12 minute read
Camp Is Cool
Camp Is Cool 7 Things Teens Can Learn This Summer
Summer camp is often a place to send elementaryage kids so they aren’t sitting around the house bored. But camp is an important opportunity for teens, too. Here’s what they might experience. By Kerrie McLoughlin
1. Giving back. Community service camps offer a great chance for your teen to make a difference while also acquiring skills that will carry them through their lives. In these programs, kids get to spend their days helping others, which just feels good to everyone involved. Maybe your teen will pack food for the homeless, teach kids how to read, or clean up a playground. They could even learn how to paint a house, care for a yard of an elderly person, or plan and build a home for someone who is in need. 2. Making new friends. Adding new friends to one’s life is enriching at any age. Some teens attend the same camps every summer and see the same friends every year while other kids are attending camps for the first time and need to learn to connect with new people. Whatever the situation, creating and maintaining friendships requires kids to develop social skills. 3. Learning new things. Whether your teens attend a camp to learn more about horses, a specific sport like soccer, or a skill like a foreign language, they have an entire day, week, or longer to focus on that one activity and really immerse themselves in it. Who knows? A summer interest could turn into a lifelong passion that inspires a vocation or avocation down the road. 4. Working as a team. Your child will be meeting kids of different ages and backgrounds. Learning how to get along and work as a team is a huge life skill that will be reinforced at camp. Some camps even have kids do teamand trust-building activities to help kids get to know each other. 5. Staying active. Kids need to unplug from the various screens that demand their attention—TVs, video game players, smartphones, etc.—and
engage their bodies. Camps, especially sports-oriented camps, give them a chance to do just that.
6. Living without you. Let’s face it: As our kids get older they start to grow away from us. They are simply preparing to head out on their own, and going away to camp cultivates their emerging sense of independence. The daily structure of camp helps kids to become responsible while relationships with camp staff teach them to respect and learn from adults who aren’t their parents.
7. Appreciating everything.
When kids spend time away from their parents, they come home with a new appreciation of what it takes to be in a family. Your teens will probably also appreciate funny things like a full pantry that’s open all day, their comfy beds, and privacy. ¶
Personalized Learning
Personal Nature Based Real World Learning
Lottery for next year’s enrollment is May 1
707-459-6344 16201 Hwy 101, Willits lavidaschool.org La Vida Charter School
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Campers grades 5 to 12 plus Family Camp
ADVENTURE AWAITS YOU!
Enjoy Hiking, Horses, Swimming, Backpacking, Crafts, Nature, Archery, Spiritual Reflection, Campfires, Challenge course and Outdoor Skills.
Programs start July! Register Now at www.RedwoodAdventure.org
Providing opportunities for leadership development, spiritual and personal growth, environmental stewardship, lifelong personal connections, fun and adventure.
(707) 703-9171
Quality Christian Education
LOCAL for 25years #1 local resource for local families magazine • web • email • events
Christ-centered education in Ukiah
• Small class sizes • College-prep curriculum • Music program • Family-like atmosphere • Fully Accredited By Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Inquire Now for Fall 2020 Enrolling Now! Christ-centered education in Ukiah
• Small class sizes • College-prep curriculum • Music program • Family-like atmosphere • ACS-WASC accredited grades K–10
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180 Stipp Lane, Ukiah • www.myuja.org • 707.462.6350 UKIAH JUNIOR ACADEMY 180 Stipp Lane, Ukiah • www.myuja.org • 707.462.6350 UKIAH JUNIOR ACADEMY
Eggs for the Win! Make an Easy, Protein-Packed Meal
By Momma Chef
We all long for freedom and hope as we shelter-in-place during these unsettling times. So I am striving to provide meals that nourish my family members’ souls as well as their bodies. A favorite meal at my house is my super-easy Potato and Spinach Frittata. It’s filling, flavorful, and versatile enough that you can serve it as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s also packed with protein, to keep kids’ energy levels up and brains engaged as they pursue their studies online. ¶
This article originally appeared on MommaChef.com. It has been reprinted here with permission.
Karen Nochimowski, aka Momma Chef, is a mother of three active boys (ages 12, 8, and 5). On her blog, MommaChef.com, find more of her recipes, all of which require no more than six ingredients and six minutes of prep time.
Potato and Spinach Frittata
Ingredients
• 8 eggs
• ½ cup whole milk (grass-fed milk is the best)
• 1 cup red potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup chopped spinach or broccoli
• 1 tsp. garlic salt (you can use kosher salt as well)
•1 / 3 cup goat cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Place eggs in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. 3. Add in milk, potatoes, spinach or broccoli, and garlic salt. Blend for about 30 seconds. 4. Pour mixture into greased pie dish. Crumble goat cheese over the frittata. 5. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the eggs are set in the middle. Serves: 8
The Amazing Technicolor “Blanket”
Divers know that underneath the surface of the sea is a vibrant world teeming with life. One of the inhabitants of that marine universe is the blanket octopus. Night divers in the Lembeh Straight, off the coast of Indonesia, captured the creature unfurling its colorful cape-like web in a video that North Sulawesi’s NAD Lembeh Resort shared with the site The Kid Should See This. See the stunning footage, as well as other clips of a blanket octopus near Romblon Island in the Philippines, at thekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-blanketoctopus. ¶
Located on north end of Fairgrounds PO Box 966 Ukiah 95482 Tuition-free Montessori elementary for ages 5-13 Hands-on, arts and music integrated with academics National Green Campus Promotes responsibility, respect, and peace
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✓ 1/2-day & full-day classrooms for ages 18 months to 5 years ✓ Potty-trained not necessary ✓ Children with disabilities welcome ✓ Referrals for transportation available Also providing FREE in-home services for infants, toddlers & pregnant women!
