ParentMap August 2021 Issue

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Brilliant Back-to-School Solutions for Families Homework stations, storage solutions, gear, lunch recipes and more ideas

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Your August Play List Put frogs, fests, fairs and family-friendly fun galore on your summer itinerary

A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 | PA R E N T M A P. C O M

PNW INSIDE + OUT

Minding the Gaps How a year of distance learning may create lasting change in education 18/

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C ONTENTS

August

2021

PARENTMAP.COM In Every Issue Dear Reader Play List Parent Day Jobs

4 26 31

Local Resources Pediatric Dentistry 15 Schools + Preschools 23 Camps, Arts + Activities 29

Parenting

Feature

COMMUNITY

Minding the Gaps 18 How a year of distance learning may create lasting change in education

Nonprofit Teen Feed Runs on ‘Radical Compassion’ 6 Peer-based programs provide homeless youths with meals and services HOME, SWEET HOME

7 Brilliant Back-to-School Solutions for Families 8 Homework stations, storage solutions, gear, lunch recipes and more ideas

8 31

Family Fun The August Play List Frogs, fests, fairs and family-friendly fun galore

26

Photo by Susan Elderkin

WELLNESS

Back-to-School Checkup 12 Why now is the right time to visit your child’s pediatrician Take Care of Those Pearly Whites 16 Five tips to help stay on top of your dental health during pregnancy EDUCATION

Public or Private School?

A local education expert offers her advice

24

Cool Competitions for Creative Kids 29 Filmmaking contests to help your budding auteur spread their wings

“Kids are inheriting this earth, and by having experiences in nature as children, it’s going to make it easier for them to connect as adults and be good stewards of it.”

6

26

p. 31

PARENT DAY JOBS

Meet Author Susan Elderkin 31 How to get your kids to love — or at least like — hiking

The pandemic exposed longstanding gaps in education — some key solutions to offset them resulted from the duress.

18 PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 3

DE AR R E ADER

August, ahoy!

The summer I moved to Seattle, summer seemingly didn’t get the invite to the “Welcome to Washington!” party. As a be-freckled, redheaded refugee fleeing from a mercilessly sunny state (Colorado), I registered relief at the succession of cool, overcast, sunless days. But on an even-too-glum-for-me day — notable because it was the 4th of July — I remarked to my friend, a Seattleite by birth, “What is the deal with this weather?” She replied, “What you have to understand is that there are two seasons in Seattle — winter and August.”

Sure enough, on that first day of August in my first year living in the 206, the sun came out of semi-retirement with a gorgeous vengeance. Almost 30 years later, I still believe that there is nothing more perfect or beautiful than an August day in Seattle. This is what we live for — what we wait for all year, people, so let’s get out there!

To assist you in packing the most into the sun-soaked days ahead, we assembled a bunch of fun ideas and a feast of festivals and fairs into our Play List (p. 26). And we definitely recommend putting a hike or two on the itinerary! Susan Elderkin has authored the definitive guide to hiking as a family in western Washington, and in this issue’s Parent Day Jobs (p. 31), she offers trail-tested tips for getting your kids to love (or at least like) hiking.

The lead-up to our annual back-to-school transition may be particularly anxiety-inducing for many this year, given the pandemic perils and disruptions we’ve faced. Teacher Jenna Vandenberg wrote our August feature (p. 18), and in it she makes a case for several promising ways that our year of distance learning has impacted lasting change in education, from funding relief and technology wins to greater family connection and more. She assures us that it is going to be a very good year.

A smooth BTS transition results from advance planning — to help, we present some smart solutions for establishing a routine that will set the family up for success this fall (p. 8). Apprehension about COVID-19 and the demands of managing remote school and work responsibilities kept millions of kids out of pediatrician offices last year; so, make sure your back-to-school plan includes a priority on catching back up on physical examinations, standard vaccinations, sports physicals and health screenings (p. 12).

Moms and dads, let’s all just take a deep breath: We got this.

— Patty Lindley, managing editor

AUGUST 2021, VOL. 18, NO. 8

PUBLISHER

What is your family’s secret to a smooth back-to-school transition?

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I don’t buy school clothes or new backpacks or a new lunch box — that saves a few hassles.

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Community Nonprofit Teen Feed Runs on ‘Radical Compassion’ Peer-based programs provide homeless youths with meals and other critical services

By Gemma Alexander

If you’re not sure what “radical compassion” means, just take a look at Teen Feed (teenfeed.org), a local nonprofit that works to meet the most basic needs of homeless youths in Seattle. Without a cent of government funding, Teen Feed provides fresh, hot meals to about 80 young people 365 days a year, no strings attached. In addition to the meal program, Teen Feed runs STOP (Street Talk Outreach Program), which sends teams to the streets and encampments to offer basic necessities, such as food and water, to high-risk youths who avoid social service agencies. The nonprofit’s SLY (Service Links for Youth) program helps youths access health care, housing, employment, identification or any other social services they need. But building trust and relationships is Teen Feed’s first task, and help is always at the young person’s request and on their own timeline.

