• November 2024

    The Play’s The Thing

    How is it the holidays already? Wasn’t it just summer? Isn’t it still summer? It sure feels like it. And aren’t things supposed to slow down in the winter? Not here and not for families. Thumbing through this issue there are a host of plays, musical performances and winter camps. It’s really amazing. It starts on our cover with Santa Cruz Shakespeare moving from summer to the holidays with one of the greatest family plays ever, A Christmas Carol. Sure, everyone’s seen the movie, but there is nothing like seeing the most skilled actors in the world perform it up close and personal. It’s something that will change a kid’s…

  • November 2024

    Scrooge is Coming to Town

    Santa Cruz Shakespeare (SCS), a nationally recognized professional repertory theatre company staging imaginative productions for more than a decade, debuts a new holiday tradition for the whole family with its production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Audiences can expect a theatrical and music-filled adaptation of this classic play. The production will run from November 23 through December 24, 2024, at the Veterans Memorial Hall at 846 Front St in Downtown Santa Cruz. “It is my sincere hope that we are creating a new holiday tradition for our community with A Christmas Carol — one you can share with your children and grandchildren,” said SCS Artistic Director, Charles Pasternak. The show will be…

  • November 2024

    Holiday Classic Comes to Mountain Community Theater

    Miracle on 34th Street, the play based on the 1947 novel by Valentine Davies is a long-standing tradition at Mountain Community Theater. First adapted by MCT co-founders Peter Troxell and Rita Wadsworth in 1982, it is making its return for the 11th time (and first since 2018) with actors ranging from little kids to big adults, bringing the bustle of New York City at Christmas time and the courtroom action of a very peculiar state trial to Ben Lomond’s “Park Hall” this Winter. Directed by MCT veteran Daria Troxell who has been involved with Miracle on four different occasions over the last 22 years, first starting as production manager in…

  • November 2024

    SpongeBob SquarePants Swims into Cabrillo

    Cabrillo College’s theater department is no stranger to musical theater. Cabrillo Stage mounts a high quality professional musical every summer, with two recent highlights being 2023’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and 2024’s In The Heights which felt like it cut out a section of New York’s Washington Heights and placed it on Cabrillo’s magnificent Crocker Theater. This November, get your fry cook hat, spatula and get ready, because Sponegbob Squarepants, his amazing friends (and Plankton) are going to cook up some fun at Cabrillo College. With SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical. Featuring music written by David Bowie, John Legend, Plain White Tees and more. Spearheaded by Cabrillo Stage Artistic Director…

  • November 2024

    Mi Casa Es Tu Casa Exhibit Opens

    Pajaro Valley Arts has opened their current and annual exhibit, “Mi Casa es Tu Casa” at their Sudden Street gallery. The show explores the connection between the living and those who have passed. The theme this year is “In the Arms of Our Ancestors.” As a centerpiece for the show is the jaguar, a symbol held high across Mesoamerican cultures. The exhibit includes the ideas and collaboration of several area schools where students were invited to create their own artwork and and words for the show that includes 17 altars. Also in the exhibit are various installations, paintings, sculpture, poems, photos and more. “In Mexican tradition, giant puppets, known as…

  • November 2024

    Deepening Unique Relationships with Your Children

    “Our jobs, other responsibilities, and numerous distractions, make it difficult to devote individual time to each of our children. These competing demands on our time, energy, and attention don’t have to deprive us, though, of the quality one-on-one time—the special time—we can share with them. A Special Parenting Tool Special time is all about deepening the unique relationship you have with your child. As a positive Discipline parenting tool, special time complements other Positive Discipline tools (e.g., discovering the beliefs behind the behaviors, connection before correction, curiosity questions, and encouragement) and lets you get to know and encourage your children in very personal and personalized ways. From Theory to Practice…

  • October 2024

    Dental Care During Pregnancy

    Pregnancy rites of passage can include pregnancy portraits, baby showers or blessing ways, and many prenatal doctor visits. But visiting the dentist? Yes. Prenatal dental care plays a vitally important role in a healthy pregnancy and healthy start for an infant. Good oral health is important for everyone throughout life. It supports good nutrition, good speech development, a healthy heart, and even good confidence. The benefits are even more important for the pregnant parent. Pregnancy can lead to increased risks for cavities and other oral health challenges. Morning sickness can promote erosion of tooth enamel due to exposure to stomach acid, which can lead to developing cavities. Sweet foods and…

