Missplaced Helps You Get Organized By Jhoneé Fillmore Still not too late for summer supplies! The summer days in Santa Cruz can lead us into many spontaneous family activities. Be prepared by keeping summer adventure supplies ready. Spontaneous Family Fun Supplies Be sure to include: Backpack, sunscreen, dry snacks, water bottle, picnic blanket, towels, umbrella, trash bags and a change of clothes. With this assortment of items you are prepared for any adventure including a stop at one of the many Santa Cruz beaches, a picnic at Wilder Ranch State Park, a hike in Niscene Marks or an outing to a local playground. Keeping these items in a backpack is…
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Brain Building: Research Supports a “Playful” Approach to Preschool/Kindergarten Learning
Brain Building: Research Supports a “Playful” Approach to Preschool/Kindergarten Learning By Hema Walker Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. – Albert Einstein Everyone knows that young children love to play, but the latest in brain research clearly shows that children need to play in order to develop the skills that are required for success in academics and into adulthood. This knowledge guides the heart of high quality programs for young children by providing an engaging, creative, hands-on curriculum in a rich environment with…
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Transitioning from Summertime to Schooltime: Ask Nicole August 2019
Transitioning from Summertime to Schooltime Ask Nicole August 2019 Summer is almost over, and we’re getting ready for a new school year. My son will return to college soon (sniff, sniff), and my husband and I will go back to figuring out the daily puzzle of carpool, sports, school, and work schedules. Neither of my kids will say they’re ready for summer to end – and it will be a shock to their systems when they have to set an alarm and wake up early again – but I can feel the anticipation and excitement starting to build. As hard as it is to leave behind the relaxed pace of…
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Happy and Successful Kids Lifeskill 4: Making Connections
Happy and Successful Kids Lifeskill 4: Making Connections By Jan Pierce, M.Ed. Have you ever wondered why some people are artists, writers or inventors? How is it that some people quickly understand the way a story works or the heart of a poem? At least part of the answer is that those persons are able to make connections between bits of information to build a broader understanding. School teachers understand the importance of making connections. Those students able to find the connections between various pieces of information arrive at correct conclusions faster and also come up with unique understandings. They’re good thinkers and often creative thinkers. Very young children develop…
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From Farm to Film New Business Teaches Kids to be the Next Steven Spielberg
From Farm to Film New Business Teaches Kids to be the Next Steven Spielberg By Kevin Painchaud Credit Kevin Painchaud. Making of the movie “The McGuffin” It’s pretty common in our area to go into a restaurant and expect amazing food come straight from the farm. What if you took your kids to a farm and they came back as filmmakers? That is exactly what The Aptos based family farm, Thomas Farms, is doing. Thomas Farms an organic flower farm owned by Aptos locals Kari Lee Thomas and Joshua Thomas. After running a successful business supplying beautiful flowers to New Leaf and Whole Foods and being pioneers in organic farming,…
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Is it Trash or Treasure? City of Santa Cruz Offers Free Tours of Recycling Center
Is it Trash or Treasure? City of Santa Cruz Offers Free Tours of Recycling Center By Karen Kefauver Did you know Santa Cruzans place 30 to 50 tons of material in their blue recycle bins every day? It’s a staggering amount. I strive to recycle as much as possible to help our beautiful city and to reduce my impact on the planet. However, after 25 years living in Santa Cruz and being a devoted recycling nut, I had grown complacent, thinking I pretty much knew it all. Recently, I learned from a local expert that I can do a better job at recycling. Last month, I fulfilled a long-held goal…
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California Mother of the Year Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy is spreading the word about emergency planning!
