Save the Date
Thu, Oct 18: Garden After Dark - Oaklore Adademy of Magic - Red Butte Garden
Sat, Oct 27: Cedar Livestock and Heritage Festival at Frontier Homestead State Park
Sat, Nov 3: Harlem Globetrotters at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Fri, Nov 9: Illuminate - Utah's Light Art and Tech Fest 2018 at THE GATEWAY - (N Rio Grande St) Salt Lake City
Fri, Nov 23: Minecraft Create Black Friday Blitz at Code Ninjas Sandy
*Some events may have additional dates. Click through to see more information.
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
I can typically drink precisely one cup of coffee in the morning before I feel the jitters. But last week, I found myself in a meeting where the coffee was so good, and was being poured so liberally, that I ended up having about two extra cups without really noticing. My brain, normally pretty energetic on its own, revved into hyper-drive: For the rest of the day, I had a terrible time focusing, and I was haunted by a sense of foreboding. It was a struggle to accomplish anything at all. I couldn't write. I felt that I couldn't even focus enough to compile a grocery list. Something was wrong, but nothing I could really point to.
Just about the hardest part of this experience was that I couldn't show it to the outside world. I have a business to run, people who depend on me, kids who need a mom who is there for them, I said to myself. I can't let anyone see that inside I'm really freaking out for no good reason. Even the realization that this was probably just a caffeine buzz didn't help. Given how much I value clarity of mind, I felt like I was no longer me, yet had to pretend I still really was. So I pushed through and looked normal for the 10 hours that my brain was at war with C8H10N4O2.
Everyone can relate to what I'm describing, somewhat, even those who haven't experienced an uncomfortable caffeine surge: Each person's outside is completely different from his or her inside. If you're blessed with a harmonious body chemistry and aren't managing behind-the-scenes disasters, it's easier to balance the two. Everyone experiences days where they need to put on a brave face; it's only a small additional step to imagine having to do that every day, all the time.
I told one of my friends about the coffee experience, and she said, as I expected she would, "Welcome to my life." She, like several other people I care about, has been at war with her own body chemistry, not for a day or two, but for years, locked in an unending struggle to stay productive, focused, and genial, despite feeling that parts of her brain yank her in the other direction. Medication helps, somewhat, to free her to be herself. But because mental illness still carries such a stigma in our culture, she has only told her closest friends and family members the truth. It's completely unfair that she has to do this. On the plus side, she feels that our society has lately been making some progress in the right direction.
This week is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and its theme for 2018 is Cure Stigma. So today, I ask you to talk to your kids about the inside-outside phenomenon, about how you can never really know what is going on in someone else's brain or life. Show them how to be wary of making assumptions. Teach them that generosity and compassion can never hurt, and can always help, even if you never see the effects first-hand.
Other people's insides matter. Let's cure the stigma together.
—Debra Ross, Publisher, EntertainmentCalendar.com
Get into the Spooky Spirit with These Books!
The wind is howling, the bats are swooping, the jack-o-lanterns are flickering. . . and you and your little one are curled up, safe and snug with a stack of not-too-spooky Halloween picture books! Click here to find a list of fifteen of our all-time favorite Halloween read-alouds.
Should you make your own costumes this Halloween?
Halloween is only weeks away, and that means it's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes! Now, we know that making your own costume is not for every kid (or every parent!). If speed and convenience are your top priorities, by all means, pick something up at your local store. But putting together your own costumes offers the opportunity for plenty of creativity and perhaps a little family bonding time.
Our Hudson Valley editor Anne Siller explains more in her piece, "Why would anyone MAKE their child's Halloween costume?"
Need a little inspiration? We've gathered up some make-your-own ideas from readers and staff, and you can find them here.
A Wellness Approach to Learning Disabilities
There are many successful people who have overcome challenges related to learning. How did they do it? We have a pretty good idea. One thing for sure, they learned to become engaged in REAL LIFE experiences instead of sitting in the basement playing video games all day. At Click on Learning, we’ve helped thousands of people find success. Visit our website to sign-up for our LD friendly email series called “21-tips to Improve Learning.” Or, call to discuss your needs 801-477-6933. ---Ed Therapy assessments 30% off during September and October---
For 60 Years our passion for skiing and snowboarding is what connects us to our guests.
