Peninsula Family, July 11 2011

FAMILYPeninsula

A publication for families living on Washington’s North Olympic Peninsula. Produced by the Peninsula Daily News.

what’s inside:

n ideas for outside play

n what to do with ungrateful teenagers

n family programs at olympic park institute

2 peninsula family • july 2011 a publication of the peninsula Daily news

Peninsula Family is published by the Peninsula Daily News Main office: 305 W. First St., Port Angeles, WA 98362 360-452-2345

John C. Brewer editor & publisherSusan Stoneman advertising operations manager

Jennifer Veneklasen section editor

Do you have article ideas?Please let us know what you’d like to see in

the September issue of Peninsula Family.The new quarterly publication also

welcomes contributors. Educators, parents and professionals in their field are invited to contribute informative and educational articles or columns for consideration.

For articles, save as a text document attach-ment or in the body of an e-mail and send to Jennifer Veneklasen, section editor, at [email protected]. (Note the period between the first and last name.)

For photos, please e-mail or send a CD with jpegs scanned at least at 200 dpi/resolution.

We cannot guarantee publication due to space and content considerations.

If your submission is accepted, we reserve the right to edit submissions.

Volume 1, issue 2 n July 2011

Summer, short but so sweetNorth Olympic Peninsula summers rival summers anywhere.The not-too-cool, not-too hot temperatures, sweet ocean breezes and

breathtaking mountains invite us to linger outdoors, perhaps knowing that our days for play are numbered.

Maybe it’s because we know how summers here are both fabulous and fleeting that many of us take getting outside seriously.

City sidewalks are full of parents with baby strollers, parks packed with rambunctious kids free from scheduled school curriculums and all around are smiling people thanking the sun gods for finally shining forth.

This issue of Peninsula Family offers ideas for getting kids (and yourself) outdoors. Take the ideas and run with them. There’s no time to waste.

Just in case rain or wind traps your family inside, or you need a break from the sun, we’ve also profiled the summer reading programs and events planned at North Olympic Peninsula libraries.

Take some books home with you. Nighttime is the perfect opportunity to slow down from the buzz of summer days and unwind while reading with your child in your lap, or your teenager sprawled out on the couch enjoying his book, and you in the recliner, devouring yours.

Enjoy your summer!— Jennifer Veneklasen,

editor of Peninsula Family

n On the cOver: Annika carpenter attended a June Olympic Park Institute program with her family. turn to Page 4 to learn about what OPI offers and how local families can receive a discount on programing.>> Photo by Katie Bovee

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Often, our gut instinct to squelch the whining is to plug them into a screen of some sort.

And why not? Turn on a gadget, and like magic the kids are

happy, the whining stops, and everyone’s life is much easier. I’ve certainly been known to use the television as a crutch now and again.

However, in his groundbreaking 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv points to this very scenario as a main cause of what he calls “Nature-Deficit Disorder.”

Louv asserts that more and more children are becoming disconnected from the natural world.

“Nature-Deficit Disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses,” he writes.

The simple antidote to this alarming trend — go outside!

Louv explains that, “stress reduction, greater physical health, a deeper sense of spirit, more cre-ativity, a sense of play, even a safer life — these are the rewards that await a family when it invites more nature into children’s lives.”

But sometimes, getting my 6-year-old Abby outside is akin to pulling a seastar off a rock.

n written by carrie Sanford

Just when I get one leg out the door, she grabs the remote control or leapster or headphones.

Invite more nature into your children’s lives.

Here are a few tried and true ways to get down and dirty outside:

n Keep an adventure pack by the door so you’re ready to go when the thirst for adventure strikes — I’m much more likely to leave the house if I’m already packed to go.

Here’s what I keep in mine at all times: sunscreen, pocket knife, sun hats, extra clothing, zip-top baggies, fruit leathers/bars, sunglasses, camera, bandaids, wipes, water bottle, a towel.

When we get home, I immediately empty out the garbage and replenish the pack so we’re all ready for tomorrow’s adventure.

n Leave the toys behind. You’ll be amazed at what your kid(s) can come up

with when they’re not encumbered with stuff. I once watched Abby’s friend tie a piece of bull kelp around her waist and drag it around for an hour — she even named it!

n Dress for play. Kids get dirty: it’s a fact of life. If the thought of clothes getting stained makes you

cringe, keep a small collection of play clothes — sec-ond-hand stores are great for this — and leave the fancy clothes in the back of the closet.

