Tag Magazine - August, 2013

A Kids-Eye View of the Palouse

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Stepping out Tag! columnist explores ways for your children to walk or bike to school safely

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August/September, 2013

| Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Positive peer pressure | Music apps | Family calendar

A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse | Tag V .

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MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

YOUR TICKET TO FAMILY FUN! Walk and gawk

FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 13-19, 201 3

PR ESE RV ING OU R HE RITAG E: CAN NIN G CLA SSE S SET PAG E 9

| PAAGGGEE 4

BY TH E BLU EESS INEERR WA S SAV ED AD LIN RE ND EZ VO US HE

FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 1117, 2013

RULE!

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Tag | A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

A Kids-Eye View of the Palouse

Brooke Lowry, Moscow Safe Routes to School coordinator, helped lead a successful Fill the Racks event this spring at Moscow schools. Lowry says walking and biking to school can help children with cognitive mapping, meaning it can help them understand more about where they live, and help them find their way around.

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ABOUT TAG Tag is published three times a year in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The full magazine is available for viewing online by visiting dnews.com and clicking on the Special Sections link. For more information on how to advertise, contact the Daily News at (208) 882-5561.

A Kids-Eye

View of the

Palouse

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s ways nist explore ly Tag! colum s to school safe r kid to get you

t0-school s for backGood book August/September, 2013 ic apps | Kids calendar man | Moscow-Pull

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peer Positive

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| Mus pressure

ON THE COVER Rory McBeath, 7, , leads his friends Ryder and Teague Owen, plus his father, Scott, down an informal trail onnecting Southeast Crestview Street (near the Lincoln Middle School track and football field) to Southeast Edge Knoll Drive in Pullman.

Dean Hare/Daily News

| August/September, 2013 | 3

Brook Lowry photo

Walk and roll

P

arents of school kids, start your engines. Or wait — on second thought, don’t. Instead, take a moment to remember the old days when we, or was that our parents, used to have to walk miles and miles to get to school. Through the snow?

Uphill, both ways? Remember how character-building that was?

Before I started looking into how we get our kids to school (rather than going with the default back-to-school topic, lunchboxes), I little suspected that this would end up being such a call to action, a cry for the power of community.

Reader, turn off your engine and get those kids outside. As parents we may be keenly aware of the risks in letting our kids walk and bike — what may be less readily apparent are the risks in not letting them do these things.

Granted, for some families it may simply not be feasible for

kids to walk or bike to school. For those not already doing so, for those who might be tempted to rise to the challenge occasionally, even part of the way, read on.

Nationally, the percentage of kids walking and biking to school is down to about 15 percent, whereas about 40 years ago more than 50 percent of kids walked or biked to school (Sierra, July/August 2011). Locally, in a survey conducted this spring by Brooke Lowry, Moscow Safe Routes to School coordinator, parents reported that 21 percent of Moscow

interesting thing about busing is that if kids were to bike, they might get to school in the same amount of time. They’d have some fitness in their morning and get some calories burned.”

Also important, Lowry adds, is that “they’d also come to know their community first-hand.

When kids are walking the same route and they see the same neighbors and the same dogs and they see the seasons happening,

BY JUDY SOBELOFF then they come to care about their community in a different way elementary and middle school stu- than if they were in a car.” dents walk or bike in the morning, Along these lines, she says, a with 25 percent walking or biking real measure of success is “if you in the afternoon. see a kid pick up a piece of garbage on their walk, then you know BENEFITS OF WALKING that they care that much about AND BIKING their environment and where they Lowry notes that West Park live.” and Russell Elementary principals Regular walking and biking report that 90 percent of their can also help kids with “cognitive students are bused, and that it mapping,” Lowry says, meaning takes 45 minutes for kids to travel that it can help them understand by bus to West Park. While busing more about where they live is considered a form of carpooling and therefore a recommended See School Page 4 option, Lowry observes that “the

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4 | August/September, 2013 |

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

TIPS FOR GETTING THERE SAFELY Walking • Walk on sidewalks whenever possible • Walk facing traffic if no sidewalk is present. Bike with traffic.

