C
s t n e t n o
6
Peeps
7
Say What
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Dreams on Ice
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Money
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Cover kid 33
Kid Writer
Jessica Potter What is your favorite Winter Activity?
A Personalized Experience Best Ways to Start Saving for the Holidays
Be Healthy
Where should you go if your child needs care today?
Meet our new Kid Writer E. Madelyn James See her story on page 33, it won the Betsy-Tacy Society Young Writer’s Competition for her age group at the 2016 Deep Valley Homecoming event.
20
How Do You Do It?
34
21
Healthy Kids
The Children’s Museum
40
Powder’s Pages
Marianne Carlson
Kids are incresingly busy, so how do we make sure they are happy and not stressed?
22 Historical Feature 24 Fancy Pants Fall Fashions
30 hOMie
Bird or Airplane Bird in Tree Bow on Wheel Warrior 3 Chair
32
Josiah
Flicks
Staff Picks
2 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
Photography by: Inspired Portrait Photography Thank you Once Upon A Child
Do you want to continue to receive Kid-Oh magazine in the mail? Are you not getting Kid-oh and you want to? Please visit our Facebook page or stop into The Free Press to fill out a subscription card. Facebook.com/kidohmag
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 ACTING PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Jordan Greer
Hello! The season is upon us! The season of rushing and lists and running from one relative’s house to the other. It is also the season of thanks. I think we all forget about that sometimes. It is the time, no matter what your religious beliefs, to be thankful for all that you have. It is hard in these times to help our kids be thankful because sometimes it is easy for them to get wrapped up in all of the flashy glittery over-abundance of the season but it is an important lesson to teach them. Be thankful for your family, for your friends, for the moments you spend together and for the memories you create. In this issue our “Mom Contributor,” Marianne Carlson, writes about being thankful for her family and for the lessons her life and how she leads it teaches her girls to live their dreams and never lose their creativity. You can see her girl’s creative side when you get to our coloring pages! Hayden and Macey both did a coloring page and Macey made us an awesome cartoon page. We are also introducing our new Kid-oh kid writer! Please welcome E. Madelyn James, we can’t wait to read all the stories she is going to have for us! Thank you again for supporting our magazine, we hope we are giving the community a fresh perspective and fun things to do and see. If you have any comments for us we would love to hear from you, please drop us a line. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, we try to post kid related stories throughout the month. From our Free Press Media family to yours, have a great holiday season and remember to take a few moments during the rushing and BE THANKFUL! Jordan Greer
CONTRIBUTORS Mayo Clinic Health Systems Mankato Clinic, Children’s Health Center The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota Once Upon A Child Gena Heminover Blue Earth County Historical Society MN Valley Federal Credit Union Hy-Vee Marianne Carlson Jessica Potter Macey Carlson Hayden Carlson E. Madelyn James PHOTOGRAPHERS Inspired Portrait Photography Cliff Coy PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING MANAGER Phil Siebel ADVERTISING SALES Jordan Greer Marianne Carlson Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Thomas Frank ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Barb Wass ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Christina Sankey Sue Hammar
Kid-Oh! Magazine is published by The Free Press Media bi-monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001. For editorial and advertising inquiries, call Jordan Greer 507-344-6337, jgreer@mankatofreepress.com To be included in future Kid-Oh! mailings, call 507-625-4451, ext. 7
4 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
Christmas at Immanuel
Advent Worship Services - 1pm & 7pm November 30 and December 7 & 14 Christmas Band, Handbell Concert December 12th, 7pm Christmas Eve - December 24th at 6pm Christmas Day - December 25th at 9am 507-345-3027 421 North Second St., Mankato
www.immanuelmankato.org November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 5
Jessica Potter
Potter Fa Brad, Jessica, mily Ella and So
Occupation? Director of the Blue Earth County Historical Society
Jessica and daughter Sophia dressed up for a 50s program at the History Center
How long have you lived in Mankato?
20+ years
What is your favorite part of your job? I love learning about the past; how people lived, what they did, where they went, what they wore, every little detail. At the History Center, we collect the objects and stories from our past then share them with our visitors. We share history through our museum exhibits and the objects on display, in educational programs like Young Historians and on tours of the History Center and Hubbard House. I love sharing our local history with visitors, especially kids.
What is your favorite thing to do in Mankato for fun? My family likes to explore the City Art Sculpture Tour. We each pick out our favorite piece each year. While walking around downtown, I love to point out the history hidden in plain sight in the buildings. When the sculptures leave in the spring, we anxiously wait for the new ones to arrive. What a great addition to our community.
What did you want to be when you grew up? When I think back to my childhood, I saved everything — my Annie notebook with scratch ‘n sniff stickers (that still smell), Strawberry Shortcake dolls (that also still smell) and even notes (aka early versions of text messages) from middle school. I have always liked to save and organize things, so I guess I always wanted to work in a museum. This is what I get to do every day.
The Blue Earth County Historical Society (BECHS) was founded in 1901 to collect, preserve and share the history of Blue Earth County. The Blue Earth County History Center is home to an interactive history museum with Discovery Lab for visitors to explore local stories and objects from our past. The History Center is open year-round Tuesday-Saturday. The Historic R.D. Hubbard House is a historic house museum showing how the Hubbard family lived in the late 1800s. This home was the first in Mankato to have indoor plumbing, electricity and a telephone. The Hubbard House is open May – September and weekends in December for a special Christmas event. For more information, visit www.BlueEarthCountyHistory.com. 6 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
phia
Macey
Age: 10 I like going sledding and snowball fights.
Jaxson
Age: 8 Playing Hockey.
