front double full,” which is a front flip followed by two and a half twists. He’d done them on a trampoline before, but never from the floor.

“I hadn’t worked with Stefan in years. But he came over and said, ‘You need more

’splosion,’” Hedenberg recalled, mimicking Hruska’s accent. “Next thing, I’m stomping it! I was pretty happy about that.”

Hedenberg went on to coach parkour and is also a part-owner of the Elevate Movement Collective, a gym in Stowe. He said that gymnastics played a pivotal role in landing him in his current profession.

“The skills I obtained have absolutely helped me pursue a career, and I am extremely grateful for that,” he added. “Stefan is one of the reasons.”

But Olympic dreams and professional careers likely weren’t on the minds of the 7-year-olds who were taking a recreational gymnastics class with Hruska on a recent weeknight.

“OK, girls, arms like this! Big step!” Hruska shouted, demonstrating what he wanted them to do. Several of the young athletes were unsteady on the beam, one fell off, and only a few of the others did exactly what he’d asked. “No, no, no! Fingers, arms, very sloppy! This time, leg lift, down, leg lift, opposite side. Big circle, OK?”

“I caught about a third of what he just said,” remarked one of the gymnasts’ mothers watching nearby.

When the older gymnasts took a short break, a few shared stories about Hruska and his endearing quirks. Bridget Haggerty, a student at Burlington High

School, pointed out that Hruska often begins sentences with the word “doc.” All the other girls laughed in agreement, though none could explain why their coach does it.

“It goes in front of everything!”

Bombardier added. “One time we did try to ask Stefan what it means, and he was like, ‘Doc, what do you mean?’ He says it without realizing it.” Hruska’s son Martin later explained that tak is a Slovak filler word, akin to “like” in English.

The girls also joked good-naturedly about Hruska’s unusual idiomatic expressions. For example, if one of them performs an exercise poorly, he might say, “You look like spider with the flu.” And if the gymnasts don’t live up to his high expectations, he’ll say, “I have disappointment lower than basement.”

For some of the younger girls who come to GMTC for recreational gymnastics, Hruska’s stoic demeanor and thick accent can be intimidating, Bourdeau noted. Unlike the college-aged female coaches, she said, he doesn’t immediately come across as warm and fuzzy.

And on rare occasions, his broken English can be misinterpreted. Sometimes if the gymnasts are slacking off, Hruska will say, “I’m very bad man.”

“We’re like, Stefan, you’re the nicest person we ever met!” Bombardier said. “And he’s like, ‘Nooo, I’m very bad man!’”

“I had a parent call me one time and say, ‘Who is this ‘very bad man’ you have working for you?’” Bourdeau recalled. As she explained to the parent, Hruska simply meant that he was having a bad day.

But as much as the girls like to joke about Hruska, they’re also very protective of him.

“We also know that we need to give him respect,” Bombardier said. “The little girls don’t really see that as much, and it hurts us to watch them not respect him.”

And for a man his age, Bourdeau noted, he remains surprising agile. Five years ago, she recalled seeing Hruska quietly step on to one of the trampolines and perform a back layout, which is a back flip with one’s body straight rather than tucked. Within minutes everyone in the gym was watching this 70-year-old doing aerial maneuvers like someone 50 years his junior.

But Hruska isn’t the boastful type. He noted, for example, that when he was competing, performing a double back flip off a high bar was a big deal. Now, he said, he spots young teenagers who can do them. And he primarily sees himself as just one part of the GMTC coaching team.

“I want to help. We have coaches not … so much experience, OK? Ask me, ‘Stefan, you help me?’” Hruska said. “Why not? If I can do it, I will be very glad.”

No translation necessary. K

Within minutes everyone in the gym was watching this 70-year-old doing aerial maneuvers like someone 50 years his junior.

Hruska coaching Bridget Haggerty on the uneven bars

Proud to Be a Good Citizen!

Hundreds of young Vermonters have participated in the second Good Citizen Challenge, which ends on Friday, March 6. Here are just a few of the thousands of activity submissions we received from them:

1. The "Bakersfield Bobcats" walked as a group to a memorial honoring local veterans. Said team leader Kendra Pillsbury: "We had a great conversation and many students shared about relatives honored on the memorial."

2. Many players submitted portraits of American patriots:

— Camden Shepard of Guilford drew George Washington.

— Callie Breit of Ascutney depicted Revolutionary War hero Molly Pitcher.

— Isabella Seaton of Montpelier chose Abraham Lincoln.

3. Phoebe in Ripton drew this poster encouraging adults to vote.

4. A fifth-grade team from Burlington, "The Malikians," organized a food donation drive.

Thanks to all the players who participated in this year's Challenge! You've inspired us with your energy and creativity. Check next month's issue of Kids VT for a complete list of finishers and details about the 2020 award reception.

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5. Henry Swisher of Jericho picked up trash.

6. Chapin Grubbs of Charlotte wrote a letter to Sen. Bernie Sanders.

PHOTOS: RENEE GREENLEE

Camp Shakespeare

Friendship, fun and bonding with the Bard

BY BRETT ANN STANCIU

Brattleboro actor and author Peter Gould didn’t intend to start a summer camp, but “that’s what happened,” he said. In 1998, Gould proposed a residency in theater arts for high school students at Craftsbury Academy. But when he encountered resistance from teachers about the time commitment during the school year, he decided to start a summer camp instead. Get Thee to the Funnery — a riff on the famous line from Hamlet — was born.

Every summer since, he has headed up the two-week camp for teenagers, sometimes called Shakespeare camp or, simply, the Funnery. During those weeks, Gould said, “People get together, they hang out and talk. They really love each other and make lifelong friendships — and gradually we turn to rehearsals and scenes.”

A few things have changed since the early days. The original Craftsbury camp moved down the road to Sterling College and then to Hardwick. Gould opened sister camps in Chelsea and Brattleboro. The Chelsea camp is now run by former campers Kailie Larkin and Sophie Wood. Gould, who is married to state Rep.

But the camp’s format remains the same. Each summer, teens immerse themselves in one of the Bard’s plays and cap the session with a performance.

Gould’s life is full of creative accomplishments. As half of the Gould & Stearns traveling theater troupe, he has performed in thousands of shows, including the widely toured A Peasant of El Salvador, jointly authored by Gould and his performing partner, Stephen Stearns. Set in the turbulent 1970s, the play depicts a Salvadoran farmer and his family caught up in their country’s civil unrest. The play raised funds and awareness for the Sanctuary Movement, a campaign whose mission is to provide a haven for Central American refugees. Gould’s young adult novel, Write Naked — which features two aspiring teen writers — won the 2009 National Green Earth Book Award. In 2016, he received a Vermont Arts Council Award in Arts Education.

In 2002, Gould earned a PhD in comparative literature from Brandeis University. Currently, he teaches in Brandeis’ Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Studies Program. His

most recent book, Horse-Drawn Yogurt: Stories From Total Loss Farm, published by Green Writers Press in 2017, is a collection of essays about his decade as a commune founder in the southern Vermont town of Guilford.

In the summer, though, Gould reigns over the Funnery. The day camp — with a homestay option — enrolls teenagers and an occasional 12-year-old. Gould cautions parents of prospective younger campers that Shakespearean plays are chock-full of bawdy jokes, and that he won’t “walk back my punctilious explanation about what a joke means.”

At the Funnery, campers’ experiences and growth, rather than the final performance, are the focus. The camp embraces an attitude of acceptance, creativity and freedom to explore. Gould, a stutterer, acknowledges he’s running the kind of summer program he would have relished as a kid.

“Funnery,” said Hazen Union High School senior and repeat camper Audrey Grant, “has never been just a Shakespeare camp. It’s a home.” Grant loves the in-depth conversations about the play campers are challenged to

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETER GOULD

Mollie S. Burke (P/D Brattleboro), leads the Brattleboro camp.

Get Thee to the Funnery campers

Get Thee to the Funnery founder Peter Gould

"I can't say enough about how much I love this camp. My son attended for the first time this year and he absolutely loved his time there. He learned new skills and improved on others. There were so many activities, he could not pick a definite favorite. And he raved about the food. The best part of it is that he thoroughly enjoyed himself and made some great new friends." - 2018 Parent

Camp Shakespeare

perform in just two weeks. Through discussion and exercise, Gould guides the teens to look at Shakespeare both historically and also through their own contemporary eyes.

Some teens arrive complaining, My mom made me go to Shakespeare camp, but Gould insists that’s because they haven’t really experienced Shakespeare yet. High school teachers, he noted, “just don’t know how to lift Shakespeare off the page, so we do a lot of damage control.”

Each year, Gould selects one of Shakespeare’s 37 plays and spends the winter carefully cutting it to about 75% of its original length. The campers — around 32 teens, with a staff of five or six former Funnery campers — start each morning with yoga, which emphasizes the importance of mindfulness. Ample time is then devoted to reading through the script.

When it comes to assigning roles, Gould doesn’t rush, either. Campers may not score a coveted starring role, but he promises them that they’ll leave fulfilled. Nurturing growth in young people delights him. When parents have asked him to do a summer camp for grownups, “I’m like, Why would I want to work with adults?”

Eighteen-year-old Mariana Considine of Hardwick, who will attend her fifth Shakespeare camp this summer, described the Funnery as “not a theater camp, it’s really a life camp” where campers “learn so much about each other and the world around us.”

At the camp’s heart lies dialogue about the connections between theater and the actors’ lives. When the Funnery performed The Tempest, Gould asked campers, “Do you believe in magic? Have you ever had magical stuff happen? What would you do if somebody years ago when you were younger did a really awful thing to you that changed your whole life

for the worse, and you had them in your power now? Would you be able to forgive them? Or would you want revenge?”

While discussion and forging friendships are paramount, campers know they must learn their lines. Since some characters, such as Macbeth, have many lines, four different teens might play the role in a single performance. Sometimes actors will switch in the middle of a scene.

“The audience loves the brilliance of really playing with the lines, knowing that we’re never going to give them bad Shakespeare,” Gould said. He never alters the original language. The teens, he said, play with “the absolute tip-top, highest quality language, and make it their own.”

Each day, kids are pushed to improve what Gould names the sign of the four: heart, mind, body, voice. “Heart” strengthens empathy for fellow campers, their directors, the material, Shakespeare himself, and, above all, the audience. “Mind” is about learning — no summer slide for these campers. “Body” draws from Gould’s years as a mime and refers to the importance of movement and imagination. “Voice” often takes years to master. “Some

of my best campers, in their third or fourth year, suddenly found their voice after not being heard, because they were so shy,” explained Gould. “Suddenly, they’re leaping all over the stage and proclaiming, and I’m like, Yes! You’ve got it. ”

As a teacher who adheres to his own advice, Gould said he’s determined to make everyone in the room believe, “I would not want to be anywhere else in the universe.” K

Campers taking a break from rehearsal

Funnery campers performing

Peter Gould

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETER GOULD

Kids

July

For kids who are wild about animals!

Kids Ages 10-12: $390

Week 5: Monday-Friday

August 3-7 • 8:30AM-3PM

Week 6: Monday-Friday

August 10-14 • 8:30AM-3PM

Kids Ages 7-9: $390

Week 3: Monday-Friday

July 20-24 • 8:30AM3PM

Week 4: Monday-Friday

July 27-31 • 8:30AM-3PM

Animal Welfare Warriors: $250

Monday-Wednesday

August 17-19 • 9AM-3PM

This elevated learning experience is for 13-15 year olds who are motivated to understand and be active in the world of animal welfare.

*This is not your average animal lover’s program! Students will be involved in hands on learning and exploration.

