November 2021

VOLUME 38, #9 NOVEMBER 2021

FREE!

New!

Letchworth’s Autism Trail ISSUES FAMILIES FACE

THE GENDER QUESTION INSIDE:

ITHACA Road Trip

Gifts Galore - A Holiday Guide

COMING UP IN DECEMBER 2021

Exploring Educa tion A Special Pull-Out Section

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Showcase your school, organization

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business to tens of thousands of WNY parents in this annual pull-out section. Editorial content focuses on various aspects of education in WNY, targeted to elementary grades and higher, including college.

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716-836-3486 ext. 104 2 WNY Family November 2021

November 2021 • Volume 38 • Issue 9

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Michele Miller GENERAL MANAGER Paul Kline SALES REPRESENTATIVES Jennifer Staebell Paul Kline GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Karen Wawszczyk Melanie Schroeder CONTRIBUTORS Barbara Blackburn • Donna Phillips Richard De Fino • Deborah Williams Kathy Lundquist • Myrna Beth Haskell Mike Daugherty

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Visit Our Web Site www.wnyfamilymagazine.com To Reach Us: Advertising Department advertising@wnyfamilymagazine.com Calendar Submissions calendar@wnyfamilymagazine.com Subscriptions subscriptions@wnyfamilymagazine.com Editorial Submissions michele@wnyfamilymagazine.com MAILING ADDRESS: 3147 Delaware Ave., Suite B Buffalo, NY 14217 Phone: (716) 836-3486 • Fax: (716) 836-3680 PRINTED BY: Commercial Printing Division The Post-Journal, Jamestown WE ARE AN AUDITED PUBLICATION CIRCULATION (copies printed): 20,000 © 2021 Western New York Family, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without permission is strictly prohibited. Inclusion of an advertisement does not constitute an endorsement by the publisher.

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Where It’s At! Giving Thanks!

Features: 6 n Keep It Light: 10 Ways to Simplify the Season

by Janeen Lewis 8 n 8 Ways to Encourage Thankfulness

by Jill Morgenstern 9 n 7 Reasons to be Thankful for Teenagers this Thanksgiving

by Katy M. Clark 18 n Ithaca Road Trip

by Michele Miller 36 n What I Wish I’d Said When My Kid Asked Me What All Genders Meant

by Pam Moore

Directories:

10 n Gift’s Galore 34 n Wellness Choices 45 n Let’s Party

Regulars: 5 n Web Finds / What’s New In The Kid Biz 16 n Family Travel Letchworth’s New Autism Nature Trail

by Deborah Williams 26 n Raising Digital Kids Makerspaces: Where Creativity & Collaboration Combine

by Mike Daugherty 28 n Journey Into Fatherhood Violet Turns One!

by Richard De Fino 29 n Parent Previews

by Kirsten Hawkes 30 n Pick of the Literature

by Dr. Donna Phillips 32 n Dear Teacher

by Peggy Gisler & Marge Eberts 38 n Tweens and Teens How Teens Develop Into Healthy, Capable Adults

by Kimberly Blaker 41 n Single Parenting Getting into the Holiday Spirit

by Diane Dierks, LMFT 44 n Special Needs PANDAS Disorder Isn’t Cute or Cuddly

by Cheryl Maguire 46 n The Kid Friendly Kitchen

by Kathy Lundquist 47 n The Kiddie Gourmet BlackBerry’s Bar & Grill

by Barbara Blackburn

You’ll find FREE courtesy copies of WNY Family at all Buffalo area Wegmans and 300 locations including Public Libraries, Doctors’ Offices, Child Care Centers and many of our advertisers.

(Look for us INSIDE Wegmans on the racks where newspapers are sold, even though we are still FREE, or in some stores, on the FREE rack in the store foyer.)

Find this entire issue online at www.wnyfamilymagazine.com November 2021 WNY Family 3

40th Annual

Train & Toy Show WNYRHS

November 20th & 21st Saturday 10am – 5pm Sunday 10 am – 4pm

at the Fairgrounds Event Center Hamburg, New York Adults: $8 Children 12 & Under FREE!

40

Bring this Coupon for

$1.00 OFF Adult Admission

Not to Be Combined With Another Coupon

Visit

This Holiday Make Every Child’s Dream Come True...

Nutcracker

amerICan aCademy oF Ballet’S magICal ProduCtIon oF

The

Saturday, december 4th 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm

wnyrhs.com for details

Appearing in our November & December Issues

Galore

Gifts

A Holiday Gift Guide

All Performances at UB Center for the Arts, Main Stage

STARRING: Sarah Lane

Principal, American Ballet Theatre

Daniel Ulbricht

Principal, New York City Ballet American Academy of Ballet’s Nutcracker is Mesmerizing!

“There is so much to love about The Nutcracker and this version in particular. This Nutcracker will leave you in awe from the opening scene until Clara awakens from her magical journey through dreamland.”

Buffalo News Review * December 2015

For InFormatIon, Call: 645-artS Tickets available at:

Center Box Office (Tues. & Wed. Noon - 6pm) and through ticketmaster.com

PRICES:

$32.00, $28.00 or $24.00

(plus $4.00 UB facility fee)

www.aab-buffalo.com 4 WNY Family November 2021

This holiday season showcase the unique gift ideas your business has to offer in

WNY Family Magazine’s “Gifts Galore” Section.

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836-3486 Ext. 104 Space Reservation Deadlines: November Issue - October 8th December Issue - November 10th

web.finds It’s always fun to add little favors for guests to your holiday table. The materials to make them can cost very little and they can be quick and easy to make — get the kids to help and you may have started a new family tradition!

OREO TURKEYS

This project is a little more labor intensive, but oh, so cute! Double Stuff Oreo Cookies, Whoppers, candy corn, mini peanut butter cups, store-bought tubes of chocolate, yellow, and red frosting, plus some black sprinkles for eyes are what’s needed. Mom friends, Sara and Kate, provide all you need to know to assemble the turkeys, which also can be used to hold placecards, here: https://ourbestbites.com/oreo-turkeysand-cookie-pilgrim-hats

TISSUE PAPER PUMPKINS

Debbie Chapman, mom of three, created these adorable tissue paper pumpkin favors from 2 layers of orange tissue paper cut into a circle by tracing around a 9-inch cake pan.

Add your favorite assorted little treats, gather up the paper around them, twisting at the top and secure using green tape (floral, electrical, or washi) to form the pumpkin stem. Visit her blog to find all the details here: https:// onelittleproject.com/tissue-paper-pumpkin-favours/

ACORN COOKIES

These adorable no-bake treats are made with Nutter Butter Bites cookies, mini chocolate chips, and Hershey Kisses. Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, dip the bottom of the Kiss into the chocolate and press onto the cookie. Let cool a bit to harden.

Then, dip the bottom of an un-melted mini chocolate chip into the melted chocolate and press onto the other side of the cookie. Let harden. Put a few in a cellophane treat bag for each guest — decorate as you please — or in a small cup or dish at each place on your holiday table. Check out the directions at: https://girlsandtheirmeals.blogspot.com/2011/10/acorn-cookies.html

BUGLE CORNUCOPIAS

Shelly Jaronsky, over at Cookies & Cups, created Thanksgiving-themed treat bags, filling them with colorful Runts candies, and Bugles snacks to represent mini cornucopias. You’ll find a downloadable printable for a bag topper on her site; just secure it to the bag with double sided tape or staples. https://cookiesandcups. com/bugle-cornucopias-and-a-thanksgiving-printable/

What’s New...

IN THE KIDBIZ NEW PLAYGROUND IN THE WORKS

When the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church initially unveiled its Lafayette Loft conversion back in 2014, many people anticipated that a community playground would be announced around the same time. But that announcement was never made, and the thought was that the plans had been dropped for good.

Despite the long wait, the plans for the playground were never dropped, and recently, New York State Senator Sean Ryan made the announcement that the building of the playground was moving forward. A pop-up community event was held, to showcase the plans for the new interactive children’s feature, made possible thanks to a $100,000 State grant that was secured by Senator Ryan.

The playground, designed by KOMPAN Playgrounds, will include: • An obstacle course • An elevated playhouse with a slide and an accessible staircase • A number of ground level activities for younger children This new playground will be the only one of its kind along Elmwood Avenue. It is being constructed to offer children the ability to improve physical, cognitive, creative, and social development, while promoting imaginative play.

“This playground will be a great space for kids of all ages to have fun and get some exercise, and we expect it to become a popular gathering place for families in Elmwood Village,” said Senator Ryan. “As we emerge from the pandemic and life begins to return to normal, I’m excited to see this project moving forward once again. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

KIDS EATING MORE JUNK DURING PANDEMIC

Eating at home more frequently as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and concerns might lead one to believe children are eating healthier, but new research challenges that conclusion. According to a survey, one in five parents say their kids have been snacking away on more junk food since the start of the pandemic.

Although many moms and dads say their family has enjoyed healthier meals since the onset of coronavirus, 20% admit being “too stressed” to cook. And one in six say their child consumes fast-food at least twice a week. The survey of more than 2,000 parents of American children aged 3 to 18 was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. To read the complete story visit: https://www.studyfinds.org/fast-foodnation-children-eat-more-junk-pandemic/ November 2021 WNY Family 5

Keep It Light 10 Ways to Simplify the Season — by Janeen Lewis

I

t’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but research confirms a different reality — most Americans have elevated stress levels during the holiday season.

And with the challenges of the last two years, instead of being full of good tidings and cheer, families may feel drained of peace. Even if you are staying in or are paring down your family festivities this year, keeping things as light and easy as possible will make the end of the year more enjoyable. Here are ten tips that will simplify the season and make it merry and bright.

1) Focus on your reason for the season.

Why are you celebrating? Is it for spiritual reasons? Maybe you want to focus on family and friends or enjoy the spirit of giving during the holidays.

Keep what is most important about the holidays at the center of your celebration. Reconsider any task or commitment that takes your time, energy, enjoyment or finances away from your reason for celebrating in the first place.

2) Set firm boundaries around your time.

Even during a year in which gatherings may be fewer, it’s easy to get caught up in organizing donations, planning for your family celebration, or connect6 WNY Family November 2021

ing virtually with clubs and associates.

This year, pick one project you want to volunteer your time to, or pick a variety of simple acts of kindness you can do with your family safely. Spend time with your friends and loved ones, but don’t feel guilty if you can’t commit to every Zoom party or virtual fundraiser.

3) Let go of Martha.

One of the most stress-relieving things you can do at the holidays is set the bar a little lower. Martha Stewart is an elegant hostess, but you don’t have to do everything the way Martha would to have a beautiful season. Embrace simpler decorations, meals, and gift giving than you have in the past. Try quick shortcuts or holiday hacks. If you let go of expectations, you may be pleasantly surprised to find yourself content with a celebration you hadn’t even envisioned.

4) Farm out your to-do list.

At the beginning of the season make a to-do list of what you want to accomplish. If you find that it is too long for the amount of time that you have, consider delegating some of the items. If you contribute to a Christmas club at your bank, you might even consider setting aside some of the money specifically so you can hire others to help with your holiday tasks. Have groceries delivered or use curbside pick-up, and buy gifts online.

Grocery stores also have a plethora of pre-packaged holiday foods that make delicious sides, cutting down on your time in the kitchen. Buy desserts from your local bakery. No time to clean the house? Hire a cleaning service just for the holiday season or ask for this service as a gift for a later time.

5) Gift others with experiences.

Shopping at the holidays can be time-consuming and nerve-wracking, even if you shop online. If you don’t start early, coveted items sell out, leaving you scrambling for another gift. Ask those you give gifts to if there is an experience they would like to have. Tickets to the theater? Family passes to an amusement park or aquarium? A relaxing day at the spa? Experiences give friends and family the opportunity to make memories and pamper themselves, unique gifts that are much-appreciated. And it also allows family and friends to enjoy their gift in the future at a time when they feel comfortable visiting their favorite experience venues.

6) Set a holiday tea time.

Recent research shows that drinking green and black tea has many health benefits, including promoting relaxation.

Herbal teas, while not true tea, still help with anxiety and stress. In keeping with the holiday spirit, sip some calming peppermint tea, or try chamomile, lemon balm, or passionflower.

7) Take a hike.

One way to tell your stress to take a hike might be to actually take one yourself. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins that trigger a happier, more relaxed mood.

Aerobic exercise outdoors away from screens and to-do lists can clear your mind and help you keep what’s important in perspective.

8) Reconnect with long lost friends and relatives.

Meet with an old friend you haven’t talked to for years, and catch up. Take some time off and visit relatives you miss seeing on a regular basis. If you are staying home this holiday season, con-

nect via Zoom or FaceTime. Surrounding yourself with people you enjoy is powerful when you want to combat holiday stress.

9) Do something kind for someone else.

You don’t have to overcommit yourself to a charity or fundraiser to be kind. Small random acts of kindness can make someone’s day. Let someone in front of you at the supermarket line or let someone drive their car in front of yours in the parking lot.

Send an anonymous Christmas card with cash or a gift card to a college student or elderly person that you know is struggling financially or that is socially distancing. Throw change in Salvation Army buckets or donate online. Put quarters in grocery carts at Aldi or in the slots at laundromats. Fill up Little Free Libraries with gently used books. Having a kind spirit chases away stress and keeps the season warm and hope filled.

10) Celebrate memories more than material possessions.

Material gifts are nice, but most of us quickly forget gifts we have received in past years. The thing that we remember the most are the memories we make with friends and family. At the end of another unusual year, make some happy memories this holiday season and bid stress good bye.

Janeen Lewis is a freelance journalist, teacher and mom to Andrew and Gracie. She has been published in several parenting publications across the country and in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic.”

10 Holiday Hacks to Make the Season Bright

1) If you have an artificial tree, wrap the center pole with a strand of lights before you add the branches. This will make the tree shine brighter from the inside.