Adam Age: 5 Getting a Christmas Tree.
Flora
Age: 11 I like going on the hills with my brother’s snowboard.
Hayden
Age: 6 I don’t like winter but I do like making snowmen of my whole family even a snow dog of my puppy Goblin.
We asked some Kid-Oh’s...
What is your favorite Winter Activity? Anna
Arty
Amelia Age: 5 Sledding, building snowmen and making snow angels.
Age: 9 I like to make snow tunnels with my brothers and sister.
Age: 13 I like to slide on the ice with my friends.
Breckyn
Age: 5 Making Snowmens (His words) haha. November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 7
Dreams ON
ICE
Story & Photos by Cliff Coy
Ellie Elchert has been skating since she was 4 years old. 8 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
Local kids enjoying open skate.
S
ummer is over and the air has already started to develop a mild nip in the air. That crisp fall feeling is all around and that can only mean one thing. Winter is just around the corner. Winter in Minnesota brings a wide variety of fun sports and activities for families to partake in. You can ski, snowboard and sled to your hearts content, hop on a snowmobile if speed is what you’re looking for. But if you’re really looking for a challenge filled with athletic prowess, grace and beauty, perhaps figure skating is the sport for you. The first known account of figure skating was in 1772 when an Englishman by the name of Robert Jones published A Treatise on Skating. Although this is widely believed to be when figure skating was invented, the sport today is far from the stiff and formal skating of its origins. Skating today is much more fluid and beautiful, full of choreography and personal expression. If you want to be a professional figure skater you usually have to start young and work your way up through the years with countless hours of ice time as well as practice off of the ice. On the other hand, it is also a sport that you can just do as a hobby and enjoy in your spare time. Both are options for people interested in the sport and you can find out more information at your
local rink. There are two routes that you can go, a more recreational and fun route or you can do testing and competing through US Figure Skating and that’s where you have to get to a certain level before you can apply to Disney on Ice or Holiday on Ice. Ellie Elchert, a student at Mankato State University, was four years old when she saw a community ice show when and saw all the little kids skating in cute costumes and thought she wanted to do that. With a strong support from her parents she started down a path that led her to her dream come true, skating professionally for Disney on Ice. “I ended up seeing Disney on Ice when I was seven and decided that is what I wanted to be my goal and my dream,” said Ellie. “So I worked really hard, I’d skate from one o’clock in the afternoon until six pm, do off ice training, sports psychology classes, ballet, so a lot of that went into it. Then I auditioned for Disney when I was a senior in High School and got a call back and headed out.” During her time at Disney on Ice, Ellie would skate one to three shows a day. They were in a different city every single week all over the world, performing in front of thousands of kids and families and grandparents. In November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 9
Emily Dahlin started skating in 3rd grade. addition to skating in the shows and dressing up as a princess every day she also got to go to hospitals every week and read books to the cancer patients and kids. “We would do VIP meet and greets with kids and also worked a lot with Make a Wish Foundation so that they could meet their favorite princess,” said Ellie. “It was an amazing experience trying to bring that Disney magic to them.” Inevitably though Ellie got weary of living out of a suitcase for the five years she was with Disney on Ice and she decided that she wanted to go to college and also give back to the community what she learned after all of her years on
the ice and start coaching in New Ulm. “I think figure skating is awesome, you can make a really great life out of it and there is something rewarding about it, you have to motivate yourself so the end result is always on you,” said Ellie. “You also learn a lot of life lessons through figure skating such as hard work, determination, time management and you build a lot of relationships that will last forever. I have friends that were in skating when I was little and I still keep in touch with them 20 years later. It’s a great sport to be involved in and it’s really highly competitive. I guarantee that once you step on the ice you will fall in love with it.”
10 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
“It’s always just been a calming feeling whenever I step on the ice, it’s like no one else is there and it’s kind of an escape for me,” said Ellie. “If I am stressed out about work or school, getting on the ice is just me out there enjoying what I am so passionate about and I think ever since I was four years old that was always the best thing of my life, that first step on the ice every day. It’s really something that anyone can enjoy and just take time to do something that makes them happy.” On the other side of the coin, you can just get into skating for a hobby. Most towns that have an ice skating arena also have classes for beginners all the way up to coaches for the more advanced. In the case of Emily Dahlin, a freshmen at MSU, she picked up skating in 3rd grade and ended up having to essentially give it up when she was in 7th grade. But that hasn’t stopped her from picking it back up years later and getting the enjoyment out of it that she used to as a kid. “I think part of why I started it was because my cousin did it and I kind of wanted to be like her but at the same time I found a lot of beauty in skating,” said Emily. “Skating taught me how to be beautiful in my own way. The thing that really grabbed me and made me stick with it was the artistic part of it, you can kind of do whatever you want and it can all be together and look cool at once.” “If you have kids or you yourself are thinking about doing it, I would definitely say go for it,” said Emily. “It’s one of the most amazing experiences, it’s something that a lot of people in their adulthood still don’t know how to do.” Being from Minnesota we are surrounded by a lot of ice through a good portion of the year and the All Seasons Arena in town has ice 12 months out of the year on at least one rink. If you’re looking to learn how to skate, contact the All Seasons Arena for beginner’s classes. They usually have a skating school or figure skating club there. You can start and just learn how to skate and that might be all you want to do but if you really want to go into the higher levels in figure skating that is also possible. “I would encourage every parent to put their child in skating,” said Ellie. “It gets to a point where the
child is going to have to decide between sports like soccer or skating. Having their child choose it but not putting a lot of pressure on them to do so.” Financially speaking, skating can be an expensive sport, so that is can be a road block for some people but just putting the money where it is most beneficial is important. If you are, and your kid is really into figure skating and wants to make a career out of it, coaching is a really important part. “If you have a coach that might be more expensive. I would say go with them because in the long run you will need less time with them and they will accomplish more,” said Ellie. “I encourage it, just try not to put too much pressure on your kid and let them enjoy it because figure skating is so self-motivated, it’s all you motivating yourself.” “You’re never going to know how you are going to do until you try and you can kind of relate that back to life where if you never try you are never going to succeed,” said Emily. “I think the biggest part about kids is that they are afraid to fall. But you have to just keep pushing at it. My parent’s really helped me realize that it takes time and practice and you have to work at it. Most of the time kids love it when they can get out there and just zoom around on the ice, they are just the happiest little kids out there.” Minnesota has a long history revolving around winter sports and figure skating is no exception to this. Like many sports, if you are going to chase a career figure skating it is important to push yourself and keep that dream alive in your mind. If anyone can testify to their dreams coming true, it is Ellie Elchert. She kept her dream in the front of her mind and with the help of her parents and coaches, made that dream come true. “I encourage everyone to do it, I have been in love with it for the past 20 years and probably won’t stop skating until I am done walking,” said Ellie. “It’s a great sport and in the area there is a lot of opportunity for it and I see a lot of growth happening.”