They’ll stay really clean there.

though our summer is only just now getting under way weather-wise, school is definitely out. And, as if on cue, children all across the Olympic Peninsula join in the dreaded, all-too-common “Mom! I’m boooooorrrrrred!” refrain. Sound familiar?

continued on Page 7 >>


elizabeth Yeater, a Port Angeles mom and emergency medical technician, writes about her family’s recent experience at Olympic Park Institute.

OUtDOOr ADventUre

Along the trail near Olympic Park Institute, the grown-ups kept a relaxed pace as their children’s legs skipped twice as fast.

Surely the kids’ pace had a lot to do with the M&M’s in the trail mix and all the fresh air.

As we hiked the even, easy trail toward Mary-mere Falls in Olympic National Park, I wondered if my children loved the woods as much as I do.

I sure hope so.In early June, my three youngest children —

Abram, Caleb, Gracie — and I had the pleasure of joining several other families on a weekend family camp at Olympic Park Institute.

Lake CresCent Canoeing On Saturday morning we paddled Lake Crescent

in an 18-passenger, Salish-style canoe. After a safety talk and the donning of life vests,

paddles were placed in the nimble hands of children, most under eight years of age.

In short order we set off from the dock into the

jewel-colored waters, crystal clear from the big snow-pack above.

The pace was comfortable and accommodating, allowing the children to find a rhythm.

Encouragement from institute staff was plentiful. The clarity of the water was my son Abram’s

favorite part. He kept a constant watch over the side of the canoe and scanned the depths for treasure.

My older son, Caleb, was given some brief instruc-tion on how to read a topographical map.

He was able to conclude that the deepest area of Lake Crescent was more than 600 feet deep.

We enjoyed a trip around the cove and a period of rest with a snack of pretzels.

As we floated on the lake, an Olympic Park Insti-tute educator named Luke Grange told us the leg-end of Storm King.

We learned that there is geological evidence that matches the legend of how Storm King lost part of its peak in a great battle.

It was an interesting piece of geologic history for my kids and me. Hot, HeaLtHy food and reLaxation

After returning to shore, we had a few moments to gather ourselves before lunch was served.

The crowd loved the hot, homemade soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh fruit and warm chocolate chip cookies.

We had time afterwards to enjoy a cup of hot tea or coffee, sit around outside historic Rosemary Inn and just absorb the breathtaking surroundings.

No dishes, no worries, no problems.

Pet roCks, kid exPLoration and aduLt time

The institute’s educators set up a picnic table in the sun and the children painted pet rocks (thoughtfully brought in from outside the parks’ boundaries) with much enthusiasm.

The whimsical results were adorable. As the painted rocks dried, our second institute

educator, Hannah Hindley, led our children on an

exploratory hike along Barnes Creek, looking for all sorts of bugs, slugs and wildflowers.

Parents had the option to tag along, nap, hang out on the beach, take a private walk along the creek or read on the dock.

While the adults soaked up the opportunity to rejuvenate, the children were off learning that if you hum to a slug, it will sometimes uncurl itself to visit with you! Slug magic.

tHe verdiCt The theme for the weekend, “Everyone Needs

a Rock, Really Even You,” was decidedly geared toward families with younger children, but Olympic Park Institute has programs throughout the year that focus on different age groups and interests.

Families with older children will love programs themed around the Elwha Restoration Project.

The pace during our weekend was relaxed, with opportunities for families to deviate as needed, and the institute educators were excellent.

There were no time constraints, no agendas and no required facts to memorize.


ABOVE: Elizabeth Yeater and her son, Abram Yeater, pause at the Olympic Park Institute campus. Elizabeth and her three children recently participated in one of the institute’s family programs that included canoeing on Lake Crescent, rock painting and guided hikes. >> photo by Katie Bovee

BELOW: Three-year-old Erol Vonkaenel of Seattle gives much concentration to painting his pet rock. >> photo by Katie Bovee

backyardGet tO KnOW YOUr MILLIOn-Acren written by elizabeth Yeater


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Is there an ungrateful teenager living in your house?Lisa Butler feels your pain. She started a Facebook group called UTIMH

(Ungrateful Teenager In My House).“They have such a sense of entitlement,” says Butler,

a social worker who lives in Hartford, Conn., with her 16-year-old son.

“They look at you as if you owe them.”And while her group doesn’t have a lot of members

yet, the few dozen who’ve joined are leaving heartfelt comments about kids who won’t help around the house, daughters who demand designer boots and sons who turn their noses up at delicious, homemade meals.

“How do we change that, now that they are teenag-ers?” wrote one mom.

