Enrich Your Child’s Education with Aurora’s Cultural
Arts
Programs
The city of Aurora Library and Cultural Services Department offers year-round classes in art, music, dance and theater Winter registration is now open! Families, schools and community groups can choose from a variety of options tailored to their needs Programs are adaptable by grade level, ensuring students of all ages have a meaningful and engaging experience Registration for spring 2025 classes and summer camps opens Jan 29, 2025
Theatre for the Family
at the Aurora Fox
Looking for a fun family night out his holiday season? EBENEZER SCROOGE’S BIG AURORA FOX CHRISTMAS SHOW! opens at the Aurora Fox Arts Center Nov 30 and runs through Dec 29 In this fastpaced, imaginative production, five talented women play dozens of roles to bring the world’s most famous holiday tale to life Perfect for all ages, this wacky Dickens mashup promises a night of laughter and holiday magic the whole family will love.
The Aurora Fox Arts Center presents Foxlight Theatre Lab, a four-week, production-centered summer intensive designed for students in grades 8–12 This program provides teens handson theater experience in an inspiring environment and combines fun with learning Registration for auditions opens early 2025.
at the Aurora History Museum
History is fun and interactive with something for the whole family at the Aurora History Museum & Historic Sites! Enjoy a family visit to the Aurora History Museum in a journey through the stories of Aurora The museum offers three to four concurrent exhibitions, including the award-winning exhibit “Mosaic of Cultures: Aurora’s Nepali Community,” open through April 2025 You can also ride the iconic Trolley Trailer 610 or participate in the dozens of fun education programs! School field trips of the museum and the DeLaney Homestead Historic District are also available Admission to the museum is always free, some programs are offered at affordable cost
Family living tips How to handle holiday meltdowns (yours and theirs)
By Sara Nelson, The Associated Press
While the holidays bring great moments of laughter and time with loved ones, the season can also come with a fair share of stress. With all the excitement and high expectations, it’s normal for both adults and kids to feel overwhelmed, leading to some tense moments or even a full-blown meltdown.
Making it peacefully through the holiday season starts with knowing what to look out for, having a plan to keep stress low and knowing how to handle those tricky moments if they happen. Keep reading for straightforward tips to help manage stress, handle meltdowns and even turn tough times into chances to connect.
Proactive prevention for a peaceful holiday
A stress-free holiday doesn’t have to be a myth. With some intentional preparation and clear boundaries, you can create a tantrum-proof holiday plan to avoid the meltdowns before they happen. Start by setting realistic expectations and acknowledging that holidays can be imperfect and still memorable. Focus on the bigger picture, ensure your holiday plans are simple and prioritize joy.
Routines often go awry in the season’s bustle, so consistency can help keep everyone grounded. Sticking to regular mealtimes, bedtimes and daily rituals, as well as planning for regular breaks can avoid the temptation to over-commit. Setting these boundaries with loved ones ahead of time by communicating expectations surrounding gifts, length of visits and downtime ensures that there are no surprises for anyone involved.
A little bit of preparation can also go a long way. Cooking during the holidays can be a huge area of tension. Plan for easy main dishes to ease cooking stress, like baked ravioli or shake-andbake pork chops. Also, consider creating a meltdown game plan ahead of time, including strategies like a safe word or a designated cool-down spot where you can go to reset.
Spotting the signs early
In the best-case scenario, your planning is executed without a hitch. More realistically, however, there is some building tension. Recognizing the signs of stress before they become a meltdown can help you keep the peace and spirits high.
For children, stress often resembles irritability, unexplained silences or impromptu bursts of energy. If kids start seeming restless, fidgety or prone to tears, consider taking them aside to understand what is upsetting or engaging them in hands-on activities, like helping with easy tasks in the kitchen to keep them occupied and distracted.
For adults, stress appears as withdrawal and tension. Physical cues might include clenched fists, pacing or sudden silence. Knowing what to look for and watching for these signals can prevent stress from escalating and keep the holiday spirits intact.
Guiding your child through holiday stress
Someone blew a gasket; now what? Well, the holiday season can be overstimulating and overwhelming for children of all ages. Whether a toddler or a teen, staying calm is the first step to diffuse the situation when a meltdown strikes. Remember that your response sets the tone, so if you can approach them with empathy, patience and comfort, you can quickly de-escalate. First and foremost, make sure the child feels heard and acknowledged. They may be feeling tired or frustrated and letting out those negative feelings in this uncharacteristic way. Avoid dismissing their feelings or negotiating with them in the heat of the moment, and show that you are there to support them. If possible, offer them a quiet and comfortable space where they can calm down and center themselves. Giving them this physical space can help to create the mental distance they need to process their emotions.