2) Use a wastebasket to hold rolls of wrapping paper.

3). Use egg cartons to store small ornaments and ornament hooks. Use wine boxes to store larger, fragile ornaments.

4) Spread a thick layer of whipped cream on a cookie sheet. Freeze it for several hours and remove. Cut hearts out of the whipped cream with a cookie cutter and serve in hot cocoa.

5) Put a ball of sugar cookie dough between two sheets of wax paper.

Roll it out between the papers so the dough doesn’t stick to the pin. While it’s still in the wax paper, put the flattened cookie dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to cut cookies out.

6) Store cookies in an airtight tin with flour tortillas between layers to keep cookies from drying out. You can also use a slice of bread.

7) If you don’t want to put nail holes in your fireplace mantel, fit a tension rod in the wood frame and hang your stockings with shower hooks. You can also purchase nail free stocking holder hooks.

8) Hang lightweight ornaments on long ribbons from your light fixture or chandelier to make an elegant holiday decoration.

9) Skip expensive candles and potpourri. Add water and natural ingredients like apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks or cloves to a crockpot and heat.

Enjoy holiday scents that aren’t overpowering.

10) To keep Christmas lights from getting tangled, wrap them around a clothes hanger or power cord holder.

— Janeen Lewis

November 2021 WNY Family 7

Ways to Encourage

you note before using a gift. This will encourage even the most reluctant child to complete the notes.

Count Your Blessings Whether it’s each night at dinner or as a bedtime routine, have children recount the best parts of their day. This can be a reminder that even a bad day had good points and help end the day on a positive note.

Let Them Earn Some of Their Possessions

A

— by Jill Morgenstern

s Thanksgiving approaches it’s natural to be thinking about gratefulness and how to encourage it in our kids. According to Harvard Health, gratitude is associated with greater overall happiness, can help people deal with adversity, and even help form strong relationships. These are qualities we want for our children all year long!

How do we cultivate a sense of gratitude in our children? Christine Carter in her book “Raising Happiness” says, “Gratitude is a learned skill to be practiced like kicking a soccer ball or speaking French.” Here are six ways you can help to build that skill in your child:

Be a Good Role Model Model please and thank you just the way you’d want to see it in your children. Children are keen observers of how you treat others in your life and will naturally follow your lead. When eating out, for example, your server may or may not notice whether you thank them as they present your meal, but your children definitely will. The importance of being a good role model cannot be overstated and may be one of the most important ways to encourage gratitude, so keep your thank you’s at the ready!

Volunteer Volunteering can contribute to well-being in multiple ways, including increasing self-confidence, providing a sense of purpose, and even improving 8 WNY Family November 2021

physical health. There is also evidence to suggest that volunteering increases both gratitude and happiness. But there are even further benefits to volunteering.

Depending on the activity, kids are given the opportunity to learn essential skills and increase their sense of responsibility.

Chores Believe it or not, doing chores can increase gratitude. By participating in housework, children get a first-hand look at what it takes to run a household.

This can raise their awareness of what is being done for them on a day-to-day basis and can awaken a sense of gratitude.

Encourage Thank You Notes Actual thank you notes seem to be going out of style as our forms of communication become almost exclusively electronic. However, there is still something quite meaningful about writing and receiving a thank you the old fashioned way. If your child resists, try making sure he or she writes a thank

Children can learn not only gratitude from earning some of their own possessions, but also a sense of responsibility. When they have worked for a toy or other item, they have a better sense of its value, potentially increasing their gratitude not just for that item but for their other possessions as well.

Extending Thank You According to the Raising Grateful Children Project at UNC Chapel Hill, 85% of parents prompt their children to say thank you. But going beyond common manners can help increase gratitude. Try asking children how a gift makes them feel, or why they think they received the gift.

Look on the Bright Side Try looking for the positive when things get hard. Asking yourself or your child what good could come out of a hard thing is a way to see the best in situations and can help increase gratitude. Next time things aren’t going as expected try and point out the bright side to your children. It might be helpful to your own mood too!

All of these skills can help build gratitude in your child, which can lead to a happier overall child as well as a more resilient one. These are great skills to build not just at Thanksgiving but all year round.

Jill Morgenstern is a Texas freelance writer whose work has appeared in regional parenting magazines and websites.

it’s amazing to hear them voice appreciation for relationships, health, faith, and the freedom of our country.

5) I can nap again!

The only nap I have to worry about this year is my own. While I indulge in some post-turkey shut-eye, I don’t have to worry that my kids are running into the street or licking the electrical outlets. Heck, they might even join me in a snooze on the other end of the couch.

6) Teens can stay up late and put themselves to bed.

— by Katy M. Clark

7 Reasons To Be Thankful for Teenagers This Thanksgiving

T

hanksgiving is a holiday that gets better as the kids get older. Sure, those turkey drawings traced around pudgy preschoolers’ hands were sweet. So was hearing my elementary schooler talk about the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock. And watching the little ones dine at the kids’ table at Grandma’s house was adorable, too.

they’re interested in eating everything we’re having. This is in stark contrast to the Thanksgiving when my son was four and ate nothing but brown sugar. Now he eats everything on his plate, even items that touch each other!

3) Teens can help out and clean up.

Gone are the days of 5:30am wakeups to watch Paw Patrol or play Candyland. I can sleep in on Thanksgiving or, if I want to get up early to start cooking, I can get up when I’m ready — and not because someone is poking me in the eyeball.

Yup, the big kids can be trusted to put Grandma’s lace tablecloth on straight. They can handle the crystal and china with care, light the candles without setting the house on fire, and fold the napkins with sophistication. My teens can also clear the table and do the dishes now. Sure, my kids were able to wash the dishes when they were younger, but they also fumbled my wedding china and dinged the gravy boat unless I supervised.

2) They care about the menu and like the food.

4) The conversation is more meaningful.

My kids want to know if the stuffing is sweet or savory and whether I’m serving that green bean casserole they liked so much last year. Not only are they interested in the Thanksgiving menu,

Celebrating Thanksgiving with teens means I can have meaningful conversations about gratitude. It was cute when they were little and gave thanks for cartoons and their goldfish, but now

But Thanksgiving with my kids now that they are teenagers? It rocks.

Here are 7 reasons why.

1) Teens sleep in.

Now that my kids are older, we can watch a movie after dinner and stay up as late as we want. It’s 10pm? Bring it, Home Alone! I don’t have to worry about running a bath, washing hair, reading stories, or doing any of the other steps that made up their bedtime routines when they were little. Going to bed on Thanksgiving means saying, “Goodnight, I love you!” no matter who falls asleep first. (Okay, it’s me.)

7) It’s a low-key, stress-free holiday.

Thanksgiving with teens is relaxed.

It’s not Christmas, with its intense buildup and piles of gifts. And it’s not Halloween, with drama over who is too old, or too cool, to go trick-or-treating. It’s Thanksgiving, which means I get to spend the day with the family I love, eating good food, and being grateful for it all.

This year as we gather to give thanks, I’m grateful to be celebrating Thanksgiving with teenagers. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Katy M. Clark is an award-winning writer who has been published nationally in Pregnancy and regionally in Ann Arbor Family, Atlanta Parent, and many more. Her essays have appeared on sites including Scary Mommy, Your Teen for Parents, and SheKnows Parenting, and her blog ExperiencedBadMom.com celebrates her imperfections as a mom. This article original appeared on Your Teen.

November 2021 WNY Family 9

Bender’s Christian Store

8550 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville 716-633-5757 www.shopbenders.com Bender’s provides quality products that reflect the original intent of Christmas: to honor and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. The selection of gifts includes Nativity sets and crèches, jewelry, framed art, and collectables to give as gifts this Christmas season. Bender’s also offers personalized laser engraved gifts, from pens, key chains, and ornaments to plaques and picture frames. Engraved on the spot, adding a personalized message is easy, quick, and convenient. Along with inspirational books, Bibles, CDs and DVDs, Bender’s strives to provide everything necessary to celebrate a truly meaningful holiday season.

Come visit us today!

Clay Hands Pottery

10086 Main Street, Clarence 716-759-1208 www.clayhandspottery.com Looking for the perfect present?

Come paint with us for that “one of a kind gift.” We are “The” pottery studio for all your Holiday presents. Located just 5 miles east of Eastern Hills Mall. We offer a wide variety of mugs, plates, platters, bowls, vases & much more. Need that special ornament?

Clay Hands is the place to paint it!

Come try our new silk screening on ceramics, sure to be a favorite. Gift certificates also available. Offering Glass Fusing, pottery painting & Clay.

We are your “Pottery-Painting-Party Place” for birthdays, Scouts, showers, corporate meetings, and girls’ nite out. Like us on Facebook. Open all Holiday Breaks. Happy Holidays!

10 WNY Family November 2021

Crossen Christmas Tree Farm

1198 Judge Road, Basom 585-813-8701 www.crossentrees.com Bring your family out to the country and make some memories cutting down your own Christmas tree! You can even have us cut it for you. Pick up a beautiful fresh wreath for your front door or as a gift for someone else. Anything you need to decorate is available in our gift shop; including lights, angels, tree skirts, stockings.

Please go to our website for more information.

Designing Dish

138 Grey Street, East Aurora 716-655-4456 www.designingdish.com Everyone is an artist at Designing Dish – a paint your own pottery store featuring Glass Fusing. New to our exciting menu of mediums: Glass Etching. Create one-of-akind make and take gifts from wine glasses to ornaments. We have those special projects that everyone will always remember. Now offering Pottery-on-the-Go kits for birthday parties, scout groups, day cares, and private parties. Open for walk-ins and accepting reservations for private parties. Celebrate the Holiday Season by visiting us in the historic village of East Aurora. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Federal Meats

With 9 WNY Locations to serve you 633-1390 for the nearest location www.federalmeats.com Give The Gift of Good Taste!

Enjoy this real old-time butcher shop, where meat professionals assist customers one-on-one in selecting their meats, poultry, deli and seafood. Here is where you can have your favorite items cut and wrapped to your specification. Their large deli section includes a full signature line of freshly prepared dinner entrées and appetizers to choose from. Federal Meats specializes in friendly knowledgeable service where phone orders are always welcome.

Federal Meats accepts Cash, Master Card, Visa, Discover and EBT. Holiday Gift Certificates, Steak & Meat Packages are also available for year-round gift giving.

Fisher-Price® Toystore

636 Girard Avenue, East Aurora 716-687-3300 www.fisherpricetoystore.com The Fisher-Price® Toy Store is your headquarters for all things FUN! Come check out our large selection of toys and baby products for every occasion. We offer a baby shower registry for all your new baby needs. Our expert staff will be happy to assist you with any questions you have to find the right product or gift item. Still not sure what to get? We also have gifts cards available in any denomination. Call our information line at 716-687-3300 to hear our store hours or get directions to our store.

Like us on Facebook.

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Support Your Community This Holiday Season

Shop Local

~ Since 1973 ~

Monaco’s Violin Shop & Music Centre

~ Violins Annual Sale ~ Violas Nov. 26th - Dec. 23rd, 2021 ~ Cellos ~ Basses 688-8600 ~ Rentals www.MonacosViolinShop.com Parkway, Suite 106 ~ Repairs 55 CrossPoint Getzville, NY (off N. French between I-990 & Millersport) ~ Sales November 2021 WNY Family 11

Home Today/Home Decor

Eastern Hills Mall 4475 Transit Rd., Williamsville 716-906-3143 Looking to refresh your home... looking for something different?

Look no further than Home Today/ Home Decor. One of the owners, TJ Miller, has been featured on HGTV for staging and home decorating.TJ and his team love to help people with their home decorating projects.

When you walk in, you know you are in for a pleasant experience.

We love all the seasons, and it shows! Located in the BFLO District adjacent to the Eastern Hills Mall (formally Sears). And coming soon a 2nd location in the Factory Outlet Mall.

Hyatt’s All Things Creative

1941 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo 716-884-8900 www.hyatts.com Discover special gifts for everyone on your list and shop local this year with Hyatt’s All Things Creative. As a family owned business in Western New York for over 60 years, Hyatt’s knows how to inspire creativity in people of all ages with their more than 55,000 products. Beyond art supplies, visit their newly expanded kids creative play area with more toys, building blocks, and STEAM sets! You’ll also find experienced and knowledgeable staff that are happy to take the time to help you find the perfect gift. Gift cards also available in any amount.

Kid to Kid

1060 Niagara Falls Blvd., Tonawanda 716-831-8300 www.kidtokid.com/tonawanda 980 Union Rd., Southgate Plaza, West Seneca 716-675-0483 www.kidtokid.com/westseneca Holiday gift shopping at up to 70% off mall prices! We’re a familyowned, upscale resale store with two great locations in Tonawanda and West Seneca. We buy and sell the best of what kids outgrow: kids’ clothing sizes 0-14, shoes, toys, books, games, baby equipment, maternity wear and more.

We buy all seasons all the time, no appointment necessary. It’s a win-win for parents...by trading in outgrown items and buying what’s needed now, and by giving another child an opportunity to love those items. Kid to Kid supports and donates to local charities. Open MonSat 9am-8pm, Sun 12-5pm. Follow us on Facebook!

crossen christmas tree farm ifetim day M ies eating H oli Cr

CURRENT HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-7pm Sunday: 11am-4pm Closed Mondays Holiday Hours will Vary 12 WNY Family November 2021

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Outside of Eastern Hills Mall

4475 Transit Rd., Williamsville, NY 14221 (716) 906-3143

e! emor to Last a L Don’t Forget to…

Get a FAMILY PICTURE in the GIANT SLEIGH Thousands Enjoy complementary of trees to Hot Chocolate choose from!