Vermont Ballet Theater School Center for Dance presents Celebration of Dance 2019

Dance

Celebration of Dance 2020

Classes & Camps

& Camps

ages

through pre-professional will dance their way two exciting performances, Saturday, May 23

Our annual showcase of talent from ages 4 through pre-professional will dance their way onto the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington for 2 exciting performances, Saturday May 25, 2019 at 1:00 & 6:30 pm.

• Week-long ballet themed camps for ages 3-9; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and more!

• Week-long ballet themed camps for ages 3-9; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and more!

• All That Jazz Musical Theater Camp, plus STORM Dance Co. Summer Intensive with Kate Stevens

• Week-long ballet Mini-Intensive for ages 12-18, for the serious dancer looking to stay in shape for various summer-long intensives

• Weekly ballet classes for young dancers - adults - beginner - advanced

• Weekly for dancers - beginner advanced

For show & ticket information visit www.vbts.org.

information come with For schedule and enrollment information, visit us at WWW.VBTS.ORG, or call 878-2941, or email INFO@VBTS.ORG

• Ongoing yoga and tness classes for adults

• All That Jazz Musical Theater Camp, plus STORM Dance Co. Summer Intensive with Kate Stevens

This summer come dance with the best at VBTS! For schedule and enrollment information, visit us at WWW.VBTS.ORG, or call 878-2941, or email INFO@VBTS.ORG

the listing by the 15th at kidsvt.com or classes@kidsvt.com

Camp Thorpe

camping experience for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Goshen, VT.

Lessons learned… Independence gained… Responsibility embraced… Confidence developed. All among loving friends, supportive staff, and beautiful nature.

WE KNOW CAMPS Register today

CAMP ABNAKI

Age: For boys in grades K - 10 Location: North Hero, VT

Hours: 1 and 2 week sessions

Day and overnight camp on Lake Champlain. Campers build skills, a sense of values, and have fun! campabnaki.org

CAMP KODA

Age: For kids in grade K - 6

Location: 4 area communities

Hours: 7:30am – 6:00pm

Full-day, coed summer day camp with 3 and 5 day options in Essex, Georgia, Underhill, and Waterbury.

CAMP IGNITE

Age: For girls ages 8-14 Location: Burlington

Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm

A camp to Inspire Girls in Nature, Technology, and the Environment on the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington.

IMAGINE YOUR STORY

Age: For kids in grade K - 6

Location: Fletcher Free Library

When: June 15 -19, 8:30am –5:00pm

Campers will participate in fairytale-themed activities and the library’s summer challenge.

We spend our summer days learning new skills, diving into Chinese language and culture, exploring our 22 acres of forest and fields, and building lasting friendships.

Camps for ages 3-11

July 6-10, 13-17, and 20-24

Turtle Lane Campus, Shelburne, VT Learn more and register at www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org

CAMP PROPEL

Age: For kids in grades 3 - 8 Location: Burlington

Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm

This sports-focused camp will teach leadership and teamwork through activities like soccer, basketball, baseball, and archery.

For more information about Y summer camps, and to register today, visit gbymca.org/camp

July 6-10 • July 13-17

July 20-24 • July 27-31

Projects include: Driftwood Art, Gelatin Leaf Prints, Block-printed Koinobori Fish, Pop-Up Books, Graphic Novels, Mechanical Sculptures, Drawing, Painting, Ceramic Animal Planters, Wood Cruiser Skateboards, Water-Balloon Trebuchet, Propeller Cars, Clay Wheel Throwing, Rube Goldberg Machine, and much more!

Sign-up Today! Limited Spaces available (802) 985-3648

Sweet Satisfaction

Week to Week

St. Albans St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The crowd comes out for this short but spirited shindig, with a corned beef and cabbage dinner and Irish music and dancing afterward. Downtown St. Albans.

Vermont Day at VINS: With a reduced fee of $5 for Green Mountain State residents, eager naturalists explore the forest canopy walk, exhibits and programs at this nature and wild avian rehabilitation center. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee.

Harlem Globetrotters: The world-famous team cuts up the court. UVM Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington.

Vermonters satisfy their cravings when sugar shacks all over the state swing open their doors for VERMONT MAPLE OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND. Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22. See vermontmaple.org for a list of participating sugarhouses and detailed schedule.

Like the University of Vermont Medical Center on Facebook and get weekly updates from Dr. First! See “First With Kids” videos at uvmhealth.org.

MARCH

1 Sunday

ADDISON

Family Play: Moms, dads and children have fun with free court time and use of equipment. Ages 18 and under with adult. Middlebury Indoor Tennis, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Info, 388-3733. FREE

CHITTENDEN

Art Play Day: Little ones and caregivers drop in and get messy with multiple materials to spark imagination. Ages 18 months to 5 years with caregiver. Radiate Art Space, Richmond, 10-11:30 a.m., $5 per child; $8 max per family; $40 for a 10-visit punch card. Info, 324-9938.

Essex Open Gym: Energy-filled kids flip, jump and tumble in a state-of-the-art facility. Ages 6 and under, 1 p.m.; ages 7-12, 2:30 p.m.; ages 13 and up, 4 p.m. Regal Gymnastics Academy, Essex, 1-5:30 p.m., $8-14 per child. Info, 655-3300.

Family Gym: Indoor playground equipment provides tiny tumblers a chance to run free. Ages 7 and under with caregivers. Greater Burlington YMCA, 9:30 a.m.-noon, $5-8. Info, 862-8134.

Interactive Storytime with Ted: Kids snuggle in for stories, photos and snacks with a friendly bear, while their mamas and papas sip free coffee. Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Shelburne, 10:30 a.m. Info, 985-3001. FREE

Maple Jam: Vermont’s own a cappella jazz septet serenades library listeners. Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Jericho, 2 p.m. Info, 899-4962. FREE

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Whaleback Winterfest and Ski-a-thon: This fundraiser for Veterans Count focuses on outdoor winter fun, with skiing and riding, dogsledding, fabulous food, and a concert finale by Jamie Lee Thurston. See vetscount.org for specifics. Whaleback Mountain, Enfield, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., $10 per spectator; free for children under 13; $10 per dogsled rider. Info, 371-8053.

2 Monday

CHITTENDEN

2C’s Monday Night Movie for Kids: Young and old relax with a PG-rated flick while feasting on free popcorn. Ages 4 and up. 2Creative Community Studio, Winooski, 4:30-6:30 p.m., donations appreciated. Info, 718-415-7135. FREE

Colchester Preschool Music: Bitty ones dance and sing to a brisk beat. Ages 3-5. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 11:30 a.m. Info, 264-5660.

Crafts for Kids: Clever kiddos get creative with artsy projects. Ages 5-10. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Info, 264-5660. FREE

Homeschool Meetup: Self-directed families link up and relax with Legos. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 1-2:30 p.m. Info, 878-4918. FREE

Monday Matinee: Families snack on free popcorn while watching a PG-rated flick. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4:45 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

One-on-One Tutoring: Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences students coach elementary-age kids in reading, math and science. Grades 1-6. Some assistance available for other grades in certain subjects with inquiry. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4-8 p.m., preregister. Info, 264-5660. FREE

Teen Space: Adolescents enjoy games, music, snacks and a different activity each week. Ages 12-17. Milton Public Library, 3:30-5 p.m. Info, 893-4644. FREE

Williston Preschool Music: Lively tunes with local musicians strike the right note among the wee crowd. Ages 5 and under with a caregiver. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 11 a.m., limited to one session per week per family. Info, 878-4918.

FRANKLIN

Messy Mondays: Kids dig deep into imaginative projects. Highgate Public Library, Highgate Center, 10 a.m. Info, 868-3970. FREE

RUTLAND

Babies & Toddlers Rock: Mini-musicians ages 2 and under sing songs and engage in early literacy activities. Rutland Free Library, 10-10:30 a.m. Info, 773-1860. FREE

3 Tuesday Town Meeting Day

CHITTENDEN

Afterschool Tuesday: Kids on their way home from school stop in the library for relaxing and rotating activities. See williston.lib.vt.us for specific info. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2 p.m. Info, 878-4918. FREE

Book Bunch: Young readers bring their favorite book to a brand-new club and share stories. Grades 3 and up. Snacks served. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4 p.m. Info, 264-5660. FREE

Game Day: Game aficionados of all ages bond over boards. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

FRANKLIN

Adoption Support Group: Families facing adoption issues and challenges join forces in a respectful setting. All welcome. Franklin County Seniors Center, St. Albans, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Info, 524-1700. FREE

Kids’ Craft: Small ones fashion sock snowmen. St. Albans Free Library, 1 p.m., preregister. Info, 524-1507. FREE

Tunes on Tuesdays: Youngsters make merry with movement and tunes. Highgate Public Library, Highgate Center, 10 a.m. Info, 868-3970. FREE

LAMOILLE

Free Family Art Workshops: Youngsters drop in for all or part of the morning and make masterpieces with many materials, presented by Grass Roots Art & Community Effort (GRACE). Coffee and snacks provided. Caregiver required. Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, 10 a.m.-noon. Info, 472-6857. FREE

RUTLAND

Working Families Playgroup: Families connect and make new friends while munching an evening meal in the museum. Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, Rutland, 5:30-7 p.m., no charge, but donations of $5 per person accepted. Info, 282-2678.

4 Wednesday

CALEDONIA

Collage Workshop for Children: Small ones engage in art and stories, snacks, and sharing time. Ages 2-5, with adult caregiver. Old Firehouse at GRACE, Hardwick, 10-11:30 a.m., $10, preregister. Info, 472-6857. FREE Hardwick Chess Club: Strategy lovers join local game enthusiast Paul Fixx to sharpen their skills, with a new lesson each week. Jeudevine Memorial Library, Hardwick, 2:30-4 p.m. Info, 472-5948. FREE

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Kids’ Chess Club: Strategy lovers of all abilities face off against opponents. Ages 6 and up. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 6-7 p.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2, 4-6 p.m.

Read to a Dog: Pet lovers peruse books with a registered therapy pooch named Honey. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3:30-4:30 p.m., preregister. Info, 878-4918. FREE

Read to Daisy the Therapy Dog: Book buffs bring a selection from home or borrow from the library to amuse an attentive canine. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m., preregister. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Wonder Wednesdays: Eager kids experiment, collaborate and explore their curiosity through specific projects. Best for ages 6 and up. Call or check online for details. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Yoga for Kids: Young yogis stretch to the sky with professional instructor Melissa from Evolution Yoga. Ages 2-5. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11:15-11:45 a.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

FRANKLIN

Homeschool Chess Club: Home-educated students engage in strategy games and socializing. All abilities welcome. St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 524-1507. FREE

RUTLAND

It Takes a Village: A Community of Parents: Expecting parents and caregivers take time to talk about the family transition of adding a new baby and soak up support and education over coffee and light refreshments. Bring your baby; siblings welcome; childcare provided. Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, Rutland, 10-11:30 a.m. Info, 282-2678. FREE

WASHINGTON

Walk-Through Wednesday at Orchard Valley: Parents interested in an alternative grade-school education for their children tour classrooms and ask questions. For adults. Orchard Valley Waldorf School, East Montpelier, 8:30-10:30 a.m., preregister. Info, 456-7400. FREE

5 Thursday

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Babytime: Infants through slow walkers have a ball with books, rhymes, songs and socializing. Ages 18 months and under. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10:15-10:45 a.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

Colchester Lego Club: Mini-makers participate in surprise challenges with interlocking toys. Ages 6-10. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4 p.m. Info, 264-5660. FREE

Discover Aviation: In celebration of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, Robin Guillian, director of professional pilot technology at Vermont Tech, and VT Tech aviation students share a flight simulator, navigation charts and a live air traffic control feed with curious youngsters. Best for ages 6 and above, but all are welcome. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3-4:30 p.m. Info, 878-4918. FREE

Essex Junction Nurturing Skills for Families: Moms and dads deepen parent-child communication skills, discuss empathy and learn how to empower their families, in this first of a series of Thursday evening workshops. Essex CHIPS & Teen Center, Essex Junction, 6-8 p.m., preregister. Info, 229-5724. FREE

Preschool Yoga: Children’s yoga teacher Melissa Nutting charms wee ones and caregivers with a half-hour of singing, relaxing, reading and stretching. Ages 3-6. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 11:30 a.m. Info, 264-5660. FREE Ukulele Joe: Musical ones join Joe to sing and play. All ages. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:45 a.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

FRANKLIN

Franklin Lego Thursdays: Kiddie constructionists combine their imagination with the library’s supplies. Haston Library, Franklin, 3 p.m. Info, 285-6505.