Teen Feed doesn’t just make a difference in the lives of the people it helps. Through the practice of radical compassion, volunteers find that their lives can be transformed as well. Sophia Moser was introduced to Teen Feed through the Gates Foundation’s Take Action Summer Workshops (discovergates.org) five years ago. She interned at Teen Feed during her senior year of high school and continued to volunteer for another year after that. Moser returned to Teen Feed last year as a staff member, recruiting and training new employees. Now a new graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in international relations, Moser is preparing to work in human rights in Central America before teaching English in Brazil on a Fulbright grant. ParentMap caught up with Moser before her departure to talk about Teen Feed.

What is special about Teen Feed?

Teen Feed is so important because it gives people a place to come as a first step toward self-determination. We don’t have any requirement that you go further with any of our programming or the services that we provide. You can come and just get a meal, and that’s totally fine. But it’s also a safe place where you can come and put your foot in the water, making those connections with our advocates and staff. But I think it’s really special that it starts with community space and from there, when you build

6 / PA R E N T M A P. C O M

A Starbucks Meal Team proudly shows off their finished product, a Teen Feed nightly dinner of beef stroganoff.

Photos by Kamryn Kurtzner

trust, then you can access services if you want.

What have you learned as a teen volunteer with Teen Feed?

First, the most basic thing is that we live in a city where homelessness is a very large problem. Volunteering at Teen Feed opened my eyes to its magnitude. It’s important to understand your privilege wherever you live.

Also, a lot of times with nonprofits, there is an imbalance between the giver of help and the receiver. Teen Feed creates an important balance where it feels equal and peer-based. It’s a really important thing for youth to learn that giving back to the community is about the community, not about being a savior or fixing people.

Teen Feed taught me that I can help, but I’m also learning and growing, building something together with the people I serve. It pushed me away from having any sort of savior mindset.

What makes Teen Feed effective?

If you want to help the community in any way, the first important step is sitting down at the table and speaking with people and building relationships. Working at Teen Feed, the most impactful experience was being present at meals. I did all this work in the office and I knew I was helping, but I learned the most when I got to sit down with the youth and just talk with them.

Teen Feed understands the importance of building trusting relationships.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Why is Teen Feed a great volunteer opportunity for families?

The way I was involved was unique — [because I was] a special projects volunteer, my parents were not involved. But there was one time when I was in high school that a kitchen team canceled at the last minute and we scrambled to fill the gap. My parents came in and helped to make a meal. It was a wonderful opportunity where they got to see me working with this group of cool, passionate people. It’s a great experience for families to do this work together.

How has Teen Feed affected your life?

My involvement with Teen Feed was pivotal for me realizing what path I want to go on, career-wise, and what I want to do with my life. It provided me with a safe and supportive community and the opportunity to give back by doing crucial work in the community.

But at the same time, it gave me so much. If you’re talking about things that teens can do, I can’t recommend it more strongly.

A word about COVID-19 During the pandemic, many programs have been altered or limited, and the Youth Ally program has been paused. Teen Feed hopes to revive the program and return to full operations in the fall. However, because Teen Feed serves a population that is less likely to receive vaccination, it will continue to operate under most COVID-19 protocols, including the use of gloves and masks, indefinitely. High-risk and unvaccinated individuals should consider remote volunteer work only.

■

Seattle-based freelance writer Gemma Alexander focuses on the intersection of parenting and the arts. When she’s not writing for ParentMap, she blogs at gemmadeealexander.com and tweets @gemmadeetweet.

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PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 7

Home, Sweet Home 7 Brilliant Back-to-School Solutions for Families Homework stations, storage solutions, gear, lunch recipes and more ideas

By Nicole Persun

Between scrambling for school supplies and establishing new routines for the coming school year, back-to-school season is stressful enough. Add to that mix the disorganization that comes with the aftermath of a pandemic, and this fall is sure to come with a learning curve. But never fear! We’ve rounded up our favorite home organization solutions, gear, lunch recipes and more tips to make this your best back-to-school season yet.

Invest in the essentials When it comes to back-to-school gear, every kid needs four essentials: a backpack, a water bottle, convenient lunch containers and an insulating lunch bag. Of course, options abound — but which brands are best? We’ve rounded up our favorites based on cost, ease of cleaning and easy access for little hands. Check out our list at parentmap.com/lunch.

Lillasen desk from IKEA

Cut the clutter Managing the mess can seem like an insurmountable task. Homework supplies and art projects are sure to take over the whole house without a few organizational systems in place. That’s why we love products like this minimalist space-saving kid’s desk and this portable art unit, both from Ikea (parentmap.com/save-space).

Want more ideas? Check out our homeschooling supplies list (parentmap.com/homeschooling), our suggestions for storage

8 / PA R E N T M A P. C O M

solutions (parentmap.com/organize) and some of our practical home décor tips (parentmap.com/decor).