California Mother of the Year Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy is spreading the word about emergency planning! As California’s Mother of the Year, I’d like to make sure that we’re prepared to protect our homes, families, and pets as we enter FIRE SEASON. Everyone knows that it’s a matter of “WHEN” not “IF” there will be another catastrophic wildfire like we had last year when both northern (Paradise Camp Fire) and southern (Woolsey Fire) destroyed almost 20,000 structures, burned almost 250,000 acres, and killed 88 people. So let’s work together to prevent a fire or earthquake from taking out our homes and neighborhoods. There are a number of EASY things you can do…
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Library Mixed-Use Project Advocates Launch Community Movement To Improve Downtown Santa Cruz
Library Mixed-Use Project Advocates Launch Community Movement To Improve Downtown Santa Cruz WHEN: 11 a.m. Thursday, July 11, 2019 WHERE: Museum of Art & History, Secret Garden, 705 Front Street, Santa Cruz WHAT: Launch of Downtown Forward, a community movement that advocates for initiatives and projects that will make life in Downtown Santa Cruz better for residents, workers and visitors by bringing new housing, jobs, amenities, and infrastructure that embrace technology, a commitment to fight climate change and a strong sense of community. SPEAKERS:-Deb Tracy-Proulx, parent and Santa Cruz City Schools Board President-Diana Alfaro, affordable housing advocate and Downtown resident-Martin Gomez, member of Board of Directors for the Friends of Santa Cruz Public Libraries, former head of the Los Angeles Public Library system-Joe Ferrara, Downtown business owner,…
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The Biggest Collection of Photos from the Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019
The Biggest Collection of Photos from the Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019 …Aptos World’s Shortest Parade 2019The largest collection of photos from the world’s shortest 4th of July paradeAptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 682height 485Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 381height 507Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 673height 497Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 701height 495Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 376height 377Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 672height 501Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 666height 463Aptos Fourth of July Parade 2019originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 675height 506Aptos…
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Shelter Dogs and Other Blessings
Shelter Dogs and Other Blessings By Sheila Borgman On a Sunday morning in May, my 14-year-old daughter Eva sulked as we drove to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter (SCCAS). The night before I’d told her she couldn’t go to a bonfire with older kids and she’d been giving me the silent treatment ever since. We were headed to our weekly volunteer shift at SCCAS, something we’d been doing since Eva turned 13. Looking back on our eight years at the Shelter, I realize now that our time together went far beyond hanging out with dogs once a week. It was a way to connect during the spooky teenage years…
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Summer School of Rock
Summer School of Rock Local music school offers kids a chance to join a band and play gigs By Nik Jones Bathed in colorful stage lights and shrouded in a dense, milky cloud from a fog machine, the six members of Full Disclosure rocked the stage of the Rio Theatre in June. They were one of four bands recording an original song written during Be Natural Music’s weeklong summer band camp. “There’s something about having that opportunity to be on stage at a really good gig, and not having to stress about all the issues that come with being in a band,” said Emily Marschall-Niswonger, 15, who played saxophone and…
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Navigating the Ups and Downs of Friendships: Ask Nicole July 2019
Navigating the Ups and Downs of Friendships: Ask Nicole July 2019 By Nicole M. Young, MSW When my kids were little, their closest friends were the children of my closest friends. Life was simple when I knew and trusted their friends and their friends’ parents. Now, my kids mention friends I’ve never met before, and I know that friendships can begin and end on social media without ever having any face-to-face interactions. It almost makes me miss the “simpler” days of my childhood when social groups changed only as fast as you could dial the phone or write a note on paper. Although life feels more complicated these days, I…
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New, Technologically Advanced Coaster Opens in Vallejo: Always Amused July 2019
New, Technologically Advanced Coaster Opens in Vallejo: Always Amused July 2019 By Erik Chalhoub With theme parks in Southern California getting all the hype this year — Star Wars: Galaxy Edge recently opened at Disneyland, a new quadruple-launching coaster is being built at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios Hollywood is about to debut its re-imagined Jurassic World attraction — parks in Northern California have been relatively quiet in 2019. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk added two new family rides — Twirlin’ Teacups and Crazy Surf — while California’s Great America is prepping for a yet-to-be-announced water park expansion. Gilroy Gardens, meanwhile, is still riding high with its 2018…
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She Catches Fish to Save Them: Santa Cruz has its First Fish Veterinarian
She Catches Fish to Save Them: Santa Cruz has its First Fish Veterinarian By Susan Landry If you’ve ever wondered about that quirky clownfish car driving around town, you’ll be even more fascinated by the woman inside it. Dr. Jessie Sanders is the first of her kind – a fully trained veterinarian who focuses her practice exclusively on pet fish. The Soquel-based clinic treats more than 30,000 different species of fish. “If it swims, we’ll see it,” Sanders says, though much of her client base consists of koi and goldfish. Sanders pioneered her field shortly after graduating veterinary school, when she realized the dearth of care available to aquatic animals.…
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Cabrillo Festival Family Days Coming Up in Downtown Santa Cruz
Cabrillo Festival Family Days Coming Up in Downtown Santa Cruz Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is coming up in August with something for everyone in the community. This highly respected cultural organization has strived to include more and more free family programming to its already brimming two weeks of activities built around new music for orchestra. Beginning on Sunday evening, July 28, the downtown Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium becomes the hub of festivities that include free Open Orchestra Rehearsals, conducted by Music Director Cristian Măcelaru. The rehearsals provide a fascinating opportunity to watch the creative process as 70 orchestra musicians, composers-in-residence, and conductor bring the works to life. Visitors are…
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Our Pet Cover Photo Contest!