WASHINGTON

MOPS/MomsNext: Mothers of preschoolers and school-age children mingle with other mamas for themed discussions. Childcare and children’s crafts provided, sponsored by the Waterbury Mission Church. Thatcher Brook Primary School, Waterbury, 6:45-8:15 p.m. Info, 272-5262. FREE

6 Friday

CHITTENDEN

Chess Club: Players of all ages pursue a game of strategy. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 4-5 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Dungeons & Dragons: Campaign Mode: Experienced players embark on a fast-paced pastime. Game begins at 6:30 p.m. Come early to work on characters. All ages. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Kids Music With Linda ‘Tickle Belly’ Bassick: Toe-tapping tunes captivate kiddies. Radio Bean, Burlington, 11 a.m. Info, 660-9346.

Preschool Yoga: Small ones sing, stretch and relax. Ages 2-5. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9:30-10 a.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Red Clover Story Time: Budding book lovers bury themselves in bibliophile and art activities. Best for ages 5-10. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Toddler Time Dragon Bowl: Budding bowlers have a blast with games, dragon bumpers and galactic lights. Ages 5 and under with adult. Spare Time Entertainment, Colchester, 9 a.m.-noon, $5; food available for purchase. Info, 655-2720. Williston Preschool Music: See March 2, 10:30 a.m.

LAMOILLE

Big & Messy — Art Space: Petite artists drop in and get creative with multiple materials in this child-led morning. River Arts, Morrisville, 10 a.m.-noon, suggested donation, $5. Info, 888-1261.

ORLEANS

Craftsbury Lego Club: Junior constructionists play with plastic cubes and chat companionably. Ages 4-12. Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, 3-4:30 p.m. Info, 586-9683.

7 Saturday

ADDISON

Middlebury Winter Farmers Market: Locally produced crafts, cheeses, breads, veggies and more vie for spots in shoppers’ totes. Middlebury VFW, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Classes

List your class or camp here for only $20 per month! Submit the listing by March 15 at kidsvt.com or to classes@ kidsvt.com.

BCA STUDIOS

405 Pine Street

Melissa Steady, 865-7166 msteady@burlingtoncityarts.org, burlingtoncityarts.org

FAMILY CLAY OPTIONS: Fri., Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27, 5-6:30 p.m. Instructors: Kate McKernan, Kim DeMaria & Sheilagh Smith. $10 per participant/$9 BCA members. Spend a Friday night with your family at the BCA Clay Studio. A ticket provides a wheel demonstration at the beginning of class, wheel access (for ages 6+), hand building for any age, unlimited clay, and time to create. Youth must be accompanied by an adult. Register at burlingtoncityarts.org.

FAMILY PRINTMAKING: Sun., Mar. 22, 10 a.m.-noon. Ages 6 and up. Instructor: Kate McKernan. $10 per participant/$9 BCA members. Spend a morning with teaching artist Kate McKernan in BCA’s print studio. Using our printing plates, inks and press, your family will create beautiful works of art. All supplies are provided, no experience needed. Adults may assist their child(ren) free of charge. Register at burlingtoncityarts.org.

FAMILY ART SATURDAY: Mar. 28, 11 a.m. Get creative and make art together! Families are invited to drop in to the BCA Center and enjoy an art activity inspired by our current exhibitions. BCA offers a different art-making project each scheduled Saturday to ignite the imagination of each family member.

VT BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU ACADEMY

55 Leroy Rd., Williston, VT 05495

Julio Fernandez, 598-2839 julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com

BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU

The future of our nation lies in the courage, confidence and determination of its people. Our Kids BJJ Program promotes self-esteem, self-confidence, character development and a physical outlet with discipline, cooperation with other children, respect for peers and adults, perseverance and a healthy lifestyle. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will help your kids to learn realistic bullyproofing and self-defense skills that they can use for the rest of their lives! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu builds endurance, patience and self-respect. Give your kids the ability to get stronger, gain confidence and build resilience! Our sole purpose is to help empower people by giving them practices they can carry with them throughout life. Remember you are raising children, not flowers. First class is free! Please stop by our school, call, visit our website, or email to register your son or daughter!

GENERATOR

40 Sears Ln, Burlington, VT 05401 Sarah Sprague, education@generatorvt.com 540-0761, generatorvt.com

AFTERSCHOOL CLASS

SCULPTURAL LANTERN MAKING: Ages 9-12. 6 weeks, Wed. Apr. 29-Jun. 3, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Do you need a light for your room? Not only will you learn Illustrator, Photoshop and the laser machine, you will create a lantern with a silhouette of your choice which will be illuminated when the light is on! Choose a lantern shape and utilize mold making techniques to craft the outer shell. Learn digital design using Illustrator & Photoshop to create silhouettes for the inside of the lantern. Next you will learn to use the laser cutter to cut the silhouettes for your lantern.  Once the pieces have been laser cut, you will assemble and hand stitch everything together to create your own illuminated sculpture!

SUMMER CAMPS

GAME DESIGN AND PINBOX 3000: Week 1: July 6-10, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Ages 9-12. Gamers of all types are invited to this hands-on camp that features designing board games, role-playing games, cardboard pinball, and 16-bit retro arcade games. Using Generator’s laser cutters and 3D printers, we’ll make high-quality board game components and roll out playtesting and roleplaying game scenarios. We’ll bend cardboard as we flex the limits of the PinBox 3000. We’ll use MakeCode Arcade to try out custom retro platformers. We’ll have our own gamer convention at the end of the week!  Students will leave with the knowledge of how to use a laser cutter, 3D printer, Adobe Illustrator, Fusion 360 as well as designing your own games! Let’s roll!

WOODWORKING: Week 2: July 13-17, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Ages 9-12. Have you ever thought your child should put down their iPad and pick up a hand plane? Empower your child to safely learn the basics of timeless crafts in a state-of-the-art woodshop. Under the close supervision of a woodworking professional, your child will be guided through creations of their own: a three-legged stool, wall coat rack, bird house, and/or cutting board. This camp includes training on how to safely use power tools, hand tools, paints, and more.  Your child will leave the woodshop feeling comfortable and confident with tools and the ability to navigate a woodshop safely.

ELECTRIFYING!!: Week 3: July 20-24, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Ages 9-12. Illuminate your clothes, room or locker! In this camp, students can add lights and interactivity to a personal object of their choice. Imagine a hat that twinkles whenever you tilt your head, a backpack or jacket that only flashes when it’s dark outside, or a stuffed toy that blinks when you squeeze its hands or press a button. Throughout the week, participants will learn how to build circuits, use different types of sensors, and create their own switches and battery holders using magnets, conductive fabric, and other materials. In addition to learning how to use electricity, campers will learn how to integrate a pre-programmed microcontroller into their designs. Students will leave with a variety of completed projects.

See Dr. First videos “First With Kids” at uvmhealth.org.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR DESIGN: Week 4: July 27-31. Ages 9-12. Learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator including the use of the pen tool, pathfinder, image trace and more. Adobe Illustrator is a design program that is also ideal for creating vector graphics for laser and vinyl cutting or for designing posters, photos collage, digital art, and more. Students will also have an introduction to Photoshop. This camp incorporates projects cut on the laser cutter using wood, cardboard or acrylic. Campers will leave with a strong foundation of graphic design skills and will learn basic operations and the safety of the laser cutter and vinyl cutter machines. Create personalized wooden boxes, etched portraits, event posters, business logos and more.

FLYNNARTS

153 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401 Sarah Caliendo scaliendo@flynncenter.org 652-4537; flynncenter.org

CLASSES

AFRO-FUSION JAM CLASS: All Ages. Sun., Mar. 15-May 3 (no class Apr. 12 & Apr. 26), 10:30 a.m.-noon. $130. This class explores traditional African dance with powerhouse instructor Bonisiwe Luthuli. Bonisiwe draws from her ties to South Africa, imparting the value of folks of all ages dancing together.

HIP-HOP FOR KIDS: Ages 8-12. Thu., Mar. 12-May 7 (no class Apr. 23), 4:25-5:25 p.m. $130. Instructor: Rose Bedard. Hip-hop for Kids relies on the fundamentals of our adult hip-hop class, simplifying techniques and styles as self-expression and confidence are encouraged for the newest generation of dancers.

YOUTH DANCES: Hip-Hop, Jazz, Lyrical: Ages 5-7. Fri., Mar. 13-May 8 (no class Apr. 24). 4:25-5:25 p.m. $130. Instructor: Rose Bedard. This class welcomes beginners and experienced young dancers alike as we explore three genres of dance: hip-hop, jazz, and lyrical. Students learn how to emote—or communicate—lyrics through choreography while developing performance skills.

MINI DANCERS: Ages 3-5. Wed., Mar. 18-Apr. 8. 3-3:45 p.m. $45. Instructor: Tracy Martin. Using children’s books as the foundation for encouraging movement, students tell stories, create characters, work together and discover self-expression. As we dance stories each week, students gain fundamentals, play with music, and have FUN.

KINETIC KIDS FOR HOMESHOOLERS: Ages 5-8. Wed., Mar. 18-Apr. 8. 1:45-2:45 p.m. $55.

Instructor: Tracy Martin. This dance class for homeschoolers focuses on fun, laughter and expression. Through structured games and improvisations, each child discovers their movement artistry and distinct voice, with an emphasis on body and spatial awareness, ensemble building, and self-confidence.

BREAKDANCING: Ages 10-14. Sat., Mar. 7-Mar. 28. 11 a.m.-noon. $55. Instructor: Justin “sonikBOOM” Hover. This fun, high-energy class introduces students to the fundamentals of the art of breakdancing, and also serves as a great workout! Students are encouraged to wear clean-soled sneakers and to bring long layers.

MUSIC TOGETHER™: Caregivers & children 0-5. Mon., Mar. 30-Jun. 8 (no class Apr. 20). 1010:45 a.m. $155. Instructor: Alison Mott. Join Alison in singing, dancing, and playing drums, bells, shakers, and triangles as parents/caregivers actively model enthusiastic participation. A community of families shares songs, chants, and movement activities in a relaxed setting.

RHYTHM KIDS®: Ages 5-8. Sun., Mar. 29-Jun. 7 (no class Apr. 19). 11-11:45 a.m. $155.

Instructor: Alison Mott. In Rhythm Kids, students explore rhythm, social and listening skills, self-expression, and self-confidence by playing with music from around the world— naturally building musicality that helps them prepare for formal music lessons.

CAMPS

Week-long vacation camps run 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Optional extended care until 5 p.m. is available Mon.-Thu. for $15/day. Each camp culminates with a final performance/showcase, held on Friday at 2:30 p.m., that is free and open to all family and friends!

MAGIC TREEHOUSE ADVENTURES: Ages 6-8. Apr. 20-24, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. $350. Instructor: Annalisa Ledson. Based on Annie and Jack’s journeys in the popular children’s series, we take thrilling trips through time and space. Encouraged to let their imaginations take flight, children use drama and movement to discover a new world every day.