Set kids up for success Creating a homework station is essential for keeping your kids organized and on task at home.

We have a whole host of fun DIY ideas for setting kids up for homework success, from clever homework binders to cute caddies. Be sure to check out our complete list for scads of helpful ideas! parentmap.com/BTS Establish a routine Cool back-to-school gadgets are all well and good, but gear only gets you so far without a solid routine. Take a tip from parent coach Sarina Behar Natkin, LICSW, who says that establishing a routine ahead of time is the best way to set yourself up for a smooth transition. “One of our best strategies as parents is prevention. Setting things up is easier than fixing a problem,” advises Natkin. Read her 10 tips for success (and 40 other expert tips for rocking the back-to-school transition) at parentmap.com/routines.

Ready, set, lunch!

We know how it goes. You start the year creating healthy, clever, kidapproved lunches, only to backslide into boring PB&Js when life gets too hectic. Don’t fall into old patterns this year! We’ve come up with a list of healthy and easy meals to make ahead of time (parentmap.com/lunches), from mini frittatas to easy, protein-packed quesadillas.

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Chef and mom Jackie Freeman has 10 essential tips for how to feed your kids healthy meals throughout the school year — without getting totally burned out.

From how to plan ahead to fostering food independence in your kids, read her complete list of tips at parentmap.com/three-squares.

Rest easy Sleep coach Malia Jacobson says that the best way to encourage healthy sleep habits for your kids is to involve them in the process. “Research shows increased compliance if kids have input.”

But don’t get attached to unrealistic expectations. The key to great sleep is learning what’s best for your kid in particular, and Jacobson has tons of other strategies for discovering healthier sleep habits together. Read her top 10 sleep tips at parentmap.com/sleep-better.

■

Nicole Persun is an award-winning novelist, a writing instructor and the digital content production coordinator at ParentMap.

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Wellness

Back-toSchool Checkup Why now is the right time to visit your child’s pediatrician

By Malia Jacobson

1 2 / PA R E N T M A P. C O M

For many families, this back-to-school season marks a return to a traditional classroom and daily routine. Pediatricians hope this season also ushers in the return to routine physical exams and preventive care for children, something that declined sharply during the pandemic. Concerns about COVID-19, financial instability, and the demands of managing remote school and work responsibilities kept millions of kids out of pediatrician offices last year, particularly children from low-income households.

For children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports a 40 percent decline in preventive health screenings, a 44 percent decline in outpatient mental health services and a nearly 75 percent drop in dental services.

Reduced access to primary and preventive care services can negatively impact kids’ physical, social and emotional health, as well as academic outcomes. Happily, it’s never too late to get back on track, and the back-to-school season offers families the chance to catch up on physical examinations, vaccinations, sports physicals

and health screenings. Your pediatrician can also help you and your child address social and emotional concerns related to returning to school after months of remote and hybrid learning. Read on for expert advice for working with your child’s pediatrician to prepare for a healthy, happy school year.

Social and emotional health Well-child visits track important developmental milestones and safety guidelines for growing children — from when children can be expected to perform chores at home to seatbelt use and water safety precautions.

During a well-child exam, health-care providers also offer guidance and support for a child’s social and emotional health, notes Christina Chen-Milhone, D.O., a pediatrician and internal medicine doctor at Pacific Medical Centers’ (PacMed) Totem Lake clinic.

This year in particular, many school-age children are nervous about heading back to the classroom.

“There’s so much anxiety right now, because this school year will be different and represent a new routine for them,” says Dr. Chen-Milhone. “And while most of my patients 12 and older are super excited about the opportunity to get the COVID vaccine, some of them are really nervous about it, too.”

Kids’ apprehension may center around the unknowns awaiting them at school: How will school drop-off and pickup change, compared to past routines? Will students still have access to lockers or other places to store books and belongings during the day? Will they still be able to sit with their friends during lunch?

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Parents can help kids feel more confident about returning to school by asking school administrators about daily routines and requirements for students, and by sharing the information with their children well before the first day. “It really helps to talk about these things with kids and even practice them at home, whether it’s hand hygiene or mask wearing,” says Dr. Chen-Milhone. “Talking to school administrators about school policies and then talking to kids about what they can expect is very helpful.”

For children with heightened anxiety or another mental health consideration, reach out to your child’s provider sooner rather than later, says Nawal W. Alkharouf, M.D., a pediatrician at PacMed Canyon Park. “We have seen an increase in mental health concerns, and going back to school full-time can provoke anxiety. We recommend that families come in and seek attention during the summer if they have any concerns.”

PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 1 3

Tenacity

W EL L N ES S

continued from page 13

Sports participation As kids prepare to return to school sports — for many, their first formal participation in sports in more than a year — a physical exam is more important than ever.