• Walk with a friend if your parent cannot walk with you.

There is safety in numbers.

• Establish a specific route with your parents and walk it with them a few times before you walk it on your own.

• Practice looking and listening for cars at every intersection before you cross.

• Look for the driver’s eyes when they stop so you are sure they see you.

• When one car stops, look to see that other cars around them stop also, especially on a two-lane road.

• Crosswalks are the safest places for kids to cross the street.

• If you can’t see cars on the road because of parked cars where you need to cross, listen first for cars, then slowly move out to where you can see the road, look both ways, and proceed with caution.

• When walking across driveways on your way to school, be aware of cars backing up onto the road.

• Always thank your crossing guards, who are there for your safety.

Cycling • Helmets are a must.

• Check your bike’s ABCs before each ride (Air, Brakes, & Chain) • Be seen. Wear bright clothing • Be heard! Use bell or voice • Use hand signals and look before turning and changing lanes • Stop at red lights and stop signs, use crosswalks and let pedestrians cross first • Ride in the direction of car traffic • Ride with an adult until you have safe bike skills • Kids under 10, ride on sidewalk and walk bikes across intersections • No headphones and no texting while riding • Lock up at bike racks

A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

| Tag

School from Page 3 geographically and be better able to find their way around, an ability that kids who are regularly driven may utterly lack.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a parent who hasn’t heard again and again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and crucial to their child’s academic success. Less widely recognized is the finding, according to Lowry, that “kids who exercise in the morning are better students, calmer, and their minds are sharper.”

She cites a study of 20,000 Danish schoolchildren ages 5-19, called “Mass Experiment 2012,” which concluded that biking or walking to school helps kids concentrate better for about four hours — and, surprisingly, as researcher Niels Egelund reports, that such exercise had even bigger impact than eating breakfast and lunch (theatlanticcities.com, Feb. 05, 2013).

Brook Lowry photo

Students at Moscow Middle School look at milk jugs representing the amount of carbon dioxide and particulates that can be kept out of the atmosphere by walking or riding a bike to school instead of being driven.

walking or biking with an adult, and if not, whether it’s possible for them to go with other kids.

While there is no guarantee of OBSTACLES AND absolute safety in anything we do, POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS for parents who feel their kids are With all of these far-ranging old enough to walk and bike unsubenefits to biking and walking pervised, Lowry notes that “we’re to school, what, then, is getting relatively safe here. The more kids in the way? (As a parent living in walk, the more other kids will the United States, did I really just walk. It’s like a snowball effect. No ask that?) The obstacles can loom one wants to be the first one, but large: the added time in already if there are other kids, and a lot of busy mornings, as well as fears eyes on the street, then more kids of “stranger danger” and unsafe will start doing it.” routes.

The question of when kids are Let’s attempt to slay these ready to bike and walk unsuperdragons, cutting off one head at vised is officially a parental decia time. First, time. Lowry notes sion, not a legal one. Regardless of that Moscow is small, and that what particular families decide, my the focus of Safe Routes to School sense is that we need to work with (SR2S) is on kids who live one our kids to help them learn to keep themselves safe — and that we mile from school or less. ”Here’s the challenge that I want to invite need to give them opportunities to develop their judgment and sense people to do: clock themselves from getting into the car, buckling of independence now, while we’re still able to exert some modicum up, and getting to the door of the school—and compare that to how of influence, before they become long it takes to bike and walk.” She teenagers and the stakes become cautions not to count the first time potentially much higher.

For guidelines on helping you bike, because then “you’re just children keep themselves safe, one getting used to it, and your tires resource Lowry suggests is “Kidare probably flat. It is surprising power Safety Tips” (see kidpower. how fast you can get across town, org/library/article/kidnappingeven walking.”

Next, parental fears of strangers response). The opportunity to address these issues, as laid out in and traffic. An obvious point to this Kidpower resource, and to consider is whether kids will be

impart real life skills to our children, seems valuable to be whether or not our kids walk and bike to school.