Stop in the Holiday Gift Shop Cut it yourself Pick out a Fresh Wreath

1198 Judge Road, Basom, NY 14013 (Short drive from Buffalo)

or we can cut it for you.

www.CrossenTrees.com

Past & Present Science & Nature Store and Fossil Gallery

VISIT OUR FREE FOSSIL GALLERY! Hours: Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat 10-6 Wed & Thur 10-8 Sun 12-5 (for the holidays) Please call for additional hours

Fossils, Rocks & Minerals Amethyst Geodes Crystals & Tumbled Stone Science Discovery Kits Educational Toys • Books & Posters Jewelry • Agate Slices Unique Gifts From Around The World

Gift Certificates Available

3767 South Park Ave. Blasdell NY • 716-825-2361 • www.pastpres.com

Can’t Paint?

Everyone is an Artist at

Clay Hands Pottery

A Pottery Painting Party Place and more...

GLASS FUSING PAINTING POTTERY CLAY Visit us or like us on

10086 Main Street Clarence, NY 14031 716-759-1208

www.clayhandspottery.com

November 2021 WNY Family 13

Monaco’s Violin Shop & Music Centre

55 CrossPoint Parkway, Suite 106, Getzville 716-688-8600 www.MonacosViolinShop.com Monaco’s Violin Shop is a family owned and operated business serving this area since 1973. Monaco’s is the only store in Western New York that specializes in the retail, rental, and repair of violins, violas, cellos, and basses. Exclusively at Monaco’s, come and see our carbon-composite instruments. From November 26th through December 23rd, we will be holding our annual sale on all instruments and accessories.

Including, books, cases, bows, music stands, and musically inspired gifts. This year we will also be selling some retired rental instruments.

Contact us for more details.

Niagara Climbing Center

1333 Strad Ave., North Tonawanda 716-695-1248 www.niagaraclimbingcenter.com Niagara Climbing Center, WNY’s original indoor rock climbing facility, has found a way to wrap up fun and adventure. This Holiday Season you can purchase NCC Gift Cards in any dollar amount. Kids of all ages will love Niagara Climbing’s 6,000 square feet of climbing terrain.

Whether you are an avid climber or have never climbed before, NCC has a variety of walls and routes to suit beginners, intermediate or advanced climbers. Call or stop in to purchase your holiday gift certificates. You can be confident your gift will be unique and the memories made at Niagara Climbing Center will not soon be forgotten.

14 WNY Family November 2021

Parkside Meadow

Corner of Parkside & Russell, Buffalo 716-834-8348 www.parksidemeadow.com The Parkside Meadow - full bar and restaurant - is located on the corner of Parkside and Russell, across from the Buffalo Zoo. Enjoy a full menu of home cooked foods like Reubens, Albacore Tuna Melts, Beef on Weck, Quesadillas, home made soups and appetizers. Also noted for their huge fish frys and Shaved Lamb sandwich. A warm and friendly neighborhood pub, featuring historic Buffalo museum decor. Offering local taps plus Genesee Beer on Tap. Kids menu, friendly, casual. Hours: Wed. - Sat., 4pm - 8pm.

Past & Present Science & Nature Store

3767 South Park Avenue, Blasdell 716-825-2361 www.pastpres.com Past & Present is a unique science & nature store offering unusual treasures from around the world. Fossils, rocks, minerals & crystals are some of the geologic wonders you might find for that one of a kind gift. Beautiful amethyst cathedrals, geodes & other natural pieces of art, along with handcrafted jewelry, are always available. Browsing our shop is a great experience for kids of all ages. Books, posters, science discovery kits & geology tools are just some of the great gift ideas available. Be sure to visit our free Fossil Gallery featuring dinosaurs, sharks, local & internationally found fossils.

Precious Memories Photo Scanning of WNY

716-622-0064 call/text www.PreciousMemoriesWNY.com Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and your sibling(s) all had Mom and Dad’s photos and/or slides to view on your laptop, TV, or digital frame anytime you wanted? How would you like to be able to share your photos on the Internet with loved ones? When you have them digitized, they can be preserved forever. This way, not only are they safe from damage, flooding, or fire; they can be accessed from anywhere, and also passed on to your children. What a wonderful family Christmas gift this would be! Call or text today! Gift certificates are available.

Skate Great, Inc.

Programs at area rinks - Canalside, Cheektowaga, East Aurora, Hamburg & Orchard Park 716-580-3458 www.sk8gr8.com Support small business this holiday season by giving the gift of ice-skating, an experience that will last a lifetime! Skate Great has been teaching children & adults of all ages to skate for the past 20 years. They offer a wide range of programs including Learn-toSkate, Beginner Hockey & Adult Only sessions. Private and semiprivate lessons are also available to further develop hockey & figure skating skills. Skate Great is sanctioned by both Learn to Skate USA and USA Hockey.

ned Locally ow r fo & operated rs! over 20 Yea

For The Adventurer On Your Holiday List...

Gift Cards Available

Enjoy all the famous Buffalo fare like Wings, Beef on Weck, Fish Fry & more in an old Buffalo Museum setting.

Just a short walk from the Darwin Martin House and across the street from the Buffalo Zoo.

• Fun for all ages • Controlled indoor climbing • Friendly instructors • No experience needed

1333 Strad Avenue • North Tonawanda

716-695-1248 • www.niagaraclimbingcenter.com

HOURS: Wednesday - Saturday: 4pm - 8pm

2 Russell Street • Buffalo, NY 14214

716.834.8348

ParksideMeadow.com Pottery Painting and Glass Fusing.

Follow us on Facebook & Instagram

Now offering Pottery To Go Kits Individual Kits, as well as Parties to Go!

Open for walk-ins. Accepting reservations for private parties.

138 Grey Street, East Aurora, NY

716-655-4456 • www.designingdish.com

November 2021 WNY Family 15

FAMILY TRAVEL — by Deborah Williams

Letchworth’s New Autism Nature Trail

E

veryone is invited to experience the ANT, otherwise known as the Autism Nature Trail, an innovative magical trail just completed last month in one of the country’s finest state parks — Letchworth State Park.

This is a trail like none other. It’s a trail where visitors can make music in the woods, enjoy a quiet swing, design and make a teepee, and walk along a path of stones from the Genesee River.

This one-of-a-kind project fits in perfectly with the philosophy of William Pryor Letchworth, a Buffalo industrialist and ardent conservationist, who rescued and preserved the area that carries his name. The Park is an easy 90-minute drive southeast of Buffalo.

Letchworth retired early from his business and devoted the rest of his life to social reform, focusing his efforts on the poor, juvenile delinquents, prisoners, epileptics, the blind and mentally ill.

“We think that Letchworth would be very proud of this newest development in his park,” explained Loren Penman, a retired educator from Batavia and one of a trio of women who conceived the idea seven years ago and went on to oversee the development of 16 WNY Family November 2021

the groundbreaking one-mile trail. “Eventually some people involved in the project dubbed us ‘the ANT Aunts.’”

The germ of the idea for the trail emerged from a conversation between Penman and a neighbor, Susan Herrnstein, about two boys they knew with autism — one from Albany and one from New York City — who each experienced a sense of calm during separate visits to Letchworth.

They teamed up with another neighbor Gail Serventi, a retired speech pathologist as trail co-founders. Sadly, Susan Herrnstein died a month before the opening. A rock and flower alcove along the trail has been created in her memory. The sign at the entrance to the trail is “The Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth State Park - Susan Gouinlock and Family” — her maiden name.

Their research led them to Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, who is well known as an advocate for people with autism and was diagnosed with autism herself at age two. She is the author of several books on living with autism and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in nearby Seneca Falls in 2017.

outdoors and had been diagnosed with dementia. She said that at last she had a place to take her mother without worry.”

Throughout the development of the trail neighboring communities have been very much involved. The unique metal bench made from the trestles of the park’s old railroad bridge was fashioned by a class of BOCES metalworking students. A metal ant sculpture was created from recycled engine parts by another group of BOCES students.

“She offered the team specific recommendations for the trail: find a place in deep nature,” Penman said. “Seek out program staff who are both autism experts and experienced in the outdoors.

Offer challenges but build in predictability and choice. Make the trail a loop so that the end is visible at the beginning.

Create opportunities for soothing movement with seating such as cuddle swings and glider swings. Provide small private spaces for recovery from meltdowns.”

Not only is it the first ever nature trail specially designed to engage people with autism and other sensory disorders, but it is wheelchair, power chair, stroller accessible and has features for all ages.

“A woman had tears in her eyes when she learned about this trail,” Penman explained. “Her mother loved the

Activities along the trail will support and encourage sensory perception while also providing enjoyable activities for visitors of all ages and abilities. The trail loop features eight stations offering a range of experiences, from quiet engagement to active exploration and adventure.

The Trailhead Pavilion marks the entry and exit for the trail. Orientation materials are available here as well as online. The Sensory Station is filled with continued on page 42

The trail’s founders enlisted an advisory panel of families, academics, and special educators. They also partnered with nearby Perry Central School District and the Family Autism Center, which operates Camp Puzzle Peace.

Staff will be providing programming for the trail on weekends through October, resuming weekend programming in the spring. It will be available daily throughout the summer.

“This is very much a place for everyone,” Penman said. “While others are trying to integrate people with autism, we are making a sensory place accessible to the general public so the whole family will be engaged here.”

The finished trail has all of Grandin’s recommendations and more. The trio has raised $3.4 million toward their goal of $3.7 million, which will provide an endowment for long term maintenance and programming. New York State provided the land, but the rest of the project has been totally privately financed.

November 2021 WNY Family 17

ITHACA Road Trip

By Michele Miller • Photos by Glenn Clark

Y

ou may have seen the bumper sticker saying “Ithaca is Gorges” and wondered if they really meant “gorgeous.” Actually, both words aptly describe this city, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, and the surrounding area, which boasts over 150 waterfalls within 10 miles in gorges as deep as 450 feet.

York. Whether you’re into hiking and the outdoors, have kids you need to entertain and educate, or are looking for a leave-the-kids-at-home destination for a romantic weekend getaway, Ithaca definitely has it all.

Only about two-and-a-half hours from Buffalo, Ithaca sits at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, the longest of the eleven Finger Lakes in Central New

We visited Ithaca the last week in September and our first stop was the Museum of the Earth (1259 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca; www.museu-

MUSEUMS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

moftheearth.org), which both children and adults will enjoy. “MOTE,” as it is known by locals, is a mix of natural history displays, interactive science features, and art exhibitions. The museum’s 8,000-square-foot permanent exhibition takes visitors on a journey through 4.5 billion years of history, from the Earth’s origin to the present day. There are many activity sheets for kids found throughout, with activities, scavenger hunts, coloring pages, and printed booklets “authored” by Cecil the dinosaur, which explain various areas of the museum in detail, such as the coral reef exhibit or the many types of rocks which make up the Earth.

A 44-foot-long Right Whale skeleton hangs from the ceiling of the Museum’s upper level, and the Hyde Park Mastodon, one of the most complete and well-preserved skeletons of its kind ever found, resides on the lower level. Excavated in the Hudson Valley in 2000, the Hyde Park Mastodon, an ancient relative of modern day elephants, is about 11,500 years old.

The Museum of the Earth, known as “MOTE” 18 WNY Family November 2021

If your kids love dinosaurs, MOTE has plenty to offer. In the Dino Zone, they can check out Steggy the Stegosaurus and Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur — one of the largest known flying animals of all time — who “soars” above the exhibit. A Sauropod nest,

complete with two giant eggs, is large enough for kids to play in. MOTE’s Triassic/Jurassic World invites you to explore the early reign of dinosaurs, including one of New York State’s only dinosaur fossils.

Steggy was originally built for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. He was later installed at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where he was on view for decades. In 2014, Steggy was transferred to MOTE but had to be cut into three pieces in order to remove it from the Smithsonian. You can see a time-lapse video of how Steggy was reassembled and restored at https://www.museumoftheearth.org/ exhibit/steggy-the-stegosaurus.

When it comes to fossils of all types and varieties, MOTE has the largest and most diverse collection I have ever seen on display. There’s even a Fossil Lab where kids can sort through tubs of shale from local quarries which abound in Devonian fossils. Look closely and you’ll find tiny trilobites and brachiopods on stones you can take home to add to your collection.

Since MOTE is devoted to the origins and evolution of life on Earth, it also has exhibits related to the Ice Age, coral reefs, glaciers, and our changing climate. Their current special exhibition,“Daring to Dig: Women in American Paleontology,” could become the inspiration for young girls to think about entering this intriguing field which combines science, history, animals, and plants.

An asset to touring Ithaca attractions is that most described here were within a few minutes of each other; maximum was a 20-minute trip from our downtown hotel. The only thing that might slow you down is the congested traffic pattern on downtown streets, made worse at certain times when thousands of college students, and possibly their parents, are on the move. A server in one of the restaurants we enjoyed (more on that later on) told us that residents mark their calendars for days like student move-in at the colleges or homecoming — those are days they actually plan not to leave their homes!

Ithaca’s Sciencenter (601 1st Street, Ithaca; www.sciencenter.org) was only a 6-minute trip from our downtown hotel.

As soon as we saw the outdoor structure known as the “Science Playground,” we knew this museum was going to be awesome, and we weren’t disappointed. Their mission is “Explore, Connect, Create” and they fulfill it beautifully in two floors of exhibits and activities that both kids and adults will find fun and educational.

Designed for small hands, little bodies, and inquisitive minds, “Curiosity Corner,” located on the first floor, is a vibrant, safe environment, welcoming the youngest guests, ages 4 and under, by encouraging hands-on exploration and play. It includes an infant area, water table, air station, activity table, an area with wooden and foam building blocks, a “Lite Brite” style wall panel complete with giant lite pegs of different colors, an outdoor Curiosity Playground, and more.