“We’re really checking to see if it’s safe for kids to participate and work hard in sports, and over the pandemic, as we’ve gotten away from organized sports, kids may be a little deconditioned. It’s a good opportunity to see what’s safe and not safe,” says Alexander Hamling, M.D., a PacMed pediatrician who treats a number of conditions, including asthma and diabetes, in children and teenagers.

Although annual well-child checkups look at a child's growth and development, a sports physical includes extra focus on nutrition, hydration, sleep and mood.

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Do children really need both a well-child examination and a sports physical? If kids plan to participate in organized sports, a pre-participation exam is essential.

As it turns out, a sports physical is one of the most comprehensive exams a child can get. Although annual well-child checkups look at a child’s growth and development, a sports physical includes extra focus on nutrition, hydration, sleep and mood.

A sports physical includes a full medical history, taking into account a family history of any serious illnesses and chronic conditions, previous hospitalizations and surgeries. Health-care providers also look at cardiac function to ensure that the heart is healthy enough for vigorous exercise. “We want to look at the heart and lungs to make sure there are no underlying issues, including breathing issues, that would make sports participation unsafe,” says Dr. Hamling.

Getting back into a routine Your child’s health-care provider can also answer questions and offer guidance for a perennial backto-school challenge: getting back to a school-year routine. This year, reestablishing more structured daily routines feels especially daunting for many families, says Dr. Alkharouf. “A lot of parents have been off their family routines during the pandemic, so summer is a good time to start thinking about getting into a more structured school-year routine.”

Establishing consistent daily routines isn’t just practical; it can help alleviate some back-to-school anxiety,

LO CAL R ES O UR C ES / PEDI AT RIC D EN T IST RY

says Dr. Chen-Milhone. “Establishing a good routine at home is helpful for everyone, because people know what to expect, with fewer surprises. It also helps people obtain better-quality sleep, which helps alleviate excessive anxiety.”

Parents may get discouraged about enforcing a bedtime routine after months without much daily structure.

Instead of focusing solely on the bedtime routine, Dr. Alkharouf recommends looking at the entire day. “We want to think about setting up routines throughout the day,” she notes. “A good routine will vary depending on a child’s age, but we know that we want to have good morning, after-school, dinnertime and bedtime routines in place.”

Older children respond best when routines are created with their input and understanding, says Dr. Alkharouf.

“Dinnertime is a great time to discuss the events of the day and talk about what’s going well and what didn’t go well. Parents can also talk to middle school kids about screen time and the importance of reducing screen time in the evenings to prepare for sleep.”

Whether families want to reestablish more consistent daily routines or return to a more predictable preCOVID bedtime, this school year offers an opportunity to establish healthy habits. “The right routines are going to be targeted to each child and family based on their needs and their schedule,” says Dr. Alkharouf.

Your child’s pediatrician can help you work out an approach that works for your family and sets your child up for school-year success.

Your weekly parenting fuel Stay up to date with the latest family news, stories and adventures around the Puget Sound — straight to your inbox.

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■

Malia Jacobson is a health and family journalist based in the Puget Sound area.

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4. Plan ahead when scheduling your dental visits.

While it’s safe to visit the dentist while pregnant, you should discuss your pregnancy with the dental office when making your appointment so staff can better accommodate your needs.

Once you learn you’re pregnant, make an appointment late in your first trimester or early in your second trimester, if you don’t already have one on the books.

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■

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FE ATUR E

How a year of distance learning may create lasting change in education

Minding the Gaps

By Jenna Vandenberg

Before the pandemic, identifying gaps in schools wasn’t hard. Front-office staff handed out bandages, lamenting that nurses had to their split time between two schools. Food service workers knew kids were going hungry, unable to access free lunches due to missing paperwork.

Principals wished for full-time counselors.

Teachers bemoaned having to plan lessons centered around when they had access to

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the shared laptop cart. Students dreaded homework, knowing it would only get done if the Wi-Fi connection pirated from next door held up.

Before the pandemic, teachers could identify gaps in their own practice as well. They didn’t have the personal days to attend teaching conferences, the knowledge to make instructional videos or the energy to

call multiple families after a busy day in the classroom.

All that changed in March 2020. Suddenly, schools found the money to get every student a laptop and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Breakfast, lunch and weekend food was available for anyone who needed or wanted it.

Unable to be in the classroom, teachers hit the phones and found themselves having

heartfelt conversations with parents they’d never connected with before. Conferences and teacher trainings flourished online.

Of course, this didn’t mean that everything was okay. The essential piece of education — people — fell away when schools closed.

For all the gaps that had existed in schools, there had also been a lot of people piecing things together. Schools were full of teachers building relationships in their classrooms, deans facilitating social skills, counselors motivating reluctant learners, and specialists providing support for students with disabilities. Without all of this in-person support, failure rates skyrocketed and student engagement plummeted.

When full-day, in-person learning begins again this fall, not only will those personal connections return, but schools will also be ready to fill in the holes that have long existed in education. It’s going to be a good year.