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Applications online: www.ncoinc.org • (707) 462-2582 License #230111843 • Ukiah
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Clearlake - Meadowbrook Dr. • Coast
Fort Bragg - Lincoln St.
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Head Start! Free & Low-Cost Quality Preschool!
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Keep Kids Safe Online
With COVID-19, kids are spending more time than ever on the computer, some of it unsupervised. Sexual predators may be taking advantage of this situation. According to a Fox News opinion piece by Beth A. Williams, “reports of potential exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC] more than doubled from 983,734 in March 2019 to 2,027,520 in March 2020.” Predators rely on apps and platforms that feature user anonymity and end-to-end encryption, and they contact children through direct messaging, video chats, and file uploads. For help keeping children safe online, see the Department of Justice’s guidelines at justice. gov/coronavirus/keeping-children-safe-online. Report online sexual exploitation at report.cybertip.org or call NCMEC at 800-843-5678. ¶
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Parenting in a Pandemic Welcome to Bizzaro World
By Janeen Lewis
If a clairvoyant had told me six weeks ago that I’d be indefinitely quarantined at home with my family, I would have told her she was looney tunes and asked for my money back. And yet here I am like the rest of the world, reeling open-mouthed at a huge curveball thrown by a virus. I keep hearing the words new normal, but here are some things that make it feel like Bizzaro World to me.
An obsession with toilet paper.
Really? Who knew that during a pandemic that revolves around, no, not dysentery, that toilet paper would be all the rage? I never thought people would be madly bidding for Charmin on eBay, or that I would finally have access to that thing I have always needed: an online toilet paper calculator (again, six short weeks ago, who’d have thunk?). I merely punch in the number of times my family goes Number One and Number Two (this makes for an interesting and fun household survey) and the amount of squares used, and voila!, it calculates that our seven rolls will last nine days, and that’s if we don’t eat tacos. We’re doomed.
Nail and spa places are not
“essential” businesses? I haven’t had my upper lip waxed in weeks, and my 13-year-old son, Andrew, is starting to grow facial hair, so we are both sprouting mustaches simultaneously.
I’ve caught up on ALL my
sleep. And I mean all of it: Weekly college all-nighters. The endless nights spent feeding my newborns. The too many years I binge-streamed Grey’s Anatomy (and I thought I’d never get that decade back). The only times I’ve interrupted this new 14-hours-of-sleepa-night schedule have been those early morning wakeups to, quite unsuccessfully I might add, beat the run on the restocked toilet paper.
Mom’s done a 360 on screen
time. In true Freaky Friday/Twilight Zone fashion, I’ve become the Rosanne Barr of electronics. Before, I’d have set limits on my kids’ screen time. Now, to keep myself sane, I find myself repeating, “Just watch your tablet!”
It’s all about “real world” math
lessons. How’s this for a crisis homeschooling assignment: Have the kids tally all the times they hear the words new normal or unprecedented. Then they can make graphs and charts depicting their results. That will keep them busy. And if that doesn’t work, there are always word problems that revolve around toilet paper consumption.
Social distancing actually brings people closer together.
In all seriousness, I’d have thought we’d get lonely stuck at home. And yet, I see friends and families coming up with creative ways to connect in spirit (and Skype). Flattening the curve together is inspiring; we will get through it.
Still, I wish we had a few more rolls of toilet paper while we’re doing it. ¶
2020-21 Kindergarten & Transitional Kindergarten Registration Opens January 7 th Ukiah Unified School District Registration Now Open 2020-21 Kindergarten & Transitional Kindergarten Registration Opens January 7 th Ukiah Unified School District
Deadline for Grace Hudson Kindergarten registration: February 21, 2020 Deadline for registration at your elementary school of choice: March 31, 2020 Children age 5 by September 1, 2020, will enroll in Kindergarten. Children turning 5 between September 2 and December 2, 2020, will enroll in our Transitional Kindergarten Program. Calpella Elementary Frank Zeek Elementary Grace Hudson Elementary 151 Moore Street 1060 Bush Street 251 Jefferson Lane 472-5630 472-5100 472-5460 Nokomis Elementary Oak Manor Elementary Yokayo Elementary 495 Washington Avenue 400 Oak Manor Drive 790 S. Dora Street 472-5550 472-5180 472-5690
Deadline for Grace Hudson Kindergarten registration: February 21, 2020 Deadline for registration at your elementary school of choice: March 31, 2020 Children age 5 by September 1, 2020, will enroll in Kindergarten. Children turning 5 between September 2 and December 2, 2020, will enroll in our Transitional Kindergarten Program. Calpella Elementary Frank Zeek Elementary Grace Hudson Elementary 151 Moore Street 1060 Bush Street 251 Jefferson Lane 472-5630 472-5100 472-5460 Nokomis Elementary Oak Manor Elementary Yokayo Elementary 495 Washington Avenue 400 Oak Manor Drive 790 S. Dora Street 472-5550 472-5180 472-5690
Made for more healing
New virtual visits make seeing your doctor easier and safer
You were made for more. More healing. More comfort. More peace of mind. More doing what you need to do to take care of yourself and your family. That’s why Adventist Health has launched virtual visits. It’s an easy-to-use, technology-enabled way to visit your doctor by video using a phone, tablet or computer. So, instead of sitting in a waiting room, you can see your doctor from the convenience of your home. It’s a great way for doctors to handle routine visits and manage the chronically-ill, especially during this uncertain time. Plus, it’s reassuring to know virtual visits are covered by most insurance plans.