There’s also a “Pet Vet” section here modeled after a real veterinarian’s office and with input from faculty and students at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Children can role play as veterinarians, examining real X-rays of animals, weighing plastic animals on scales, working together to help their animals mend a broken leg, and cleaning stuffed animals in the grooming station. continued on page 20

Ithaca’s Sciencenter

Steggy the Stegosaurus

The Hyde Park Mastodon

November 2021 WNY Family 19

ITHACA ROAD TRIP continued...

The Sciencenter also includes live creatures. On our visit, the Saltonstall Animal Room, also on the first floor, housed a coral reef fish tank, an Asian Forest Scorpion, a Bearded Dragon lizard, an Angolan Python, and Giant Peppered Roaches (we can hear you saying “Eeeewww” right now, but the kids will love’em!). On a much less “icky” note, there is also a Tidepool Touch Tank with a waterfall at one end. During our visit, horseshoe crabs were quite active. (Note that the Touch Tank is available for use at limited times and dependent on volunteer availability.)

We accessed the second floor via a set of musical stairs. The music changes each time you travel the staircase or depending on where you step! (An elevator is also available.)

Energy and weather exhibits occupy a large section of the second floor. I was able to “change the weather” by turning a dial and saw myself on a screen surrounded by falling snow! An “Invisible Harp” allows you to make music with light, waving your hand back and forth in what looks like an empty space. You can play a tune on the “Slap Organ,”

which is comprised of plastic pipes with open ends; slap them with a rubber “flip flop” and write your own song.

You won’t want to miss the twostory whimsical machine called “Quantum’s Last Leap,” which features a variety of colored balls seeming to move randomly through various mechanisms, activating levers, bells, and chimes. Its designer, George Rhoads, placed 300 of his machines in countries around the world, many actually being built by engineers at an Ithaca, NY company.

Heading outdoors at the Sciencenter, you’ll find the Science Playground (wheelchair accessible), which includes a 14-foot high geometric rope climbing structure at its center. Surrounding it are areas for making music — super-sized bongo drums, cymbals, gongs, washboards, xylophone, and steel drums — blowing giant bubbles, playing in sand, a “whisper dish,” and an “echo tube.” You can try pulling one of several ropes to work a giant lever, which in turn moves a ski-lift-type chair up and down — good for giving your kids or spouse a jiggly ride and some giggles! And, because it’s Ithaca, there’s a mini waterfall, too.

The Science Playground at Ithaca’s Sciencenter

20 WNY Family November 2021

Also outdoors, and in operation from April through November (or until inclement weather sets in), the Sciencenter’s 18-hole Mini-Golf Course has science-themed obstacles like the pendulum wave where you try putting through swinging weights, a “living house” with plants on its roof, a path of red alarm bells, a xylophone, a windmill, a salamander crossing, a “black hole,” and more. The course is wheelchair accessible with ADA approved clubs.

There is a fee for mini-golf in addition to Sciencenter admission

CONNECTING KIDS WITH NATURE Ithaca Children’s Garden (121 Turtle Lane, Ithaca; www.ithacachildrensgarden.org) occupies the southern part of Cass Park along the shore of Cayuga Lake. This award-winning, 3-acre public children’s garden is designed for kids, enjoyed by all, and driven by a mission to connect children to nature to create a more beautiful, resilient, and just world.

The Garden employs a “playwork” philosophy and practice that embraces the values of independence, mastery, belonging, and generosity to foster positive youth development. It is free and open sunrise to sunset, every day of the year.

The Kitchen Garden includes a sheltered activity space as well as a real vegetable garden, where children can pick vegetables in season. Birds, butterflies, and other elements of nature are highlighted. There’s even a “Hands-OnNature Anarchy Zone” where kids can build forts, climb trees, play with water, sand, and clay, dig for worms, and just get muddy, wet, and dirty! Oh, and you must meet the garden’s most famous resident, Gaia the Turtle!

There are huts and tiny houses, some with murals on their sides, for kids to play in and around, and a kid-sized bird’s nest. Benches — some made of wood and others of colorfully painted metal — provide places to rest and take in the sights and smells of the garden.

On the day we visited, we saw quite a few moms with strollers enjoying the fresh air, while the Garden staff was getting ready for an afterschool program, which they said takes place outdoors even through the winter. continued on page 22

Everything about the Ithaca Children’s Garden is natural, understated.... and viewed as wonderful by children!

At right, Kid’ s Kitchen offers a sheltered space for programming; at left, a sample of the art found throughout.

Gaia the Turtle

The Troll House November 2021 WNY Family 21

ITHACA ROAD TRIP continued...

Be sure to check out this video to learn more about the Ithaca Children’s Garden by visiting: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=wmlPQKd4NcQ&t=3s

WATERFALLS EVERYWHERE If your family enjoys the outdoors with hiking, kayaking, boating or just beautiful views, you absolutely have to visit some of the waterfalls and state parks in and around Ithaca.

Running through a corridor right through the city, just below the Cornell University campus, is Cascadilla Gorge. It’s often used by students as a shortcut between the campus and downtown Ithaca. There are multiple waterfalls here with six sizeable ones. Arched stone bridges add to the character of the cascades. The entire trail is about a mile and a half, one way. The stone walkway is uneven and there are a lot of steps made of rock, which are also uneven in

Cascadilla Gorge in downtown Ithaca 22 WNY Family November 2021

surface and depth. The flatter sections of the trail do not have any railing at all.

While this area is unique and very scenic, it is not a place for young children or strollers. Sturdy footwear is recommended.

The trail begins in a small community park at the corner of Court and Linn Streets. Parking is on the street at metered ParkMobile spaces. While a bit difficult to find, it was well worth it. Cascadilla’s deep, narrow glen has a natural serenity and unique beauty that belies the fact that the area surrounding it is 100 percent developed.

Two state parks are home to the most well-known falls. Buttermilk Falls State Park (112 E. Buttermilk Falls Rd., Ithaca) is very close to downtown Ithaca.

Buttermilk Falls takes its name from the foaming “cascade” formed by Buttermilk Creek as it flows down the steep valley’s side toward Cayuga Lake. The upper park has a small lake, hiking trails through woodlands and along the gorge and rim, picnic areas, and playing fields.

There was a $9 admission fee per car to get into this state park, but we were told that our receipt would get us into any other state park on the same day.

Taughannock Falls State Park (1740 Taughannock Blvd., Trumansburg, NY) is about 20 minutes from downtown Ithaca, and it is the “granddaddy” of area falls, plunging 215 feet, the tallest single drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains, and three stories taller than Niagara Falls. The gorge walls rise to 450 feet.

To view the falls at its base, you need to walk the gorge trail, which is 3/4 of a mile in length, one way. It is not steep and can be traversed with a stroller or wheelchair. Parking in the Gorge lot was free, not necessarily because of our receipt from Buttermilk Falls — but because the parking lot booth was unmanned. I think the parks system must figure most people go to the easiest falls to access — Buttermilk — first, so they feel no need to staff the booth at Taughannock after Labor Day! If you do not want to hike to the base of Taughannock, head down the road a bit further and you will see a small sign for “Falls Overlook.” You can park up there and look down at the falls, no hiking involved.

Buttermilk Falls

Taughannock Falls

Across the road from the Taughannock Falls Gorge Trail parking lot is a huge expanse of green space along Cayuga Lake with plenty of parking. There are picnic tables lining the shore and a wonderful playground. A substantial-looking concession stand (not open when we were there) and restrooms (yes, they were open) are nearby. There’s a marina and boat launch, and in season, kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boards can be rented.

ON THE WATER Our last Ithaca adventure before heading home was a Discover Cayuga Lake Boat Tour (departing from Allan H. Treman State Park Marina, 805 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca; www. discovercayugalake.org) aboard the M/V Teal. A 90-minute narrated tour explained both the history of Cayuga Lake’s formation and the development along its shores over the last few centuries.

Forty miles long, stretching from Ithaca north to Seneca Falls, Cayuga Lake is 3 1/2 miles wide and 435 feet in depth at its deepest point.

Land grants made to those who served in the Revolutionary War were the basis for the growth of 25 towns in the area.

As you motor along on the water, you can see all the beautiful houses that are hidden below the cliffs when you travel by car. Many of the houses have tramways or very long staircases of more

than 150 steps to get them down from the road to their house on the lakeshore.

We passed the Comstock Adventure Center, a Girl Scout camp named after naturalist Anna Botsford Comstock, the first female professor at Cornell University.

The Teal also took us past the Cargill Salt Mine, the deepest salt mine in the Western hemisphere, mining 1 to 2 million tons of salt per year, serving 90% of the roads in the Northeast.

Discover Cayuga Lake Boat Tours schedules Fall Foliage Cruises, Hands-on EcoCruises, Sunset Cruises, Night Sky Cruises, Special Event Cruises, Private Charters, and also acts as a Floating Classroom for experiential learning, which fulfills its mission as a non-profit of “tourism with a mission.” cont. on page 24 November 2021 WNY Family 23

ITHACA ROAD TRIP cont.

TASTY STOPS We visited the Lively Run Dairy (8978 County Rd. 142, Interlaken, NY; www.livelyrun.com), which wasn’t far from Taughannock Falls, to do a cheese tasting and feed their goats. Open May 1 to October 31, Wednesday to Sunday, you can learn how cheese is made, enjoy a cheese board tasting on their porch or under their tent (feel free to bring your own wine, cider, or beer). Tastings don’t require a reservation unless your group has more than 6 persons. From May to July, you can make a reservation on their website to bottle feed the baby goats. Adult goats can be fed from a bag of corn purchased in the farm store, which also sells their handmade, award-winning cheeses, from both goats and cows, as well as condiments, bread, crackers, charcuterie, and a variety of cold drinks. On Saturday and Sunday mornings in season, you can participate in one-hour Goat Yoga sessions (reservations required).

U-Pick farms are always a popular family destination. Indian Creek Farm (1408 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca; www.indiancreekithaca.com) is open daily June through November and bills themselves as “Ithaca’s Orchard Playground.” Depending upon the season, they have apples, pumpkins, pears, strawberries, garlic, brussels sprouts, grapes, peaches, flowers, and a variety of vegetables. Their farm map shows picnic sites and a play area. On our visit in late September we enjoyed freshly made mini-donuts and apple cider slushies.

24 WNY Family November 2021

WHERE WE STAYED

Our host for our road trip was The Hotel Ithaca (222 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca; www.thehotelithaca.com), located only a block from the popular downtown pedestrian mall The Commons. Its central location makes for convenient access to all attractions. Its easily accessible free parking lot is a big plus in what can be a sometimes very congested downtown Ithaca. The Hotel Ithaca, a newly remodeled, upscale boutique hotel is owned by Hart Hotels (the same company which owns the Chautauqua Harbor, Watkins Glen Harbor, and Thousand Island Harbor hotels, which we visited on our Empire State Road Trip in the fall of 2019) and boasts a total of 170 guest The Hotel Ithaca rooms in North and South towers. It’s richly appointed restaurant, The Social Pub and Grill, served us delicious breakfasts each day. (Due to COVID, the pub is not currently serving lunch and dinner.) The hotel has a huge indoor heated pool with a glass ceiling, but it was closed for repairs during our stay.

Some rooms in the North Tower have a large outdoor patio, big enough to accommodate a family celebration.

If a romantic getaway is on your mind, book their King Fireplace Suite. With their super spacious design and the cozy feeling created by the fireplace, you are assured a tranquil and peaceful stay. These rooms are equipped with their “Signature Bed,” spa-inspired granite and glass-enclosed shower, a wine fridge, microwave, refrigerator, robes, and Wi-fi.

DEFINITELY A TOWN FOR FOODIES Ithaca is definitely a health conscious, farm-to-table town, which means there is a restaurant for every preference or dietary need. We didn’t have children with us on this trip, so most of our meals were in more adult-oriented restaurants. But here are two we experienced that we think would work for families and still personify the unique flavor of Ithaca.

Red’s Place (107 N. Aurora St., Ithaca; www.redsplaceithaca.com) is a casual gastropub committed to serving the freshest and most local ingredients. Their diverse menu of flatbreads, artisan sandwiches, burgers, salads and plates to share, also includes gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, and diabetic menu items plus a kid’s menu (ages 8 & under) which includes cheese flatbread, zoo animal pasta, cheddar cheese quesadillas, peanut butter & jelly sliders, all with choice of a side (steak fries, salad, tater tots, sweet potato waffle fries, steamed veggies, cold corn & black bean salad, or apple slices) and a drink (water, lemonade, orange juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, milk, chocolate milk, and soda).

Collegetown Bagels (3 locations; www.collegetownbagels. com) is more than just bagels. Open from 6:30am to 6:30pm,

they serve breakfast all day and their menu includes breakfast sandwiches and wraps, grilled paninis and melts, and specialty sandwiches, with a choice of gluten free breads and bagels. The location we visited had individually wrapped giant cookies in several tempting varieties as well as ice cream.

Restaurants more suitable to an adult night out or romantic dinner include the following: Coltivare (235 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca; www.coltivareithaca.com) is located directly across the street from The Hotel Ithaca and is the locally sourced restaurant of Tompkins Cortland Community College. You’ll see The Culinary Lab at the back of the dining room. The décor is trendy and upscale and the food is absolutely delicious. The menu is always changing. Check out this video about the Coltivare Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr708Gj9yfA Mahogany Grill (112 N. Aurora St., www.mahoganygrill. com) opened its doors nearly two decades ago and is a busy steakhouse with a varied menu just off The Commons in the area known as “Restaurant Row.” The Boatyard Grill (525 Old Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca; www.boatyardgrill.com) is Ithaca’s premier waterfront restaurant. Located on an inlet island next to a working marina, it’s just one mile from The Commons. Our “Sizzling Cookie” dessert drew the most response out of all our road trip Facebook posts! A chocolate chip cookie wedge on a hot cast iron skillet is topped with ice cream and then drizzled with caramel at your table to make it sizzle… scrumptious! This is a very busy place that does not accept reservations, but you can call ahead to shorten your wait time.