For parents concerned about traffic hazards, the Moscow SR2S website (saferoutestoschoolmoscow.com) has links to many resources, ranging from tips on bike safety to an interactive map which Lowry’s husband, Mike Lowry, a traffic engineer, helped put together. The map can be customized for each school, as well as customized to show sidewalks, crosswalks, Valley Transit stops, and drop-off and walk locations for parents who want to drive partway only (www. webpages.uidaho.edu/~mlowry/ gis/sr2s.htm).

When considering safety, parents might consider that statistically, getting in a car is the most dangerous thing we routinely do with our kids, in that “vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children” (Sierra, July/August 2011).

RESOURCES While most parents know about SR2S’s three big city-wide events — International Walk to School Day in October, Polar Walk in February, and Fill the Racks in May — what many parents probably don’t know is that Lowry has many ideas and resources to get kids biking and walking beyond

these events, which Lowry hopes will serve as a “kick-start” for people to see “it wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t so cold, it didn’t take so long, maybe we’d like to do it again.”

Many parents participate in “Walking School Buses” during these events, and Lowry has resources and suggestions for helping parents do this more regularly, such as with Walking Wednesdays, with parents taking turns leading the group, perhaps each parent leading the group once a month.

In addition to educational materials she is eager to loan to schools such as a bike book collection of 30 different books, Lowry has two bike rodeo starter kits and is glad to help schools organize a fun event geared toward teaching bike safety. She also has many ideas and resources for setting up incentive programs whereby, for example, students can earn points for miles biked and walked which can be redeemed for prizes.

Lowry, who grew up in Canada, traces her love of biking back to her dad’s incentive program back in high school, when he told her she could spend the money he gave her for bus fare on taking the bus, or pocket the money and get See School Page 6

Tag | A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

| August/September, 2013 | 5

Parents, peers play key role in helping teens abstain likely to be involved with drugs and alcohol if they are passionate fot Tag! about something else.

The LCYAC board is comtudies conducted nation- prised of a dedicated group of wide have found that an diverse individuals who care deeply overwhelming number of about issues that affect our youth. teenagers will stay away They are willing to commit their from drugs and alcohol if they time and resources to help combelieve their parent or parents munities assess local needs and disapprove of their use. facilitate services.

Creating an environment where The LCYAC Youth Ambasyour kids can speak freely and ask sador program is comprised of 26 questions about drugs and alcohol students representing our six Latah is essential to them understanding County schools. These students why it is important to abstain from help us model and promote these substances. healthy lifestyles while volunAt the Latah County Youth teering in their community and Advocacy Council (LCYAC), our throughout the county. They work goal is to provide parents and together to create campaigns that youth with tools to make healthy decisions about drugs and alcohol. promote drug-free fun, including We encourage student involvement celebrations during Red Ribbon Week and sponsoring a Countyin sports, theater, student governwide High School dance. ment, FFA, BPA, FCCLA, Idaho Drug Free Youth, volunteerism and Youth Ambassadors anything else that provides fun and Moscow: Luke Miller, Dakota positive opportunities for them in their communities. Youth are less Pfaff, Erin Ingram, Leslie Dodson, Latah County Youth Advocacy Council

S

Hailey Gomez.

Potlatch: Savannah LeForce, Casey Grant, Ronnie Miller, Zac Dockins, Byron Bowles.

Troy: Ashley Bull, Ben Schumacker, Whitney Fredrickson, Summer Harris.

Deary: Kael Stelck, Wyatt Reeves, Gray Stanton, Emily Winter, Brooke Swanson.

Kendrick: Alec Henson, Layne Harris, Emily Groseclose, Whitney Harris.

Genesee: Brittany Young, Lance Funke, Sammy Sperber.

LCYAC

Upcoming events include

The 2013-14 Latah County Youth Advocacy Council youth ambassadors represent six Latah County schools.