You’re never too young to start!
November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 11
Left to Right Sarah Barbosa Erika Urban Elizabeth Heaps Rachel Knudson
A Personalized
Experience Story & Photos by Cliff Coy
W
hen you think of the word “Midwife”, what comes to mind? When I heard it the only thing I could think of was “Isn’t that a woman from the medieval period that helped birth children?” In fact this is an extreme over generalization of the practice. Midwives are home care providers for pregnancy, birth and postpartum. They do low risk births and provide all of the same care that somebody would get going to an OBGYN, and whereas it has become quite common for people to head to hospitals for the birth of their children, midwifery is making a
comeback due to the personalized care that having a midwife allows. Unfortunately our maternity care system is not set up well for personalized care. It’s more expensive to be a provider and so a lot of places have to have it very streamlined. “We understand that we could save a lot of money if we did the same thing and had high volume and just had people come and go,” said Erika Urban, a certified professional midwife and owner of the River Valley Birth Center in St. Peter. “But what we see with the personalized care and the longer appointments and the
12 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
communication between us and the clients, is better outcomes. We see better health outcomes, higher breastfeeding success rates in the long run.” Women that come in get full prenatal care and get exams on a normal schedule to ensure they are having a healthy pregnancy. The staff at River Valley Birth Center also order labs and ultrasounds in order to monitor the pregnancy. Women come in every four weeks until they are about six months along and then every two weeks until they are in their last month of pregnancy and then they come in every week until
they go in to labor. “We only serve low risk pregnancies and so we take women in who are experiencing a really healthy pregnancy that like to be treated by a provider with a more personal experience,” said Erika. “We are able to offer longer appointments because we are a small practice. When they come here they get 30-60 minutes of face-time with their provider to really allow for informed consent and shared decision making. They get a lot of information on what tests are going to be done, what the benefits and drawbacks of any given test are, what the results mean, rather than us just saying that we are doing this we have a lot of time to discuss it so that women really are participating fully in their care.” Erika and her staff see that women that need additional help are able to get it by talking with them extensively, this way they know what women are at risk for postpartum depression. “We know which ones are suffering from other health issues that maybe they wouldn’t bring up if it was a short appointment,” said Erika. “We are able to get them referrals to the places that they need to go for those things. So I feel like we are really providing the sort of care that can create longer term health. Even things like because of our prenatal appointments being longer we are really able to work with them and show them what good nutrition for pregnancy is. Where if we had only ten minutes in a room with them we may not be able to go over it all thoroughly. So we are able to meet women with their unique concerns and help them figure out a plan to make themselves healthier which can then hopefully have long lasting effects.” Erika became a certified professional midwife after her and her husband had their second child. During the pregnancy they hired a midwife and from then on Erika has been enthralled with the idea of midwifery. “I went into midwifery after I started having kids, said Erika. “My husband and I hired a midwife for our second birth and I was really intrigued by her job so I decided to start studying it myself.” After getting herself certified as a professional midwife, Erika began doing home births with her clients. At the time in Minnesota you could
The River Valley Birth Center is located in house of West Park Row in St. Peter.
become licensed as a professional midwife but you had to do home births. It wasn’t until 2010 when Minnesota authorized the licensing of birth centers and that is when Erika and her husband decided to open up one of their own. It’s been a really recent change in Minnesota that licensed birth centers have been able to open. In part because of the Affordable Care Act it has become a lot more popular because insurance is required to cover care provided at licensed birth centers. There have been a few birth centers pop up in the state but the River Valley Birth Center is the only free standing birth center south of the metro. “I was travelling around doing home births when I first started and then the licensing went through so that we could accept insurance, that is what made my husband and I
decide to open up a birth center,” said Erika. “Primarily, because I was doing home births and women who were on medical assistance would have to pay out of pocket to have a home birth, so they were having to decide between putting food on the table and getting a midwife. Here people can use insurance and it makes it a very even playing field with any other medical setting for their birth, so it’s really a fair choice.” The main reasons most birth centers see women coming to them is for care versus the hospital is that they want a more personal experience in their pregnancy. River Valley Birth Center allows women to be able to eat and drink in labor, they get to know each person that is going to attend their birth. There are only two midwives and two student midwives at this particular birth
November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 13
Top: Rocking chairs adorn the sides of birthing rooms at the River Valley Birth Center. Erika Urban and her husband designed the birthing rooms to be as comfortable and homie as possible Top: One of the birthing rooms at the River Valley Birth Center is fitted with a swing and for expecting mothers. Bottom: An Top: A bathroom in the River Valley Birth various balls to assist in the birthing process. old scale at the River Valley Birth Center. Erika Urban and her Center that is set up for water birth. Bottom: birthing room at the River Valley husband designed their birth Bottom: A claw foot tub in the River Valley Birth Center. Erika Urban and her husband center to have a little rustic feel and Birth Center. This bathtub isn’t quite big designed the birthing rooms to be as putting old pieces of equipment in enough to perform water births in so it is just comfortable and homie as possible for it like this does just that. used for mothers to bathe in. expecting mothers. 14 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
Left Top: The waiting room at the River Valley Birth Center in St. Peter offers many toys for children to play with when they accompany their mothers to appointments. The stairs at the River Valley Birth Center. The upstairs of the facility is set up for birthing and includes a small office whereas the downstairs is reserved for appointments and the waiting room.
