February 24, 2022 Issue - Kids Section

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| FEBRUARY 24, 2022

WHO’S READY FOR WARM WEATHER? We sure are! But not because we have anything against cold weather. Quite the opposite, actually!

We’re excited for spring because that’s when Govin’s Farm hosts their annual Lambing Barn, where folks can see all the baby animals. Check it out beginning the weekend of March 19-20 from 9am4pm. For more info, visit govinsfarm.com.

Kids PHOTO BY ANDREA PAULSETH

Discovery

COOL KIDS

Play

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF EAU CLAIRE TO LAUNCH NEW PRE-K PROGRAM

MAKE YOUR OWN COLORFUL IGLOO THIS WINTER

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• SCHOOLS • HISTORY • TECHNOLOGY • DIY • CRAFTS • CAMPS • PROJECTS

KIDS EDITOR: SAWYER HOFF

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sawyer.hoff@volumeone.org

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Discovery Education

STEP INTO THE WILD AND EXPLORE WILDLANDS SCHOOL SCHOOL DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN ENDLESS HOURS AT A DESK IN A CLASSROOM, STARING AT A SCREEN – OR AT THE CLOCK. It can also mean getting outdoors and into the real world to learn about science, math, history, English, and much more in a cooperative, hands-on way.

That’s the project-based approach taken by Wildlands School, a public charter school located at Beaver Creek Reserve in rural Eau Claire County. The school, which serves students in seventh through 12th grades, is part of the Augusta School District, but it welcomes students from around the region via open enrollment. In the past, students have come from Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Altoona, Fall Creek, Menomonie, Elk Mound, and elsewhere.

The school describes itself as “a teacher-powered, project-based learning environment. This means that education is hands-on and student-centered. As students age and gain more experience they transition from a teacher led environment to an independent form of education, with staff members available to all levels for resources and guidance.” Students have explored the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon as part of field science seminars while also working toward state learning standards via their personal learning plans.

If Wildlands School sounds like an adventure you’d like to pursue, open enrollment for the 2022-23 school year runs through April 29.

Several open house tour dates are planned, and prospective students and parents can learn more at wildlandschool.net.

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WASH UP! Local libraries have partnered to offer new Laundromat Libraries to help early literacy in the area.

Learning

CLEANIN’ AND READIN’ LOCAL PARTNERSHIP CREATES SEVEN MINI LAUNDROMAT LIBRARIES words by

parker reed

A PARTNERSHIP IS HELPING SPREAD LIBRARY RESOURCES FURTHER INTO THE COMMUNITY, giving families something to occupy their time with while they’re washing their clothes.

The L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the UW-Madison Division of Extension Eau Claire County have established a number of Eau Claire Laundromat Libraries throughout the city.

At seven participating laundromats, families are invited to read a number of books while they are at the location, and are also invited to select a book to take home with them.

Additionally, each library also features a binder with information for parents and caregivers about early literacy and community resources that support children and families.

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Each library contains diverse, high-interest books in English, Spanish, and Hmong for children up to age 8. No check-out registration is required, and no library card is needed to use any of the literature at any location.The goal of the outreach program is to increase acess to children’s books for area families and also to promote the development of early literacy skills for children and families who visit participating local laundromats.

For more information, visit ecpubliclibrary.info/kids/ laundromat-libraries.

The UW-Madison Division of Extension Eau Claire County is interested in helping create Laundromat Libraries in communities outside the City of Eau Claire.

If you’d like to help, learn more online here or call their office at (715) 839-4712.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND THESE LIL’ LIBRARIES? PARTNERING LAUNDROMATS INCLUDE: •

Laundry Express Laundromat (2655 Golf Road, Eau Claire)

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London Road Laundromat (2820 London Road, Eau Claire)

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Pinehurst Laundromat (3061 N. Hastings Way, Eau Claire)

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Risler’s Laundromat (3233 Seymour Road, Eau Claire)

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Super Wash Laundromat (2625 N. Clairemont Ave., Eau Claire)

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Super Wash Laundromat (2703 Birch St., Eau Claire)

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Vine Street Laundry (2005 Eighth St., Eau Claire)

Orgs

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF E.C. LAUNCHES PRE-K PROGRAM NEW PARTNERSHIP WILL SERVE KIDS AGES 6 MONTHS TO 5 YEARS words by

parker reed • photo by andrea paulseth

PARENTS, GET GEARED FOR A NEW EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM MAKING ITS WAY TO THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY. Beginning next school year, the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire’s new preschool program will serve kids ages 6 months to 5 years of age, including a 4-year-old kindergarten program with before- and after-school care, and will offer a curriculum that channels and challenges children as individuals.

The program will have a capacity for 60 children total, with the 4K having a capacity of 18 children for a morning or afternoon session beginning at the start of the 2022-23 school year, while the new museum itself – which is under construction on North Barstow Street – isn’t expected to be open to the public until November.

“Children will be presented with a warm, beautiful environment that promotes exploration, discovery, and the freedom to get messy,” said Lydia Ekenstedt, who will direct the program. “They will have opportunities to learn practical life skills, with a big emphasis on social/emotional awareness, and building independence.

The children drive the learning to bring out the wonder and beauty that is already inside them.”