Sept. 13-14 – from 4 -10 p.m. during the Latah County Fair, we will be at the Palouse Ice Rink giving teens a safe place to hang out, roller skate, and play video games.

Oct. 21-25 – we celebrate Red Ribbon Week. This year we have events in the works all over the county. (Google Red Ribbon Week for national information.)

Sat., Oct. 26 – Law enforcement National Drug Take Back Day.

Last year the county collected 26 pounds of prescription drugs and medications for safe disposal. This project decreases the likelihood of youth obtaining and abusing prescription drugs.

If you believe in educating our kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and encouraging them to make positive choices, please contact us by email lcyac@latah.

id.us or like us on Facebook! Funding for this program made possible (in part) by Latah County and a Drug Free Communities Grant.

For more information, contact Debi Dockins, program director, at (208) 883-2268.

Advertisers in Tag! were invited to submit articles for publication. This is one of those submissions.

Genesee Troy

Deary Youth • Family • Community

Congratulations to ourr 2013 - 2014 Youth Ambassadors!

Team Players • Outgoing Professional • Creative • Fun Full of Ideas • Passionate Invested • Hard Working Leaders • Change Agents Drug Free • Confident Self Motivated Independent

Moscow

Kendrick

#DRUGFREEFUN@LCYAC

Potlatch

6 | August/September, 2013 |

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

| Tag

School

McBeath, however, who read about traffic congestion at Jefferson Elementary when he moved here seven years ago and thought, from Page 4 “We have to do something.” Though he was unable to gain traction with getting a herself to school. Lowry says she ended up SR2S program started, McBeath has now biking to school and using the money she taken his considerable energy to get kids saved to buy herself a new bike. outside and moving in other directions, She says that websites such as Active4Me. also beneficial to the community. com have programs that tally the distances During the school year McBeath regukids have traveled, and can even send an larly walks informally with up to 10-15 automatic text or email to parents when neighborhood kids to school. In the sumkids arrive at school. mer he leads bike camps for kids through Most significantly, Lowry says that she Pullman Parks and Rec, during which he would love to work with an enthusiastic teaches kids bike safety and takes them on parent or person at each school to create rides through neighborhoods and on paths a specific program tailored to the needs of and bike trails all over town. that particular school. She can be reached As a parent of a 7-year-old boy and at blowry@uidaho.edu. nanny to two other boys, McBeath sees While even kids who love to bike and “that time to walk your child to school is walk may resist doing anything beyond very important. That’s the only time you’re plopping their butts in the back seat of the going to get to know what they’re thinking. car early in the morning, my guess is that As soon as you walk in the door, you’re too kids will be way more excited to jump on busy.” their bikes or walk when the prompting As for kids riding past in cars, he says comes from their school rather than from sometimes “you can see it in their eyes. mom and dad.

They’re wondering, ‘Why can’t I be walking too?’”

PULLMAN McBeath notes that some kids in PullUnlike Moscow, the Pullman School man may live only half a mile from school District is currently participating in a state- but may end up being driven a longer sponsored walk study, but does not have a distance, because in some cases there is no SR2S program. Pullman does have Scott direct or easily accessible walking route. He

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Scott McBeath points to a sign a neighbor has posted granting permission to walk across their property as part of an informal trail connecting Southeast Edge Knoll Drive to Southeast Crestview Street in Pullman. explains that there are informal paths which lead to schools through property easements all over town, but many of these are not viable options because they become incredibly muddy “as soon as the rain hits,” or because the paths are on private property.

For example, he says, many kids use a small path leading through the woods on private property from Edge Knoll and Glen Echo to Lincoln Middle School. He learned recently that the property owner had tried unsuccessfully to get the city to pave the path. Having seen that certain paths in Pullman have recently had gravel added, such as a very muddy shortcut leading from High Street to the post office, he realizes now that making improvements to such paths will need to be done by community members instead of the city.