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center, so the clients get to know all everyone really well so there are no strangers at their birth. “We offer water birth here which is not commonly found in more rural hospitals,” said Erika. “Everything here is natural, so no pain medications which is important to a lot of the women who are coming here, and they really want a natural birth. We also don’t separate mom’s and babies, so the baby is kept with the mom right after birth until they need to leave and go home. That’s another big thing, free standing birth centers are treated as outpatient, so women stay for only a few hours postpartum and then they go home. That kind of personalized care is what a lot of women are seeking.” Even though the women that choose to use the River Valley Birth Center are only there for a few hours, they still get really personalized attention because Erika and her staff will go out to their house 24-48 hours after in order to do a home visit, check on them, see how everything is going and on average the families get four postpartum visits from their midwives. This is where they check on the baby, check on the mom and make sure everyone is doing fine. “We see a lot less women here so we get to know everybody,” said Erika. “By the time that somebody goes into labor they are not just a number, we really get to know each and every family. We really care about them and I think women know that, they can tell that we really actually care about their experience, about their health, about their baby’s health and we want to be there to help them.”
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Does your child need specialized care? When certain health issues arise, a medical specialist is often the best option to help manage your child’s care. That’s why Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato offers an array of pediatric and adolescent specialty services, including: • • • • •
Allergy Cardiology Clinical Nutrition Ear, Nose and Throat Gastroenterology
• • • • •
Infectious Diseases Orthopedics Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Neurology Urology
• General Surgery Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato Call 1-877-412-7575 (toll-free) to schedule an appointment.
November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 15
Submitted by Minnesota Valley Federal Credit Union
Best Ways to Start
Saving for the Holidays
“C
hristmas in July” is the name of a movie in which a man called Jimmy is tricked into believing he’s won $25,000 in a national radio contest. (It’s from 1940, but the point remains.) He promptly goes out and blows his winnings on a shopping spree. When the truth comes out that Jimmy didn’t win, the department store owner tries to repossess all the presents Jimmy bought for his girlfriend, his mother and everyone on the block. The movie has a happy ending — Jimmy is officially named the contest winner after all — but real life is seldom so benevolent when we overspend. Here are some steps to avoid such a predicament this holiday season:
to contribute — to this account. Automating the process makes it easier to meet a savings target while also “masking” the loss. You don’t miss what you don’t see. You might also consider padding the account to go beyond gifts and cover holiday-related outlays for decorations, dining out and traveling.
Staying on track
The earlier you know what you’re buying for whom, the sooner you can start monitoring prices and timing your purchases to take advantage of promotions and sales. And if you have a credit card with cash-back rewards, consider using it on holiday gifts to earn a bit on your spending.
As the holidays near, you may also wish to freeze extra spending. This could increase the likelihood you’ll reach your goal and avoid excessive debt on other fronts. If you see your budget is going to fall short of projected costs and want to avoid incurring debt, you may wish to consider paring down your list or the specific gifts you had planned on. Now, this might sound contradictory, but if you have your plan and are sticking to it, consider using a credit card to actually make your purchases. Why? Because using a credit card can mean better fraud protection, price protection and the ability to earn rewards. When the bill
Examine your finances
Unless you know a windfall is coming your way, setting up a savings account dedicated to holiday spending is an excellent way to avoid running up debt. Craft a budget to approximate what you can afford to salt away by subtracting expenses from income. It may be useful to differentiate between fixed expenses such as your mortgage or rent, utilities and car payments, and variable ones such as food, entertainment and vacations. It also may help to review how much you spent on gifts last year. Whatever savings goal you come up with, divide it by the number of weeks left before the holidays to calculate how much to set aside each week.
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The History Center includes Gift Shop, Art Gallery and Museum which features hands on history fun in the Discovery Lab, 1880s Mankato diorama and an interactive pioneer cabin and barn. Admission charged.
Explore Blue Earth County’s Natural History
Hands-on History Workshops for Kids 2nd Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. Free.
Setting up the account
Once you have your target, the next step is to set up the account with your bank or credit union and decide how to fund it. If you already have direct deposit set up with your employer, it may be possible to divert a specified sum from each paycheck — $25, $50 or whatever you decide
a
A Holiday Tradition Open Weekends in December Explore the 16 room mansion of local flour mill giant R.D. Hubbard and his family, completed in 1905, decorated for Christmas. Guided one hour tours; admission charged.
or ore in or ation isit
16 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
BlueEarthCountyHistory o
© Copyright 2016 NerdWallet, Inc. All Rights Reserved
FAITH • ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE • LEADERSHIP • SERVICE
comes in January, you pay it out of the dedicated savings account you’d set up. Whatever you do, be smart and be responsible with your holiday spending, because most of us can’t count on a Hollywood-type happy ending.