Fortunately, Michael Ungar, a family therapist from Nova Scotia, Canada, and author of a new book, The We Generation, says ungrateful teenagers can be reformed.

Parents should require teenagers to make genuine, meaningful contributions to the family, and set conse-

quences if they don’t.Put that 16-year-old in

charge of making dinner one night a week, and don’t bail him out if he doesn’t do it.

Or tell him if he wants a ride to his game, he has to walk the dog.

“You make my life a lit-tle easier, I’ll make your life a little easier,” Ungar said. “It’s not about punish-ment. It’s about honestly showing your child what it takes to make a household

work or a society work.”Ungar says that today’s parents, from the “Me” gen-

eration, “figure it’s easier to go and do everything for the kids than to make them do it.”

But he says we should be aiming to raise the “We” generation, where kids are thinking about others.

“All too often as parents, we don’t ask enough of our kids,” he said. “We don’t hold the bar high enough. We infantilize our children.”

He added: “Don’t just simply invite them into the family. Give them a role in the family. You’ll see some dramatic changes in behavior as they understand that now they have a more adult function, that someone genuinely needs them.”

Ungar said that when kids come home from school, “it’s so easy to badger them with questions, lectures. Did you do your homework, are you going to soccer?”

He says that sends a message that “you’re just a dependent in this family. There’s no real role for you other than someone who makes work for others.”

Instead, he says, “turn it around. Tell them about your day. Ask for advice. Ask them to fix the computer or to make you a cup of tea. Get them involved in mak-ing decisions about the next family vacation.”

All that sounds more constructive than the notes left by desperate parents on Butler’s Facebook page.

“Yell real loud like you have lost your mind” was one mom’s advice for dealing with rotten kids. Sit in the car on a “time-out for mommies” was another.

In addition to empowering our kids to make genuine contributions, we should also help them experience and express gratitude.

Jeffrey Froh, a professor of psychology at Hofstra University in New York, says studies show that adoles-cents who report feeling gratitude “are happier with their lives.”

They’re more likely to help other people, to give emotional and social support, they report fewer physi-cal symptoms and they’re more satisfied with their lives overall. They’re more optimistic, less materialistic, less envious and less depressed.

In one study, middle-school students were asked to count their blessings for two weeks by listing up to five things they were grateful for.

“The kids who did that, as opposed to kids who focused on hassles, felt more gratitude, more life satis-faction, more optimism and were less negative. It’s about making yourself aware that there’s abundance out there. It’s a mindset,” Froh said.

In another study, kids were asked to “think of some-one who has done something really kind for you, but you never gave them the thanks they deserve.”

Kids were asked to write a thank-you letter and deliver it in person.

“We actually found that kids who were given this curriculum reported more happiness three and five months later,” he said.

Butler readily admits that parents share the blame in having raised a generation of kids who take every-thing for granted.

“We created a monster,” she said. “With a lot of the old-style ways, parents used to

teach kids to earn. Paper routes, shoveling snow — they did all those things to earn money to develop some type of work ethic. Now, instead of having them earn, they’ve been handed everything.”

The weekend program provided a comfortable opportunity for young families to explore Olympic National Park with a creative guide to lead the way.

Elizabeth Yeater and her family live in Port Ange-les. Elizabeth is an EMT and works at Olympic Med-ical Center. She is also an active member of Clallam County Search and Rescue.

oPi Has new oPtions Olympic Park Institute provides local families an

opportunity to get to know their own backyard. There is now a payment option for local families

to participate during daytime programming, but sleep in their own beds during the night.

This option makes OPI programs less expensive for families not needing overnight accomodations.

In the past, OPI offered only summertime pro-grams. Now its offering three-, four- and five-day options in the spring, summer and fall — so there are many more chances for families with busy schedules to slow down and enjoy their extraordi-nary surroundings.

Olympic Park Institute is a campus of Nature-Bridge and is the largest nonprofit educational part-ner of the National Park Service.

NatureBridge, with its start in Yosemite National Park, is turning 40 years old this year and the edu-cational programs in ONP are nearly 25.

For more information about upcoming family pro-grams, go to www.olympicparkinstitute.org/family or phone 206-382-6212, ext. 13.

n from the Associated Press

Ungrateful teen in your house? You’re not aloneOPI continued from Page 4 >>


Studies have shown that children who read six books during the summer are more likely to retain the level of reading proficiency they achieved the previous school year. In what is called the “summer slide,” children who do not read over the summer can lose up to a month of learning.