BEFORE YOU GO We made our trip in late September when COVID regulations were still in force even though the daily positivity rate in Tompkins County was only .2% — we attribute that very low number to the fact that students at both Cornell University and Ithaca College are required to be vaccinated. At the time, masks were still required for everyone indoors at both museums. Attendance at the museums was low and hand sanitizer or hand washing stations were everywhere. Before you go, check all websites for the latest restrictions, if any, and to verify schedules. By the time you read this, the surge of visitors seeking the beauty of the changing colors of fall foliage in this very scenic area should be over, so you may be able to squeeze in a visit before the snow flies. If not, put an Ithaca road trip on your “to do” list for spring!

Michele Miller is the founder, editor, and publisher of WNY Family, which began as an 8-page newsletter created on a typewriter during her children’s nap times many years ago.

November 2021 WNY Family 25

RAISING DIGITAL KIDS — by Mike Daugherty

Where Creativity & Collaboration Combine

S

tudents across the country have settled into their back to school routine. I know my three children have. One of the courses added to my fourth grader’s schedule this year is “Makerspace.” She goes to a class every other week, similar to gym, art, and music. Many parents were unfamiliar with the Makerspace at Open House. Let’s look at what they are, where they came from, and how these spaces can help your children for life after school.

The most important conversation in education over the last decade is how we prepare students for an uncertain future. Technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence will shape the economy for decades to come. Studies indicate a large percentage of jobs across the globe will be automated by 2040.

Amazon is prototyping physical stores with no employees and factories with minimal staff. Self-driving cars from companies like Tesla and Apple may eliminate many transportation-related roles. Delivery drones are being tested in markets across the country. These are just a few examples of automated technology that may replace the traditional workforce.

Schools must teach students the skills they need to succeed in jobs that do not even exist yet. In a recent survey, employers stated the top three skills they are looking for in new employees are collaboration, problem-solving, and creation. They want people who can engage their peers to use their combined knowledge to apply new thinking methods to 26 WNY Family November 2021

an organization’s challenges.

Makerspaces provide a space for students to learn those skills. Makerspaces go by many names: Creation Labs, Fab Labs, Hackerspaces, to name a few.

Schools all over the world have been finding ways to incorporate creation labs into their buildings. Some districts have built spaces from scratch, while others have renovated existing classrooms or libraries for this purpose. There are even schools that have designed mobile fab labs that can move from school to school by outfitting a bus or trailer with various equipment.

The best analogy is to think of the Makerspace like a kitchen. Every kitchen is similar, but each one is unique. What you can make in the kitchen depends on the equipment, the tools, the ingredients available, and the people with you. Each Makerspace is unique. Regardless of the name, size, equipment, or location, creation is the fundamental core characteristic of the space.

What types of things do students do in a Makerspace?

Several factors determine the types of activities in a Makerspace. The age of the students using the space, the kind of equipment, materials in the area itself, and the staff members involved all play a role. Younger students are often guided down a path to solve a problem. Guided instruction allows them to create using predetermined parameters. For example, they may use Lego bricks, PVC pipe, and string to move a marble through various obstacles. Students might make a circuit by conducting a small amount of electric current through an unusual object, like a banana.

Another example is instant challenges. Typically, instant challenges are premade kits that provide the students with a simple goal. For example, use the materials in the kit to see how far you can launch a marble across the room.

This type of instruction provides the stu-

Where to Find Local Makerspaces For information on local makerspaces, visit these websites: https://www.thefoundrybuffalo.org/ A video tour of The Foundry Makerspace can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgGlzt8ej10 Libaries often have Makerspace sessions. Check out: https://www.buffalolib.org/makerspace-technology/launch-pad The Buffalo Museum of Science has at times featured Makerspaces among their exhibits.

dents with the opportunity to explore a problem, create a solution, and begin to think outside of the box. It also prepares them for the equipment they might see as they progress through school.

Middle and High School students can expect to see technologies like 3D printers, CNC routers, laser cutters, virtual or augmented reality headsets, and digital embroidery machines.

These tools allow students the opportunity to bring their ideas to life. Kids can create, build, and design items in the virtual world that can then be manifested in the physical world. This concept is best explained with a real-world example from high school in my local area.

Several faculty members complained about the traditional triangle, wooden doorstops they would wedge under their door to prevent the door from shutting. As a result, the doorstops would go missing or not grip the floor hard enough to keep the door from closing. Several students decided to tackle this challenge using the equipment in the Creation Lab. Prototypes were designed and subsequently printed on 3D printers.

The initial iterations were tested with several doors throughout the building with mixed results. Student designers quickly learned their product needed to be more durable. Additionally, the shape and size made the doorstop unusable on some doors. The students cycled through several concepts and ideas before settling on the final design. The end result could be flipped or rotated to work for any door in the building.

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The doorstop is just one example of the countless possibilities available in a Makerspace. The unlimited opportunities provide options for teachers from any curricular area. Music, science, world language, and even physical education have units that take advantage of the space.

My school doesn"t have a fab lab. What now?

The Makerspace revolution is all about creativity and inclusion. There are plenty of options for children whose continued on page 40

November 2021 WNY Family 27

try to mimic whatever words I’m saying.

Or it could be something new I’m learning about myself, like having more patience whenever I feel stressed out.

I

Violet Turns One!

can’t believe my daughter is officially a toddler! How did my tiny, bald-headed, attitude-wielding little sweetheart already turn one?

It feels like it was just yesterday I was driving Andrea home from the hospital after her preventive cervical surgery.

And I can still feel the syringe shaking in my hand before giving her all those hormone shots at 4:30am every Monday morning. Now, fast forward twelve months, throw in a few sleepless nights, a couple panic attacks, and today I have this beautiful baby girl who I proudly get to call my daughter. It’s such an amazing process from start to finish.

Scary, but amazing.

For this month’s column I wanted to sum up the past year, a culmination of Violet’s highlights, milestones, and accomplishments and honestly, I’ve been struggling to put the words down. There is just too much to try and squeeze into 750 words that would fairly capture everything I adore about my daughter.

When we brought Violet home from the hospital, I wasn’t even sure if I knew what to do or how to be a parent. But it’s amazing that somehow, all my worries and fears kind of worked themselves out with time — and trial and error of course.

Yes, there have been challenges and setbacks, long days and late nights, and the occasional arguments because neither one of us really knows what we’re doing, but we always figured it out.

28 WNY Family November 2021

In times of doubt or confusion, I would often think back to when I would ask friends who were already parents if the adage was true, that when you become a parent, these internal instincts kick in overnight, and you somehow already know what to do. Well, it turns out that it’s true.

Granted, we made a few phone calls to our mothers and Andrea’s sister, and spent some time on the Internet searching for answers to last minute questions, but for the most part, I think we handled the first year rather well.

In the first few months not much really happened. Violet would usually spend her days lying in her bassinet staring aimlessly at the ceiling, probably wondering what’s happening and who we were and when her next bottle of milk was coming. And then one day, she made first eye contact with us, which felt like she was establishing her trust in us. Soon after that, came a smile, followed by some soft giggles. When she started thrashing her legs and swaying from side to side, I knew crawling was next on the line up. Then one day, she finally rolled over. And when I thought she would never crawl, well, she did, and she never turned back. Today, we’re waiting for her to start walking, which I’m told I shouldn’t be too eager about.

One of the things I love the most about being a parent is that every day brings something new. Whether it’s something new about Violet, like a new tooth (six as of today) or listening to her

Every day seems to be more exciting than the last and that just makes me want more of this parenthood thing. I can’t wait for the day when Violet and I can have a real conversation with each other. I really want to know what she’s thinking about. I want to know what her voice sounds like and I want to help her with words that she’s struggling with. I want to take her to baseball games and crack peanut shells in the hot July sun. I want to take her to the movies and watch her laugh and jump at whatever is being played onscreen. Days at the beach, Chinese takeout, evening walks around the neighborhood, trick-ortreating on Halloween, and watching her unwrap presents on Christmas morning.

I want it all. But thinking about her not being the way she is now, a little baby crawling around, babbling at the TV, playing with her toys, and giving us tiny hugs, really upsets me, so I need to try and not rush things too much.

My favorite part of being a parent is watching my unconditional love for my daughter get stronger every day. I love being her father, her guardian, and protector. Violet is my world now. She is my reason to wake up and to continue to be a better person.

Richard De Fino, a freelance writer by night, first became a father at age 34.

After losing his first-born son Louis, at birth, he was determined to keep his memory alive the best way he knew how; through words. Now, with the birth of his daughter Violet, he plans on continuing to share his fatherhood journey each month with WNY Family readers.

Family Movie Options: In Theaters and Streaming Online The Addams Family 2

In Theaters

Rating PG

Overall C

Violence C

Sex A

Profanity A

Alcohol/Drugs A-

Gomez is concerned that the kids are prioritizing “scream time” over family time. Determined to provide bonding experiences, he loads the clan into a haunted camper and they hit the road. The franchise has an uneven history and this particular installment is on the low end of the scale. The expected scenes of attempted murder and cartoon violence are here but the film also includes body horror images that will disturb most young viewers (and some older ones). Photo ©United Artists Releasing.

Nightbooks

Netflix

Rating TV-PG

Overall C-

Violence C

Sex A

Profanity A-

Alcohol/Drugs A

In this horror movie for kids, a young boy finds himself prisoner in a witch’s enchanted apartment. The only way he can stay alive is to tell her a scary story every night. Adults and teens will be unable to tolerate the movie’s dreadful writing and the story is far too scary for kids. Throw in a disgusting scene involving cat feces and this film is completely unsuited for family viewing. Photo ©Netflix

Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle

Netflix

Rating

Overall

Violence

Sex

Profanity

Alcohol/Drugs

TV-PG

A-

B

A

A

A

Ash and Pikachu run into Koko, an orphan who has grown up wild in the jungle. As Koko learns about humans, he uncovers a plot to destroy his jungle home. Cue Pokemon battles and cheesy dialogue before the inevitable triumph of good over greed. This film isn’t novel or clever, but it provides kids with a simple, fun introduction to the Pokemon universe.

And it gives adult fans a trip down memory lane. Photo ©Netflix

My Little Pony: A New Generation

Netflix

Rating

Overall

Violence

Sex

Profanity

Alcohol/Drugs

PG

A

A-

A

A

A

Ponies, unicorns, and flying pegasi are estranged, and now live segregated by species. But Sunny wants to restore Equestria’s lost unity and magic so she bands together with her equine pals to save the ponyverse. This film is predictable but it’s also full of positive messages about love, friendship, and thinking critically about stereotypes. And it even has a few jokes that will make parents smile. Photo ©Netflix Detailed reviews available at www.parentpreviews.com November 2021 WNY Family 29

PICK OF THE LITERATURE — by Dr. Donna Phillips

N

ovember is the month of change and the move to a slower pace. Much like its counterpart May, when things begin to emerge and expand as we transition to summer, November is when things recede and we enter the phase of winter quiet. As the final leaves fall and we look to the fall harvest for our celebrations with family and friends, there are books that can help us prepare and reflect on this transition. Here are some new ones that I am sure you will enjoy!

Some of my most favorite fall memories involve piles of leaves. Whether it is a throwback to my childhood or watching my children or grandchild play in them, it always bring me delight and heightens my senses!

The sights, smells, and sounds of fall ready us for the events to come.

Rocket’s Leaf Pile (Random House,

30 WNY Family November 2021

New York, 2121, $8.99), written and illustrated by Tad Hills, is just the book to get our youngest ones ready for leaf pile adventures! Young Rocket is learning about the beauty and fun of fall leaves.

Just as he gets done collecting enough of them for a pile… the wind comes and blows them away! Soon his friends see his disappointment and before he knows it, they have created a big pile they can all play in. This sturdy board book would be a perfect book to share before venturing out into the yard or park. Like Rocket, you might also find some especially pretty leaves to bring inside and display as a reminder of your fun fall adventure.

If you are looking for fall reminders, What is Fall? (Penguin/Random House, New York, 2021, $8.99) by Genie Espinosa is the book for you! Not

only are the colors perfect for fall, but each page has a different shape to match the fall object. As we take a tour through fall, the jolly, rhyming story encourages the listener to finish the sentence and use the pictures to help (a crucial skill in learning to read). This is my must-have book to share with young children and to remind us of the child we have inside.

Peter H. Reynolds has done it again, in his newest book Our Table (Orchard Books, New York, 2021, $17.99), out just in time for Thanksgiving! Violet had always enjoyed time at the table with her family, but lately they seem to have found other places to be. Her father was watching the big screen television, her mother was on her phone, and her brothers were on the computer. She was all alone with no one to be with for dinner but… she had a plan. This imaginative book enlists the imagination of the reader as Violet builds back her table and her family. I cannot imagine a timelier book to bring family and friends back to the time we have lost being together through COVID and the distractions of life. This book could set the theme for the family to come together to reinvent table time not just for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays, but also for the entire year!

As has been noted, when kids eat with their parents, they are more likely to have:  more fruits and vegetables and drink less soda

 lower rates of obesity as both children and adults  higher self-esteem and a more positive outlook  lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, school behavioral problems and depression  better body image and fewer eating disorders  better grades, higher reading scores and better vocabulary Source: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-offamily-table As we are learning, gratitude can be the best thing to help us all appreciate the gifts we have, regardless of how small they are. It has been found that people who practice gratitude find that it can open the door to more relationships, improves physical health, improves psychological health, enhances empathy and reduces aggression, improves sleep, improves self-esteem, and increases mental strength. That is just for the average person.

Just imagine the deep gratitude and thanksgiving of those who have come to our country for a better life. In the Spirit of a Dream (Scholastic Press, New York 2021, $18.99) created, written, and illustrated

by Alina Chau and Aida Salazar, is a collection of 13 stories of individuals who have done just that. Some of them you may know, like Yo-Yo Ma, but most you have probably never heard of.