  • October 2024

    Learning to Cook Gourmet, Locally Grown Food

    Santa Cruz Schools are on a mission to change the way your kids think about vegetables. For the first time ever, five county school districts jointly participated in a culinary training program designed to present a fresh take on produce to the standard school lunch. Farm to table came to life recently as lunch staff from Pajaro, Live Oak, San Lorenzo Valley, Soquel, and Santa Cruz school districts met at Del Mar Elementary school, where under the tutelage of a CIA-trained chef, they spent 5 days in an intensive culinary training bootcamp at the Live Oak District Central Kitchen. Yes, the school cafeteria has evolved since the days when ketchup…

  • October 2024

    Santa Cruz Schools Selected as America’s Healthiest

    All 10 campuses in the Santa Cruz City School District have placed on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s list of America’s Healthiest Schools. The list recognizes schools in a wide-ranging set of categories relating to the programs and supports available to students. Santa Cruz City Schools Bay View Elementary, DeLaveaga Elementary, Gault Elementary, Monarch Elementary, Westlake Elementary, Branciforte Middle, Mission Hill Middle, Costanoa High, Harbor High, Santa Cruz High and Soquel High have all been recognized in the categories of: School Wellness, Nutrition/Food Access and Activity/Physical Education. Additionally, Harbor, Santa Cruz and Soquel High Schools have been awarded for their Health Education programs. “We are so proud to receive…

  • September 2024

    Children’s Museum of Discovery Celebrates 10 Years

    This fall marks an exciting milestone for the Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery as it celebrates a Decade of Discovery! For ten years, the museum has been a cornerstone of interactive learning and fun for families in our community, inspiring curiosity and imagination in children. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, the museum has lined up a series of exciting events for families, members, and even adults looking for a night of entertainment. You Otter Know: An Exciting Traveling Exhibit Kicking off the celebrations this fall, MOD debuted a new exhibit space near its home in the Capitola Mall, which will host Potter the Otter™: A Healthy Adventure interactive traveling…

  • October 2024

    What the Kids Are Saying

    My 8-year-old came home last week speaking a new language. No, it wasn’t the Spanish he’s studying on Duolingo. It’s…well, kid speak. It wasn’t just him. I heard him talking to his friends with all these words I didn’t know. I wasn’t meant to know them. I’m a grown up. In a sly bit, TV host John Oliver threw out a couple of them a few weeks ago, claiming that kids would stop using them because he used them. But nope, it didn’t work. They are still out there, mostly popularized by YouTube influencers. I asked Parker to write a dictionary of his lingo for those of us not in…

  • September 2024

    YES on Bonds, No on Bullying and a Fun Poem

    School’s back and I’m feeling a mix of seriousness and fun.  Let’s start with the serious.  I was shocked and so disappointed with the way some people made fun of Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s son Gus’s tearful reaction to seeing his father speak at the Democratic Convention.  What kind of people would make fun of not just a kid with mental challenges, but any kid for being tearfully proud of their dad? Various conservatives—such as right wing columnist Ann Coulter, New Jersey Republican Mike Crispi and Wisconsin radio host Jay Weber– took shots at the 17-year-old and used their bully pulpits to be just that–bullies.   It goes against everything…

  • September 2024

    Dive Into Health with The Children’s Museum of Discovery

    The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery is turning 10 this year and kicking off a season of celebrations with Potter the Otter™. . .a Healthy Adventure Traveling Exhibit! Based on the popular First 5 Santa Clara County Children’s books, this interactive exhibit lets kids join Potter on a quest to learn healthy habits. Paddle giant swans, tend your farm, and stock a healthy plate at the market. Potter the Otter sparks imagination and inspires healthy living with engaging activities and play. Free for Museum Members, and WIC/ EBT card holders, the exhibit is located in a whole new space in the Capitola Mall near the food court and runs…