• Your Child’s love of learning starts here •
Loyola Catholic School Open Houses PreKgrade 12
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm • 145 Good Counsel Drive Thursday, November 3 • Monday, January 23 • Tuesday, March 14
Choosing the right school is an important factor in your child’s academic success. Come and discover what it means to be part of the Loyola community! Family tours and shadow days for your child are also available. Call 507-388-0600 to schedule or for more information. Financial aid is available for Preschool-grade 12 All faiths welcome.
LOYOLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL
145 Good Counsel Drive, Mankato • 507-388-0600 • loyolacatholicschool.org
Making a difference... one child at a time. Pediatric Therapy Services has been making a difference in the lives of children for the past 25 years. We continue to provide physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech/language therapy for the children in a kid friendly environment. As we have grown, our mission remains unchanged: Making a difference…one child at a time.
FREE Development Screenings for children from infancy through adolescence.
Call to schedule today
Satellite Clinic Main Clinic 150 St. Andrews Ct, Suite 310 Pediatric Therapy Services Mankato, MN 56001 Children’s Health Center Phone: 507-388-KIDS (5437) 1421 Premier Drive Fax: (507) 388-2108 Mankato, MN 56001 General E-Mail: Therapy sessions at Satellite office ptskids@kidtherapy.com are by appointment only. Pediatric Therapy Services, Inc. Making a difference... one child at a time www.kidtherapy.com ptskids@kidtherapy.com November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 17
Where should you go if your child needs care today? It’s Friday afternoon and you’ve noticed your child has been a bit “off” the past couple of days. The fever won’t break and the coughing seems to be getting worse. You thought the runny nose was just the colder weather, but maybe not. This was supposed to be the weekend to get everything ready for the holidays, but instead, you’re pretty sure your child should be seen — but where? Express Care or Urgent Care right now? An appointment on Monday?
I
f you’re unsure where to bring your child for care, start by calling the nurse line. A nurse will be able to use your child’s medical history to help determine the most appropriate care setting. The nurse may recommend Express Care, Urgent Care, a primary care visit or a trip to the Emergency Department. Of course, always call 911 in an emergency.
How to choose the best care setting for your child: Express Care —
walk-in clinic for minor medical conditions Express Care treats minor medical conditions, and you can get an appointment time assigned once you’re there. Providers here can prescribe medications, but keep in mind there is no on-site lab or x-ray. Often times, Express Care is located near a pharmacy, such as the one at Hilltop Hy-Vee in Mankato, making being seen (and grabbing a few groceries while waiting for a prescription) one of the most convenient options. • Ages 18 months through 75 years old can be seen at Express Care • Example conditions include: flu shots, some immunizations, pregnancy tests, infections (ear, eye, sinus), allergies, head lice, cold sores and strep throat • No appointment needed — just sign up for a time when you arrive • Hours vary by location but usually include evenings and weekends • Express Care and Express Clinic locations in the region include Mankato, Belle Plaine, Fairmont and New Prague 18 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
Urgent Care —
same-day minor medical treatment If you feel like your child’s ailment can’t wait, Urgent Care is the place to go. Think of Urgent Care as the middle-ground between your primary care provider and the Emergency Department. • Sample conditions: upper respiratory infections, ear aches, vomiting/diarrhea, colds/coughs and non-lifethreatening conditions • Hours vary by location but often include evenings, weekends and holidays • Urgent Care locations in the region include Mankato, Springfield, St. James and Waseca
Primary Care —
preventative and follow-up care Call your child’s primary care provider to schedule well-child visits, sports physicals, checkups and other non-urgent medical appointments. Remember, your child’s provider knows you, your child, your child’s medical history and what medications your child is on, providing continuity of care for you and your family.
Emergency Department —
severe and life-threatening situations The name says it all. If you think it’s an emergency, then you should bring your child to the Emergency Department (ED). Some examples of when to go to the ED with kids include difficulty breathing, ingesting household poisons, broken bones that go through the skin and serious cuts. • Ages newborn and up can be seen at the ED • Choose the ED if you have immediate worries about you or your child’s health • 24-hours a day/365 days a year
SAVE MONEY FOR THE HOLIDAYS When You Shop
Select from a vast collection of toys along with the biggest inventory of Melissa & Doug in the area!
Can’t find what you need? We have gift cards for any amount which can be used at any Once Upon a Child store nationwide! Located conveniently across from Cub Foods 464 Raintree Road, Mankato • 507-344-8799
Mon.-Sat. 10-8 Sun. 12-5
onceuponachildmankato.com
911
There are some situations that can’t wait: a child is unconscious or is badly injured. Don’t drive your child to the Emergency Department for these symptoms; call 911 right away.