“Everybody I meet has an uncle or a brother who works for the building industry,” he says, and he exhorts property owners and neighborhood residents to go ahead and spread gravel on these paths themselves. “If you’ve got this easement, this pathway, find a way to make it usable.

Tell a friend to use it.”

McBeath, who can be reached at scott.mcbeath@gmail.com, is glad to share his knowledge of informal paths, and to act as a “hub” for people interested in increasing opportunities for kids to walk and bike in Pullman.

Lisa Carloye, president of the Pullman Civic Trust (PCT), is also aware of a number of informal paths that can make kids’ walking to school easier, particularly to Jefferson Elementary. For people who live on the northwest side of Jefferson,

such as kids in the Copper Basin Housing Development, the Aquatic Center side, she says the PCT has been talking to the city about formalizing a footpath used by dog walkers along the bluff above SYG nursery, connecting Eden Drive to Conservation Park at the base of Darrow Street. From there students can walk up Darrow, straight up to Jefferson.

Students who live on the north side of Jefferson can walk up Hall Drive to Orion, to the water tower where Orion deadends.

At the end of Orion is an informal path (on private property) that connects Janet to Orion and Jefferson.

Carloye notes that many parents drive their kids in the morning because it saves time since they’re already driving themselves to work. Even so, Carloye says, “It’s beneficial to teach your kids that they can walk, and that it’s an excellent form of transportation.”

Yes, we parents have a lot to do to be able to get not only ourselves but our kids out the door on time in the morning. And yet, I never see dog owners driving their dogs in the morning simply because it gets them around the block faster. Let’s consider the possibility that our kids need a little physical activity in the morning, too.

Judy Sobeloff is a teaching artist and freelance writer who lives with her family in Moscow. Do you have other Tag! story ideas you’d like Judy to tackle? Send them to cstaszkow@dnews.com to let her know about community members making things happen for kids.

Tag | A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

| August/September, 2013 | 7

The wonderful world of music and technology for personal enjoyment as well as for their fans.

Creative music educahere’s this old saying “Everytors can use a variety thing Old is New Again.” While of programs such as some could argue this isn’t alGarageband to make ways for the best, when it comes customized interactive to music and education, I believe it is. lessons that engage, When you consider the history of entertain and educate recorded sound, in less than 130 years (13 students. decades) we’ve gone from bulky and brittle For example, two of wax cylinders to phonograph records, the traditionally least cassette tapes (including reel-to-reel and fun skills and con8-track), compact discs, to smaller and cepts beginning music smaller digital formats like the iPod, USB students need to learn sticks and now The Cloud. in order to play a A student uses I’ll never forget the first time I saw the recognizable song are playing guitar. new, first generation iPod. A very excited notes (scales) and timguitar student had just gotten one for ing (rhythm). Ask any Christmas and brought it his first lesson. gifted music teacher He had loaded it with seemed like a masand they will tell you how challenging it sive digital playlist of over 100 songs. That’s can be to get a student to learn to follow more than 5 ½ hours of music. Considerthe rhythm of notes or chords. Most tradiing that compacts discs only hold an avertional methods used to teach those things age of 77 to 80 minutes of music, that was, are BORING. However, we’ve embraced the power of technology and found a and still is, mindblowing. number of programs and tools that get the Even more fun and amazing is how students attention and make learning those technology has made it easier for music lovers and musicians to create song projects once boring skills lots of fun.

By Michelle Ward

T

for Tag!

clicking. Those are just a few of the things you can do. Since we’ve started using these devices in lessons we’ve noticed an instant interest and improvement in our students rhythmic skills.

Another fun and free interactive tool that teaches note recognition is NoteWorks (for iOS). Designed as a musical game, students have fun learning and improving sight reading skills. It’s a fun way to incorporate basic rudiments and kids love it. NoteWorks takes those old school music flash cards to a whole new level!

These are just a few of the many wonderphoto courtesy GTR Music Studio ful interactive programs that made our a digital app to help keep the beat while “Starter Kit of Music Apps” that we use and recommend to our students to enhance their musical journey. You can check them out and download them for free at www.

