Don’t let your kids stay cooped up all summer. Here are a few ways to get out and soak up all the season has to offer.—Stephanie DeVaux Block Party: LEGO Gatherings. Here’s a block party for the ages (5 and up, that is). One part Legos, one part creativity. Plus, GAL provides the Legos, so no need […]
Don’t let your kids stay cooped up all summer. Here are a few ways to get out and soak up all the season has to offer.—Stephanie DeVaux Block Party: LEGO Gatherings. Here’s a block party for the ages (5 and up, that is). One part Legos, one part creativity. Plus, GAL provides the Legos, so no need […]
Have you ever really stopped and listened to lyrics like those in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” or Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty?” It’s startling when you hear some of the words that kids sing today. But that’s where programs like Mobile Music Mission come in. As a local company that lets kids become a part of […]
John D’earth was about 4 when his father—“a great listener, but not a musician”—taught him an important lesson about making music. He was at his grandmother’s house. He toddled over to the piano, climbed onto the bench, and started pounding away. He was having fun, just enjoying the noise of it, but he could hear […]
Most kids use their Wii remotes to race cars or battle bad guys while playing games on their TV. C’erra Rhodes uses hers to teach other middle school-age girls how to solder metal. The 13-year-old created a “Wiimote” as a project through Computers4Kids in Charlottesville, an organization that teaches tech skills to middle and high […]
For me, parenting is often about managing my own expectations. I get all fired up about some idealized vision I concoct, then struggle with the way the reality is inevitably messier, louder, smellier, whinier…more real. Have you ever seen the site pinterestfail.com? It showcases pictures of beautifully photographed, adorable projects side-by-side with user-submitted photos of […]
Last month Charlottesville hosted the 65th annual Dogwood Festival, a joyful and exuberant celebration of everything that is fun, delicious, and family friendly about the city. Over the course of the festivities, thousands of locals and tourists jammed the fairgrounds to play games, try out thrilling rides, and see their friends and neighbors in a […]
At 9am on Monday, when most of us were grumbling about returning to the office, a small group of fifth graders was spreading yoga mats out on a gym floor, taking deep breaths, and preparing for a short yoga session. UVA third year, athlete, and practicing yogi Bennett Reck led the kids through a 15-minute […]
I am a bit of a restaurant freak. Or at least, I used to be. I’ve eaten off of the whole spectrum of flatware, from the greasiest spoon to some of the finest dessert forks. I go out of my way to be a gracious guest—I ask the server’s name, I try to express my pleasure […]
Several years ago I received an e-mail from a mother who was putting together an end-of-season celebration for my youngest daughter’s soccer team. In addition to party details, the message requested money to buy trophies for the players. Trophies? For a team that had just gone 0-8? Ridiculous, I thought. But I didn’t want to […]
If you’re a parent of school-age children in Central Virginia, chances are you feel like your kids have been out of school as much as they’ve been in school this winter. For working parents, it’s been a scramble. On the heels of yet another snow storm that caused delays in Albemarle and Charlottesville, now it’s […]