Ruth Bolton, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic Health System family physician and regional medical director for Urgent Care. To learn more about how to choose the right care for your child, visit mayoclinichealthsystem.org and search “Express Care.” November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 19
HOW DO YOU DO IT By Marianne Carlson
A
nyone who knows me has heard me say, “I wish I could freeze my kids at the age they are right now.” Not forever. I don’t want to be Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day,” I just want to keep them this age for an extra year or two. I have two awesome daughters Macey, 10 and Hayden, 6. It seems like just yesterday that I was changing their diapers and kissing their little round tummies! They are growing up so quickly and I don’t want to miss a second of it. Right now, they are the perfect age – old enough that I don’t have to worry about them putting a fork in an electrical outlet, but young enough that they still want to explore the wildest depths of their imaginations. At this age, they still think I’m cool and want to spend time with me. They tell me about the stuff that happens in school and what is going on with their friends, but best of all they tell me their dreams. They include me in their little world. They read me their stories and show me their drawings. Being a mom is the toughest job I’ve ever had and I worked in a coal mine in Montana. I’m a fly-by-the-seat -of-her pants kind of girl and I always have been. Time and I are in a constant battle. I always think it will wait for me, but it never does! I always think I can get stuff done faster than I truly can. As a result, life can be a little chaotic as we hustle in the morning to get ready for school or rush to make it on time to dance lessons. Sometimes I worry that I’m setting a bad example because I am not as organized as a lot of other moms. But I’ve also learned that I am a creative person and my brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s and it doesn’t have to. I always do my best and that is all that I can ask from my kids as well. I have a pretty amazing husband who picks up where I leave off. He is my teammate in this life and my perfect counterpart that balances me out. I’ve learned that all I have to do is ask, and he will be there. I love to spend time with my kids, but in order to be the best mom I can be, I have to make time for myself and pursue my own passions. For the past 4 years, my husband Todd and I have been writing songs and playing music together every Friday night. We played with a few other musicians, but no one was the right fit for us and our music. Last April, we decided that it was time to pick a band name and play our first gig. So Torrid Forest played a 45 minute set at the Moonshiner’s Patio Bar. Afterwards we were approached by an amazing bass player, Val Perez, who 20 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
now completes our trio. Since April, we have played two shows together as a trio and in the next couple of weeks we are heading into the studio to record an EP. I can’t wait! The kids know that Friday nights are Mommy and Daddy’s time together. They call it jam night. I think they love it almost as much as we do. They get pizza and chocolate milk and they get to stay up late watching YouTube videos and all the Netflix they can handle. The truth is that no one can do this all alone. We need people in our lives that make us feel sane, that remind us that we are more than just “mommy”. We need to make time for a little bit of fun. Todd and I depend on our friends and families a lot. My mom and my mother-in-law are two of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met. They love my kids with a love that is so big and unconditional that it can’t be measured! I hope that by watching their mom and dad rock out in a band teaches my kids that they can do anything they want with their lives. But they have to work hard for it. As they grow from little girls into big girls and then women, I hope they always let their imaginations run wild, make time for themselves and what is important to them. I hope they take chances, make mistakes and learn from them. And most of all, I hope they keep sharing their dreams with me.
Kids are increasingly busy, so how do we make sure they are happy and
not stressed? B
etween going to school and being involved in extra-curricular activities — not to mention everything in between — children these days are busier than usual, which is why it’s so important to make sure their mental wellbeing stays as healthy as possible. Prioritizing our life by eating better, moving more and getting healthy sleep can help our over-all happiness, which makes sense if you think about it. We need to make adequate time for sleeping and rest by getting up at the same time each day. Having a routine at night the whole family can benefit from is sure to have a lasting impact on everyone’s overall health. Turning off the television and electronic screens an hour before bed and eating healthy helps us to not get overextended and lets us care for ourselves. For parents, prioritizing meals helps out kids, too. Try simplifying meals rather than taking an hour to prepare and clean up dinner. Remember that healthy and simple meals are OK; have a salad with protein for dinner — meals don’t always have to be fancy. In this day and age, it’s increasingly easy for families to get over-exerted with everything that each family member has going on. Instead of feeling frustrated if it seems that you only see your child on the way to soccer practice, use that time instead as a way to connect with your child when you’re with them. On the way to school or to the ball field, ask them what the positive and negative things were in their day, and share with them things about your day, as well. Try not to make the conversation one-sided and try not to discuss things without relevance. Use that time in the car as quality time and as a way to connect with your child. Having an open dialogue with your children will allow you to observe them and look at their developmental level. As parents, remember that some kids don’t need to be involved in multiple extra-curricular activities; if they’re more introverted, that’s OK. Parents shouldn’t think it’s a problem if their children aren’t involved with as many things as their siblings or other children, or if they prefer quality time alone. Other kids, like adults, do better being very active and, by many people’s standards, are very involved. If that works for them, we can’t judge one child’s needs to another. The most important thing parents can do when evaluating their children and their activity level is to think is my child happy and healthy? Are they satisfied and feeling good about school? Are they getting colds all the time or getting too much sleep? Use your best judgment when it comes to your child and their activities and know that it will vary between siblings. Some siblings have a more quiet personality and some are more extroverted. There’s no right or wrong answer, parents have to be sensitive to their own needs and what their children’s needs are. When it comes to red-flags with a child’s unhappiness or distress, look for lack of cheerfulness, expressions like sad/angry/scared/ or expressing worry. Additionally, monitor sleep schedules, appetites and school performance. If there are changes in personality or the aforementioned red-flags, don’t be afraid to explore resources that are available for families. Mary Beth Trembley, RNC
Psychiatry Mankato Clinic Health Systems November/December 2016 | Kid-oh! • 21
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Josiah Autumn
Emma
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Olivia Owen
Eli
Photography by Inspired Portrait Photography Fashions by Once Upon A Child
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Photography by Inspired Portrait Photography Fashions by Once Upon A Child 28 • Kid-oh! | November/December 2016
THE MANKATO BALLET COMPANY presents
THE UTCRACKE N R FORMAL FUNDRAISING GALA
DECEMBER 9TH
cocktail hour, silent auction, wine tasting at
5:00pm with a performance of the nutcracker to follow at 7:00pm TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCES
DECEMBER 10TH & 11TH 1PM & 5PM
CLASSES START MONDAY, JANUARY 2nd
PERFORMANCES ARE HELD AT THE
MSU TED PAUL THEATRE EARLEY CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS
REGISTER FOR ALL CLASSES ONLINE AT: WWW.MANKATOBALLET.ORG
Get enrolled in ballet, tap, jazz, modern or world fusion and be part of our amazing spring recital, “Beauty”!