Our Pet Cover Photo Contest! When Bella Herrera was a toddler, she suffered from allergies and her doctor suggested that she eat local honey to try and combat them. She liked honey in tea and her mom, Veronica, made a daily tea party a ritual. It stuck. Bella, then 5, loved tea and she shared her party with her English Bulldog, Bubba, shown here without his pinky finger raised in proper English etiquette. At 12, she still loves tea and her dog. The votes were close for our pet and kid photo of the year. All entrants will get two free passes to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and stay…
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Apply for College…Without Paying $450,000!
Apply for College…Without Paying $450,000! Local college and admissions specialists discuss the scandal, our local concerns, and what students facing college applications should do By Suki Wessling The recent college admissions scandal comes just as I am writing my last in a series of three articles for GUiSC about preparing for and applying to college. The first article (November) explored “finding your passion” and considering different life paths. The second article (March) explored the idea of “college fit” and how students are often surprised that a less exclusive college might be a better fit for them. This final article was supposed to be about the application process, but we can’t…
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Join Plastic Free July: Green Living July 2019
Join Plastic Free July: Green Living July 2019 By Meredith Keet of The Zero Shop Join the millions of individuals and families worldwide in cutting your plastic use for Plastic Free July! This campaign, started by the non-profit, Plastic Free Foundation, has become a global movement that is both decreasing plastic use as well as increasing awareness around plastic pollution. What can you do? Challenge yourself, your family, friends and coworkers to use as little plastic as possible for the month of July. Get started by taking a look at where most of your plastic use come from, then brainstorm ways you might be able to avoid producing that waste. …
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Have you Heard about the Terrible Bacteria Affecting our Sea Lion Population? Did you Know that Same Bacteria are Attacking our Dogs!
Have you Heard about the Terrible Bacteria Affecting our Sea Lion Population? Did you Know that Same Bacteria are Attacking our Dogs! By Dr. Nichole Brooks, DVM Have you heard about the terrible bacteria affecting our Sea Lion Population? Did you know that same bacteria are attacking our dogs! The bacteria is called Leptospirosa, and we often refer to it as lepto or leptospirosis. This is a contagious and life threatening bacteria that causes a severe infection and has also been called “Weil’s disease.” It is considered zoonotic which means it’s contagious to people! The vaccine for this bacteria has been available for many decades, however it has evolved and…
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Families Grow Healthy with WIC: Birth Matters July 2019
Families Grow Healthy with WIC: Birth Matters July 2019 By Dana Wagner, MS RD IBCLC, Assistant Director, Community Bridges WIC Program This is not just WIC’s motto, it is backed by research. Recent studies highlight how participation in the (WIC) Program is associated with healthier outcomes and cost savings1,2. The 2009 changes to the WIC Food Package, which added more fruits and vegetables and whole grains and tailored infant formula amounts based on age and need, have resulted in healthier growth trajectories and are associated with improved childhood obesity outcomes at age 4. These findings were consistent in two recent studies, one of over 180,000 children served by WIC in…
