Promote learning and family bonding with new experiences

By Casey Russell

Teaching our kids to form everyday routines can be so helpful. Kids learn to start the day by brushing their teeth, getting dressed and finding some breakfast. We encourage them to be in charge of cleaning up their toys and doing their homework. They learn their bedtime routines and feel safe and secure knowing what to expect, and they feel confident realizing how much they can do for themselves.

But while routines are great for many aspects of life, it’s important to make sure we give our kids opportunities for new experiences from time to time.

Shaking things up

New experiences help kids learn and grow. They give them opportunities to discover new skills, likes and dislikes. They push kids out of their comfort zones and encourage them to work through things that don’t come easily. These opportunities give children practice with resilience and perseverance while helping them become well-rounded humans.

Catering experiences to age

Obviously, in thinking about what experiences to provide, the age of your child matters. Things that seem mundane to adults can be magical to a baby or toddler, especially if we talk to him or her about what’s happening. Getting your car serviced? Ask if you and your little one can watch.

Turning on the sprinklers?

Let your kids run through the water. A routine task can actually be interesting and fun to a young child.

Little kids love to go to parks. Making a point of venturing to different parks and playgrounds once in a while gives young kids the chance to explore the different things each has to offer. Some have sand, some, different climbing apparatuses — each challenging kids’ physical abilities in unique ways.

As your child gets older, hopefully, she’ll find an activity that brings that special excitement and light to her eyes. While encouraging this passion, also find opportunities to let her explore new activities. Maybe your kid loves soccer. Great! She might also enjoy playing the drums, being in a school play or teaching herself how to paint with watercolor at home. Making a point of introducing new ideas and reserving some unscheduled time can allow our kids the chance to discover new things about themselves.

Family experiences

Experiences that are meaningful tend to stick with us. And family time is great for

Tips on Parenting

by Casey Russell

having bonding experiences that allow parents and kids to see the wonder of the world.

If you’re looking for something to do relatively near home, consider driving to the mountains for a family ski day, doing a day hike to Switzer Falls in the San Gabriel Mountains, taking a blanket to Griffith Observatory’s lawn to gaze at the stars together or spending an afternoon at a tide pool.

Longer family trips give kids the chance to see how varied our world is. Family vacations can expose us to the myriad ways in which people live — opening not only our kids’ eyes, but our own. They give us a chance to get out of our habitual roles and routines and allow family members a chance to learn new things about each other. As a bonus, our kids can

Page Academy

Isabella Argiropoulos

7th Grade see that we are unafraid to try something new — unafraid to possibly fail or eat something we’ve never tried. We can find joy together while learning and discovering new things.

April was a short, but busy, month at Page Academy. We returned from Spring Break and kicked things off with Panorama Picture Day. We also participated in “Move Up Morning” during which students were given a sneak peek of what to expect in the coming year by following the next grade level’s schedule.

We recently held our second Scholastic Book Fair of the school year and celebrated Earth Day. Students participated in various events, including planting in our school garden and attending an assembly during which each class presented their Earth Day poster.

Standardized testing began on April 24th and the month ends with International Day on the 28th. There will be presentations on our students’ heritage and students dressing in traditional dress from their families’ native countries!

In May, we will celebrate our amazing teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week. Students will also be working on Mother’s Day surprises and Page will be holding a special event for Mother’s Day on May 12th.

Spirit Week is coming up and there will be unique outfits. The most creative costumes and the best school spirit will be rewarded with some cool treats!

Promoting learning

All of us, but kids especially, learn by doing. Hands-on experiences awaken multiple senses — touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. That’s one of the reasons many of today’s schools strive to give kids an experience-centered, inquiry-based education. New synapses are formed as young kids experience novel things. And the synapses are strengthened as the new experience is repeated. This has been shown to increase mental activity, to help kids retain learning and also to promote memory skills.

The great thing is that simply becoming aware of the benefits new experiences can bring gets our brains primed to look for them. With summer approaching, lots of opportunities for adventures will be available. And by taking a moment to think about what your family members might enjoy, you’ll be on the path to making some great memories together. For more parenting tips, check out my book, “The Handbook for Life With Little Ones: Information, ideas and tips for birth to age five,” on Amazon.