MANKATO
BALLET COMPANY This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on ovember .
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT
www.mankatoballet.org
Tickets can be purchased through the MS
o
f ce Box Office phone:
or Online: www.msutheatre.com
Bird or Airplane Base: Lay on your back with knees bent in a ninety-degree angle and feet off the floor.
Partner
Flyer: Lean your belly onto the bottoms of the base’s feet hang, onto each other’s hands.
Yoga
Base: Slowly start straightening your lets to get the Flyer off the floor. Use your feet help them balance and press your toes upward to lift their chest up. *If you feel sturdy enough, let go of hands.
Bird in Tree Base: Hang onto child on your hip first. Then move slowly into your Tree Pose. Once you are balanced, slide the child off your hip and down onto your thigh for them to sit. Make sure you keep one arm around them to hold them steady. *Do the same on the other side.
Bow on Wheel Base: Lay on the floor with legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands up by your ears, palms down and fingers pointing toward your feet. Push your feet and hands into the floor lifting your body and bring the top of your head to rest on the floor while keeping the hips up. Flyer: Climb on the Base slowly so that you are laying down on your tummy on the Base’s tummy. Base: With child on your tummy slowly continue lifting into full Wheel pose bringing your head off the floor. Flyer: Bend your knees and reach back with each arm to grab your feet with your hands, coming into Bow pose. *Make sure the Base can do Wheel pose fully before adding a partner.
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Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher and mother of two girls, Elea age 5 (pictured) and Ava age 2 (pictured). Teaching yoga at the Mankato Family YMCA, South Central College and various other places in Mankato. Specializing in Kids Yoga, Power Yoga, Vinyasa and Yoga for Athletes. Find me on Instagram and Facebook at ‘Gena Heminover Yoga’ https://www.facebook.com/ AthletesYoga Website: GenaHeminover.com Or email: heminoveryoga@yahoo.com
Warrior 3 Chair Base: Set up into your Warrior 3 pose. Let one (or two) kids climb up to sit on your bent leg. Hang on to them so they do not fall off with one arm or both. *This is a lot of weight on one leg so make sure you are strong enough in your pose to let someone on. *Do the same on the other side.
AGES 4-8 Choose the themes & days that work best for you!
Dec 10, 2016
Jan 21, 2017
Feb 18, 2017
March 18, 2017
April 22, 2017
Learn a dance, do a craft, and perform for your family! All Camps are 12:00-1:00 pm, $15 per camp, per day. Or bundle and SAVE! All 5/$60
Register online at DanceExpressMankato.com 2105 N Broad Ct, Makato, MN | 507-625-3865
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What was your favorite movie growing up and why?
Cinderella
The reason I liked Cinderella because it had a happy ending for the girl who had to wear rags and was not treated nicely by her stepmother and stepsisters. Theresa Haefner
Pippi Longstocking
Jumanji
My favorite movie was Pippi The idea of a board Longstocking, I’d like to think game coming to life was I get my fashion sense and definitely one that I pirate ways from her! wanted to play. Jordan Greer
Thomas Frank
Disney’s Robin Hood It’s classic- a hero who gets the lady, a villain vanquished, and enough laughs and songs to appeal to everyone. Phil Seibel
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Animal characters and fun songs, what’s not to love?! Paige Hoehn
THE MIGHTY DUCKS!
I have always loved hockey from before I could skate. This movie was full of kids that had no idea how to skate let alone even know what hockey was. The Mighty Ducks made me realize you can do anything you want but also even if you have no idea what you are doing you can still have FUN! Josh Zimmerman
Stand by Me
My favorite movie going up was Stand By Me. It is a true coming of age movie about a group I always loved to dance, of young boys that overcome challenges while but I was a total on an expedition, while forming great tomboy who played comradery with one another along the way. soccer. There was no Based off a novella by Stephen King, it’s way that I was going to creative and a well put together story. put on a leotard and go Jason Miller to Ms. Sandy’s dance school. But a couple of The Wizard of Oz? my best friends did. I Who hasn’t seen and loved 1939’s The swear we rented this Wizard of Oz? Every year our family movie every weekend would cozy up to the black and white TV for a year and my to watch this movie which became even friends taught me their more magical when we finally got a color dance routines. television and were able to see the famous The dream of winning transformation made possible by a dance contest and Technicolor! Although I didn’t really see becoming a regular on the entire movie until my early 20’s (the Dance TV was every flying monkeys always sent me running out of the room girls’ dream, even for a when I was young!), to this day I love to visit the Land of tomboy who only Oz and the Emerald City! danced alone in her room! Barb Wass Marianne Carlson
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Courtesy of IMBD.com
The Fox and The Hound
“Tod: Copper, you’re my very best friend. Copper: And you’re mine too, Tod.” It was the first movie I seen at the theater. Finding a best friend, growing up and drifting apart and overcoming differences. Great lessons on friendship. Christina Sankey
Ms. Butter And The Big Rock
M