They come from around the world with talents and skills that are breathtaking. Authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians, storytellers, and illustrators express themselves and their gratitude for the freedom and the opportunities use their talents for the betterment of others. These inspiring stories told in poetic form are enhanced by the brief bios at the back of the book.

With so much going on around us right now, it is more important than ever to feel grounded and safe. We can, hopefully, find this in the company of family and friends. This holiday season may be the time to go back to the simpler pleasures in life: quiet time outdoors together…talking less and listening more, supporting each other just by being present, finding our hidden talents, sharing a meal, listening to music, reading a book together! This quiet and contemplative time that is before us is just another November gift for which we can all be grateful.

Dr. Donna Phillips is an associate professor in the College of Education at Niagara University where her specialty is literacy and children’s literature. She lives on Grand Island, NY and is the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of one.

November 2021 WNY Family 31

Deciphering What a Report Card Is Telling You

DEAR TEACHER – by Peggy Gisler and Marge Eberts

Q

uestion: My child’s recent fifth grade report card had much lower grades than she received last year with all the problems associated with the Pandemic. This puzzles me as she was in school most of the year. I want to help her as I think that she has put in a considerable effort in doing her homework. How should I deal with this? — Searching for an Answer Answer: Whether her previous report cards have been better or not, you will need to talk to the child’s teacher. Be aware that grades are largely based on tests, quizzes, classwork and class participation rather than homework. Have you been looking at the daily work she brings home from school? Are the grades on these papers in line with her report card grades? Did you consider her attendance?

Before you talk to the teacher, take the time to study the report card carefully. Look at all the checkmarks and asterisks on the report card. They will tell you about skills that your child has not mastered, areas that need improvement and weaknesses in work habits that may affect your child’s grades in academic areas. Don’t forget to look at the remarks describing her behavior in the classroom. Finally, read the teacher’s comments, if there are any. They usually give an overall picture of the child’s performance. And don’t forget to write your questions or comments about the report card in the space provided.

The purpose of the conference should be to find out what needs to be done in the future to improve your child’s grades. The conference could be 32 WNY Family November 2021

Helping all parents make their children’s educational experience as successful as possible

in-person, virtual, or on the phone. It is definitely appropriate to question whether the lower grades reflect what she did not learn last year. Nevertheless, the conference focus has to be on how she can be helped to improve her grades in the future. And be sure to find out what everyone in the family can do so that there will be academic improvement on the next report card.

Preventing Hearing Loss Question: I hear that one in five teens now suffers from hearing loss, most of which is noise-induced.

What can be done to help prevent a hearing loss due to noise? I know that it is hard to get through to teens, who often feel physically invincible and more concerned with peer pressure than parental guidance. — Worried Answer: Shari Eberts, an Advocate for Hearing Loss and Preventing Hearing Loss, has the facts that you must share with your teenage children as well as all your school-age children.

She points out that our hearing is fragile.

Noise-induced hearing loss occurs when the sensory cells inside the cochlea of your

inner ear are damaged. These cells are very sensitive, which allows us to hear a full range of tones, but also very delicate. When exposed to loud noise on a frequent basis, these cells weaken and eventually die, and once they do, they are gone for good. Scientists have not yet found a way to regenerate hair cells, although organizations like Hearing Health Foundation and the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss are working on it.

Your teens, especially, need to understand that prolonged exposure to any noise at or above 85 decibels can cause gradual hearing loss. This is the level of heavy city traffic or a school cafeteria.

At 105 decibels, the maximum volume of an iPod, some hearing loss can occur within 15 minutes. At 110 decibels, the level of a rock concert or loud sporting event damage can occur after one minute.

Teens think hearing loss is just for old folks; however, 20 percent of teens now surprisingly have some form of hearing loss. Unfortunately, hearing loss is real, and growing, and there is currently no cure. Teens, as well as younger children, definitely need to be educated about noise-induced hearing loss.

The good news is that noise-induced hearing loss is entirely preventable. Teens have the power to protect their ears if they follow these simple rules so they will be able to enjoy better hearing through their entire lives. These rules, in fact, should be followed by all school children.

1. Turn it down. Enjoy your music, but listen at a safe level. Fifteen minutes at maximum volume on your iPod is all it takes to damage your hearing. Listening time is cumulative so you can listen longer at lower volumes and stay safe. Try noise-canceling headphones which block out background noise, allowing you to enjoy your music at lower volumes.

2. Block the noise. Wear earplugs or earmuffs at concerts or sporting events. They come in many sizes and styles. Some are even made specifically for listening to music.

3. Move away. The farther you are from the noise, the safer it is. Always pick a seat far away from loudspeakers and if you see a noisy construction site, cross the street.

If you want more information to convince your children of the importance of avoiding loud noises, visit “It’s a Noisy Planet” at (noisyplanet.nidcd. nih.gov), a website run by the National Institutes of Health. Also, there are online hearing tests that may let them get an idea of whether or not they have already experienced some hearing loss.

Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher. com and to learn more about helping their children succeed in school visit the dearteacher website.

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pain, long COVID symptoms can include brain fog, fatigue, chronic pain, shortness of breath, memory loss and confusion.

These symptoms may evolve over time.

s s e n l l e W Choices

I

Q & A: What is “Long COVID”?

n fall 2020, clinicians at Emory University began treating a growing group of patients who had seemingly recovered from acute COVID-19 illness, but still suffered from lingering symptoms weeks or even months later. These patients, known as long haulers, are now the focus of the post-COVID clinic at Emory’s Executive Park, established by Emory pulmonologists Alex Truong and Adviteeya Dixit to treat the syndrome known as long COVID. For more insight into long COVID, Jodie Guest, professor and vice chair of the department of epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, spoke with Truong, who co-directs the post-COVID clinic and is an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.

Their conversation is part of an online video series hosted by Guest, who also leads the Emory COVID-19 Outbreak Response Team, addressing topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full conversation between

Guest and Truong here. You can also view the actual conversation in a YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=h4TPliOybYk&t=22s.

The video was posted on September 30, 2021.

Q: What is long COVID? A: Long COVID refers to the syndrome experienced by some patients who have recovered from an initial COVID-19 illness but still suffer from lingering symptoms that affect their daily lives for weeks or months later. It is also known as long-haul syndrome and postacute COVID-19 syndrome.

Q: How common is long COVID? A: It is estimated that up to a third of COVID cases may result in long-term illness, Guest says, so in the U.S., this means that 14 million people may be enduring or have already endured consequences of the illness for months or years.

Q: What are the symptoms of long COVID? A: While early symptoms of COVID-19 infection include cough and chest

Truong says one of the most common symptoms they see at the clinic is fatigue.

A lot of our patients are saying that they have to sleep excessively. They can’t survive a day without a nap, or they’re sleeping 12 to 14 hours.

Truong says many long COVID patients also experience brain fog, which involves memory loss and trouble concentrating. They have difficulty finding words, lose track of sentences in the middle of conversations, as well as difficulty trying to organize their activities of daily living or their jobs.

Shortness of breath is another common symptom that has been challenging to understand. Frustratingly, the shortness of breath doesn’t seem to be only because of lung pathology, Truong says.

Rather, it may be related to issues such as fast heartbeat syndromes or overall fatigue, further complicating treatment.

Q: Is the risk of long COVID related to the severity of COVID-19 illness?

A: Long COVID seems to affect any patient, regardless of the initial severity of their COVID-19 illness. Truong says around half of the patients in his clinic were never hospitalized with COVID-19.

The other half of patients were hospitalized, and around one-third of that group spent time in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Q: Is the risk of long COVID related to age?

A: Truong says he has not seen differences in long COVID related to age.

I think that it’s hitting all over the board, he says. There are definitely patients who are older, as well as patients who are younger.

The average age of patients at the postCOVID clinic is approximately 50 years old. Truong’s oldest patient is 90 years old, and he has several patients who are 18. While the clinic does not treat children, Truong says he knows of patients as young as 14 who are suffering from long COVID symptoms.

Q: What is the hypothesis for why some people experience long COVID?

34 WNY Family November 2021

A: I think that’s the million-dollar question, says Truong. I think if we could answer that, it would help so many people.

Although long COVID is not yet fully understood, some progress has been made in the search for answers. Our group here at Emory recently pre-published a paper that seems to suggest that these patients are having autoimmunity, Truong says, meaning that long COVID symptoms may be caused by the body’s reaction against residual antibodies.

Q: Is there a way to prevent long COVID? A: I think it’s fair to say that the most protective thing you can do to not get long COVID is to make sure you do not get COVID-19, Guest says. The safest way to protect yourself and those you love from COVID-19 and long COVID-19 is to get vaccinated if you’ve not done so yet, and to continue to remember to wear your mask if you’re indoors in public spaces.

I think that the vaccine will help in terms of preventing you from having COVID infection that leads to long COVID symptoms, Truong adds. I feel it’s safe and it’s very effective, and in my patient population it’s been shown to be helpful in keeping them from getting severe illnesses that land them in the hospital or in the ICU. Q: What kinds of treatments are available for people with long COVID? A: Treating patients with long COVID is a challenging and evolving process. With every week that goes by, we learn a lot more, Truong says. It also depends on exactly what symptoms they’re struggling with.

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Long COVID patients experience such a broad range of symptoms that the post-COVID clinic has recruited specialists from disciplines such as psychology, neurology, physical therapy, cardiology and rheumatology to help provide comprehensive care.

It’s taken a whole group of us to figure out how to take care of these patients, says Truong.

Truong is working with Emory neuropsychologist Michelle Haddad to better understand issues of brain fog and memory loss related to long COVID. While they are still evaluating causes and treatments, they have found that stimulants such as those used to treat ADHD are helping some patients overcome concentration issues that may contribute to memory loss, as well as fatigue.

Antihistamines such as Allegra or Zyrtec, in addition to histamine blockers for the stomach like Pepcid or Zantac, have also helped alleviate fatigue, memory loss and shortness of breath in a small number of Truong’s patients. However, it can be difficult to predict which patients will benefit from these medications.

Treatments for shortness of breath may vary depending on the cause. Some patients whose shortness of breath is caused by lung inflammation and scarring due to COVID pneumonia respond well to steroids, Truong says. Then, there’s a more puzzling, second category of patients who seem to have shortness of breath related to airway inflammation, fast heart rate or just some idiopathic shortness of breath that we can’t seem to figure out after exhaustive testing. These patients may respond better to inhaled steroids or medications that slow down the heart rate such as beta blockers.

November 2021 WNY Family 35

The problem with the traditional gender binary is that people don’t always fit neatly into a prescribed notion of what it feels like to be a boy or a girl.

Pessin-Whedbee explains that the sex you’re assigned at birth, whether it’s male or female, may not match your gender. While your sex is based on your body parts, gender is an expression of who you are — including what you feel, what you like, how you dress, and “who you know yourself to be.”

What I Wish I’d Said When My Kid Asked Me What ALL GENDERS Meant

I

recently ISSUES FAMILIES FACE had never come up took my until we saw the daughter “all genders” sign.

— by Pam Moore to the restroom at According to Trans a local restaurant. As you might expect Student Education Resource’s website, in a health food restaurant in a progresthe word “cisgender,” from the Latin sive city, the restroom was labeled not “cis,” meaning “on the same side,” is an men, not women, not family, or even just adjective that describes someone who restroom. It said “all genders.” It didn’t identifies with the gender they were asoccur to me to think about my daughsigned at birth. ter’s reaction to that term, given the According to “Who Are You: The Class One Potty Emergency at hand. My Kids Guide to Gender Identity,” by daughter did not miss the sign, however.

Brook Pessin-Whedbee, “For some peoOnce she was settled on the toilet, she ple, the grown-ups guessed right about asked, “What does ‘all genders’ mean?” their body and their gender. This is called “Well, it means, men, women, and… anyone who doesn’t identify as a man or a woman.”

“But what else is there?” she asked.

“Like, someone who just wants to identify as a person.”

“But why can’t they just be a man or a woman.”

“Like I said. They just want to be a person.”

Back at our table, I whispered to my husband, “How do you explain nonbinary gender to a kid?”

Not surprisingly, given the fact that my husband, myself, and our two daughters are cisgender, the topic of gender 36 WNY Family November 2021

cisgender — when someone’s identity matches their sex assigned at birth.” My husband and I have certainly talked with our kids about bodies, private parts, and where babies come from. But those were conversations about sexuality, not gender. So, I was caught off guard by the “all genders” sign, and unsure of how to begin to explain it.

Says Talcott Broadhead, author of “Meet Polkadot,” the brightly illustrated story of a non-binary, transgender child, when you talk about non-binary gender, talking about the gender binary is a good starting point. Broadhead explains that the gender binary refers to “who you should be, think, look, feel and act like” as a girl or as a boy.

In “Pink is a Girl Color… and Other Silly Things People Say,” author Stacy Drageset dispels some common myths for young readers. For example, ballet is not just for girls and anyone can play basketball. Drageset explains that rather than choosing clothes based on whether they are “boy clothes” or “girl clothes,” it is more important to dress according to what you like and feel comfortable in.

As Pessin-Whedbee writes, “There are lots of ways to be a boy. There are lots of ways to be a girl. There are lots of ways to be a kid.” She lists a number of other ways in which people may choose to identify themselves, including…

• trans •

genderqueer

•

non-binary

•

gender fluid

•

transgender

•

gender neutral

•

agender

•

neutrois

•

bi-gender

•

third gender

•

two-spirit

While Pessin-Whedbee refers to the gender spectrum as an alternative to the gender binary, Broadhead’s book does not. In a conversation, Broadhead, who uses the pronoun “they,” explained that the notion of a gender spectrum implies that male and female occupy distinct ends of a scale, whereas they feel gender is in fact too fluid and unique a concept to fit a linear model. They prefer the concept of gender diversity, which includes a gender universe, in which “we are each our own star.” Whether they take the ap-

proach of a gender spectrum or a gender universe, experts agree that you are the only one who gets to say who or what you are (with the caveat that the term two-spirit is specific to certain indigenous cultures.)

are but what I haven’t explained to you is that there’s actually a lot more genders.” And if they have questions you can’t answer, they recommend looking at websites like the Trans Youth Equality Foundation (transyouthequality.org) or asking someone who would know.

