Capital City Parent

“My consciousness blended into my unconsciousness” begins the new young adult fiction page-turner, Amoeba, by Rayna Vincent, published on Amazon in May. It’s the first novel for the Springfield 14-year-old, but it probably won’t be her last. “A lot of people have asked me if there is going to be a sequel,” Vincent says of […]

Scouting America and Illinois State Museum team up for STEAM workshops The Abraham Lincoln Council of Scouting America is partnering with the Illinois State Museum to present a monthly series of STEM workshops with engaging hands-on experiences for boys and girls ages 5–11. Programs will be offered one Saturday each month in September, October and […]

Are leaders born or made? For 17-year-old Jordan Robinson, the new student representative on the Springfield District 186 school board, leadership appears to be a combination of innate qualities and acquired skills. “Is Jordan a born leader? Yes,” said her mom, Jessica Pope-Robinson, with a smile. “We say she was like this from the get-go. […]

AUGUST Illinois State Fair Aug. 7-17. Massive annual fair features every kind of food imaginable, the sounds of music and concertgoers’ cheers at the Grandstand shows, a midway, harness-racing events and tons of agricultural shows and more. The fun begins Aug. 7 with the Twilight Parade. See the fair’s website for complete schedule. Illinois State […]

Central Illinois offers a variety of summer theater programs for kids and teens, providing opportunities to explore the performing arts in fun and supportive environments. Here’s a summary of theater arts opportunities for young people this summer. Youth shows 101 Dalmatians KIDS May 23-25 Hoogland Center for the Arts Based on the classic animated Disney […]

Running is a great sport for kids that can benefit both their physical and mental development. And luckily, there are ample regional opportunities this spring and summer for kids to participate in running. Lace up your sneakers and check out these family-friendly runs and races. Healthy Kids Running Series Multiple locations Ongoing The Healthy Kids […]

Summer is an ideal time to get kids into the kitchen, especially teens and tweens. Learning to prepare food is an essential life skill and an excellent way to keep active minds busy while school is out. Research points to what we know intuitively as caregivers, that involving kids in meal preparation increases their enthusiasm […]

What is hate speech? Hate speech is defined as having target groups and is characterized by harmfulness, such as belittling, humiliating, dehumanizing or threatening targets. Derogatory expressions can take the form of words, social media posts, text messages or videos. Hate speech fuels discrimination and hostility and undermines the principles of equality and respect for […]

MAY Storytime – Early Learning for Ages 1–5 Thursdays, 9:30am-1:30pm. Through May 22. Each week is a magical journey with books, crafts and themed movement activities. From bear hunts to ocean waves, there’s something new to explore every class. Class for ages 1-2 is 9:30-10:30am. Class for ages 3-5 follows at 12:30-1:30pm. Register at bit.ly/Funshop_Storytime. […]

“We need the tonic of wilderness…we can never have enough of nature.” – Henry David Thoreau Recognizing that much of the world was becoming increasingly industrialized, American naturalist and essayist Henry Thoreau was already urging folks to reconnect with nature back in the mid-19th century. If only he could see us now, with screens and […]

In the middle of a cold, dark winter sits a bright spot called Valentine’s Day. As a holiday, I think Valentine’s Day gets some (justified) bad PR for being too commercial, or being too snobbishly exclusive to those experiencing romantic love, but the older I get the more I figure we may as well lean […]

Third spaces used to be ubiquitous in our cities, for both adults and children. A third space can be described as a place other than home or work (or in the case of children, school) where people to go to connect with others. Often it is intended to mean places that do not charge money […]