ARP Act funding for much-needed staff “Our district made the great choice of providing a full-time counselor to every single building!” Lyon Terry, assistant principal at Mount View Elementary School, joyfully announces when asked about the upcoming school year. After years of getting by with half-time counselors, the Highline school district is now able to use funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief to hire more staff.

According to Washington state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the relief funds are “to support students who … are likely to have suffered the most because of longstanding inequities in our communities and schools that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

When full-day, in-person learning begins again this fall, not only will those personal connections return, but schools will also be ready to fill in the holes that have long existed in education. It’s going to be a good year.

This infusion of cash has allowed many schools to finally hire full-time nurses, psychologists and specialists. Districts are also using the money to continue providing laptops and Wi-Fi for every student — something teachers have spent the past decade begging for. When the pandemic hit, excuses about a lack of infrastructure or money woes fell away as districts realized they could provide technology to every student after all. Now, teachers are wondering if they can capitalize on that same sense of urgency to improve other aspects of education.

Technology driving changes in the classroom Terry is enthusiastic about how students and teachers will bring their new technological skills into the classroom. “One of the things teachers loved about technology is the multiple ways kids could respond to assignments,” he says.

Students learned to share their learning by taking pictures of their work, asking questions in backchannel forums and making videos explaining what they’d learned.

Teachers are planning to take these positive aspects from online learning and adapt them for the classroom. For example, the chat function in Zoom allowed shy students to share their thoughts nonverbally, and teachers want to continue the option for nonverbal engagement.

“All our teachers want whiteboard markers next year,” says Terry. Once back in the

classroom, students will get their own mini whiteboards, so the whole class can respond to the teacher’s questions on their boards rather than by raising their hands.

It’s hoped that this will mimic the chat function and encourage timid students to continue to share their thoughts.

“I was able to develop a YouTube personality, teaching to an online crowd,” jokes Peter Cheng, a math teacher at Juanita High School. “I had some fun with that.

Just being creative with all the new online tools is something I’ll keep up after the pandemic is over.” After a year of learning how to efficiently create and share videos, Cheng imagines he’ll be able to use those skills to keep absent students up to speed, especially in AP calculus. If a student is sick or needs to miss school, Cheng has a trove of instructional videos to post so they won’t miss a beat.

Ten years ago, the concept of the “flipped classroom” took the ed-tech world by storm, suggesting that instead of having students learn at school and practice at home, they’d be better off learning new content at home (via instructional videos), so they could spend schooltime working, writing or solving practice problems. The model was appealing, but many teachers didn’t have the skills or time to create videos, and not all students had the technological capabilities to watch videos from home. Distance learning mitigated both of those concerns.

PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 1 9

F E AT UR E

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continued from page 19

Virtual academies Technological transformations are not only happening at the classroom level. Nearly all Seattle-area school districts have spent the spring and summer planning online schools for students who want to remain remote. While most students will be back in the classroom next year, many who thrived during online learning or need to remain at home due to health or family concerns will have that option.

Seattle Public Schools is piloting a 100 percent virtual option for a small number of K–12 students, prioritizing those with physical, mental and emotional health concerns.

The Everett School District is offering a virtual academy for K–8 students, and Northshore will have a K–12 virtual program. In the Everett and Northshore models, students will spend 70 percent of their day virtually attending live teacher-led lessons, and the other 30 percent will be spent independently completing work.

The Highline Virtual Academy will follow a different model for students in grades 6–12 when it launches this fall, one focused on self-paced independent learning rather than live lessons. Principal Amy Carlson explains that it’s not “a plug-in model for kids, but … an instructional model that goes beyond that.” Teachers will build relationships with students through “advisory, one-on-one check-ins and small-group support. Our teachers will know our students by name, strengths and needs. … They’ll be creating a personalized learning instructional day for students.”

While a few districts have previously offered online options, the 2021–2022 school year will see nearly every school district make this an option. In the past, districts worried about online students being disconnected from their teachers, peers and school commu-

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nity, so family and student engagement remain top priorities.

Family connections and communication In addition to gaining new technological skills, teachers doubled down on family engagement during distance learning.

“The biggest thing for me that I’ll try to keep up next year is contact with families,” says Cheng. “I had time to call parents, and for a lot of kids, that cooperation between the teacher and the parent was enough to push them through.”

Carlson experienced the same thing. “Never in my educational career did I witness the type of partnerships that happened with families and schools last year, and the absolute positive impact that had on our students,” she says. “I think schools and educators will be forever changed by that.”

Teachers relied on families to do some of the teaching, organizing and motivating that are typically done within the classroom environment, and they realized the power of strong family connections. At the same time, families were asked (often for the first time) what they needed from schools. Staff and teachers began to really listen and respond to community concerns with a new sense of urgency.