What Broadhead doesn’t recommend is cornering the one trans parent at your child’s school in the pick-up line and interrogating her. “That’s obviously inappropriate.”

I spoke to Heather Thompson, a self-identified genderqueer person, postpartum doula, and an advocate for “queer, trans, and non-binary folks” in the Denver birth community. She recommends using everyday encounters to open conversations with children about gender.

For example, when my five-yearold asks me why our cashier has an earring “even though he’s a boy,” I can take the opportunity to explain that you don’t actually know what a person is when you meet them. A mother herself, Thompson acknowledges that kids often understand a lot more than we give them credit for. “In my experience, they get the middle [of the gender spectrum], they just didn’t know we could talk about it.”

Certainly books like the ones mentioned above can also be great conversation starters, as well. For parents who are reluctant to open a dialogue about gender for fear of not having all the answers, or feeling that they should have opened the conversation earlier, Broadhead says it’s okay to say something like, “I’m sorry I wasn’t actually sharing everything I know about gender. You and I know a lot about our own gender and it makes sense to us and it’s who we

And of course, dining in a restaurant with an “all genders” sign works quite well, too. While bathrooms don’t have much to do with gender, I am grateful for the public restroom that started a conversation about gender in our family.

Pam Moore is an award-winning freelance health and fitness writer, occupational therapist, and certified personal trainer. She’s also the host of the Real Fit podcast. This article was originally published on Parent Co.

November 2021 WNY Family 37

TWEENS & TEENS — by Kimberly Blaker

be deadly not only to your teen but to anyone else on the road. So if your teen doesn’t make an appropriate decision regarding this, you need to intervene.

When the consequences are less severe, parents should still offer guidance. But teens should have much more freedom to decide for themselves and opportunities to fail and learn lessons.

Their Own Identity

During the teen years, kids struggle with the formation of their own identity.

But forming one’s own identity is necessary to becoming an emotionally healthy adult. Teen identity formation is seen in a number of behaviors.

How Teens Develop into Healthy, Capable Adults

Adolescents Need Guidance, Support, and the Freedom to Make Their Own Choices

A

s most parents of teens can attest, dealing with teens’ growing independence is often a daunting challenge. But pushing away from parents is a normal part of adolescence and necessary for teens to develop into healthy, capable adults.

Yet because they are still maturing, they do need guidance and support along the way.

So how do you give your teen the space to grow and avoid overstepping boundaries that tend to push your teen further away? The first step is understanding the necessary components for teens to become capable, healthy adults.

Then, learning how you can guide and support your adolescent during this trying stage while still providing your teen the freedom to grow.

Responsibility

As kids grow, they need to take on more responsibility for themselves and within the family. Taking responsibility for themselves includes waking up and getting to school on time, managing homework and extracurricular activities, among many other tasks. Teens also need to develop more responsibility toward others. Teens can cook for the family, do more chores, and help care 38 WNY Family November 2021

for younger siblings. They can also hold part-time jobs and volunteer to serve their communities.

Decision Making

Learning to problem solve and make good decisions is crucial to becoming a capable adult. So teens need lots of opportunities to make their own decisions.

There’s no doubt, they’re going to make mistakes along the way. But the best lessons in life are often a result of mistakes.

It’s natural for parents to want to protect their kids and prevent them from experiencing pain (physical or emotional). But the mistakes teens make, and particularly the consequences of those mistakes, often dull in comparison to those they could make in their adult life.

So don’t try to protect your teen from ever making a mistake. By allowing adolescents to make decisions, experience failure, and problem solve now, they’ll have the foresight and skills to make better decisions as adults.

The best way to help your teen develop decision-making skills is to pick and choose when to intervene. Consider the severity of the repercussions if your teen makes a particular mistake.

For example, drinking and driving can

Rebellion. Teens often rebel in an effort to differentiate themselves from their parents and authority figures. Rebellion can take the form of non-compliance or non-conformity. Either way, says Carl E. Pickhardt, Ph.D., in “Rebel with a Cause: Rebellion in Adolescence,” a teen will provoke their parents’ disapproval to assert the teen’s individuality. Unfortunately, rebellion can lead to self-defeating and even self-destructive behavior. If your teen is rebelling, Pickhardt recommends that parents allow natural consequences to occur, provide positive guidance (repeatedly), and support constructive growth.

Sex, drugs, and alcohol. In addition to peer pressure, teens often use drugs, alcohol, or sex to feel grown up.

These can be challenging issues for parents to deal with. The best approach for parents to take is to offer ongoing guidance to their teens regarding these matters and to keep the line of communication open. Talk to your teen about the facts and dangers, how to be safe, and your expectations. If your teen comes home intoxicated, don’t overreact. Wait until your teen is sober and discuss the matter calmly. Above all, make sure your teen knows they can talk to you at any time.

Status. Status symbols are another means by which teens search for their identity. They may insist on wearing expensive shoes and clothing or spend on pricey electronics or cars. This is an area where allowing teens to make their own decisions is often best (so long as they’re spending their own money, not yours).

Still, you should try to instill in your teen

that material things aren’t what defines who he or she is, but rather it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Idolization. Idols are another way teens search for their identity. Teens often mimic their idols in the way they dress, do their hair, and talk. While this can give teens a sense of belonging, it ultimately results in the loss of their own identities. Let your teen know it’s okay to admire their idol. But encourage your teen to be himself or herself and remind your teen of their own valuable qualities.

Cliques. Another way teens try to discover or establish their identity is through cliquish exclusion. Being part of a group can be a good thing because it provides commonality and a sense of security and belonging. But unlike groups, cliques are restrictive and allow only certain types of people in. Teens are very good at disapproving of and excluding others who dress or act differently from themselves and often form cliques. If your adolescent is part of a clique, talk to your teen about the importance of still being oneself, having a mind of their own, and the courage to stand up to bad behavior that may occur within the clique.

Personal Values

It’s only natural parents want and hope their kids will grow to hold the same values as their parents. But during the teen years, as adolescents try to carve out their own identities, they begin to question some of those values and experiment with new ones. Some of the values your teen comes to hold or oppose may go against your own. In some cases, these different values may even be self-destructive. Still, teens also often carve out new positive values, on their own, as well.

Although teens will ultimately choose the values they’ll live by, parents can still try to influence positive values in their teen. The key is talking with your teen and allowing for open dialogue. When you do talk with your teen, ask open-ended questions that make your adolescent think. For example, ask your teen, “What would you do if you were with a friend who was bullying someone?” Also, ask your teen if they feel pressured to ignore certain values. If so, ask how your teen thinks they can overcome that pressure.

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Finally, lead by example. Throughout the teen years, look for teachable moments. Find opportunities to invite your teen to join you in a value-based activity so your teen can experience the impact it has on others, the world, and their own sense of self-worth.

Kimberly Blaker is a Michigan freelance writer on family topics. She also authors a blog and does content writing for a variety of industries.

November 2021 WNY Family 39

RAISING DIGITAL KIDS continued... school does not have a space like this.

You may need to do some research online, but I imagine you could find a publicly available fab lab within driving distance. (See sidebar.)

You won’t have access to the technology that some Makerspaces use, but you can still cultivate collaboration, problem-solving, and creation through these projects. Check out the site https:// www.makerspaces.com/25-makerspaceprojects-for-kids/ or Google the phrase “Low Tech Makerspace Activities.”

Purchasing some premade kits is another option parents could consider.

The website KiwiCo.com is a fantastic place to start. The site has premade Kiwi “crates” that focus on science, math, art, design, or engineering. The boxes arrive with clear instructions and everything your child needs to build or perform the activities. The boxes are designed to encourage the kids to do the work with minimal parent involvement. Parents

can purchase an individual kit or choose the subscription model. We bought a subscription for my seven-year-old daughter in May. She loves the crates!

We’ve been impressed with both the quality and variety of each box.

MakeyMakey.com has some unique offerings as well.

Makey Makey teaches students to use household objects to create circuits and perform various tasks. The activities are fantastic for kids, but it does require a computer and some parental involvement.

The world is evolving. Technology is changing almost every aspect of our lives. One of the best things a parent can do to prepare their children for the digital world to come is to foster the skills they’ll need to succeed. Please encour-

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age your children to use the Makerspaces in their school. If that’s not an option, use the suggestions above to work on these skills at home. You’ll be surprised at how much fun they can have while learning science, math, and design.

Mike Daugherty is a husband, father of three young children, author, speaker, Google Innovator, and possible Starbucks addict. He is a certified educational technology leader who has served in a variety of roles through his twenty-year career in public education.

Currently, Mike is the Director of Technology for the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School district in Northeast Ohio.

As an IT director he has developed creative, well thought out solutions that positively impact teaching and learning.

Buy them a few really special gifts you know they’ll appreciate and supplement them with homemade or remade treasures. I gave my daughter a locket I had in my jewelry box one year, and you would have thought I gave her the world.

Because she used to admire it occasionally, it had extra special meaning to her when I put it in a gift box and allowed it to become hers.

SINGLE PARENTING — by Diane C. Dierks, LMFT

Getting in the

y a d i l o H Spirit

H

ave you ever noticed just about the time you get last year’s holiday bills paid off, you start getting inundated with Christmas catalogs and commercials once again? Now the kids are making their wish lists, and you smile nervously, assuring them it doesn’t hurt to ask Santa “but don’t expect too much.”

To complicate matters further, the traditional family bond of yesteryear (i.e., one big holiday dinner with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the mailman) has been replaced by a more complicated multi-faceted family that now includes Christmas at Dad’s, Thanksgiving at Mom’s, fly to Florida to grandmother’s house we go — and who is our mailman anyway?

The changing structure of today’s families definitely makes the holiday season more challenging, but the messages are still the same. For most Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to remember our blessings of freedom, prosperity and good health, while Christmas or Hanukkah puts us in the mood to give out of our bounty and share deep-felt beliefs and values with friends and loved ones.

When we lose sight of these simple concepts and begin worrying about whether we can afford a Christmas ham or an airplane ticket to Iowa, we cheat ourselves (and usually our families) out of the real meaning of the holiday.

There are a few simple things you can do to ease the holiday stress in your non-traditional family if you approach

them with the true spirit of the season.

Begin by confirming holiday schedules now with the other parent. There’s nothing worse than a surprise change at the last minute after you’ve had your heart set on spending a certain evening or weekend with your kids. Avoiding any possible misunderstandings about visitation will go far to promote a stable and relaxed attitude for everyone involved.

Next, sit down with your kids and make a list of all the fun things you would like to do together during the holidays. These would include tree trimming, cookie baking, decorating, present wrapping, candle lighting, caroling, story telling — any activity you can use as a time of holiday bonding with your kids.

Check community calendars for special events you can attend together. The local libraries usually have fun holiday activities scheduled at no charge. Once you’ve made a list, put it on the refrigerator to remind everyone what is coming up. The sheer anticipation is probably just what you need to ignite the holiday spirit in the whole family.

Now that you’ve got some fun things on the calendar, begin thinking about what kinds of values and beliefs you want to teach your kids through the holidays. If money is tight, don’t waste a lot of time complaining to them or making them feel guilty because they’ve asked for too much. A child’s happiness around the holidays is more influenced by attitudes and emotions than it is by material gain.

Try making out little “free service” cards for your older child’s stocking — like a free breakfast in bed token or a free Saturday without chores. Your kids will recognize these as gifts of personal sacrifice — gifts that really say “I love you.”

Since so much of the holiday season is surrounded by religious stories, this is the time to talk to your kids about your beliefs. Make them come alive through story-telling and personal anecdotes.

Give your kids a chance to express their ideas by allowing them to recite a special prayer before Thanksgiving dinner or rehearse a poem or song for Christmas Eve. What may seem like an insignificant event can surprisingly turn out to be a favorite yearly tradition and fond memory.

The whole idea behind building new holiday traditions is to solidify your single parent family bond and make it a time of joy and special memories. Don’t worry about what’s going on at the “other house,” don’t let the lack of money cloud the real meaning of the holidays, and above all, don’t forget how quickly your children will be grown and gone.

You can easily create pleasant holiday memories by taking time to plan ahead and by making simple pleasures a priority. Try looking at everything through a child’s eyes, and the holiday spirit is bound to pay your heart a visit.

Diane C. Dierks is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also author of The CoParent Toolbox (2014 Aha! Publishing) and Solo Parenting: Raising Strong & Happy Families (1997 Fairview Press).

For more information visit her website is www.dianedierks.com.

November 2021 WNY Family 41

FAMILY TRAVEL continued... items from the park to touch and smell, such as pinecones, bark, stones, flowers, and leaves.

The Sunshine Slope weaves through mounds of woodland plantings of different heights. A viewing platform provides a vantage point for visitors to look further into the woods or backward from where they came. The next station is the Music Circle where visitors can experiment with nature inspired instruments.

The Reflection Knoll offers a quiet place under a canopy of trees to listen to the sounds of nature. There are cuddle swings, gliders, and alone zones here to help provide a sense of well-being. This is the halfway point on the trail and visitors may choose to move on or end their trail experience and use a bypass to return to the Trailhead Pavilion.

The Meadow Run and Climb is a space for running, jumping, climbing, balancing, and testing strength, coordination, flexibility, and confidence. An obstacle course, made primarily of logs and boulders, follows in a zig-zag formation.

The Design Area encourages imagination, using natural items found along the trail to create patterns and structures such as that teepee.

