Year ago, shooting a gun was a rite of passage for boys and BB guns were common. Today, BB guns and bow and arrow sets are pretty much things of the past, but not at Outdoor Skills Day at MacKenzie Environmental Education Center in Poynette. For one day each summer, kids learn how to shoot […]
When it’s okay to shoot a gun: Outdoor Skills Day Read More »
What will kids buy if they only have $1 to spend on a snack? That was the Bike for Life challenge last week. The kids could choose from the following as long as they stayed under $1: – apple or banana – 22-60 cents – cheese stick – 33 cents – 1 oz peanuts –
$1 Snack Attack: What will kids choose to eat? Read More »
A bike is an independence machine. Give a kid a bike and they have the means to see and do things that they couldn’t do before. Of course, biking is also good exercise, it’s good for the environment and it’s just plain fun. I just launched a new biking program at Goodman Community Center called
Biking: Independence on Wheels Read More »
Six kids will get a new bike on Thursday. They’re excited and I’m excited. They’ve worked hard at doing service around the Goodman Community Center. They’ve washed windows, picked up trash and worked with preschoolers. They’ve written book reports too. We’ll walk to the Wheels for Winners garage on Thursday and the kids will pick
Kids get Bikes on Thursday! Read More »
I let three 9-year-old boys walk a good distance ahead of the group on a hike at Governor Nelson State Park last week. This might not sound like a big deal, but it was for them. They wanted to feel independent. And yet, they kept looking back, just to make sure we were still there. That’s
A Taste of Independence: Trusting kids Read More »
“Let’s go biking!” We will receive five Schwinn folding bikes next week. These bikes form the foundation of a new bike program at the Goodman Community Center. I am very excited about this program and will start taking kids on trips as soon as the bikes arrive. Why folding bikes? Well, they are much easier
Let’s Go Biking: New folding bikes arriving soon Read More »
Every kid should have a bike. Period. Biking promotes independence and fitness but most of all it’s fun. Wheels for Winners is one of the coolest organizations on the planet because they put bikes in the hands of kids – and adults – that can’t afford them. The program is easy. Kids do 15 hours of
Wheels for Winners: Kids earn a bike for service Read More »
I let five boys play in “the pond” during after school on Friday. They got a little wet and dirty and they loved it. Imagine that. “The pond” is a rain garden sandwiched between our parking lot and a cell phone tower. It’s a little bit of wild in an urban setting. It’s a place where chorus
Boys build things and play in the water Read More »
Once again, a major protest at the State Capitol coincided with one of my outings. I have to say that I was happy to be heading away from town. Protesting is noble, but it distracts me from what I love. For me, the best thing to do is to continue my work with kids and
Cave of the Mounds: A great escape from protesting or anything else Read More »
I hated walking as a kid and would beg my mom to drive me places. “You can walk,” she’d say and then explain how when SHE was a girl she had to WALK 100 miles just to get to the bus stop…” Okay, I exaggerate a little, but I truly hated walking. Other kids got
Why kids don’t walk and what we can do about it Read More »