s. Butter ran a Ms. Butter asked. sweets shop. Every The children looked at child in Fiddle-Ville her. Ms. Butter smiled. The loved her shop more than the two children smiled. Can bicycle shop, the soda shop, they see me? Ms. Butter and the toy store all together! wondered. She waved. The Her heart fluttered like a baby children waved back. She bird’s wings when she saw the gasped. happy little children leave her “C-can you see m-me?” shop with smiles on their she stuttered. The children faces and sweets in their shook their heads. arms. But one day, she didn’t “We can hear you, seem too happy about the though, Ms.” The girl said. By E. Madelyn James sweets that she gave out. She “And we can make out saw a big, black rock in the your movements, ma’am.” front of her sweet shop. It bothered her. The boy said. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. None “And Marsha heard you coming, so of the children seemed to notice it. But she alerted us,” the girl said. many children came back saying that “Who is Marsha, youngsters?” Ms. her sweets were terrible, tasted of mud Butter asked. A yellow cat rubbed and spinach. against Ms. Butter’s leg. The children “My sweets are the same as always.” pointed to the cat. She said. “It’s that darn blasted rock! “She is! Such a beauty, ain’t she miss?” That rock in my yard is causing all the the boy said. Ms. Butter nodded. The disgusting candies.” children frowned. They pointed to the The children looked at the bare, rock. green yard. Then, they looked at Ms. “Can you see the rock?” the children Butter. nodded. “What on earth are you talking “We can, miss.” The boy said. about, ma’am?” they asked. “We can tell you’ve been trying to dig “The giant, black rock in my yard.” it up, miss.” The girl said. She said. The children walked out of “What are your names, children?” the shop, with no sweets in their arms, “Bird,” the girl said. and not the least bit of smile on their “Ollie,” the boy said. faces. Ms. Butter frowned. The next “Very nice names children, my name day, she gave out the children’s favorite is Fiona Butter,” candy, Carmel-fudge sticks. None of the “We already know your name, children came to eat even one after a ma’am.” The boy said. girl ate one and got sick, it tasted so “What does the rock do?” Ms. Butter bad. asked. “THAT ROCK! I MUST GET RID “That doesn’t matter! You just need OF IT!” she screamed. She immediately to get rid of it!” Bird snapped. went to the shed and grabbed a large “But, I can’t. I tried, children.” Ms. shovel. She dusted off her apron, ran Butter said. outside, and slashed at the rock. She “We know you can’t! Not on your slashed at it, and slashed at it. But that own at least. We need to get everyone in rock just stayed in the ground. The town to help! C’mon, Bird!” and at that next day, no children came. She passed moment, the two children were racing Ian, a boy who loved her more than down the streets, Ollie holding tightly raspberries and thick cream. “Ian, why onto Ms. Butter’s arm, and Bird didn’t you come by my shop after clutching Marsha’s torso. They went school?” she asked him. But he just through Farming Street, and Cinivah straightened his glasses, picked a daisy, Lane before they stopped at the local and passed her by. Thariah, a girl who recording station, and turned on all of most liked to look at the sweets than the radios in town on high level. eat them, passed by Ms. Butter, but took “Listen! Listen! This is Bird-,” no notice of her. All of the people she “And Ollie!” passed didn’t know she was there. She “We would like to report a Zook! returned to the shop to find two You heard me! A big, black ZOOK!! In children sitting at the steps, staring at the yard of Ms. Butter’s sweet shop! We large black rock. Why are they here? are trying as hard as we can to persuade
everyone we can! Come on! Help Ms. Butter!” the children persuaded as many people as they could, and soon there was a crowd of eager people, (including police officers) banging on the glass windows of the radio station. “Kill the retched Zook!” “Grab its roots!” “Smash it with a hatchet!” they all yelled. Bird and Ollie and Ms. Butter ran outside. “Please! Please! You cannot get rid of a Zook by killing it, or grabbing its roots, or smashing it with hatchets! You need to persuade it to leave!” Bird’s voice was drowned out by the shriek of a woman. The crowd looked. They gasped. There, as black and big and horrifying as ever, was the giant Zook. The people flailed their arms about at the sight of this great horror. Ollie screamed, “STOP! MOVE! EVERYBODY, MOVE!” Everyone moved out of the way of the living, crusty block. It wobbled past the crowd of people, and towards Bird, Ollie, and Ms. Butter. Bird cleared her throat, “Excuse me, oh kindly Zook. There is much better land out there, like Scotland, and the Danish countries. Yes they are much more interesting than us, Zook.” Ms. Butter still wasn’t catching on. “Oh, it will be like child’s play trying to make us disappear, Zook! You won’t have any fun at all!” Bird said. Ollie caught on with better persuasions. “Poland, Canada, Connecticut. Any of them would be better than boring old Minnesota!” The Zook began to slowly back away. It pieced its way through the crowd of citizens. “Oh, you will have much more fun in all of those other places than here!” The Zook was almost all the way through the crowd. Ms. Butter thought of something to say, better than sending it to Poland. “I’ll send you with some of my best Carmel-fudge sticks!” she then tossed a package full of long, brown candy straws at the Zook. It went much faster through the crowd, past the town gate, and past the wooden welcome sign. From then on, people could see everyone, and no more Zooks ever entered Fiddle-Ville again. And all because of a little persuasive acts of kindness, courage, and friendship.
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To make your paper dolls more durable: First look in the recycle for an old cereal box and glue the page of paper dolls on the cereal box. Next, when the glue is dry, carefully cut out dolls and outfits. Now you should be ready to play! Be Your Own
Designer
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We need to get new clothes.
MOM! Nooo!
No I’m not ready to let go!
Shoot.
It’s coming!
Art by Macy - 10
WINTER!
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Art by Hayden - 6
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Art by Macey - 10
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WHAT ARE YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS? 1. ___________________________ 2. ___________________________ 3. ___________________________
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