Summer Riding Camps Summer

For over 25 years we have offered a safe, fun-filled program

June 5 - September 12 (weekly) 9am to 3:30pm

- Applications accepted May 1 — first come, first served

- Beginner to Advanced

- Ages 6 and up

- Patient instructors, gentle school horses

- Limited group size

- Health precautions observed

- Arts & Crafts www.EnterpriseFarms.com

New Covenant Academy

By Sue Jung Park 10th Grade

For New Covenant Academy, May is a month full of celebrations!

Everyone in the school is finishing off the 2022-2023 school year strong! The school transitioned to a different curriculum program this year. Transitioning can be challenging, but ultimately, we gained a deeper understanding of different subjects built our critical thinking skills.

The school’s annual commencement will celebrate all the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2023. This year’s graduating class received many college acceptance letters, and have committed to exceptional schools. Congratulations, and we are so happy for all of you seniors!

In addition, NCA’s summer school program is starting soon. It will provide students with preparedness for the upcoming school year and many clubs are available for students to join.

Third Street

By Ren Stoppani Brown 5th Grade

I am graduating in June and going to middle school in the fall! The parents and teachers are planning lots of fun activities for us to say goodbye to each other.

But before we depart, there are some events this May. First, we will have the annual Walkathon to raise money for Friends of Third. There will be a walking challenge, an obstacle course and other activities for all students to enjoy.

Friends of Third supports our tech lab, science lab, library, music, drama, PE, visual arts and field trips. All these programs make Third Street a special school.

But on the not so fun side, our school will also have two weeks of standardized testing at the end of May.

This summer, kids can attend Got Game Summer Camp at Third Street School. I attended last year and there were lots of activities to try, like oasis, bottle rockets, gaga ball and more. They also have field trips each Friday!

Cathedral Chapel

By Olivia Sherman 6th Grade

We are proud to announce that our school won First Place in the regional event for the Academic Junior High Decathlon. The decathlon took place on March 24 and we won third place in the nation. We also had students that placed third in the nation in Religion and Fine Arts.

We concluded the season of Lent with our reenactment of the Stations of the Cross prepared by our 8th graders. We celebrated Easter with a Sunday Mass and Easter egg hunt.

Our softball and track teams are practicing for upcoming games and meets. Our school hosted its annual Jog-a-thon on April 21.

Lastly, our students will compete in our annual Geography Bee, starting with class challenges.

Christ The King

Joshua Lo 8th

Grade

The Track and Field season has begun and students are practicing their running and jumping skills to build their endurance. Our Drama Club is preparing for their production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Students are practicing singing, acting and choreography skills. As a reward for their hard work, decathletes are celebrating their victory with a trip to Universal Studios. And, the 8th grade will soon have a retreat at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.

Christ the King School is having a Fun Run on May 5th. Students will be doing a variety of physical activities to test our athleticism. With Earth Day approaching, our student council is organizing an assembly to spread awareness about pollution and educate students about what we can do to help the earth.

Student is semifinalist in NASA competition

By Casey Russell Hancock

Park Elementary 9-year-old Nikhil Gaddam was recently selected as a semifinalist in the “Power to Explore” NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) competition.

NASA challenged students across the country to learn about Radioisotope Power Systems, a nuclear energy technology. Entrants were asked to imagine “how their ‘personal super powers’ would energize their success on their own radioisotope-powered science mission,” according to the NASA website. The contest received nearly 1,600 entries. Gaddam was one of only 15 semifinalists in his grade category.

The third-grade science enthusiast came up with a mission that would send a rover to Venus. He postulated that probing our neighboring planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and studying how Venus has changed over time could tell us a lot about global warming.

To see this local student’s NASA-recognized entry, visit tinyurl.com/mv8fpx47.

Hollywood Schoolhouse

Miles

Hoffman

6th Grade

Hello everybody! The 6th graders all just finished the challenging yet exciting middle school application process. The schools my classmates and I will be attending include Oakwood, Campbell Hall, Buckley, Harvard-Westlake, Pilgrim, ESLA and St. Margaret’s.

Another cool thing that the 6th graders have been looking forward to is AstroCamp. It’s a field trip that the graduating class at Hollywood Schoolhouse attends each year. Some of the activities include building and launching rockets, human foosball, ziplining, night hikes, telescope viewing and more! There is even a huge soccer field, an indoor basketball court and a swimming pool.

Right now, we are working on our inventions for the Makers Fair, which challenges us to make our own themed creations. This year’s theme is sustainability.