The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire is partnering with Ekenstedt’s Montessori-inspired and structured in-home daycare, Peace Tree Child Care. A typical school day will include activities that enhance social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth. Experienced teachers encourage children to explore, imagine, and create in a small class size setting, fostering an appreciation of all things STEAM. For more information visit Children’s Museum of Eau Claire’s website, ChildrensMuseumEC.com, or Peace Tree’s website, peacetreecare.com.

KIDDOS PLAY AT THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF EAU CLAIRE

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Play HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN MATERIALS NEEDED: • • • • •

50-80 disposable 10” x 13” aluminum trays Heavy-duty all-purpose hand scoop 2 five-gallon buckets Heavy-duty storage container Food coloring

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Activities

INSPIRING IGLOO

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Check the weather forecast. Make sure the evening temperatures will reach below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

G O T W I N T E R B L U E S ? N O T T H E R OW E K A M P

2. Lay all of your trays on a flat surface outside. Fill evenly with water.

FA M I LY, W H O S E C O L O R F U L I G L O O C R E A T I O N

3. Wait until the top layer of the water is slightly frozen. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring. Neon food coloring generally works best, but go for any color that you like best!

4. Plot your igloo design in your yard. Avoid a sunny spot, where your igloo may melt.

5. Shovel out the snow to make even ground. Create a diameter between 4.5-6 feet.

6. Make your “snow cement.” Mix equal parts cold water and snow in a five-gallon bucket to a slurpee/snowcone consistency.

7. Once your bricks are frozen, lay one layer of bricks horizontally to create your foundation. Then, begin building your igloo with the bricks stacked vertically, using “snow cement” in between each brick to secure your igloo.

For a complete tutorial, check out the same YouTube video the Rowekamp family followed to build their igloo at bit.ly/3sKlXGR.

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SUBMITTED PHOTOS

BRIGH T E NS U P T H E E A STSI DE H I L L N EIGH BORHO OD words by

IN THE LATEST OF THE EASTSIDE HILL NEIGHBORHOOD’S OUTDOOR ESCAPADES, A MULTICOLORED IGLOO magically glows in the front yard of the Rowekamp family. It’s hard to miss when you’re passing by Margaret Street. “It’s become an attraction,” said local dad Chad Rowekamp, “that’s for sure.”

The igloo accompanies the homemade ice rink already gracing the Rowekamp abode. And there’s no shortage of outdoor activities for this Eau Claire family.

After seeing a rainbow-igloo tutorial on YouTube, he asked his 7-yearold daughter, Molly, if she thought they should make one themselves. Of course, she said yes.

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thomas delapp

The Rowekamps are already locally known for their heading efforts to get kids – and adults – outside. They’ve made Little Free Sled Libraries, stuffed animal zoos during lockdown, host lemonade stands in the summertime, “vandalize” local parts of downtown with their colorful chalk creations, and Chad serves as president of the Eastside Hill Neighborhood Association, which is responsible for the Boyd Park Plus project, which aims to bring improved playground facilities to Eau Claire.

The family also participates in the 1,000 Hours Outside challenge, which tries to balance the average

1,000 hours of screen time kids have per year with 1,000 hours outside.

Some take the challenge very seriously, Rowekamp said. Others are more casual and see it more as a fun goal. Big change comes from small things, Rowekamp said.

While most of us are impressed

by Rowekamp creating difficult, elaborate projects for (and with) his kids, he wants people to know that it’s actually easy as pie to work your creative outdoor side.

“At the end of the day, there’s a vision in my head for what the world should be like,” Rowekamp said.

“You’ve got to build the place you want to live.”

Attractions

I S T H I S R E A L LI F E ?

OR IS THIS JUST M Y T H O LO G Y ? C H E C K O U T C O O L LI B R A R Y E VE N T F O R K I D S

PHOTO VIA PIXABAY

PHOTO VIA CREATIVE COMMONS

Projects

Ready? Set? Draw! Check Out New Comic Book Club words by

S

FETCH YOUR PAPER AND PENCILS AND GET SCRIBBLING, because the Unitarian Universalist Congregation is hosting a DIY Comic Club on Sunday, March 27, with the goal of connecting kids after two years of a long – and isolating – pandemic.

“This pandemic has been really scary for kids,” said Aimee Johnson, religious exploration coordinator for UUC. “They’ve

thomas delapp

had to shut off some parts of their lives and just not be kids.”

No set structure is important for creativity, Johnson noted.

Some prompts and challenges will be provided before letting the kids loose to create – and when they’ve finished, their work will be photocopied to share with others and take home as a souvenir. Kids need someone to tell them they have permission

to create and be themselves, she said, and the DIY Comic Club will let them use their imaginations and initiative. “I’m excited for (kids) to get together without structure or assignment,” Johnson said, “just to have fun and create.”

Check out the DIY Comic Club for yourself from 12pm to 2pm on March 27. Find more info at facebook.com/UUCREEauClaire.

THE GREEK GOD ZEUS WOULD SAY THIS EVENT IS PRETTY ELECTRIFYING. Check out the teen Mythology Madness virtual event on March 16 from 6pm to 7:30pm, hosted by the Augusta Memorial Public Libary. Try out mythology-themed trivia, puzzle-solving, a Celtic virtual escape room, and learn knot tying! This statewide library experience allows teens to connect in a virtual setting. Registration is available (free!) on the Chippewa Falls Library website at chippewafallslibrary.org. The first ten teens to sign up before March 12 are guaranteed a grab bag, which includes materials for knot tying and Celtic bookmarks, escape room cheats, and snacks!

–Carlee Shimek

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