Two of our favorites are the digital metronome apps, Tempo Lite (for iOS devices) GTRMusicStudio.com/freemusictools.html. and Mobile Metronome (for Android/ Michelle Ward is director and an instructor at GTR Windows devices). Both have wonderfully simple but cool layouts, are very user Music Studio and has a Masters in Music from the friendly, accurate and interactive.

University of Idaho’s Hampton School of Music. She For example, by tapping the screen you can find the tempo, beat and time signature performs regularly with her band The ColdRail Blues of a song that you are listening to. You can Band. Advertisers in Tag! were invited to submit aralso choose which beats to accent while it’s ticles for publication. This is one of those submissions.

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A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

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BOOKNOTES

Local book buyer shares her top picks

by Jesica DeHart

F

for Tag!

all is the best time of year for so many reasons. New clothes, new teachers, and new books! Here are some of my favorite new books: “Rooftoppers” by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Terry Fan (releases in late Sept.) ages 8 – 12 – I sat down to read only the first chapter of “Rooftoppers,” simply to get a sense of the book, but I found that I could not put it down. I read until I fell asleep and then I awoke in the middle of the night completely fixated on how the book would end and so I curled up on the couch to consume the final chapters.

The story begins with a sunken ship, a baby found floating in a cello case, and a bachelor gentleman who finds baby Sophie and feels a connection that leads him to be her foster

parent. The authorities are none too pleased with the arrangement but allow it to continue until the young girl turns 12. The risk of being taken from the only parent she has known leads Sophie on an epic quest to find out what became of her mother.

When a clue in the cello case leads them to France, Sophie discovers a secret world, and loyal friends, on the rooftops of Paris. “Rooftoppers” is the story of determination, unconditional love, and courage. It left me deeply moved

and convinced that this is a book that belongs on every bookshelf.

“The 13-Story Treehouse” by Andy Griffiths, illustrated

by Terry Denton (ages 8 – 12) – This is the first in a brand new children’s series about friends Andy and Terry who live in a treehouse and write books.

This isn’t your average backyard treehouse. This is a 13-story treehouse with such extravagances as a bowling alley, marshmallow making machine, and a secret laboratory.

For kids that love “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Dork Diaries,” “Big Nate,” or “Ivy and Bean,” this would be a great next series. It is full of hilarious anecdotes, adventures, and illustrations that fill the book and give it a graphic novel feel although it is still a chapter book. Book 2 will feature a 26-story treehouse. The writing is top notch and I can’t wait to see how high the treehouses will get in this break-out new series that is soaring straight for the sky!

“The Boy with Pink Hair” by Perez Hilton, illustrated by Jen Hill (ages 3 – 7) – I have been waiting for the writing world to write more books about pink that will make it more than just a color for girls, and finally, we have “The Boy with Pink Hair.” It has not only been a huge hit at my house but it has become a favorite storytime read at the store.

A baby is born with shockingly pink hair. He was just born that way but it isn’t what defines him in the end, and that is what I love. He gains acceptance for his difference, but it is his incredible spontaneous recipe creations in his treehouse kitchen that win him admiration.

Children can always tell when the moral of the story is more important than the story itself and avoid those books if they can.

But great storytelling is naturally educational.

I love that the characters in this book have names like the Girl with Ponytails or the Boy with a Bad Attitude. Yes, this is a book written by a celebrity with celebrity 5 star reviews, but it is more importantly a great story with an underlying message that we need

to hear. I hope more writers are inspired to celebrate diversity, uniqueness, and the breaking of stereotypes in the natural plotlines of their writing.