Lastly, the 5th and 6th graders are going on a field trip to the Mayan exhibit at the California Science Center. We will take a bus together, see the exhibit and fill out a questionnaire about the Mayans. Well, that’s all from me. See you next time!

The Willows

By Simone Meltzer

8th Grade

The Willows is back from spring break and our middle schoolers are singing in the hallways, literally. The 8th graders started this first week with some exciting news; the cast list for the spirit week play!

As an annual tradition, the graduating class performs a play on the last week of school. “The Prom” will be this year’s production. It’s a modern romantic drama that follows a lesbian couple in Indiana that is banned from going to their school’s prom.

Our first rehearsals were preceded by two days of auditions that entailed the whole grade singing, laughing and cheering their fellow students on. Before taking turns singing and reading lines, we were asked not to clap to in case students might feel uncomfortable, an instruction that was soon forgotten as we broke into goofy rounds of applauds and cheering after every rendition or reading. The catchy songs can still be heard in the hallways between classes, homerooms, or lunch periods, much to the annoyed looks from other grades.

TIMBERWOLVES, the varsity girls’ soccer team at Larchmont Charter High School at Lafayette Park, won the City Championship in Division 4 out of 30 teams. (They subsequently lost at the quarterfinals.) Front row, left to right: Sophia Bazini-Barakat, Annika Salinas and Rose Matheu; second row standing left to right: Madeline Urizar, Ada Travis, Rachel Kang, Avery Owen-Lara, Melis Paz Soldan, Biancca Dominguez, Allyson Avalos; back row left to right: Hannah Bloomfield, Harper Keiner, Veronica Toscano, Harper Brown, Jill Gray, Jareline Garcia-Diaz and Coach David Brown.

Center For Early Education

By Eloise Cotteleer 5th Grade

The Center for Early Education’s Olympic Games will soon be here! This year CEE’s 41st Olympic Games will be held in late May. This tradition is very popular at The Center because it brings the entire community together, since most of the grades compete.

Just like the real Olympics, we take an oath as athletes. There is also a torch ceremony, and every class performs their own dance at the opening of the Olympics! Every year the 5th graders perform the Tinikling dance, which is one of the most popular dances in the Philippines and definitely the dance everybody loves to perform at CEE.

At the CEE Olympics, students compete in all different kinds of sports such as the dash, cup stacking, jump rope, basketball shot and the long jump. Even though every team wants to win, we are always reminded by our teachers to focus on the best we can do. We try not to worry about winning or losing but do our best and have fun…although a gold medal would be nice too!

RICHARD RIORDAN died on April 19. He was 92 years old. Elected as mayor in 1993, he served two terms. Here, he is shown near Wilshire Boulevard with community leaders and local children on a Saturday morning kicking off the second year of a tree-planting program planned for a threemile section of Wilshire Boulevard and due for completion in 1996.

Block party

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Neighborhood Association and Hancock Homes Realty, and many other local businesses and organizations also are contributing.

Four food trucks will be on site with food for purchase, but the block party is free for all who attend.

Annie O’Rourke, who helped organize the event, told us there will be “free tarot card reading.” The event also will feature live music, arts and crafts, river rock painting (operated by a painting teacher from Ann Bridges Art Studio), water play, a chalk course — for scooters and bikes — and a scavenger hunt.

Stop by between noon and 5 p.m. For more information, email larchmontvillageblockparty@gmail.com. In conjunction with the event, the committee has set up a GoFundMe page for donations. All proceeds will go to Alexandria House, a local transitional home for women and children. Visit gofund.me/55fb404d.

By Casey Russell

Kevin Proulx

Windsor Village has been taking care of, rescuing and re-homing tortoises for the past 20 years.

As of September of last year, TortoiseLand is officially a 501(c)3, and Proulx is eager to ensure its success.

In an effort to raise funds for the 38 baby and 40 adult tortoises he currently has in his care, the first annual community yard sale and silent auction fundraiser for TortoiseLand will take place on Sat., May 20, and Sun., May 21, at 911 S. Lucerne Blvd. near Harold Henry Park.

To donate goods for the event, please email thetortoiseguykevin@gmail.com or visit the nonprofit’s website at: thetortoiseguy.com.

Pets of Larchmont

And, get ready to hear about more Larchmont area animals and pets in the Chronicle’s Pets of Larchmont issue this July. We will be including photos of local pets. Email pictures of your furry, feathered or shelled family members to: suzan@ larchmontchronicle.com.