NARRATIVE FILMMAKING: Grades 6-8. Apr. 20-24, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. $350. Instructor: Jamie Watkins. Storyboard, shoot and edit your own original short films! Over the course of this class, students learn the basics of screenwriting, cinematography (using industry-standard equipment) and post-production while developing their understanding of good storytelling and collaboration.

SUMMER CAMPS: The Flynn is also currently registering for week-long Performing Arts day camps. Camps are available for youth ages 3-20 and explore genres from dance, to acting, to musical theater, to radio, to film. Check our website for full listings at flynnarts.org.

CALEDONIA

Caledonia Winter Farmers Market: Freshly baked goods, veggies, handmade crafts, meat and maple syrup figure prominently in displays of Vermont wares. St. Johnsbury Welcome Center, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

CHITTENDEN

Art Lab: Inventive kiddos explore multiple materials. Recommended for ages 6 and under, but all are welcome. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10-11 a.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Story Times

Early literacy skills get special attention during these readaloud sessions. Some locations provide additional activities such as music, crafts or foreign-language instruction. Most story times follow the school calendar. Contact the organizers for site-specific details.

MONDAY

Barre Children’s Story Hour: Aldrich Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 476-7550.

Burlington Stories with Megan: Fletcher Free Library, 11-11:30 a.m. Info, 865-7216.

Colchester Preschool Story

Time: Burnham Memorial Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 264-5660.

Essex Storytime with Jasmine: Essex Free Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 879-0313.

Huntington Story Time & Playgroup: Huntington Public Library, 10 a.m.-noon. Info, 434-4583.

Hyde Park Story Time: Lanpher Memorial Library, 6 p.m. Info, 888-4628.

Northfield Children’s Story Time: Brown Public Library, 10-11 a.m. Info, 485-4621.

Richmond Baby Laptime: Richmond Free Library, 10:30-11 a.m. Info, 434-3036.

St. Albans Movement & Music

Story Hour: St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 524-1507.

Stowe Story Times for 2-3Year-Olds: Stowe Free Library, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Info, 253-6145.

Waterbury Preschool Story

Time: The Children’s Room, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Info, 244-5605.

Woodstock Baby Story Time: Norman Williams Public Library, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Info, 457-2295.

TUESDAY

Alburgh Playgroup/Storytime: Alburgh Public Library, 9:30-11 a.m. Info, 796-6077.

Barre Children’s Story Hour: See Monday.

Colchester Toddler Story Time: Burnham Memorial Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 264-5660.

Craftsbury Story Time: Craftsbury Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 586-9683.

East Barre Story Time: East Barre Branch Library, 10 a.m. Info, 476-5118.

Essex Junction Preschool Story

Time: Brownell Library, 10-10:45 a.m. Info, 878-6956.

Jeffersonville Storytime: Varnum Memorial Library, 9:3010:30 a.m. Info, 644-2117.

Lyndonville Story Time: Cobleigh Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 626-5475.

Milton Infant Story Time: Milton Public Library, 9:30 a.m. Info, 893-4644.

Montpelier Story Time: KelloggHubbard Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 223-4665.

Sheldon Play Cafe: Sheldon Public Library, 9-10:30 a.m. Info, 933-2524.

Williston Story Time: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 878-4918.

Woodstock Preschool Story

Time: Norman Williams Public Library, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Info, 457-2295.

WEDNESDAY

Barnes & Noble Storytime: Barnes & Noble, South Burlington, 11 a.m. Info, 864-8001.

Essex Babies and Books: Essex Free Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 879-0313.

Essex Junction Preschool Story Time: See Tuesday.

Highgate Story Time: Highgate Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 868-3970.

Hyde Park Story Time: See Monday, 10 a.m.

Jericho Story Hour: Jericho Town Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 899-4686.

Jewish Story Hour: Educator and children’s entertainer Saragail Benjamin leads little ones in play, song, dance and stories while young families connect with each other and their heritage. Ages 8 and under with caregivers. Temple Sinai, South Burlington, 4-6 p.m. Info, 862-5125. FREE

Kids Building Workshop: Handy helpers learn do-it-yourself skills and tool safety as they construct seasonal projects. Ages 5-12. Home Depot, Williston, 9 a.m.-noon, preregister at workshops.homedepot.com. Info, 872-0039. FREE

Read to a Dog: Emerging readers hone their literary skills in half-hour sessions with pups. Ages 4-10. Pierson Library, Shelburne, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., preregister. Info, 985-5124. FREE

Lyndonville Story Time: See Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. Marshfield Story Time & Playgroup: Jaquith Public Library, 10-11:30 a.m. Info, 426-3581.

Milton Rhythm & Movement Toddler Story Time: Milton Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 893-4644.

Norwich Word Play Story Time: Norwich Public Library, 10:30-11 a.m. Info, 649-1184.

Quechee Story Time: Quechee Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 295-1232.

Randolph Preschool Story Time: Kimball Public Library, 11 a.m. Info, 728-5073.

Swanton Storytime: Swanton Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 868-7656.

Warren Preschool Storytime: Warren Public Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 496-3913.

THURSDAY

Charlotte Storytime Hour: Philo Ridge Farm, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Info, 539-2912.

Jeffersonville Storytime and Crafts: Varnum Memorial Library, 10-11 a.m. Info, 644-2117.

Northfield Children’s Story Time: See Monday.

Rutland Story Time: Rutland Free Library, 10-10:45 a.m. Info, 773-1860.

Shelburne Musical Story Time: Pierson Library, 10:30-11 a.m. Info, 985-5124.

St. Albans Story Hour: St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 524-1507.

Westford Story Time: Westford Public Library, 11 a.m. Info, 878-5639.

Williston Toddler Time: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, 11 a.m.noon. Info, 878-4918.

FRIDAY

Craftsbury Story Time: See Tuesday.

Enosburg Read & Play Fridays: Enosburgh Public Library, 9-10 a.m. Info, 933-2328.

Essex Musical Story Time: Essex Free Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 879-0313.

Georgia Preschool Story Time: Georgia Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 524-4643.

Killington Storytime: Sherburne Memorial Library, 10:30-11 a.m. Info, 422-9765.

Lincoln Story Time: Lincoln Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 453-2665.

Milton Preschool Story Time: Milton Public Library, 10-11 a.m. Info, 893-4644.

Randolph Toddler Story Time: Kimball Public Library, 10:30-11 a.m. Info, 728-5073.

Richmond Preschool Storytime: Richmond Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 434-3036.

St. Johnsbury Acorn Club Story

Time: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 748-8291.

Stowe Baby & Toddler Story

Time: Stowe Free Library, 10:3011:15 a.m. Info, 253-6145.

SATURDAY

Colchester Saturday Drop-In Story Time: Burnham Memorial Library, 10 a.m. Info, 264-5660. Enosburg Story Hour: Enosburgh Public Library, 10-11 a.m. Info, 933-2328.

Essex Saturday Storytime: Essex Free Library, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 879-0313.

Highgate Story Time: See Wednesday.

Milton Drop-In Saturday Storytime: Milton Public Library, 10 a.m. Info, 893-4644.

Next Chapter Bookstore Story

Time: Next Chapter Bookstore, Barre, 10:30 a.m. Info, 476-3114.

Stories of the Seasons: Small ones soak up late winter tales from favorite children’s books, then engage in songs, games and crafts. Ages 5 and up with adult. Shelburne Farms, 10 a.m.-noon, $3/4-6/7 per child/adult pair, preregister. Info, 985-8686.

Vermont Ballet Theater Summer Intensive Auditions: Young ballerinas do their best in tryouts for summer programs. Visit vbts.org to sign up for a time slot. Ages 8-21. Vermont Ballet Theater School, Essex, 1:30-5:30 p.m., $10-14, preregister. Info, 878-2941.

Webby’s Art Studio: What’s Down Is Up?: Inspired by the Museum’s collection, crafty kiddos construct a small camera obscura. Shelburne Museum, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., regular winter museum admission, $5-10; free for children under 5. Info, 985-3346.

FRANKLIN

Kids’ Movie Matinee: Children settle in for a Saturday afternoon viewing of an animated sequel starring two sisters and a talking snowman. St. Albans Free Library, 1 p.m. Info, 524-1507. FREE

LAMOILLE

Slalom and Freestyle Ski/Snowboarding

Competition: Skiers cut up the slopes in a competition and slalom course. Ages 6 and up. Lamoille Union High School, Hyde Park, 2 p.m., free to spectate; $10 entry fee; food and raffles available for purchase. Info, 760-7581.

RUTLAND

Vermont Winter Farmers Market: More than 50 vendors peddle produce, fresh salad greens, apples and cider, artisan cheeses, homemade breads, and other local products. Vermont Farmers Food Center, Rutland, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Info, 342-4727.

WASHINGTON

Capital City Winter Farmers Market: Root veggies, honey, maple syrup and crafts change hands at an indoor off-season celebration of locavorism. Barr Hill Distillery, Montpelier, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Info, 223-2958.

WINDSOR

Family Clay: Children and their parents make memories firing and glazing special pieces. ArtisTree/Purple Crayon, South Pomfret, 10 a.m.-noon, $20 per parent-child pair, $5 each additional child. Info, 457-3500.

8 Sunday

ADDISON

Family Play: See March 1.

CHITTENDEN

Essex Open Gym: See March 1.

Family Gym: See March 1.

Interactive Storytime with Ted: See March 1.

Ohavi Zedek Hebrew School Open House: Curious families check out educational opportunities for kids ages 5-11. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 864-0218. FREE

WASHINGTON

Dance, Sing and Jump Around: Families delight in a lively afternoon of dances and singing games with instruction and live traditional music. Ages 3-8 with caregivers. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 3-4:30 p.m., suggested donation, $5 per adult; free for children; no one turned away. Info, 223-1509.

9 Monday

ADDISON

Middlebury Nurturing Skills for Families: Moms and dads deepen parent-child communication skills, discuss empathy and learn how to empower their families, in this first of a series of Monday morning workshops.

Vermont Families in Transition, Middlebury, 10 a.m.-noon, preregister. Info, 229-5724. FREE

CHITTENDEN

2C’s Monday Night Movie For Kids: See March 2.

Colchester Preschool Music: See March 2.

Cross Connections: Mothers of little ones preschool age and younger socialize over breakfast and hear ideas about motherhood. Childcare provided. Christ Memorial Church, Williston, 9:30-11:30 a.m., $5; free for firsttime visitors. Info, 878-7107.

Teen Space: See March 2.

Ongoing Exhibits

ECHO LEAHY CENTER FOR LAKE

CHAMPLAIN, BURLINGTON

Info: 864-1848

RETURN OF THE BUTTERFLIES: A pavilion of flying creatures enchants visitors who learn about these winged beauties’ lifecycle and how their natural environment can be protected. Regular museum admission, $14-17; free for children under 3. February 8 through September 7.

MONTSHIRE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, NORWICH

Info, 649-2200

ELEMENTS OF GLASS: In partnership with Simon Pearce and their artisans, this exhibit interprets in glass the elements of water, fire and wood through drawings, videos and touchable samples which illuminate the process behind designing and creating glass pieces. Regular museum admission, $13-16; free for children under 2. Through March 2020.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM, SHELBURNE

Info, 985-3346, ext. 3395

CREATURE COMFORT: ANIMALS IN THE

HOUSE: This temporary exhibit explores how humans’ admiration of animals appears artistically in our domestic lives, through an assortment of paintings, carvings, ceramics and rugs. Regular winter museum admission, $5-10; free for children under 5. Through August 23.

See Dr. First videos “First With Kids” at uvmhealth.org.

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2.

FRANKLIN

Messy Mondays: See March 2.