“The Day the Crayons Quit”

by Drew Daywalt, illustrated

by Oliver Jeffers (ages 3 – 7) – Duncan opens up his desk and is startled to find that instead of his crayons there instead is a pile of letters. Each of his crayons has written him a very opinionated, sometimes emotional, and other times lighthearted appeal. Melancholic Beige is tired of always being called Light Brown. Orange and Yellow are outraged that Duncan keeps alternating the color of the sun and thus creating ongoing See Books Page 9

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How to encourage kids to read reading if what they’re reading Reading can have a profound impact interests them, on a child’s life in and out of the classso encourage room. Reading can help a young student kids to read up develop a more extensive vocabulary, and on those intera study from the Federal Interagency Fo- ests, even if that rum on Child and Family Statistics found reading does not that reading to young children promotes involve picking language acquisition, making it easier for up a book. them to learn a foreign language. That’s a l Get your significant advantage for children growing youngster his or up in a world that’s increasingly global. her own library But reading has benefits outside the card. Thanks to classroom as well. Reading can provide the popularity of an escape from the daily grind, which is e-readers, many something even today’s youngsters can adults would be appreciate. Reading also is a great way for hard pressed to kids to relax and unwind while simultane- locate their local ously giving their brains a workout. library if asked While many parents recognize the im- to do so. But vispact reading can have on their children, iting the library it’s no secret that getting kids to embrace is a great way to reading can be difficult. Distractions such encourage kids as video games, social media and even to read, espethe great outdoors are all there to draw cially if kids have kids away from reading. But parents who their own library want to instill a love of reading in their cards. Kids with children can still take steps to ensure their their own library kids don’t miss out on the benefits of a cards tend to Metro Editorial good book. look at visits to Youngsters who have their own library cards might be more excited about visiting the library and more likely l Read to your children. Numerous the library as to develop a love of reading. studies have discovered various benefits of shopping trips reading to children when they are young. where they get The National Center for Education Stato make their own choices about what tistics notes that children whose parents they’re taking home with them. And once read to them typically become better kids reach a certain age, they can visit the from Page 8 readers and perform better in school. library on their own.

Reading to children early on is the first l Share your own reading experienccompetition between them. step toward fostering a love of reading es with children. Kids look up to their The crayons exhibit many personality kids will develop and continue throughparents and often want to mimic their betypes and temperaments, compelling the out their lives. Many parents read to their havior. So parents can set a good example reader/listener to laugh one minute and children at night before bedtime, but any by reading as well. On trips to the library, evoking sympathy the next. Oliver Jeffers’ time of day will suffice. check out your own book. While you signature colorful illustrations make the l Don’t be discouraged if kids are might not want to discuss every book you book absolutely irresistible and a perfect not interested in books. While reading read with your children, discuss the books book for back to school or for anyone fiction can help develop a youngster’s they’re reading. Chances are you read who owns a set of crayons with varying imagination, parents should not be dismany of those same books yourself when levels of wear and tear. couraged if kids don’t want to read books. you were a child, and discussing books Reading the newspaper, magazines and with your child is a great way to improve Jesica DeHart is a former teacher who works as even comic books can help kids develop his or her reading comprehension. the children’s book buyer and assistant manager strong reading skills and an extensive voDistractions abound for today’s youngcabulary and, in the case of comic books, sters, who might not embrace reading as at BookPeople of Moscow, where she is frequently inspire their imaginations. Young sports readily as they do video games or social found reading stories aloud to a crowd of children. fans might be more inclined to read the networking. But parents can take many Advertisers in Tag! were invited to submit articles sports page than a novel, so let them steps to instill a love of reading in their for publication. This is one of those submissions. do so. Kids are more likely to embrace kids that will last a lifetime.

Metro Editorial

Books

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Backpack safety can prevent serious injuries Metro Editorial

Trips and falls on the playground may account for the majority of injuries that send school children to the nurse’s office.

But backpacks cause their fair share of injuries as well.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates there are more than 7,300 backpack-related injuries per year.

Children routinely carry more than the recommended weight in school backpacks and, compounding the problem, also carry their bags incorrectly.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical agencies recommend that a child’s backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of the child’s body weight. However, this figure should be adjusted based on a child’s fitness level and strength. That means that the average seven-year-old second grader who weighs between 55 and 60 pounds should be carrying no more than 11 to 12 pounds in his or her backpack. A backpack that is too heavy may cause l red marks on the shoulders or back

from the straps l tingling or numbness in the arms and back l changes in posture when wearing the backpack, and l pain anywhere in the back.