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Putting students and families at the center “We need to do what’s comfortable and accessible for our families, not what’s convenient for us,” says Brooke Brown, Washington state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. “The pandemic really showed us that if it’s working for some students, that’s not good enough. We really need to focus on every student’s learning and connecting with every family.”

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After 15 years of teaching at Washington High School in Parkland, Brown has taken a new position with the Franklin Pierce School District as an instructional equity specialist. She’ll focus on implementing restorative justice practices and bringing ethnic studies into classrooms from preschool through 12th grade.

While Brown has long believed that schools need to put students and families at the center of everything, she’s excited to use new tools to make this happen: She hopes Zoom will continue to give families options for attending meetings and conferences, and that new online learning platforms will afford students more choices and more ways to demonstrate their learning.

Brown has been creating her own new tools as well.

“Last summer after George Floyd was murdered, some friends and I put together this idea that we had to help with teacher development and classroom environment — really having an anti-racist, trauma-informed lens.” she explains. “Teachers take a survey and place themselves on a spectrum from exclusive to fully transformed. …

They survey their students and, based on their own analysis and their students’ feedback, they create a goal and present it to their students and families.”

So often, students (and by extension, their parents and guardians) are subject to teacher demands and expectations. Brown’s tool flips accountability by asking students what they need. Students get to hold their teachers accountable, too. Brown’s whirlwind of plans for next year also include bringing yoga and mindfulness into schools, starting each day with social justice quotes and training students as restorative justice mentors. “If anything is remotely the same from when we left, then we aren’t imagining enough and we need to do more work,” she says.

After a year of reflection, learning, transforming curricula and deeply missing their students, teachers everywhere are excited and ready for post-pandemic education. It’s going to be a good school year.

■

Jenna Vandenberg is a Seattle-based teacher, writer, runner and mom of two girls.

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LO CAL R ES O UR CES / S CH O O L S + PR ES CH O O L S

Should My Child Go to Public or Private School?

A local education expert offers her advice

By Anoo Padte Talk to the parents of any rising elementary, middle or high school student about school choice and they lead with this one question: Is public or private school right for my child? The short answer is: Both are.

Families have many reasons for choosing either a public or private school. Those reasons evolve as a child grows. Entering one type of school doesn’t mean that school will be right for the child later on.

Needless to say, there’s a lot to consider.

So, what should parents consider?

Parents need to look at both elements of the equation: family and school. Before investigating schools, clarify your child’s and your family’s needs. Consider these factors: • Values — What are your values regarding education? What matters most to you?

How does your own learning experience influence choices you make for your child? Does a school need to mirror your values?

• Learning needs — Does your child have special interests, aptitudes or learning needs?

• Sense of community — Where is your child’s primary community situated?

What role do you hope the school community will play in your family’s life?

• Cost — How much can you afford to spend on education?

• Commute — Is it reasonable for your family to commute to school on a daily basis for several years? Will you move in order for your child to attend a particular school?

Then, when you do start the hunt for schools, consider these factors: • Curriculum — Does the curriculum develop essential skills and thinking dispositions? Does it inspire teachers to innovate and adapt? Is it “real world” and relevant?

• Teachers — How long have teachers been at the school? Do they collaborate? Do they have support in the classroom to meet the needs of individual learners? What professional development do they receive?

• Administrators — What is the mission of the school? How does it value the student-teacher dynamic? How do administrators support teachers? How do administrators relate to parents?

• Parent involvement — Can parents be involved in the school? In what ways?

How do parents partner with teachers in support of a child? What communication do parents receive from teachers and administrators on a regular basis?

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There’s no magic formula that ensures positive education outcomes. Both public and private schools can lead to educational success for a child. How a school fits into each stage of a child’s education — rather than what type of school it is — has a greater impact on a successful education. So, don’t ask, “Public or private?” Ask, “Where will my child thrive?”

■

Anoo Padte is a teacher, education consultant and mother. She coaches parents on school choice through her practice, Art of Education.

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LO CAL R ES O UR CES / S CH O O L S + PR ES CH O O L S

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PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 2 5

FAM I LY F UN

August Play List Frogs, fests, fairs and family-friendly fun galore

By Devon Hammer

Check out many more happenings online at parentmap.com/calendar.

Summer days are long, but the months are short. Pack in some more family fun this August before it’s back to alarm clocks and set schedules. Our summer redo continues to deliver with more annual festivals, beloved fairs and outdoor entertainments returning.

Rejoice in warm-weather merriment while you still can!

2 6 / PA R E N T M A P. C O M

1. Jam out before naptime

at Kirkland’s summer Kids’ Concerts, happening on three Tuesdays, Aug. 3–17, at 10 a.m. at wonderful Juanita Beach Park. Catch kiddie faves The Brian Waite Band (Aug. 3), Cowboy Buck and Elizabeth (Aug. 10) and The Not-Its! (Aug. 17).

Free. parentmap.com/concert

2.