LAMOILLE

Free Family Art Workshops: Youngsters drop in for all or part of the morning and make masterpieces with many materials, presented by Grass Roots Art & Community E ort (GRACE). Co ee and snacks provided. Caregiver required. River Arts, Morrisville, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Info, 472-6857. FREE

RUTLAND

Babies & Toddlers Rock: See March 2.

WASHINGTON

Youth Acting Vision Workshops: Cofacilitated by teens and adult allies from EarthWalk and SafeArt, this teen theatre group connects to the natural world and speaks to the crisis of social and ecological injustice. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 3:30-6 p.m. Info, 454-8500. FREE

10 Tuesday

CALEDONIA

Free Family Art Workshops: Youngsters drop in for all or part of the morning and make masterpieces with many materials. Co ee and snacks provided. Caregiver required. Old Firehouse at GRACE, Hardwick, 10 a.m.-noon. Info, 472-6857. FREE

CHITTENDEN

Afterschool Tuesday: See March 3.

Spanish Musical Kids: Niños celebrate Spanish through Latin American songs and games. Ages 1-5. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 11-11:45 a.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

Teen Writers Club: Adolescents participate in collaborative and independent games to stretch their imagination, encourage creativity and connect with other teens in a supportive, stress-free environment. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

FRANKLIN

Tunes on Tuesdays: See March 3.

11 Wednesday

CALEDONIA

Collage Workshop for Children: See March 4.

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Kids’ Chess Club: See March 4. Read to Daisy the Therapy Dog: See March 4.

Wonder Wednesdays: See March 4.

Yoga for Kids: See March 4.

Young Writers & Storytellers: Small ones spin their own yarns. Ages 5-11. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4-5 p.m. Info, 264-5660. FREE

WEDNESDAY 11, P. 46 »

MARCH CALENDAR

RUTLAND

It Takes a Village: A Community of Parents: See March 4.

12 Thursday

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Babytime: See March 5.

Colchester Lego Club: See March 5.

Crafternoon: Crochet Club Part II: Handworkers with some experience spend an afternoon with an expert. Bring a crochet hook if possible. Carpenter-Carse Library, Hinesburg, 3-4 p.m., preregister. Info, 482-2878. FREE

Preschool Yoga: See March 5. Ukulele Joe: See March 5.

FRANKLIN

Franklin Lego Thursdays: See March 5.

13 Friday

CHITTENDEN

Chess Club: See March 6.

Dungeons & Dragons: Family Night: New and returning players embark on invented adventures, equipped with their problem-solving skills and a Dungeon Master. Game begins at 6:30 p.m. Novice players should arrive at 5:30 p.m. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Kids Music With Linda ‘Tickle Belly’ Bassick: See March 6.

Music with Raph: Melody lovers of all ages play and sing. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Teen Advisory Board: Teens pursue art projects together. Grades 9 and up. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956.

FREE

Toddler Time Dragon Bowl: See March 6.

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2, 10:30 a.m.

LAMOILLE

Morrisville Music and Movement: Small ones drop in, sing and swing to favorites and classics, play instruments, and learn basic rhythm and vocal dynamics. For infants through preschoolers. River Arts, Morrisville, 11 a.m.-noon, suggested donation, $5. Info, 888-1261.

ORLEANS

Craftsbury Lego Club: See March 6.

14 Saturday

ADDISON

Middlebury Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Winter Farmers Market: Local farmers, artisans and producers offer fresh and prepared foods, crafts, and more in a bustling indoor marketplace made merry with live music.

UVM Davis Student Center, Burlington, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Info, 656-4636.

Live Performances

Finding Neverland: Based on the awardwinning film, this performance mesmerizes the audience with the story of the young author of Peter Pan as he becomes a writer. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 7:30 P.M., $25-75. Info, 863-5966.

The Saturday Storefront Puppet Trilogy: The creators of Vermont Vaudeville get the kiddie crowd roaring with laughter in three unique puppet shows with a handmade cast, live music, a pre-show gramophone dance party and plenty of jokes for parents, too. 452 Railroad St., St Johnsbury, SATURDAYS, 11 A.M. & 2 P.M., $8-10. Info, 472-8987.

The Music of Phish for Kids: The Rock and Roll Playhouse — a family concert series — gets kids moving and grooving to tunes from the classic rock canon. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Higher Ground, South Burlington, SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 3-4 P.M., $15; free for children ages 1 and under. Info, 652-0777.

‘Rock of Ages’: The Shelburne Community School’s Theater Arts Program mesmerizes the audience with the musical story of a big city girl and a small town girl who chase their dreams on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip. Shelburne Community School, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 7 P.M. AND SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2 & 6 P.M., $5-10. Info, 985-3311.

HopStop Family Show: Storytelling: Children and caregivers spend a Saturday morning immersed in spellbinding tales. Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover, N.H., SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 11 A.M. Info, 603-6462422. FREE

Rug Concert: Wee classical music fans meet musicians and orchestral instruments in an interactive and child-friendly setting. Ages 6 and under. Elley-Long Music Center, Colchester, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 11 A.M., $5-10; preregister; tickets are limited. Info, 655-5030.

Peking Acrobats: With the festive pageantry of a Chinese carnival, this troupe astounds the audience with daring maneuvers which defy gravity, including trick-cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting and gymnastics. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 7 P.M., $15-45. Info, 863-5966.

Sleeping Beauty: The Russian National Ballet enraptures the audience with this classic fairy tale of true love. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 7:30 P.M., $25-65. Info, 863-5966. TRIP Dance Company: This competitive young dance company, with students ages 9-18, shows off a wide range of classical and original choreography. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe, FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 7 P.M. AND SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 7 P.M., $16-30; proceeds benefit the dance company. Info, 253-5151.

‘The Snowy Day’: Based on Ezra Jack Keats’ classic picture book, this sensory-friendly performance uses shadow puppetry to enchant the audience with the sweetness of childhood in winter. Flynn MainStage, Burlington, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 9:30 A.M., NOON & 6 P.M., $8.50-25. Info, 863-5966.

Harlem Globetrotters: This world-famous team cuts up the court. UVM Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington, TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 7 P.M., $26-80. Info, 678-497-1900.

Peking Acrobats: Emulating the festive frenzy of a Chinese carnival, this traveling troupe pulls off high-wire, cycling and tumbling feats. Dibden Center for the Arts, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 7 P.M., $25-45. Info, 748-2600.

‘The Kids Are Alright’: An all-star local lineup of KeruBo, The Mister Chris and Friends Band, Mal Maïz, Nightwalker, and the IAA Staff Band rock the house during this family-friendly concert, supporting the Integrated Arts Academy. Doors open at noon. Ages 12 and under. Higher Ground, South Burlington, SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 12:30-2:30 P.M., $5-7 for children, $10-12 for adults. Info, 877-987-6487.

‘Thurgood’: New Repertory Theatre inspires the audience with the story of Justice Thurgood Marshall, who argued landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, and pays tribute to his legacy as the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court. Ages 10 and up. Chandler Music Hall, Randolph, TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 10 A.M.-NOON, $8. Info, 728-9878.

Family Contradance: Movers and groovers swing to music by the Woodbury Strings

Mega Jam Band, with instruction by the Mad Robin Callers. No experience necessary. The Schoolhouse Learning Center, South Burlington, 3-4:30 p.m., by donation for adults; free for children. Info, 223-8945.

Junior Iron Chef VT: Middle and high school students duke it out for cafeteria supremacy in a culinary competition celebrating the state’s farm-to-table roots. Food activities for families furnish more fun. Champlain Valley Expo, Essex Junction, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., $3 per person; $5 per family (up to 4 people). Info, 985-8686.

Read to a Dog: See March 7.

Saturday Matinee: A crowd cozies in for a PG-rated flick with free snacks. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2-3:45 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Webby’s Art Studio: Big Birds: Inspired by the Museum’s temporary collection, creative kids craft and paint a giant creature to take home. Shelburne Museum, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., regular winter museum admission, $5-10; free for children under 5. Info, 985-3346.

FRANKLIN

Vermont Rails Model Railroad Show: The Northwestern Vermont Model Railroad Association hosts the state’s largest model railroad show, featuring multiple operating HO, N, G and O-scale layouts, with over 100 tables of exhibits and vendors of model railroading supplies, videos and books. Hands-on children’s activities round out the fun. Collins-Perley Sports Complex, St. Albans, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., $2-6; free for kids under 6; $6 per family with active military ID. Info, 598-0905.

RUTLAND

Shiver Me Shamrocks 5K Run/Walk: Kids launch the Leprechaun Leap Fun Run at 1 p.m. with prizes for the finest green costumes, followed by a 5K and post-race party at The Hop’n Moose. Heritage Family Credit Union, Rutland, 1-4 p.m., $30-40; free for kids’ fun run; proceeds benefit Come Alive Outside.

Vermont Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

WASHINGTON

Kids Trade & Play: Families exchange clean and gently used clothing and toys, sizes newborn to 12. Capital City Grange, Berlin, 9:30-11:30 a.m., $3 per family. Info, 831-337-8632.

Pie for Breakfast: The community celebrates National Pi Day, Albert Einstein’s birthday and the library with a breakfast. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 9-11 a.m., $4-7; proceeds benefit the Jaquith Public Library. Info, 426-3581.

WINDSOR

Norwich Winter Farmers Market: Local growers present produce, meats and maple syrup, complementing baked goods and crafts from area artists. Tracy Hall, Norwich, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Info, 384-7447.

15 Sunday

ADDISON

Family Play: See March 1.

CHITTENDEN

Art Play Day: See March 1.

Essex Open Gym: See March 1. Family Gym: See March 1.

16 Monday

CHITTENDEN

2C’s Monday Night Movie For Kids: See March 2.

Colchester Preschool Music: See March 2.

Cross Connections Open Gym: Little ones explore a full-sized gym while caregivers chat. Ages 5 and under. NETS Center Campus, Williston, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Info, 878-7107. FREE

Food for Thought Teen Library Volunteers: Young adults polish o pizza as they ponder library projects. Grades 7-12. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Info, 878-4918. FREE

One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2.

Teen Space: See March 2. Williston Preschool Music: See March 2.

FRANKLIN

Messy Mondays: See March 2.

Science & Nature

Circuit Circus: Students on school break soak up electrifying science shows and hands-on activities to spark scientific discovery. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, THROUGH MARCH 3, 10 A.M.-5 P.M., regular museum admission, $14-17; free for children under 3. Info, 864-1848.

Books & Beyond: Science for Preschoolers: Children’s literature and hands-on activities combine for fun science learning and exploration. Ages 3-5 with a parent or caregiver. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10:30-11:15 & 11:30 A.M.-12:15

P.M., regular museum admission, $13-16; free for children under 2. Info, 649-2200.

Science & Stories: Preschoolers rally ’round for nature-inspired tales and activities. ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, WEDNESDAYS, 11-11:30

A.M., regular museum admission, $14-17; free for children under 3. Info, 864-1848.

Science Story Time: Small naturalists soak up a story and sink their hands into a sciencethemed project. Geared toward preschoolers. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, THURSDAYS, 11-11:30 A.M., regular museum admission, $13-16; free for children under 2. Info, 649-2200. Montshire Makers: Middle school inventors use their imagination and the museum’s materials to create cool projects, with di erent monthly themes. Grades 6-8. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 6-7:30 P.M., $8-15; preregistration encouraged. Info, 649-2200.

RUTLAND

Babies & Toddlers Rock: See March 2.

WASHINGTON

Youth Acting Vision Workshops: See March 9.

17 Tuesday

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

CHITTENDEN

Afterschool Tuesday: See March 3.

Crafternoon: Artsy kiddos dig into imaginative projects. All ages. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Spanish Musical Kids: See March 10.