To compound these problems, which also may include nerve damage resulting from pressure on nerves in the shoulders, children should lighten their loads and carry backpacks correctly. The following tips are some additional ways youngsters can prevent backpack-related injuries. l Carry only necessary items. Children should only carry what is required for that particular school day in their backpacks. If teachers routinely have students carry home many heavy books, parents can consult with the teachers to see if there are other options. l Distribute weight evenly. Items in the backpack should be spread out to distribute the weight across the entire back.

Heavier items should be at the bottom of the pack. l Use both straps. Using only one strap shifts the backpack weight to one side,

causing the back and shoulders to strain.

Many orthopedists have reported treating children with back or shoulder pain as the result of carrying backpacks incorrectly. l Choose the correct backpack size.

The size of the backpack should match the scale of the child and should rest evenly in the middle of the child’s back. l Lift safely. Children should lift their backpacks by bending their knees and lift-

ing to protect their backs.

There are some safety features parents can look for when purchasing backpacks.

A padded back reduces pressure on the muscles and can be more comfortable, while compression straps make the backpack more sturdy.

Additionally, reflective material on the backpack can make the child more visible to motorists.

It’s more than just bars, mats and trampolines.

They’re Building Blocks for Life!

+ Classes for Toddlers + Preschool through Teens + Paint and Play + Tumbling and + Home School P.E. Trampoline

+ Birthday Parties + Parent’s Night Out + Camps and Clinics

810 North Almon, Moscow (208) 882-6408 www.palouseempiregymnastics.com

Metro Editorial

Trips and falls on the playground may account for the majority of injuries that send school children to the nurse’s office. But backpacks cause their fair share of injuries as well.

Tag | A Kid’s-Eye View of the Palouse

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KID AND FAMILY EVENT GUIDE These are selected items from the INland360 event calendar at inland360.com. To submit your event to the largest local event calendar on the Palouse and in the Valley, go to inland360.com/your-voice/submit-anevent/ AUG. 31 Moscow Farmer’s Market, Friendship Square, Main and Fourth streets, Moscow. Highlights include fresh produce, meat, homemade baked goods, nursery plants, flowers and handmade crafts. Local musicians perform 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Market runs Saturdays through October.

SEPT. 3 Co-op Kids, Moscow Food Co-op, 121 E. Fifth St., Moscow. 9-10 a.m. Meet in the cafe. Activities for children and their caregivers. All events are all free, with snacks and materials donated by the Co-op.

Round Dance Lessons, Lena Whitmore Elementary School, 110 S. Blaine, Moscow. 7-9 p.m. The Palouse

Promenaders will provide round dancing lessons every Tuesday evening in Moscow. Everyone is welcome. The first three lessons are free.

SEPT. 14

SEPT. 13 First-down Friday, downtown Pullman, 5-9 p.m.

WSU kicks off home games in Pullman with a game against Southern Utah at the newly renovated Martin Stadium. The Pullman Chamber of Commerce will host a free community pep rally with inflatables for the kids, live music, food, ice cream and a beer garden. Hear speaker Bill Moos, meet Butch and Cougar athletes, the WSU Marching Band, cheer squad and dance team and cheer on our favorite Pac-12 team.

Juliaetta Car Show and Blackberry Festival, Juliaetta Park, Juliaetta, Idaho. 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Registration starts at 8 a.m. Live music with Beargrass begins at 11 a.m. Firefighters will be serving a barbeque hamburger lunch. Homemade pies will be for sale. Lots of children’s activities with local vendors and artists.

Questions at (208) 791-6817. Admission is free.

SEPT. 15 Old-Fashioned Sunday in Autumn at the Dahmen Barn, Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, 419 N. Park Way, Uniontown, Wash. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Bring the family. This event is for people of all ages and there is no admission fee.

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