  • September 2024

    The Gift of a Life Cycle

    I was training elementary teachers on how to deliver the Next Generation Science Standards, and was asked. “When do they learn that some animals are called amphibians, some mammals, and all of that now?” I thought for a moment about how to answer that without using a lot of jargon. I said, “We are teaching big ideas and skills now. When you teach about life cycles, you teach that all things have them, why they are important, and that they look different for these groups called amphibians, mammals, butterflies, or even trees, flowers and sea jellies. One activity I gave the third grade teacher to use for this is a…

  • September 2024

    Music for All the Senses at Santa Cruz County Symphony

    The Santa Cruz Symphony’s 2024-25 season kicks off on September 21/22 with new music composer Mason Bates’ electrifying Philharmonia Fantastique and Johannes Brahms’ majestic Symphony no. 1, along with a new full orchestra arrangement of Ceremonial Music by beloved local composer Martin Gaskell. The Bates piece is a 25-minute concerto for orchestra and animated film, exploring the connection between creativity and technology. working through the various instruments of the orchestra, the vibrant musical guide to the orchestra blends sound and images, a collaboration between Mason Bates, Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom and animal director Jim Capobianco. Balancing the program is the gorgeous Symphony no.1 by 19th century master Brahms. On…

  • September 2024

    Help Children Reach Potential By Embracing Their Mistakes

    “Mistakes are so fun. I feel great every time I make one. Can’t wait to make another one!”  Who says that?  Not me. Most likely, not you either.     In the world of scientific exploration and inventions, trial-and-error is a normal procedure.  Experimentation holds valuable information. When followed up by studying the results, better results are possible. Edison was reported to have made 1,000 attempts to perfect the light bulb.  That’s 999 fails.  For children and teens, experimenting, making errors in judgment, and failing are not given this acceptance and value by the adult world.       In the Positive Discipline parenting approach, a core tenet is that mistakes are an opportunity to…

  • September 2024

    Growing Up, Laughing

    I lost both of my parents during my 20’s. Yet, the memories survive, and the best ones are, of us laughing. Growing up and laughing together, with my parents, was part of the fabric that made us a family. Mom always wanted to be in on the joke, she adored laughing, but didn’t like anything too “dirty.” My father and I shared a more twisted sense of humor. In 1974, my dad took me to see the Mel Brooks classic, Blazing Saddles. I was 12. Some people might say I was too young for some of the humor, and I was. A lot of the gimmicks and double entendres went…

  • September 2024

    Taking a Semester Abroad Opened a New World

    I wade through whitewash with a lead rope in hand. The black pony tentatively follows. She hops and side steps through the waves, skittish to the feel of water on her chest. We push deeper until the ocean sits at my ribs. She swims in circles around me. The slapping waves mirror her sloping spine. I throw the rope over her shoulder and slide myself onto her back. She bounds off and I crash into the water. I rise over her back and fall splashing over and over until she is snorting and I am cold and heavy. On land, I sit with the family. We enjoy the crackers I…

  • September 2024

    Finding What Works for Your Family

    Parenting is undeniably challenging. I remember bringing my daughter home from the hospital and worrying, “Will I mess this up? Can I help her thrive?” Facing insecurities and the endless existential questions, bombarded by advice from TV, internet, social media, and everyday conversations, it was easy feeling judged for every decision. Now that she’s a toddler, I still face many opinions, but I’ve learned to trust what works for our family. This month we’ll explore the power of praise, a topic that generates many opinions and questionsHow much is too much or too little? Will my children become dependent on praise? Does it do more harm than good? These are…

  • September 2024

    Got the Back-to-School Blues?

    Got the back-to-school blues? The Santa Cruz County Fair is the cure! The 2024 Santa Cruz County Fair is a one-stop-shop for experiences and entertainment that will take you back in time and transport you to the future! For the first time ever, the Fair will feature a drone light show. Each night of the five-day Fair, “Skye Dreams” will amaze fairgoers with 200 drones dancing in the sky above the fairgrounds. It’s an artistic and high-tech experience. The custom drone show includes a Salute to America, Fair mascot Space Kid and the UC Santa Cruz mascot Sammy the Slug. Skye Dreams is in its third year producing shows throughout…