IMAGInAtIOn

<< Oregon Shadow theatre is a Portland, Oregon-based company specializing in the art of shadow puppetry. they’ll be in Sequim and Port Angeles on Aug. 3. See Page 7 for show times and locations.

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Involvement in the North Olympic Library System’s summer reading program can give children and teens a positive experience with books and reading, help reduce the “summer slide” and familiarize them with the library and how it can help them reach their educational and personal goals.

The library also has a summer program for babies and toddlers (0-35 months). So no matter your child’s age, the library has something to offer your family.Kids of any age can sign up for the summer reading program — “One World,

Many Stories” — at any of the four NOLS branches through Aug. 6.Participants can win prizes for reading.In addition, planes, magicians, storytellers, musicians, jugglers and dancers

are just a few of the events planned at NOLS branches this summer.For a full list of the planned events, go www.nols.org.

Here are a few of tHe many events (all ages welcome):

n Pajama storytimes. Put on your pajamas and head to the library. Stuffed animal friends welcome.

Monday, July 18, 6:30 p.m. at Port Angeles Main LibraryThursday, August 11, 6:30 p.m. at Sequim Branch Library

n masks of the rain forest. Join author, storyteller, and performer extraordi-naire Won-Ldy Paye with the Village Drum and Masquerade as they present a rare insight into the masked people who live deep in the primeval rain forest of Liberia, West Africa.

Three performances on Monday, July 2511:30 a.m. at Forks Branch Library2:30 p.m. at Clallam Bay Branch Library6:30 p.m. at Port Angeles Main Library


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n flying gizmo with the museum of flight. It’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s a Flying Gizmo! The Museum of Flight comes to the library.

Wednesday, July 27, 10:30 a.m. at the Sequim Middle School cafeteriaWednesday, July 27, 2 p.m. at Port Angeles Main Library

n oregon shadow theatre. Come see Puss in Boots — the magical show from some amazing puppeteers. The ethnic diversity and rich musical tradi-tions of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou are the background for Oregon Shadow Theatre’s adaptation of the classic French fairytale.

Colorful shadow puppets inspired by Mardi Gras’ outrageous parade costumes along with live zydeco and Cajun music give spicy flavor to this production.

Wednesday, August 3, 10:30 a.m. at the Sequim High School auditorium and again that day at 3 p.m. at the Port Ange-les Main Library.

n Pool Party. All participants from the summer reading program are invited to a party at the William Shore Memorial Pool, 225 E. Fifth St. in Port Angeles, on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information about the Sum-mer Reading 2011, go to www.nols.org, contact the library at 360-417-8502, or email [email protected].

LoCations:Port Angeles Main Library is located at 2210 S. Peabody St. Sequim Branch Library is located at 630 N. Sequim Ave. Forks Branch Library is located at 171 Forks Ave. South. Clallam Bay Branch Library is located at 16990 Hwy. 112.

Abby

San

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n Let your child(ren) get bored. It’s painful for the first 15 or 20 min-

utes, but the more often children really and truly get bored without an adult “rescuing” them, the more creative they become at entertaining themselves.

You don’t have to go far or buy a lot of stuff to entice your kids outdoors.

Here are some ideas for your own baCkyard: n Make a mud pie kitchen.

We use a couple of old crates, some second-hand pots and pans, cups, spoons and a “fancy” Jell-O mold I bought for $1.

Add a water source and some dirt. If you can’t deal with the mess of

actual mud, let your kid(s) play with water, grass, leaves and sticks. n Put out some sidewalk chalk or paint brushes with plain water to decorate your sidewalks. n Go get a giant box from an appli-ance store. Encourage your children to design and decorate their new fort. n Set up a tent or tie an old sheet be-tween two trees or over the clothesline.

Kids love making little hide-outs and can play for hours setting them up. n Make a big batch of bubbles and be OK with the inevitable spills.

Sometimes dancing in the spilled bubble mix is the most fun. n A pile of rocks, sticks, gravel or sand will occupy kids for ages. n Do stuff outside that you’d normally do inside. Take an easel or art project outside. Have a picnic. Carry out a pile of books and enjoy some time reading together.

If all else fails, tell your kids what a friend of mine tells hers: “You are welcome to go outside and play or stay inside and clean!”

The next time you hear the “I’m Bored” call and you start to pick up the remote control, I hope you’ll consider opening the door and booting your kid(s) outside instead.

Carrie Sanford is a mama, wife, educa-tor, artist and cook. She lives in Port Angeles with her 6-year-old daughter, Abby, and husband, Tom.

She blogs about her life as a mama at www.RhubarbSky.com.


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Peninsula Family, July 11 2011