Once the incident has settled, revisit what happened with them that evening or the following morning. Discuss how to identify, preempt and
manage feelings like this in the future. This gentle approach ensures that your child can understand their emotions and learn skills for handling stress.
Navigating adult meltdowns
Kids aren’t the only ones who can throw a tantrum. The high pressure of the holidays often gets to adults, too. When extended family, adult children or close friends are having a meltdown, approach them with sensitivity and calmness.
When the tensions rise, avoid engaging emotionally in that moment. More often than not, this can unintentionally escalate the situation. Try to stay neutral, giving them emotional and physical space to help them regain composure. Offering them water and a quiet space to regain composure might be helpful. However, take a moment to assess your relationship with them to ensure these actions feel supportive rather than intrusive.
When things have cooled down, you can approach them in a calm and understanding manner, acknowledging that the holidays can be overwhelming for everyone. Offering an empathetic ear can be helpful, but remember not to push them if they seem unwilling to share. Ultimately, a compassionate and non-judgmental approach can diffuse the situation and support your loved ones in handling unexpected emotions.
Managing your own meltdown
After all this planning and managing, no one would blame you for your own meltdown. It’s important to check in with yourself and ensure you have a personal strategy in place to stay in control. When you sense frustrations rising, allow yourself to politely step away from the situation, explaining that you need a moment to yourself. Get some fresh air or retreat to a quiet room till you can regroup.
Quick breathing exercises and simple mindfulness practices can help you calm yourself. Try taking deep, intentional breaths or counting to 10. Though they seem basic, these techniques help create a pause that interrupts your emotional buildup.
Remember, you can’t control how others act, especially during the holiday hustle. If things start going off the rails - whether it’s a heated family debate, a tantrum or just too much noise - it’s okay to step back. Politely excuse yourself, find a quiet spot or even take a quick walk if needed. Shutting things down or choosing peace over conflict doesn’t mean you’re giving up; it means you’re setting healthy boundaries to keep your holiday experience enjoyable and stress-free. Sometimes, stepping away is the best way to keep the holiday spirit intact.
Repair and reset
The tension and awkwardness can sometimes be felt in the air after a meltdown, whether yours, a child’s or an adult’s. Taking the time to reconnect fosters a sense of empathetic closure that prevents stress from lingering. Addressing the issue is always a great place to start. If it was your meltdown, offer a brief apology to anyone affected. If it was another’s, encourage them to do the same where appropriate. Use this time to compassionately discuss what led to the meltdown and create a safe, supportive space to explore how to manage these feelings.
Offer a time to recharge with options like a favorite activity, a walk or some quiet downtime. Giving everyone space to process and reset ensures that you are reconnecting with care.
Embracing a peaceful holiday
Yes, the holidays can be a whirlwind of emotions and activities. However, by taking small steps like understanding how to recognize stress, preparing a thoughtful game plan and understanding how to manage a meltdown, you can make the season more enjoyable for you and your loved ones. Try out these strategies this season to see how you can transform your holiday experience into one filled with meaningful moments, not messy meltdowns.
Students can now apply for federal college aid. Officials hope for a smoother rollout this year
By COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer
The federal FAFSA form used to apply for college financial aid opened to high school seniors nationwide recently, a year after a disastrous rollout by the Biden administration delayed the application for months.
After weeks of testing, the Education Department says there have been no major problems with the online form. It’s opening to the public later than the traditional Oct. 1 start date, but far sooner than last year’s late January launch. The department promised this year’s form by Dec. 1.
“After months of hard work and lots of feedback from students, schools and other stakeholders, we can say with confidence that FAFSA is working and will serve as the gateway to college access and affordability to millions of students,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said recently.
Through four rounds of testing, more than 140,000 students have submitted the form, and their information has been sent to more than 5,200 colleges, the department said.
An overhaul last year was meant to simplify the famously complex form, but technical problems blocked students from submitting forms or bungled the calculations.
The federal government uses student applications to determine their eligibility for financial aid, and colleges and states use it to award their
own scholarships. The delays left students wondering how much financial aid they could receive, a crucial factor for many families.