Enjoy the expansive waterfront views from Point Ruston while shopping for handmade goods, snacking on delicious food and celebrating all things summer. Tacoma Spring Fest

returns for 2021 as Tacoma Summer Fest, Saturday–Sunday, Aug. 7–8. Free. parentmap.com/ summer-fest

3. Celebrate and support our

African American community at Umoja Fest, featuring a parade and march, music, culture, yummy food and kids’ fun. The march starts at 23rd and Union and ends at Jimi Hendrix Park, where the rest of the festivities take place. Saturday, Aug. 7.

Free. parentmap.com/umoja

4.

Book a short foot-ferry ride to unique Jetty Island. This human-made sandy beach paradise is the perfect place to spend a warm summer day.

Ferry runs Wednesday–Sunday through Sept. 5. $3 per person, 2 and younger free. parentmap.com/jetty-island

5.

Enjoy a classic Shakespeare tale while lounging at a Seattle-area park.

GreenStage presents tons of outdoor, family-friendly performances for free. Through Aug. 14; check online for times and

Highlighted Events for August

Aug. 7

|

Saturday

Aug. 13–15

Friday–Sunday

Aug. 27–28

|

Friday–Saturday

Umoja Fest

Puyallup’s Meeker Days

Lusio Lights Festival

Jimi Hendrix Park, Seattle parentmap.com/umoja

Downtown Puyallup and Pioneer Park parentmap.com/meeker-days

Mary Olson Farm, Auburn parentmap.com/lusio

experience at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place.

Your ticket includes meals, kid-friendly activities and an outdoor showing of the movie “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

Bring your own tent and gear.

Saturday–Sunday, Aug. 21–22. $25 per adult, $20 per child, 1 and younger free. Preregister. parentmap.com/campout

locations. greenstage.org

6.

Meeker Days Art and Music Festival is back this year in downtown Puyallup and Pioneer Park. Enjoy live music, bouncy houses, tasty fair food and family fun aplenty. Friday–Sunday, Aug. 13–15. Free. parentmap.com/meeker-days

7. Come by Redmond Town

Center to check out incredible chalk art at the Pacific Northwest Chalk Fest. Stick around for live music and kids’ activities. Friday–Sunday, Aug. 13–15. Free. parentmap.com/ chalk-fest

8. Pack your picnic lunch and

jam with the fam. Turn up for Auburn’s adorably named Peanut Butter & Jam! concert series at Les Gove Park.

Wednesdays at noon, through Aug. 18. Free. parentmap.com/pbj

9.

|

Cool off in a dark theater while watching a free matinee.

North Bend Theatre screens kids’ movies Wednesday–Friday

Chomp! Festival

at noon, through Aug. 27. Check the website for what’s playing.

Show up early for first-come, first-served entry. parentmap.com/matinee

10.

Celebrate local food and sustainable living at the Chomp!

Festival at Marymoor Park.

Families will enjoy live music (Caspar Babypants!), hands-on activities and more. Saturday, Aug. 21, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free. parentmap.com/chomp

11. Ease into camping at this supported overnight camping

Olson Farm in a whole new light when the Lusio Lights Festival presents its light-art installations at the farm. Friday–Saturday, Aug. 27–28, 7–11 p.m.

LED light-up attire encouraged!

Free. parentmap.com/lusio

12. Another beloved summer

staple is back! The Evergreen State Fair in Monroe offers a carnival, competitive livestock exhibits, fair food and lots more family fun, Aug. 26–Sept. 6.

Prices TBA. parentmap.com/evergreen

13. Take your little train conductor to delight in all things trains at Snoqualmie Railroad Days. Check out a century-old steam engine, watch the parade and more. Saturday– Sunday, Aug. 28–29. Free. parentmap.com/railroad-days

14. See the historic Mary

15.

Frolic with frogs at a 5,000-year-old peat bog.

Shadow Lake Nature Preserve presents its annual Frog Frolic, featuring kids’ crafts and activities, a bog scavenger hunt, live music and more. Saturday, Aug. 28, 1–4 p.m. Free. parentmap.com/frog-frolic

■

Devon Hammer is ParentMap’s Out + About editorial assistant and a mother of two.

PA R E N T M A P / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 / 2 7

LO CAL R ES O UR CES / S CH O O L S + PR ES CH O O L S

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LO CAL R ES O UR CES / CAM P S , ARTS + ACT I V I T ES

Cool Contests for Creative Kids

By Gemma Alexander When parents think of healthy competition, they usually think of sports. But creative activities can also generate the benefits of competition. We’ve rounded up a list of annual and recurring filmmaking contests to help your budding young auteur spread their wings.

National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) • nffty.org Seattle-based NFFTY is a national film festival screening films by filmmakers 24 years old and younger. The films must have runtimes of less than 40 minutes. Awards in different categories and age groups include prizes ranging from software, scholarships and cash to a trip to TheNextFilmFestival International in Denmark. Submissions are accepted from May through January, with entry fees escalating from $22 to $60.