18 Wednesday

CALEDONIA

Collage Workshop for Children: See March 4. Hardwick Chess Club: See March 4.

CHITTENDEN

FRANKLIN

St. Albans St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The crowd comes out for this short but spirited shindig, with side events including a corned beef and cabbage dinner and socializing. Parade begins at the court house and ends at the City Hall Auditorium. Main Street, St. Albans, 5:30 p.m. Info, 524-1500.

FREE

Tunes on Tuesdays: See March 3.

LAMOILLE

Free Family Art Workshops: See March 3.

Burlington Kids’ Chess Club: See March 4. Dorothy’s List Group for Homeschooled Students: Books nominated for this esteemed award generate group discussion. Grades 4-8. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Green Mountain Book Award Book Discussion for Homeschooled Students: High school homeschoolers spark lively conversation around award-winning books. Grades 9-12. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2, 4-6 p.m.

Read to Daisy the Therapy Dog: See March 4.

Winter Forest Fairy Hunt: Bundled-up families explore the trails and learn forest facts while searching for wee folk. Afterwards, small ones fashion diminutive dwellings while sipping hot cocoa. Snowshoes provided if needed. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 10 A.M.-2:30

P.M. AND SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10 A.M.-2:30 P.M., regular admission, $14.50-16.50; free for children under 4. Info, 359-5000.

Winter Trails Day: The Green Mountain Club hosts an active day of outdoor exploration and indoor workshops, with children’s activities at the Waterbury location. See greenmountainclub.org for times and specific activities. Guided group hikes take place at various locations. Green Mountain Club, Waterbury, SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 8:30 A.M.-5 P.M. Info, 244-7037.

FREE

Pride Hike: Audubon Vermont, Pride Center of Vermont and Outright Vermont team up to host a hike. All ages; youth under 18 should be accompanied by an adult. Check vt.audubon.org for location. Hinesburg Town Forest, SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 12:30-3 P.M., preregister. Info, 434-3068. FREE Stories From Space: Science educator Mike Ressler zooms small ones through the solar system with stories and a spacebased craft. For toddlers through age 5. Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 10-11 A.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 10-11 A.M., regular museum admission, $7-9; free for children under 5. Info, 748-2372.

Fairbanks Homeschool

Day: Students expand their science scholastic horizons in the museum’s galleries and other venues with a variety of programs. Contact the Museum for specific topics, age levels and locations. Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 10 A.M.-2 P.M., $8; or $50 for 9 Friday classes. Info, 748-2372.

Sap Run Bird Monitoring: Eagle-eyed avian lovers take a slow walk and search for early-migrating birds. Sugaron-snow party follows at 11 a.m. Audubon Vermont, Huntington, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 8-10 A.M. Info, 434-3068. FREE

Climate Action Film Festival: This first annual festival features short films with a focus on solutions to the climate crisis, followed by a community discussion. Ages 8 and up. Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 6-8 P.M. Info, 649-2200. FREE

iNaturalist Tutorial: The National Park and the Vermont Center for Ecostudies host a workshop for curious nature lovers about how to use the citizen science tool iNaturalist to collect data and learn about local species. Ages 10 and up. Marsh-BillingsRockefeller National Historical Park, Woodstock, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 9-11 A.M., preregister. Info, 457-3368. FREE

Vermont Day at VINS: Naturalists of all ages enjoy the exhibits and programs of this educational center and wild avian rehabilitation center at a reduced fee. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 10 A.M.-4 P.M., $5 admission for Vermont residents. Info, 359-5000.

Bird-Monitoring Walk: Eagleeyed participants bring binoculars to search the museum’s property for fluttering feathers. Best for adults and older children. Bring binoculars. Ages 10 and up. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, LAST SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 8-9 A.M., preregister. Info, 434-2167. FREE

Read to Willy Wonka the Therapy Dog: A certified reading pooch listens patiently to emerging readers. Ages 3-8. Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester, 4:15 p.m., preregister. Info, 264-5660. FREE

Red Clover Group for Homeschooled Students: Budding book lovers bury themselves in bibliophile activities. Grades K-4. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Wonder Wednesdays: See March 4. Yoga for Kids: See March 4.

RUTLAND

It Takes a Village: A Community of Parents: See March 4.

19 Thursday

CHITTENDEN

Colchester Lego Club: See March 5. Crafternoon: Crochet Club Part II: See March 12.

Preschool Yoga: See March 5.

Read to a Cat: Feline fanciers sign up for literacy sessions with a furry friend. All ages. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 3:30-4:30 p.m., preregister for a reading slot. Info, 878-4918. FREE

Ukulele Joe: See March 5.

UnSchool at Audubon: Home-based learners use the outdoor classroom to explore a variety of seasonal topics, from forest flora to wilderness skills. Ages 6-12. Parent attendance optional. Audubon Vermont, Huntington, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., $25-30, preregister. Info, 434-3068.

FRANKLIN

Franklin Lego Thursdays: See March 5. WASHINGTON MOPS/MomsNext: See March 5.

20 Friday

CHITTENDEN

Chess Club: See March 6.

Dungeons & Dragons: Campaign Mode: See March 6.

Kids Music With Linda ‘Tickle Belly’ Bassick: See March 6.

See Dr. First videos “First With Kids” at uvmhealth.org.

20 Friday (cont.)

Play Time for Little Ones: Little ones build with blocks and make community connections. Ages 5 and under. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Toddler Time Dragon Bowl: See March 6.

Tot Shabbat: Families with young children enjoy a musical Sabbath evening, with play, song and movement. Ages 1-7. Temple Sinai, South Burlington, 5:30-6:15 p.m. Info, 862-5125. FREE

Vermont Women and the Civil War: Author and historian Howard Co n shares women’s letters and diaries that describe life in Vermont during the Civil War. For ages middle school through adult. Carpenter-Carse Library, Hinesburg, 7-8:30 p.m. Info, 482-2878. FREE

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2, 10:30 a.m.

LAMOILLE

Big & Messy — Art Space: See March 6.

ORLEANS

Craftsbury Lego Club: See March 6.

21 Saturday

ADDISON

Middlebury Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

CALEDONIA

Caledonia Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

CHITTENDEN

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Kickoff

Party: Families with little ones flock to the library for stories, activities and info about this national initiative to nurture literacy. Ages 4 and under with caregivers. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

beCAUSE Craft Show: Over 100 crafters spread their wares in this benefit for nonprofit organizations. Ross Sports Center, Colchester, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., $3 admission; free for children under 12; proceeds donated to Vermont Food Shelves. Info, 654-2000.

Dad Guild: This group gets fathers of young children reading together, having fun with creative play and forming new friendships. All are welcome. Ages 5 and under. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 4-5:30 p.m. Info, 865-7216. FREE

Hinesburg Saturday Storytime: Small ones and caregivers start the weekend o with stories, songs and games, followed by free play and snacks. Ages 5 and under. CarpenterCarse Library, Hinesburg, 10-10:30 a.m. Info, 482-2878. FREE

Inclusive Art Family Drop-In: Hosted by the Shelburne Craft School, kids and caregivers drop in and make masterpieces with multiple materials, in partnership with Inclusive Arts Vermont. Ages 3 and up. Pierson Library, Shelburne, 10-11:30 a.m. Info, 985-3648. FREE

Lego Fun: Budding builders bring out the blocks. Children under 9 must be accompanied by a responsible caregiver. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Read to a Dog: See March 7.

New Parents

Evolution Postnatal Yoga Burlington: New mamas tote their pre-crawling kids to an alllevels flowing yoga class focused on bringing the body back to strength and alignment in a relaxed and nurturing environment.

Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga Center, Burlington, SUNDAYS, NOON, TUESDAYS, 10 A.M., THURSDAYS, 10:45 A.M. AND FRIDAYS, NOON-1 P.M., $17; $120-140 for a 10-class pass. Info, 899-0339.

Evolution Prenatal Yoga Burlington: Mothers-to-be build strength, stamina and a stronger connection to their baby. Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga Center, Burlington, SUNDAYS, 10:15-11:30 A.M., MONDAYS, 5:45 P.M., TUESDAYS, 4:15 P.M., WEDNESDAYS, 5:45 P.M., THURSDAYS, 12:30 P.M., FRIDAYS, 8:15 A.M. AND SATURDAYS, 11:30 A.M., $17 per class; $120-140 for 10-class pass. Info, 899-0339.

Bosom Buddies: New and expectant mothers, babies and supportive grandmas rally in a relaxed evening, when peers and professionals answer mothering and breastfeeding questions. Central Vermont Medical Center, Berlin, FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 5:30-7 P.M. Info, 371-4415. FREE

Evolution Postnatal Yoga Essex: New mamas tote their pre-crawling kids to an all-levels flowing yoga class focused on bringing the body back to strength and alignment in a relaxed and nurturing environment. Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga, Essex Junction, MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS, 10:45 A.M.AND SATURDAYS, 9:45 A.M., $17; $120-140 for a 10-class pass; childcare for ages 6 months-6 years available. Info, 899-0339.

Bosom Buddies Too: Nursing mamas of toddlers and mobile wee ones socialize and swap supportive stories and advice with peers and professionals. Babies welcome. Central Vermont Medical Center, Berlin, FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 5:30-7 P.M. Info, 371-4415. FREE

Evolution Prenatal Yoga Essex: Mothersto-be build strength, stamina and a stronger connection to their baby. Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga, Essex Junction, TUESDAYS, 6 P.M., WEDNESDAYS, 12:15 P.M. AND SATURDAYS, 8:15 A.M., $17 per class; $120-140 for 10-class pass. Info, 899-0339.

Mom and Baby Yoga: Brand-new mamas and their littles relax, stretch and bond. Embodied, Montpelier, TUESDAYS, 10:30-11:30 A.M., $11. Info, 223-5302.

Prenatal Yoga: Moms-to-be stretch and bend. Embodied, Montpelier, TUESDAYS, 6-7:15 P.M., $16 per drop-in class. Info, 778-0300.

Burlington Early Months Infant Massage: This mother-infant group includes baby massage and postpartum new mama support. The Janet S. Munt Family Room, Burlington, WEDNESDAYS, 11 A.M.-NOON. Info, 862-2121. FREE

Middlebury La Leche League Meeting and Playgroup: Families with infants and toddlers socialize and swap nursing stories.

Junebug Mother and Child, Middlebury, FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10 A.M. Info, 349-9084. FREE

Essex La Leche League: Moms bring their bitty ones to a discussion of parenting and breastfeeding. Siblings welcome. Essex Free Library, Essex Junction, FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 6:30-8 P.M. Info, 899-5490. FREE Hyde Park Baby Chat: Parents with babies mingle, learn more about developmental needs and expectations, and have the opportunity to ask questions of a maternal health specialist. Lanpher Memorial Library, Hyde Park, FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10-11:30 A.M. Info, 888-5229.

Burlington La Leche League: New moms bring their babies and questions to a breastfeeding support group. Older children welcome. Lending library available. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, SECOND TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10:15 A.M. Info, 985-8228. FREE

Lyndonville La Leche League: Nursing mamas and supportive partners share and socialize. Cobleigh Public Library, Lyndonville, SECOND TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 5:30 P.M. Info, 720272-8841. FREE

Mama’s Circle Barre: This supportive gathering brings moms of new babies and toddlers together to foster friendship through unique-but-shared experiences. Imagine Yoga, Barre, SECOND FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 9:3011:30 A.M. Info, 595-7953. FREE Morrisville Baby Chat: Parents with babies socialize, learn more about developmental needs and expectations, and have the opportunity to ask questions of a maternal health specialist. Lamoille Family Center, Morrisville, SECOND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10-11:30 A.M. Info, 888-5229.