Exclusively at our Salt Lake City Store in Olympus Cove, get season rental ski and snowboard packages starting at a hundred and nine dollars for kids and one sixty nine for adults! Plus our new Junior Beginner package for only eighty nine dollars, while supplies last! Hey Park City Kids! The Christy Sports in Kimball Junction has junior season rentals starting at a hundred and nine dollars too! Christy Sports, We’ll See You Out There!
Children are encouraged to ask questions about nature and to seek answers through collecting things, counting and measuring, making observations, and experimenting. Made possible by the Henry W. and Leslie M. Eskuche Foundation, AT&T, Lawrence T. And Janet T. Dee Foundation, and the Ruth Eleanor and John Ernest Bamberger Memorial Foundation. For children ages 2 – 5 years. Parents must remain with their child during entire session. Sign up to participate at the Info Desk. Limit 12 students per class.
Click here for more information.
By Popular Demand ... Into the Fire We Go! Knighton and Wildhorn's spectacular Broadway musical ignites Hale's new centre stage with all the mystique and romance of the classic novel ... England becomes entwined in the French Revolution ... Is Sir Percy's new, French bride loyal or a traitor? The music is thrilling. The story, enthralling. The staging and costumes, breathtaking. A sure sell out!
Click here for more information.
It’s not every day you could meet an alligator or greet a skunk. Animals are all around us, some live in your backyard, some live far away, but all are important to our world. Come get up close and personal with some of the most interesting animals you will meet as we explore some of the curious critters that make our world wonderful.
Click here for more information.
Get Graphic Festival - Provo City Library
Celebrate all that comics and graphic novels have to offer at the Provo City Library's novel festival with special guest Victoria Jamieson (author of ROLLER GIRL and more). Explore different artistic media, play games, and learn from local comics creators in our variety of games, activities, and breakout sessions! Tickets for all events will be available beginning September 30 at the Children’s and First Floor Reference Desk and online. No tickets are required for events from 11 am - 1 pm on Saturday.
Click here for more information.
Halloween season is in full swing! We collect the Halloween activities all in one place, dividing them into Halloween-Scary and Halloween-Fun. Click here for KidsOutAndAbout's list of Halloween activities in our area.
And are you in the market for a pumpkin, to eat or to carve? Click here for our big list of pumpkin patches. Discover a new place to get them this year.
Where can you combine the great outdoors, exercise, problem-solving skills, and family bonding? Why at a corn maze, of course! Autumn means corn maze season: get out there and get lost!
Re-visit an old Favorite or Check Out a New Place with Our List of Local Corn Mazes.
Looking for some Corn Maze Tips? We've got them for you.
Halloween Can Be Extra-Scary with Allergies in Your Family
Ice cream. Pasta. Cashews. Peanuts. Candy. Eggs. For some kids and their parents, these signify a trip to the ER or worse. This is the world of food allergies, and according to Audrey Kinsman, creator of the Switch Witch. it’s quickly growing. “There’s two kids in every classroom with food allergies,” Kinsman says. “Think of it this way – if a child picks up a blue crayon – that child could die. That’s how a mom of a child with food allergies feels.”
Kinsman responded by creating the Switch Witch for her child. Read about her story here.
Allergies are yet another reason why we at KidsOutAndAbout recommend you try to Go Beyond Candy when it comes to offering treats this year.
Halloween Foods. . . Besides the Candy
Whether you welcome the idea of scaring guests silly with a feast of clever, spooky dishes or you're just trying to figure out how to fit a little nourishment into a busy evening of trick-or-treating and door-answering, we've got you covered!
Victoria Shearer, author of numerous cookbooks, shares a round-up of some favorite Halloween classics in her article Spooky Halloween Dinner. Looking for inspiration? You're sure to find it here.
Meanwhile KidsOutAndAbout's own June Santini, known among the home office staff for her exquisite pies, bacon jam, and paninis, offers up her solution to Halloween Dinner: Pumpkin Stew. If you find your October joy in the farmers' market instead of the candy aisle, you'll love this recipe. Leave it on the stove, easy-peasy, or pour it into a hollowed-out pumpkin to wow your friends.