All American High School Film Festival • hsfilmfest.com This international film festival accepts media arts entries from middle and high school artists in numerous categories, including video blogs (vlogs), music videos and podcasts. The specific requirements vary by category, as do the prizes. Entries submitted between November and February are free; entries are accepted through June each year with entry fees escalating to $62. The festival is held in New York City in October.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival • mopop.org MoPOP’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival is introducing a youth category for aspiring filmmakers in 2021. Check the website for more details.

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) • siff.net One of the world’s biggest film festivals, SIFF presents the juried FutureWave Shorts competition to showcase new films created by artists 18 and younger. Submissions are due in early January, with fees ranging from $20 to $70, depending on the age of the filmmaker and duration of the film (entry fees are waived for Washington state residents). Winners are screened during the festival in April.

■

Fun in your inbox Stay up to date with the latest family news, stories and adventures around the Puget Sound — straight to your inbox.

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Gemma Alexander focuses on the intersection of parenting and the arts. When she’s not writing for ParentMap, she blogs at gemmadeealexander.com and tweets @gemmadeetweet.

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Looking for more film contests? The School of Creative and Performing Arts maintains a list of its top picks at socapa.org.

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7/20/21 11:11 AM

Parent Day Jobs How to Get Your Kids to Love — or at Least Like — Hiking A Q&A with Susan Elderkin, author of ‘Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington’

By Elisa Murray and Linnea Westerlind

Susan Elderkin is the author of “Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington,” published in 2018 by Mountaineers Books. To write the book, Elderkin hit the trail hundreds of times, often with her family in tow, on a mission to rewrite the definitive guide to hiking as a family in western Washington.

With hiking season now in full swing, we asked her to share some of her hard-won wisdom.

Why do you feel that hiking and outdoor experiences are important for families?

The connection to nature is important, perhaps even more so than when we were kids, because kids today are so connected to their technology. Hiking is a way kids can really disconnect and interact with the nature around them. It’s great exercise, but it’s also a way to meditate and be in a peaceful place. Kids are inheriting this earth, and by having experiences in nature as children, it’s going to make it easier for them to connect as adults and be good stewards of it.

Can you share some tips or strategies for getting kids to enjoy hiking?

First, choose the right trail, considering your kids’ stamina and their interests. One of the things I tried to do in the book is to pull out what to expect on each trail, whether you’re going to see big trees or waterfalls or wildlife.

Second, set expectations. This one is key. Every time I’ve hiked with my kids and it’s gone sideways, it’s because I’ve forgotten to set

Photo courtesy Mountaineers Books

expectations, or I’ve changed them at the last minute. So, I tell them where we’re going, and I tell them what it’s going to be like.

Another tip is to bring a friend along — this can be a game changer. The kids complain less if they have someone to talk to and they stay occupied.

You also want to make sure you’re dressing for success and bringing extra layers of clothing and rain gear — especially extra socks, because kids always like to plunge their feet in water!

Bring lots of snacks: We often take multiple snack breaks instead of a lunch because their metabolism is so much faster. It’s also really important to make sure they drink enough water.

On the trail, you can play games like I spy or a scavenger hunt. Walkie-talkies are always a big hit. With my daughter, we make up a story together as we walk.

What have you learned about what types of hikes kids enjoy most?

I suggest hikes in the book that tap into children’s sense of wonder. You can climb small mountain peaks with kids, and there’s a big sense of accomplishment. A couple of easy summits are Red Top Lookout and Sugarloaf Mountain. If you have kids who love water, hikes with a swimming hole or waterfall are a great draw. Barclay Lake or Franklin Falls are good choices, especially midweek, when they are less crowded. Hikes with big old-growth trees can be really appealing, like Boulder River

or the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail.

What are a couple of things that are always in your backpack, in addition to the 10 essentials?

So of course, the 10 essentials. For every hike, I always have extra clothes, food, water and sunscreen. I keep a first aid kit in my pack at all times, because you never know when someone is going to stumble and fall. I keep a knife, insect repellent, a flashlight and, for hikes that are longer than a mile or two, a map.

Another thing I always have is a trowel, a little bit of toilet paper and a plastic bag for when nature calls. A whistle is a good idea, especially if your kid likes to run up ahead of you on the trail. Have a whistle around your child’s neck and make sure they know how to use it.

How has hiking with children made a difference to you?

One of the things that I found really rewarding about hiking when the kids were young was slowing down and really appreciating the journey and not just the destination. Now that they’re older, I simply cherish that time outside, unplugged and in our beautiful corner of the world.

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Elisa Murray is a former Out + About editor of ParentMap and the editor of “52 Seattle Adventures With Kids,” published by ParentMap in 2018. Linnea Westerlind is a communications specialist and the author of “Discovering Seattle Parks: A Local’s Guide,” published by Mountaineers Books in 2017.

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