Breastfeeding Café: Mamas nurse their babies, chat and ask for answers from a certified lactation consultant. Pregnant women, supportive dads and older siblings welcome. Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury, THIRD TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 11 A.M.-1 P.M. Info, 236-4136. FREE

Breastfeeding Families Group: Nursing moms (and supportive dads, too!) gather for snacks and advice. Church of the Nazarene, Johnson, THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 11 A.M.-1 P.M. Info, 888-5229. FREE

La Leche League of the Northeast Kingdom: Expectant, novice and experienced moms join nursing experts for advice and support. Northern Vermont Regional Hospital, St Johnsbury, THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10 A.M. Info, 720-272-8841. FREE

La Leche League of Central Vermont: Breastfeeding mamas swap stories and support each other, with a professional available for consultation. Good Beginnings, Montpelier, THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 9:30-11:30 A.M. Info, 595-7953. FREE

Nursing Beyond a Year: In a supportive setting, mothers discuss the joys and challenges of breastfeeding children approaching one year old and beyond. Good Beginnings, Montpelier, THIRD FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 9:30-11:30 A.M. Info, 595-7953. FREE

Babywearers of Central Vermont: Brand-new mamas and papas check out infant carriers, get advice and spend some socializing time with other new parents. Good Beginnings, Montpelier, FOURTH MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 5:45-7:15 P.M. Info, 595-7953. FREE

How to Breastfeed Prenatal Class: Expectant mamas and their partners learn the basics of breastfeeding, how to get o to the best start with their baby and where to find assistance when needed. Central Vermont Medical Center, Berlin, FOURTH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 4:30-6 P.M., preregister. Info, 371-4415. FREE

Johnson Baby Chat: Parents with babies mingle, learn more about developmental needs and expectations, and have the opportunity to ask questions of a maternal health specialist. Church of the Nazarene, Johnson, FOURTH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, 10-11:30 A.M. Info, 888-5229. FREE

Webby’s Art Studio: Portrait Prints: Amateur artists use a unique portrait painting technique to make a masterpiece of a family member or friend. Shelburne Museum, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., regular winter museum admission, $5-10; free for children under 5. Info, 985-3346.

FRANKLIN

St. Albans Baby Story Time: Wee ones and parents meet each other over nursery rhymes, songs and simple stories. Ages 2 and under. St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m. Info, 524-1507. FREE

RUTLAND

Vermont Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

WASHINGTON

Capital City Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

Woodbury Pie Breakfast: Hungry eaters fill up on the all-you-can-eat sweet and savory bu et, while listening to local musicians. Woodbury Elementary School, 8:30-10:30 a.m., $4-7; free for children under 4; proceeds benefit the Woodbury Community Library. Info, 279-9266.

WINDSOR

Sing, Say, Dance and Play: Families explore singing, creative movement, instrumental exploration, stories and lots of fun. Ages 3-7.

ArtisTree/Purple Crayon, South Pomfret, 10-10:45 a.m., $10. Info, 457-3500.

22 Sunday

ADDISON

Family Play: See March 1.

CHITTENDEN

Essex Open Gym: See March 1. Family Gym: See March 1.

23 Monday

CHITTENDEN

2C’s Monday Night Movie For Kids: See March 2.

Colchester Preschool Music: See March 2.

Crafts for Kids: See March 2.

Family Fun Night: The local Wu brothers introduce kids and their caregivers to classical music, through commentary and works by composers Bach, Mozart, Elgar, Glière and more. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 6-7 p.m. Info, 878-4918.

FREE

One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2.

Teen Space: See March 2.

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2.

FRANKLIN

Messy Mondays: See March 2.

LAMOILLE

Free Family Art Workshops: See March 9, 10 a.m.-noon.

RUTLAND

Babies & Toddlers Rock: See March 2.

WASHINGTON

Youth Acting Vision Workshops: See March 9.

See Dr. First videos “First With Kids” at uvmhealth.org.

24 Tuesday

CALEDONIA

Free Family Art Workshops: See March 10.

CHITTENDEN

Afterschool Tuesday: See March 3.

Library Elementary Event Planners: Junior helpers plan library projects. Grades 6-8. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 3-4 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

Spanish Musical Kids: See March 10.

FRANKLIN

Tunes on Tuesdays: See March 3.

WASHINGTON

Montpelier Mother Up! Monthly Meet-Up: Families discuss the realities of climate change, what that means on a local, state and national level, and how to create a more just and nature-friendly world. Vegetarian dinner and childcare included. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 5:30-7:30 p.m., RSVP requested but not required. Info, 612-718-0229. FREE

25 Wednesday

CALEDONIA

Collage Workshop for Children: See March 4.

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Kids’ Chess Club: See March 4. One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2, 4-6 p.m.

Raising Inclusive Kids: A Parent’s Toolkit for LGBTQIA+ Issues: Amber Leventry — LGBTQIA+ activist, school parent and writer — shares tools and tips with other parents about how to talk with kids about what it means to be gay, transgender and gender nonconforming. Hiawatha Elementary School, Essex Junction, 6 p.m., RSVP for childcare by texting 31996, add ‘care’ in your message; $1 donation per slice of pizza. Info, 878-1384.

FREE

Read to Daisy the Therapy Dog: See March 4. Roblox Robot Design and Competition: Students learn coding, create a robot and compete. Grades 5-8. Burlington Technical Center, 3:15-4:45 p.m., preregister. Info, 651-8343. FREE

Wonder Wednesdays: See March 4. Yoga for Kids: See March 4.

Young Writers & Storytellers: See March 11.

RUTLAND

It Takes a Village: A Community of Parents: See March 4.

26 Thursday

CHITTENDEN

Burlington Babytime: See March 5. Colchester Lego Club: See March 5.

Crafternoon: Crochet Club Part II: See March 12.

How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen: Author Joanna Faber shares her knowledge from years of educational workshops and provides tools and tips to transform the parent/child relationship. For adults. Refreshments served. Boho Baby, Williston, 7:30-9:30 p.m., $14-18. Info, 764-3023.

Preschool Yoga: See March 5.

Ukulele Joe: See March 5.

FRANKLIN

Franklin Lego Thursdays: See March 5.

27 Friday

CHITTENDEN

Chess Club: See March 6.

Dungeons & Dragons: Family Night: See March 13.

Family Game Night: Families have fun together with snacks, socializing and kid-friendly pastimes. Carpenter-Carse Library, Hinesburg, 5-7 p.m. Info, 482-2878. FREE

Kids Music With Linda ‘Tickle Belly’ Bassick: See March 6.

Music with Raph: See March 13.

Toddler Time Dragon Bowl: See March 6.

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2, 10:30 a.m.

ORLEANS

Craftsbury Lego Club: See March 6.

28 Saturday

ADDISON

Middlebury Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

CHITTENDEN

Family Art Saturday: Families drop in and ignite their imaginations with a current exhibit, then get hands-on with an artistic endeavor. Burlington City Arts, 11 a.m. Info, 865-5355. FREE Glass Mosaics Drop-In: Crafty kids create a unique creation in a relaxed atmosphere with provided materials, or using treasures of their own. Shelburne Craft School, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., suggested donation, $5. Info, 985-3648.

Joys and Challenges of Brilliance: Helping

Your Gifted Child Shine: Special guest speaker Dr. Patricia Schuler shares an education session with parents about dealing with anxiety in gifted children, while kids enjoy activities. Vermont Commons School, South Burlington, 1-5 p.m., $10-30, preregister. Info, 658-9941.

Read to a Dog: See March 7.

Webby’s Art Studio: Claymation: Inspired by the Museum’s new exhibit, young videographers use model magic and a museum iPad to create a mini stop-motion video. Shelburne Museum, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., regular winter museum admission, $5-10; free for children under 5. Info, 985-3346.

FRANKLIN

Family Game Day: The whole family grooves with games from Twister to tabletop fun. All ages. St. Albans Free Library, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Info, 524-1507. FREE

RUTLAND

Vermont Winter Farmers Market: See March 7.

ORLEANS

Tie Dye T-Shirt with Sharpies Workshop: Crafty kids get creative with an imaginative art project. Ages 9-14. MAC Center for the Arts, Newport, 10-11:30 a.m., preregister. Info, 334-0264. FREE

WINDSOR

Norwich Winter Farmers Market: See March 14.

29 Sunday

ADDISON

Family Play: See March 1.

CHITTENDEN

Essex Open Gym: See March 1.

Family Gym: See March 1.

See Dr. First videos “First With Kids” at uvmhealth.org.

30 Monday

CHITTENDEN

2C’s Monday Night Movie For Kids: See March 2.

Colchester Preschool Music: See March 2.

One-on-One Tutoring: See March 2.

Teen Space: See March 2.

Williston Preschool Music: See March 2.

FRANKLIN

Messy Mondays: See March 2.

Seasonal Events

Maple Celebration at the Farm: Spring-seeking families sample maple, learn the savvy about sugaring, listen to stories and more. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, MARCH 1, 10 A.M.-4 P.M., regular museum admission, $4-16; free for children under 3. Info, 457-2355.

Sugar-on-Snow at Shelburne Sugarworks: Families see the sweet stu boil, sample fresh syrup, listen to live music from 12:30-3:30 p.m. and explore miles of hiking in the sugarbush. Shelburne Sugarworks, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, 11 A.M.-5 P.M., food and syrup available for purchase. Info, 233-7531. FREE

Montpelier Sugar on Snow: Families savor warm syrup, cold snow, donuts and a pickle. Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, Montpelier, FRIDAYS THROUGH SUNDAYS, 11 A.M.-4 P.M., $3.95-5.95. Info, 223-2740. Middletown Springs Maple Festival: Maple lovers check out sugaring the old-fashioned way over an open fire, sample sugar-on-snow, browse through a ra e and silent auction, and enjoy live music. Middletown Springs Historical Society, SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 1-4 P.M. Info, 235-2376. FREE

Audubon Vermont Sugar-on-Snow Party: Seekers of the sweet stu tour the sugarbush, learn tapping techniques, observe sap boiling and taste the yummy result. Audubon Vermont, Huntington, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 11 A.M.-4 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 11 A.M.-4 P.M., syrup available for purchase. Info, 434-3068. FREE

Dakin Farm Sugar-on-Snow Party: Liquid-gold-lovers chow down on a filling pancake breakfast until 11:30 a.m. Beginning at noon, folks sample maple treats, rock out to live music and watch sap boiling. Dakin Farm, Ferrisburgh, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 7:30 A.M.-4 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 7:30 A.M.-4 P.M., $4.96-7.95 for pancake breakfast. Info, 800-993-2546.

Jed’s Maple Products Open House: Folks celebrate spring with tours of the sugarhouse and sample the season’s first syrup, with free sugar-onsnow, wood-fired pizza, speciality food tastings and children’s activities.

Jed’s Maple Products, Derby, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10 A.M.-4 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 10 A.M.-4 P.M., maple products available for purchase. Info, 766-2700. FREE

RUTLAND

Babies & Toddlers Rock: See March 2.

WASHINGTON

Youth Acting Vision Workshops: See March 9.

31 Tuesday

CHITTENDEN

Afterschool Tuesday: See March 3.

Spanish Musical Kids: See March 10.

Tuesday Movie: Viewers relax with a familyfriendly flick. Popcorn and drinks provided. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 2:45-4:20 p.m. Info, 878-6956. FREE

FRANKLIN

Tunes on Tuesdays: See March 3.