42 WNY Family November 2021

The Playful Path honors the joys of being in the woods. There are a series of twisting paths covered in different surface materials such as river stones, sand, grass, and soil.

The Celebration Station on the exit side of the Trailhead Pavilion marks the end of the trail. Visitors will be encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings using different media to communicate the message: “I was here, and I have a voice.”

The trail is next to the Humphrey Nature Center. The 5,000-square-foot educational facility focuses on sustainability and environmental education.

It includes restrooms, meeting space, classrooms, a butterfly garden, displays of animals including deer and bear and interactive exhibits that promote activity within the park.

Travel Tip of the Month: For more information visit autismnaturetrail.com.

Check the website for programming and activities. The trail is free and park admission is also free from November through April. From May-October a $10 per car entrance fee is charged. There are also yearly passes and free admission for seniors on weekdays. For information on Letchworth State Park go to parks. ny.gov or call 585-493-3600.

Deborah Williams is a veteran travel writer whose work has appeared in national and international publications.

She lives in Holland, NY and is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award.

November 2021 WNY Family 43

PANDAS Disorder Isn’t Cute or Cuddly — by Cheryl Maguire

W

hen you read the word PANDAS, you probably envisioned a cute, cuddly animal native to China. Unfortunately, there is nothing cute or cuddly about the acronym PANDAS which stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. The disorder was first identified in an article by Dr. Susan E. Swedo and her team at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 1998.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), a child with PANDAS experiences emotional symptoms

such as irritability, separation anxiety, ADHD symptoms, sleep disturbances, bed wetting, fine motor changes, joint pain, concentration difficulties, loss of academic abilities, and developmental regression. In relation to the emotional symptoms Swedo has been quoted as saying, “Some families have told us that their children seem possessed.”

PANDAS is considered an autoimmune or autoinflammatory disease in response to the strep infection. Streptococcus, the bacteria that causes strep throat, is also linked to other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatic fever and scarlet fever.

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In the case of PANDAS, the person’s immune system attacks brain cells, causing OCD, tics, and other emotional symptoms. It is unknown why only some children develop this disorder. It is a rare condition with only 2,000 children diagnosed although it’s possible some children have it and are not properly identified.

The treatment for PANDAS depends on the severity of the disease. In mild cases, antibiotics are prescribed to treat the strep infection. In most cases, this will get rid of the OCD or other symptoms. In more severe cases, children are given a combination of antibiotics along with immunomodulatory therapy like an intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) or an oral steroid.

There has been debate among doctors and researchers whether PANDAS is even a real disorder. Alison Motluk wrote an article “A Feverish Debate” (https://thewalrus.ca/a-feverish-debate) which details the controversy surrounding the diagnosis of PANDAS. Motluck wrote, “Skeptics argued that these findings could be coincidental: the children just happened to have strep when the behavioral symptoms appeared.” She also notes that a research study conducted in 2002 found, “there was no evidence that strep uniquely intensified the symptoms in PANDAS kids.” James Leckman, a psychiatrist at Yale University questioned the validity of this study in regards to the subjects and control group.

I interviewed Ella (name changed for privacy), a 12-year-old girl who was diagnosed with PANDAS at age 8. Her mother, Christine, also answered questions regarding their experience.

Before you were diagnosed, did you know about PANDAS? Christine and Ella: No

How old were you when you first experienced symptoms?

Ella: I don’t really remember, I think I was in Kindergarten.

Christine: She was around 5 years old when she first started getting strep throat.

She would get strep throat and then go on antibiotics. Then the strep throat would come back again once she was done with the antibiotics. Sometimes we didn’t even know she had strep since she didn’t have a sore throat. Her only symptoms were a headache and stomach.

What were your PANDAS symptoms?

Ella: I don’t remember much about it.

Christine: Ella had a lot of OCD symptoms. She had to wash her hands all the time. She washed her hands so much they would bleed.

Ella: And I used hand sanitizer a lot.

Christine: At bedtime everything had to be in order. The closet door had to be the same as when she left it before. The comforter on the bed had to be the same position. All her toys and books had to be in order. At night she would also have temper tantrums that didn’t seem to be set off by anything. It was an extreme rage. One time she even tried to push me down the stairs.

How long did it take to receive a PANDAS diagnoses?

Christine: It took at least 2 years until I first heard of the diagnosis of PANDAS. The nurse at the pediatrician’s office was the first person to mention it as a possibility. My pediatrician at the time did not think PANADAs was a real disorder though. He said, “people will try to make money off of anything.” He acted like I was crazy when I suggested it. We even started counseling for Ella since the pediatrician didn’t think her behaviors were related to the strep throat. When she was 8 years old, we ended up going to an ENT who didn’t know much about PANDAS but also didn’t act like I was crazy for suggesting it as my pediatrician

did. The ENT recommended that she get her tonsils out and then she only got strep once after the tonsils were removed.

Around this time we also switched to a new pediatrician who diagnosed her with PANADAS and was supportive of her treatment. When she got strep after having her tonsils out the pediatrician put her on antibiotics for a month.

What was the treatment?

Christine: When Ella took the antibiotics her PANDAS symptoms went away.

The problem was before she got her tonsils out she kept getting strep throat and a lot of times we didn’t even know she had strep throat so the PANDAS symptoms would continue until she had the antibiotics.

Do you still experience symptoms?

Christine and Ella: No

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What advice would you offer for other families?

Christine: This experience was lifechanging for us as a family. It was upsetting when we didn’t know she had PANDAS and then when we thought she might have it our pediatrician at the time didn’t believe in the disorder. It was difficult to have to watch your child deal with mental health issues. I would say to other families to trust your gut when you think there is something wrong. I also brought someone with me to our first pediatrician (who didn’t believe in the disorder of PANDAS) for support. I found an advocacy group, which was really helpful in answering my questions called New England PANS/PANADAS Association (http://www.nepans.org).

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Cheryl Maguire holds a Master of Counseling Psychology degree. She is married and is the mother of twins and a daughter. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Parents Magazine, AARP, Healthline, Grown and Flown, Your Teen Magazine, and many other publications. She is a professional member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). You can find her at Twitter @CherylMaguire05. This article was originally published on Signature Moms.

November 2021 WNY Family 45

W

hat’s edible, decorative, tiny, huge, yellow, orange, green, blue, striped, round, oblong, or pear shaped? Winter squash! This versatile food is packed with nutrition, it’s filling, and is naturally low in calories. You can use it in soups, desserts, as a side dish, or as a main course.

It makes a perfect baby and toddler food, since it is easy to eat and is a bit sweet.

For the first five years of his life, my son was allergic to wheat. One of the great discoveries we made during his toddler years was spaghetti squash. This amazing squash cooks like other squash, and when you shred it with a fork, produces spaghetti like strands. It tastes like a mild squash; you can toss it with sauce or any other seasonings and flavors you want. For calorie or ‘carb’ counters, it’s a great pasta replacement.

Following are several recipes to get you started and help you explore the different varieties and their unique qualities — you’re bound to find a new dish your family will enjoy.

A few tips:  There are many squash varieties, including acorn, buttercup, butternut, Hubbard, pumpkin, spaghetti (also called vegetable), and turban. They range in flavor from sweet to “nutty.” Smaller ones, like acorn squash, serve 1-2 people, whereas Hubbard can grow large enough to feed a family of… think reunion!  Choose squash that are heavy for their size — they’ll be riper and more nutritious. Make sure they have no soft spots.  On average, one pound of squash yields about 1 cup cooked. Depending on your appetite, 1/2 pound – 1 pound serves a one person side dish.  Store in a cool (about 55°), dry, dark place — away from sunlight, but NOT in the refrigerator. Properly stored, some squash can last a few months. Once cut, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for up to a week.

46 WNY Family November 2021

 Cooked squash freezes well.  Squash can be cooked in the oven, steamed, microwaved. For the best flavor, choose slow oven cooking.

For speed — it’s the microwave every time. Bake at 400° for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or in the microwave on high for about 8-10 minutes.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

 Cook whole — easy and no wrestling with chainsaws. Be sure to pierce several times with a fork or knife to allow steam to escape.

Free of: DAIRY, EGGS, SOY, PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, FISH, SHELLFISH, WHEAT, GLUTEN, VEGAN

 If you’re cooking a stuffed/seasoned squash, but don’t want to cut the hard shell, bake for 30 minutes, let cool about 10 minutes. This makes it much easier to cut. Scoop out the seeds, season or stuff, and return to the oven. If using the microwave, cook 5 minutes, let cool 10 minutes, and follow steps above.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

 If you prefer to cut in half, place cut squash face down in foil lined pan with about 1/2” water. This does a combination baking/steaming. For more concentrated flavor, omit the water, spray with oil.

Yield: 1 serving per pound Cook Time: 60 minutes 1 large butternut squash Prepared stuffing – rice stuffing (for a filling main meal), or fruit stuffing (chopped apples, pears, raisins, maple syrup) Preheat oven to 400°. Line a pan with foil. Wash squash, pierce several times with fork or knife to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool for about 10-15 minutes until it is easier to handle. Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Place back on lined pan, fill with stuffing, bake for an additional 30 minutes, until squash is fork tender.

Sweet Acorn Squash Free of: DAIRY, EGGS, SOY, PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, FISH, SHELLFISH, WHEAT, GLUTEN, VEGAN Yield: 2 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooing Time: 60-75 minutes 1 acorn squash per 2 people Brown sugar or maple syrup Margarine (dairy/soy free if allergic) Cinnamon or other flavorings Preheat oven to 400°. Line a pan with foil. Wash squash, pierce several times with fork or knife to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool for about 10-15 minutes until it is easier to handle. Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Place back on lined pan, add about 1-2 teaspoons margarine and brown sugar to each half.

Sprinkle with spices. Return to oven for another 30-45 minutes, until fork tender.

THE KIDDIE GOURMET

B

Spaghetti Squash Free of: DAIRY, EGGS, SOY, PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, FISH, SHELLFISH, WHEAT, GLUTEN, VEGAN Yield: 1 serving per pound Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50-60 minutes 1 large spaghetti squash (no smaller than 3 pounds) Toppings/sauce Preheat oven to 400°. Line a pan with foil. Wash squash, pierce several times with fork or knife to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400° for 50-60 minutes, until shell pierces easily. Remove, let cool for about 10-15 minutes until it is easier to handle. Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Drag a fork across the insides to produce mounds (and mounds!) of “spaghetti.” Serve as you would spaghetti, with desired sauce or seasonings.

If you have any questions about our column, e-mail Kathy at allergy@ roadrunner.com. For further information about food allergies, contact FARE www.foodallergy.org, or call 1-800-929-4040.

Kathy Lundquist is a Western New York parent whose son, now an adult, was born with severe food allergies. Over more than the last two decades, she has worked tirelessly, in a variety of capacities, to increase community awareness about food allergies.

— by Barbara Blackburn

lackberry’s is permeates the air of Grand BlackBerry’s a good choice Island.

Bar & Grlll for over-the- 2241 Grand Island Blvd.

Desserts are family fabridge cuisine. It costs vorites, one in particular Grand Island, NY $8.00 for one of the chil— BlackBerry’s Make Your 716-775-9743 dren’s menu choices, with a blackberrysbarandgrill.com Own S’mores ($10 for two, drink and one side. Choices $12 for four, and $14.00 for ~ SPOONS ~ are Penne Pasta with butmore). I’m just a kid when FOOD 4.5/5 ter or sauce, Grilled Sahlen it comes to having fun with Hot Dog, Chicken Nuggets, food. We had memories of and Beef and Cheese Tacos. campfire style marshmallows SERVICE 4.5/5 The kid in the corner with united with graham crackers Mom and Dad was enjoying and gooey chocolate. her tacos, as well as playing Besides S’mores there FAMILY FRIENDLY 5/5 one of the available games. is Cheesecake ($9.00) The owner, who owns two with blackberry syrup and day care centers, offers toys whipped cream and Brownie and crayons, and, of Sundae ($9.00). course, there is seating A thought might for kids. be to incorporate more Our “big kid,” blackberries into the alias Dad, enjoyed his menu. We did see Tacos. For the three BlackBerry’s house choices ($15.00), he dressing in the salad picked Shrimp Casection. jun, Short Rib Carne The various secAsada, and Mojo tions of the menu ofChicken, with cilanfer surprisingly clever tro, lime, and salsa combinations. We reverde, skipping Tuna member the soup of Teriyaki. The tacos all sported a topping the day being a seasonally inspired Viof Napa cabbage, coleslaw, cilantro, and chyssoise, a refined version of the cold fresh lime. Being fans of the herb that classic, jazzed up with chive olive oil, resembles flat leaf parsley with a kick, and crispy leek sticks. we would have preferred more cilantro.

Appetizers travel the globe, one sePreviously I had salivated over the lection being Pork Kimchi Pot Stickers Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($16.00) pic($12.00). Then diners can enjoy the burgtured in “Gusto.” So I chose the hand ers, with chef Richert’s kitchen grind dipped chicken breast, with maple mushamburger, with barbecue ($18.00) and tard sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion, an All American Burger ($16.00). The paired on the diamond shaped plate, barbecue one boasts a beer battered onlined with newspaper, and served with ion ring and Yancey Fancy smokehouse fries. The roll top was branded with a onion cheese. circled ““B.” Very picturesque presenWhere what once was an old gas tation! My entree did culinary justice to station is now a restaurant with stylish the bird in texture and taste. eclectic decor and eclectic food fusion Another chicken entree showcases we would call unpretentious gourmet. the marinated and grilled style, served with Creole corn, salt potatoes, and a Check out Barb’s food blogs at frontierbuttered roll. It’s Pit Chicken ($18.00). fare.wordpress.com and culinarrations.

The aroma of this wafting from the grill wordpress.com.

November 2021 WNY Family 47

48 WNY Family November 2021