Life’s A Juggling Act So Why Not Buy the Right Equipment? By Kimberly Hickok As a quirky, eclectic beachside community, it should come as no surprise that Santa Cruz is home to Renegade Juggling, a small, family-operated business that is one of the biggest manufacturers and retailers of juggling and circling equipment in the country. Since 1982, owner, founder, and juggler extraordinaire Tom Renegade has been using his juggling and manufacturing expertise to craft and sell every kind of juggling device or circus prop you can imagine. If you need a rechargable LED lit juggling ball, he’s got them for $33 each. How about a Fire Devil Stick for twirling…
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Book Review
Raising Kind Kids: Q&A with Author Melinda Wenner Moyer By Kim Hickok Probably all parents can agree that they want their kids to grow up to be good, kind people. In her book, “How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-based strategies for better parenting – from tots to teens,” (Headline Home, 2021) award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer shares the most relevant scientific research on how to raise kids who are kind. Recently, we spoke with Moyer to learn more about her book and what she learned while writing it. Here’s what she had to say. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) Your background is in…
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Sarah Greathouse
New Job Means More Time with Family by Carmen Clark Sarah Greathouse has always been a party planner. In 6th grade, her teacher gave everyone a certificate for their strengths, and Sarah was Organizational Guru, always volunteering to take on the class party. Despite not being into clubs or groups or cliques in high school, Sarah found a home in leadership, where they planned all the high school events, including prom. Sarah was about to enter a teaching credentialing program when she was hired to work at a local resort, where she fell into the wedding coordination world. When she got laid off due to the crash of 2008, she…
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Craft Corner Games
Bored With Your Board Games? Make Your Own! By Crooked Beauty If you are interested in creating a game from scratch, there are templates you can download here: printabletemplates.com/graphics/board-game/Crooked Beauty will be hosting a board game-making class Sunday, November 6th. Go to crookedbeautyart.com for more details. One thing I’ve realized is that between school and home, kids have a lot of rules they have to follow…so when they get the chance to be in charge, wow do they love it!Maybe you don’t have time to make a board game from scratch, but you can use parts and pieces of the games you do have to make a new one.…
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Birth Photos
Picture Perfect By Laura Maxson, LM Birth photos can be very powerful and bring back intense memories. Some new parents will want to let their birth experience sink in for a few days before viewing their birth photos. The moment of birth can be intense. When the final push comes, mom’s face may be buried into her partner’s chest or perhaps her head thrown back in wild abandon, the baby is finally here. While the birth of a child is a once-in-a-lifetime event, is it also a photo op? For some, the answer is a resounding “no.” But, in increasing numbers, the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” While anyone can…
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Got Shrimp?
Santa Cruz Company Replaces Styrofoam with Shellfish By Jeanette Prather As a mother of children, every time I think about what we’ve done to this planet and the plastics in the ocean, I just wish we could’ve had Cruz Foam about 20 years ago Innovative IngredientsAn innovative Santa Cruz-based company–with backing from two big Hollywood stars– is replacing Styrofoam packing peanuts with the waste from shellfish to create an organic foam that’s durable, light and actually good for the environment. Realizing that Styrofoam doesn’t decompose for 500 years, Cruz Foam founders came up with a formula that decomposes in two months and still protects packages. The mix uses a biopolymer–DNA,…
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Huggy Wuggy
He Hugs You to Death Is Huggy Wuggy too Scary for Kids? by brad Kava It was supposed to be a cultural trip to San Francisco, and it was, until we passed some flea market booths near the wharf. There, Parker saw what became his obsession—a Huggy Wuggy backpack. Normally, I monitor what he watches, but this one escaped me. It sounded so innocent, and so what if Huggy Wuggy looked a bit monstrous—the Muppets are also monsters of a sort. “You know he’s a serial killer,” Parker asked after we’d negotiated our way around several booths that were loaded with the blue character backpack and found one for $15.…
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Paying for College
Free Money for College by Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy This year, the budget includes $170 million for children entering 1st grade (2022-2023).Every year, the state will open an account for any child born after July 1, 2022, regardless of income or school child will eventually attend, and has set aside $15.3 million for these newborn accounts. California children born on or after July 1, 2022 will qualify to receive up to $100 for newborns and up to $1500 for low-income students. CalKids is a state-funded college savings program designed to encourage all students to consider higher education by giving them a small, long-term college savings account. Research shows that children, and their…
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College Prep
By Mikayla Shults Last month I asked seniors how they were preparing for college. I assumed most students would be in the same boat- writing essays and applying for scholarships. For some reason, I thought I was the only senior choosing to take a different path and go to Cabrillo. The results were pleasantly surprising! It turns out many people are taking advantage of community college, and if they aren’t, plans for next year are not 100% clear. A few of the people I spoke to have worked extra hard since last year and know exactly what education and career suits them. One person went to Cabrillo for the last…
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Mental Health
Back to School Mental Health Tips by Nicole M. Young, MSW Sometimes, kids just need parents and other adults to listen without judging or trying to solve their problems. For some kids, the new school year is an exciting time — seeing old friends, making new ones, showing off cool clothes, joining sports or clubs, or enjoying new classes and teachers. For other kids, the transition between summer and school sparks difficult feelings, like fear, anxiety, or depression. And for many, it’s all of that and everything in between.This monthly column provides tips for anyone who’s raising children, based on the world-renowned Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, available to…
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After School Conversations
Editor’s Note By brad kava It doesn’t seem right to start school before Labor Day, or as many in Santa Cruz know it, weeks before Burning Man. (As a college teacher, I can always tell the ones who miss the first week of school claiming to have been at a funeral or stuck overseas on some secret mission by their desert tans. Busted.) That said, one of the biggest challenges parents face as their youngsters return home from an arduous day of learning is getting them to talk about it. It can be as tough a job as a police person interviewing a suspected murderer trying to get the facts,…