Runamok Maple Open House: Curious visitors check out food and beverage samples and sneak a peak into the production room at the plant. Runamok Maple, Fairfax, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10 A.M.-3 P.M., syrup available for purchase. Info, 849-7954. FREE

Shelburne Farms Maple Open House: Families trek into the sugarbush, collect sap, tap a tree, try a taste of new syrup and sugar-on-snow, discover wildlife, and — on Sunday only — gather around the fire circle to discover Abenaki sugaring traditions and enjoy storytelling with Chief Don Stevens and members of the Abenaki community. Shelburne Farms, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10 A.M.-1 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 10 A.M.-1 P.M. Info, 985-8686. FREE

Silloway Open Maple Sugarhouse: Fans of Vermont’s spring gold visit with sugarmakers, take a steamy sugarhouse tour or a hayride, watch a tapping demonstration, and sample some free sugar on snow. Self-guided woods walking available all day. Silloway Maple, Randolph Center, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 10 A.M.-6 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 10 A.M.-6 P.M., maple products and doughnuts available for purchase. Info, 272-6249. FREE

Vermont Maple Open House Weekend: Sweet-toothed visitors find satisfaction when sugar shacks all over the state open their doors. Various locations statewide, SATURDAY, MARCH 21 AND SUNDAY, MARCH 22. Visit vermontmaple.org to find a list of participating sugarhouses. Info, 786-9437. FREE

JUST FOR Coloring Contest!

Three winners will each receive an annual family membership to the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. Send Kids VT your work of art by March 15. Be sure to include the info at right with your submission. Winners will be chosen in the following categories: (1) ages 5 and younger, (2) ages 6-8 and (3) ages 9-12. Winners will be named in the April issue of Send your high-resolution scans to art@kidsvt.com or mail a copy to Phone Kids VT. Kids VT, P.O. Box 1184, Burlington, VT 05402.

KIDS JUST FOR

Birthday Club

Congratulations to these March Birthday Club winners! Join the Club!

To enter, submit information using the online form at kidsvt.com/birthday-club.

Just give us your contact info, your children’s names and birth dates, and a photo, and they’re automatically enrolled.

NOEMI lives in Waitsfield and turns 5 on March 3. She is funny, brave and kind. She loves travel and outdoor adventures of all kinds, especially skiing, biking and swimming.

COLORING CONTEST WINNERS

Cuddly koala bears crammed into our mailbox this month. Ten-year-old Holland drew a forest around a silver bear, complete with heart-shaped emerald leaves. Theo, 6, colored his creature with rainbow stripes. A snowman with a carrot nose kept his furry friend company. Five-yearold Enoch’s bright orange bear smiled, showing a mouthful of glossy white teeth. Spectacular work, everyone. Send in your amazing artwork again this month.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

“QUEEN KOALA”

Collette Perry, 4, Panton

“JUST MAX”

Wylder Elkins, 6, Underhill

“KOALA RESCUE”

Brer Basson, 5, Middlebury

“ROSE”

Bishara Idow, 9, Winooski

“VALENTINE’S BEAR”

Eliza Stone, 6, Bethel

“KOALA COLORS”

Lindsey Johnson, 10, Georgia

“Koala Heart” Rowan Painter, 5 SOUTH BURLINGTON

PATRICK lives in South Burlington and turns 9 on March 17. He’s an active, fun-loving third grader at Christ the King School in Burlington. He loves to read, play hockey, soccer and baseball, put together Legos, and ski in the winter and swim in the summer.

WREN lives in Shelburne and turns 5 on March 25. She loves cupcakes, princesses and books. When she grows up, she dreams of “making chocolate at Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory, telling jokes at the comedy club, stuffing groceries in grocery bags and teaching cooking.”

“COLORFUL POLAR BEAR”

Pranjal Kekan, 4, South Burlington

“FIRE SURVIVOR”

Willow Heywood, 10, Middlebury

“HEART BEAR”

Ella Lacelle, 7, Cabot

“THE BROKEN HEART”

Ziva Corey, 9, Barre

“BABY KOALA”

Taysia Leget, 8, Newport

“COLORFUL RAINBOW BEAR”

Valia Chiperi, 4, Shelburne

TOP TITLES

“ICE CREAM CHERRY BEAR”

Addie MacKinnon, 4, Lyndonville

“FALLING POTATO CHIPS”

Micah Selvoggio-Welsh, 6, Fayston

“COLOR-OALA”

Ian Bermingham, 9, Burlington

“Love Bear” Sonja Dalton, 7 WATERBURY

6 to 8

Writing Contest

This month, we want to see your writing and drawing talents! In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, use the panels below to create an original comic about a kid who has great luck.

Title:

SPONSORED BY

WRITING CONTEST WINNERS

LOVE IS IN THE SKY

In our February issue, we asked kids to create a comic inspired by Valentine’s Day. Phoebe and Amelia each win a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop.

VALENTINE DOG

Name Age Town Email Phone

We’ll pick two winners and publish their names and comic strips in the next issue. Winners receive a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop. Deadline to enter is March 15. Send your entries to: Kids VT, attn: Writing Contest, P.O. Box 1184, Burlington, VT 05402.

Amelia Friot, 10 WORCESTER

Phoebe Barron, 8 BURLINGTON

Puzzles4Kids

FOR Kid-Created Art

BY HELENA HOVANEC

CRISSCROSS — WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST?

Each word will fit into one spot in the grid. Use the starting letters as a guide and fit each word into its spot. All words will be used, so cross off each one after you put it into the grid.

Jumble

BY DAVID L. HOYT & JEFF KNUREK

The letters of these crazy words are all mixed up. To play the game, put them back into the right order so that they make real words you can find in your dictionary. Write the letters of each real word under each crazy word, but only one letter to a square.

From Izzy: “I am a homeschooled 13-year-old, with a love for fantasy and myth. Often, you can find me reading a book, caring for my small flock of chickens, crafting poetry or creating art. I have a love of learning through the arts and attend Davis Studio weekly. Warm summer rain is my favorite type of weather. If I could be a bird, I would be a raven.”

Avery Cain is 9 years old and is in fourth grade. He lives in Essex. He likes art, skiing, math and archery. His favorite type of art is doing charcoal animal drawings.

You are now ready to solve this month’s Jumble For Kids. Study the picture for a hint. Then play around with the letters in the circles. You’ll find you can put them in order so that they make your funny answer.

Print your answer here:

ANSWERS P. 55

To learn more about art classes at the Davis Studio, visit davisstudiovt.com.

“VERMOUTH,” IN CHARCOAL PENCIL ON TONED PAPER, BY IZZY O’DONNELL, 13

“TRASH PANDA,” IN CHARCOAL PENCIL, BY AVERY CAIN, 9

Real to Reel

The seven-year journey to finding a diagnosis for my son

When I reflect on the sevenyear span between the day a pediatrician noticed something was wrong with my baby and the day we finally got a diagnosis of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, I sometimes think of my life as a film.

If it was written as a drama, scenes would include me screaming and screaming in my car on my way to work — my voice so unfamiliar and terrifying I hardly recognize it — after I found out my son needed his third surgery.

Viewers would watch me breaking down in tears, in my own personal courtroom drama, after I was accused of believing that I knew more than doctors, eventually winning the legal battle to maintain medical decision-making power for my son.

If my story was written as a feel-good comedy, it would include all of the hilarious things my son comes up with on a daily basis. One time, when asked what kind of shark was his favorite, my then-5-year-old son, without missing a beat, yelled “carcharodon megalodon!” — a long-extinct, giant shark — so loud it echoed throughout an entire medical office. Another time, at one of his physical therapy appointments, he wore his skeleton cape and gloves, remnants from an old Halloween costume, and made up a game to play with his therapist. As they ran towards one another, each rolling a giant yoga ball on the ground, my son’s cape flowed behind him. He erupted into loud giggles whenever the balls crashed into each other.

If this were a tragic tale, it would surely feature the time we rushed out of the aquarium after my then-4-year-old fell and hit his head on the floor with a crack so loud it prompted gasps from nearby parents. As we walked to our car, his little legs struggled to propel him up the small hill. “Mama, carry me,” he pleaded, and I scooped him up. As his legs dangled limp, and his head rested on my shoulder, the streetlights flickered on. Light twinkled on the top layer of freshly fallen snow as if a fairy had sprinkled sparkling dust over it. As I held my boy, I wondered how the world could be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time.

Cut to our house. My son, then 6 years old, dislocated his hip while he tried to get dressed. He screamed upstairs to me to help him. His screams played in the background while the doctor, on the phone, tried to talk me through the steps to maneuver the hip back into place.

Our story would feature physician after physician who couldn’t explain why my son fell so often or struggled to keep up with his peers. One doctor dismissed my son’s hip dislocation, telling me it could probably only have happened with severe trauma. Another told me that he anticipated “medicine to advance in the next decade or two,” as if I should wait that long for answers.

I had to take a hard look at the screenplay I was writing for myself. Did I want to be the victim or the superhero in this movie?

What did I do in response to those doctors who contradicted themselves or dismissed my concerns? I listened to my inner voice and trusted that I knew my child. I sought another specialist, and another.

Finally, I found one familiar with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), a connective tissue disorder. My son was almost 7 years old when he was diagnosed. The Mayo Clinic describes EDS as a hereditary condition that affects “primarily the skin, joints, and blood vessel walls. Symptoms include overly flexible joints that can dislocate, and skin that’s translucent, elastic, and bruises easily.”

As I drove home after the diagnosis, relief and validation flooded through me, and I was unable to hide the tears that I normally conceal behind sunglasses. I remembered that I had brought a special warrior bead for my son, and I handed it to him in the backseat.

“How did you know I’d get a diagnosis?” he asked. I tried my best to answer him by telling him I knew we’d eventually get there. Again, he asked, “But how did you know?”

“I had faith, my love,” I answered.

My now-7-year-old son’s condition is currently managed by attending regular physical therapy, wearing orthotic devices, receiving chiropractic care, taking supplements and managing fatigue. In therapy, he works to build and maintain muscle to give his body strength and structure, despite its faulty connective tissue.

I am grateful to have found several physicians familiar with EDS. I am also grateful for the community of people living with EDS in Vermont. Many faced similar struggles of being dismissed while seeking a diagnosis. In the most egregious cases, people were referred to psychiatrists because their conditions were deemed psychosomatic. Some

parents have been accused of child abuse. One of the biggest challenges people with this condition face is obtaining a diagnosis. As connective tissues are present throughout multiple body systems, physicians may not connect a patient’s symptoms. Symptoms also present differently in different people. Research indicates that the average time it takes to be diagnosed with EDS is 10 to 20 years.

While going through the process of finding my son’s diagnosis, life didn’t stop. This movie has subplots. I was still a single working mother with the extra challenge of getting medical care approved by insurance after denials, coordinating special-needs sports lessons and providing regular care, all while maintaining a career. I often had to negotiate for flex hours so I could take my son to his physical therapy and medical appointments.

At one point, I discovered a dichotomy. The better my career was going and the happier my bosses were, the worse my son did. The worse my job prospects got and the angrier my bosses were, the more my son thrived. It was like I was forced to make a choice.

Spoiler alert: Sorry, partners who told me I couldn’t use my sick days for my baby’s first surgeries, I didn’t choose you. Sorry, CEO who fired me after I stood up to you. I didn’t choose you, either.

Despite the challenge of balancing career and family, I feel called to advocate not only for my son, but also for other children and families, including people living with EDS. I write about my family’s experiences to bring awareness to the condition, and I connect with others online as they navigate the same bumpy road. I am also working to create opportunities in the community where there are gaps for children who need chronic care. Further, I teach my son to speak up during doctor’s visits to advocate for himself. Perhaps one day, he will be a voice for others.

If I pressed fast forward to the final scene in this journey, I imagine a blank white screen and my voice speaking directly to my son. “My love, you brought joy and purpose into my life. My wish for you is simply this — to be happy and healthy.” K

PUZZLE

The animals on the dairy farm were

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