Advocates say the frustration probably led thousands of students to give up on going to college at all. This fall, U.S. colleges saw a 5% decrease in freshmen enrollment over the previous year, and it was deeper at colleges with large numbers of low-income students, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
The Education Department said it fixed last year’s problems and hired an additional 700 call center workers to help families if they have trouble submitting the form.
This week the Senate and House unanimously passed legislation requiring the Education Department to make the FAFSA available no later than Oct. 1.
The Biden administration drew bipartisan scorn over its handling of the update, with Republicans accusing the administration of focusing on student loan cancellation at the expense of the FAFSA form.
The overhaul came after Congress passed legislation in 2020 to simplify the form. The Education Department was ordered to reduce the number of questions from more than 100 to about 40, and change the formula to expand aid to more students.
CURIOUS KIDS
Questions from kids about life get answered by experts
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.
I WAS WONDERING... “Why do I feel better when I wake myself up instead of relying on an alarm?” asks Calleigh H., age 11, from Oklahoma. A neurologist explains the science of a restful night’s sleep.
By Beth Ann Malow, Vanderbilt University
We’ve all experienced this: You’re in the middle of a lovely dream. Perhaps you’re flying. As you’re soaring through the air, you meet an eagle. The eagle looks at you, opens its beak and – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Your alarm goes off. Dream over, time to get up. Many people – kids and adults alike – notice that when they wake up naturally from sleep, they feel more alert than if an alarm or another person, like a parent, wakes them up.
Why is that?
I’m a neurologist who studies the brain, specifically what happens in the brain when you’re asleep. I also take care of children and adults who don’t sleep well and want to sleep better. My research involves working with parents to help them teach their children good sleep habits.
To understand how to sleep better, and why waking up naturally from sleep helps you feel more alert, you need to start by understanding sleep cycles.
The sleep cycle
The sleep cycle consists of four stages. One of these is REM, which stands for rapid eye movements. The other three are non-REM stages. When you fall asleep, you first go into a state of drowsiness called non-REM Stage 1.
This is followed by deeper stages of sleep, called non-REM stages 2 and 3. Each stage of non-REM is deeper than the one before. Then, about 90 minutes after you first fall asleep, you enter the fourth stage, which is REM sleep. This is a stage of lighter sleep where you do much of your dreaming. After a few minutes, you return to non-REM sleep again.
These cycles repeat themselves throughout the night, with most people having four to six cycles of non-REM sleep alternating with REM sleep each night. As the night goes on, the cycles contain less non-REM sleep and more REM sleep. This is why it’s important to get enough sleep, so that the body can get enough of both REM sleep and non-REM sleep.
REM vs. non-REM sleep
How do researchers like me know that a person is in non-REM vs. REM sleep? In the sleep lab, we can tell from their brain waves, eye movements and the tension in their muscles, like in the chin. These are measured by putting sensors called electrodes on the scalp, around the eyes and on the chin.
These electrodes pick up brain activity, which varies from waves that are low in amplitude (the height of the wave) and relatively fast to waves that are high in amplitude (a taller wave) and relatively slow. When we are awake, the height of the waves is low and the waves are relatively fast. In contrast, during sleep, the waves get higher and slower.
Non-REM Stage 3 has the tallest and slowest waves of all the sleep stages. In REM sleep, brain waves are low in amplitude and relatively fast, and the eye movements are rapid, too. People need both non-REM and REM stages for a healthy brain, so they can learn and remember.
Waking up naturally
When you wake up in the morning on your own, it’s usually as you come to the end of whatever stage of sleep you were in. Think of it like getting off the train when it comes to a stop at the station. But when an alarm or someone else wakes you up, it’s like jumping off the train between stops, which can feel jolting. That’s why it’s good to wake up naturally whenever possible.
People can actually train their brains to wake up at a consistent time each day that is a natural stopping point. Brains have an internal 24-hour clock that dictates when you first start to feel sleepy and when you wake up. This is related to our circadian rhythms.
Training the brain to wake up at a consistent time
First, it’s important to go to bed at a consistent time that allows you to get enough sleep. If you stay up too late doing homework or looking at your phone, that can interfere with getting enough sleep and make you dependent on an
alarm – or your parents – to wake you up.
Other things that can help you fall asleep at a healthy time include getting physical activity during the day and avoiding coffee, soda or other drinks or foods that contain caffeine. Physical activity increases brain chemicals that make it easier to fall asleep, while caffeine does the opposite and keeps you awake.
