Local School Sites Offering Free Meals To All Kids Under 18 Santa Cruz City SchoolsFree meals will be available from 11-1 at the following sites in the parking lot. If you are driving, please stay in your car and meals will be provided based on the number of children in the car. All families are eligible for meal services and may pick up meals at any of the following locations: Harbor High School– drive up in the parking lot Branciforte Middle School– drive up in the cut out in front of the school Gault Elementary– drive up drive up on Effey St. Bayview Elementary– drive up in the parking lot…

A Naturopathic Perspective BY DR. TONYA FLECK AND DR. JESSICA BERNARDY Many patients and friends have been asking what we as naturopathic doctors suggest for protecting ourselves and our families against this potential threat. There are thousands of studies on the effective use of natural agents for antiviral properties, yet nothing is being said in the news about them. People are dying and public health officials and conventional medicine still resists acknowledging these agents in preventing and treating viruses and other illnesses. At the Santa Cruz Naturopathic Medical Center, we have heard statements in regards to the coronavirus, such as “There’s nothing we can do to protect ourselves — there’s…

Camps Offer Unplugged Summers BY KAMI PACHECO Ahhhh, the freedom of summer! Every year I count down the days to my favorite season, where memories of worry-free, open-ended, play-filled times bring nostalgic feelings of warmth, peace, contentment, and joy. I picture myself lying on my back under a shaded redwood tree, gazing up into the wide blue expanse of limitless sky. I’m not sure if I actually ever did this, as my personal energy level has consistently been on the upward scale of “always moving,” but even if I never laid still under a tree, this is still my fondest memory of summer. What I do remember most is freedom.…

With Schools Closed, the Internet Saves the Day BY SUKI WESSLING What a difference a virus makes. I wrote this article in January, while doing research on the effects of Internet and device use on kids and family relationships. There was a lot of concern out there that our kids were being negatively affected by excessive screen use, by online bullying, by video game addiction. No one was talking about the benefits of this brave new world. Now I find that I am hearing a new refrain: Thank goodness we have the Internet. I’m so glad my student can communicate with his friends online. Can I please please please enroll…

Dear Parents, Your Computer is Your Quarantine Friend BY JAN PIERCE The kids are home unexpectedly. There are hours to fill and learning to do. You’ve got this. Here is a list of online resources to ensure your kids are busy and happy during this “mini-vacation.” Good Kids’ WebsitesA great website for children will offer quality content and lots of interactive choices. More than just color pages, these sites will have interactive games, downloadables and will relate to real learning. Take a look. sesamestreet.org Pre-schoolers love Sesame Street and always will. The online site continues with early learning fun and games. pbskids.org is already anticipating the need for new and…

It’s Not All Hard BY MARY GAUKEL FORSTER Last month’s article defined hard skills, their connection to specific careers, and how they can be encouraged and taught. Hard skills are important such as knowledge of anatomy for a doctor or building codes for an architect. A parent can do much to teach or foster the growth of a child’s hard skills but the majority of child development studies indicate that the parent plays an even more important role in developing a child’s soft skills. The top 10 soft skills include communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem solving, creativity, work ethic, interpersonal skills, time management, leadership, and attention to detail. For most careers,…

Got Some Time? 10 Minute Organization Tips By JHONEE FILLMORE Do you have some free time in your house? Here are some areas of your house that you can tackle within about 10 minutes. This is 10 minutes well spent. Books & MagazinesIt seems that for most of us we have books and/or magazines stacked places or overflowing on our bookshelves. Take a minute and sort through them. Just the mere sorting may inspire you to revisit a book. You may know just the right person who would like to read one of your books whether it be a loan or a give. You probably know of a specific organization…

These Judges Judge Your Kids BY BOB DERBER In a January GUiSC article, “Judges Matter”, author Annrae Angel was spot on: our Family Court judges impact Santa Cruz every day and in significant ways.  Their decisions touch our basic fabric – family structure and the protection of our children when parents are in conflict. We are fortunate to have two ‘bench officers’ who are not just legal scholars.  They bring significant life-experiences to the court.  They are judges Paul Marigonda and Kim Baskett. Most divorcing parents don’t hire attorneys, and they often appear before these judges to ‘make a call’ when they cannot agree upon a matter. The two parents…

Making Pupusas with Abuela​ BY SUKI WESSLING She can’t ask her parents to call her the name she prefers. His aunt and uncle refuse to let him join family gatherings. They had to go live with Grandma after they were kicked out of their home. She’s living in foster care and can’t see her old friends.Even in liberal Santa Cruz County, gender diverse teens suffer when they come out to their families and communities. Whether the teens are coming out as gay or lesbian, deciding to live as the gender they feel inside, or asking to be called with the pronoun that fits them, families often respond with less than…

Small Businesses Serving Families Feel the Pinch BY SUKI WESSLING A lot of us are feeling fear and uncertainty because of the incursion of COVID-19 into our community. Local small business owners, however, are worried about more than getting sick.“Our business is our livelihood, and if people don’t sign up for lessons, we can’t pay our employees and that creates a stress on its own,” explains Emily Zimmel of Adventure Sports in Santa Cruz. “I will try to employ my people as long as I can.” Raising children in Santa Cruz involves an interconnected network of local families, businesses, nonprofits, and government services. Small businesses are at the center of…

Nonprofits Struggling as Virus Spreads BY SUKI WESSLING This interview took place on March 14, when we had very little sense of where our county, our country, and the world would be by April. I wanted to find out what was happening with local nonprofits that work with kids. Through the confusion of the first days of quarantine, Kate and Angela took the time to express the state of volunteerism in Santa Cruz and their hopes for how we might rise out of this mess in the end. KP: Hi, this is Kate Pavao, Executive Director of the Live Like Coco Foundation. Our mission is to help kids in Santa…