Second, you need to be aware of light in your environment. Light too late in the evening, including from screens, can interfere with your brain’s production of a chemical called melatonin that promotes sleep. But in the morning when you wake up, you need to be exposed to light.
Morning light helps you synchronize, or align, your circadian rhythms with the outside world and makes it easier to fall asleep at night. The easiest way to do this is to open up your shades or curtains in your room. In the winter, some people use light boxes to simulate sunlight, which helps them align their rhythms.
Benefits
of a good night’s
sleep
A good sleep routine entails both a consistent bedtime and wake time and regularly getting enough sleep. That usually means 9-11 hours for school-age kids who are not yet teens, and 8-10 hours for teens.
This will help you be at your best to learn at school, boost your mood, help you maintain a healthy weight and promote many other aspects of health.
Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
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An F-16 takes off from Buckley Space Force Base, March 31, as J.P. and Maj. Joseph “Stinger” Valdez look on during J.P.’s Top Gun experience wish granted by Buckley and Make-A-Wish.
Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/ Sentinel Colorado
One Tech Tip
Don’t use rice for your
By KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer
You were walking next to a swimming pool when you slipped and dropped your phone into the water. Or it slipped out of your hand when you were next to a filled bathtub or toilet.
However your smartphone got wet, you now need to dry it. But what do you do? There’s lots of advice on the internet, some of it conflicting. Apple inserted itself into the debate recently when it put out an advisory that included a warning against using rice.
Here are some things to keep in mind next time your phone has an unintended encounter with a liquid.
What you should do
Dry off the exterior with a towel or clean cloth, even your shirtsleeve — anything that’s absorbent. Take out the SIM card and holder. If possible, remove the back housing and battery to wipe them dry. Also, if possible, turn the phone off.
iPhones can’t be disassembled so Apple recommends tapping it gently against your hand with the connector ports facing down so liquid can flow out.
Samsung, which is the biggest maker of Android phones, recommends using a cotton bud to get moisture out of the earphone jack and charging port. In contrast, Apple says cotton buds shouldn’t be inserted into iPhone openings. If it’s not water but another liquid — a drink, seawater or chlorinated pool water — Samsung advises soaking the phone in clean water for a few minutes then rinsing it to get rid of any impurities or salinity that could speed up corrosion of
the circuitry inside.
how
Both companies say it’s best to leave the phone out in a well ventilated area (perhaps with a fan) to dry it out. Google says leave the device to dry at room temperature.
What you shouldn’t do
Don’t use a hair dryer or compressed air on your phone. Don’t put it in a freezer – this might stop your device from short-circuiting but the problem will be back once you try to thaw it. And while this might seem obvious, don’t put your device in a tumble dryer or on top of a radiator.
Don’t power it up or try to charge it with a cable — although wireless charging is OK if your phone has it and you really need to turn it on in an emergency.
So what about using rice to dry your device?
You may have heard that putting a phone in a bowl of rice will help draw out moisture. It’s been a tip that’s been out there for years.
Apple, however, says that’s a no-no. The company warned against it in an advisory published in early January. It drew little attention at the time, but then people noticed the line that said: “Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone.”
Is there anything I can use besides rice?
The best option is silica gel, a drying agent that can absorb lots of moisture. Silica gel beads are typically found in packets that are included
out
smartphone
with products like beef jerky, seaweed sheets or sneakers to keep them dry. You can also buy them in bulk online. This works best if you put them in an airtight box with your phone.
When do I know it’s dry?
It’s hard to tell but it’s best to wait as long as possible — at least a few days. Samsung advises bringing your device into a service center for inspection even after it’s been air-dried.
Aren’t phones waterproof nowadays?
Most phones nowadays are designed to be water-resistant, which means they can resist water entering critical areas for a certain amount of time. But beware, this isn’t the same as being waterproof.
Apple says the iPhone 7 and and newer models are splash and water resistant. iPhone XS devices and up have the IP68 rating, which means they can be submerged for as long as 30 minutes and, depending on the model, as deep as 6 meters (20 feet). These models also pop up a warning if there’s liquid detected in key ports, and warn against charging. Samsung says most of its Galaxy Android phones feature the same rating, though the maximum depth is about 5 meters (16 feet).
Google’s newer Pixel phones carry the same water resistance ratings, but Google warns that they aren’t waterproof and the water resistance will diminish over time because of “normal wear and tear, device repair, disassembly or damage.”
