Capital City Parent

  Susan Clause remembers using a strange chant to awaken her young son from his slumber: erg-A-doo, erg-A-doo, erg-A-doo. These memorable words resonated with Clause and her husband, Stephen Briggs, 15 years ago when they were searching for a name for their new educational resource store. The name stuck. ErgAdoo, just off South Grand Avenue […]

  Heading off to college is a major transition in the life of a young adult – and that young adult’s parents. The process of organizing, packing, moving and finding one’s way in a new environment while maintaining ties to home is a process that is as challenging as it is ultimately rewarding. What follows […]

  There is nothing quite like the joy a child feels when he first learns to ride a bicycle. I remember the first time I tried to ride. The bike was a clunky contraption that my uncles had put together from spare parts; it was so heavy I could hardly turn the pedals. Luckily, Dad […]

  By making learning fun with games and conversation during the preschool years, establishing good study skills during elementary school, and building on those strategies in middle school, parents can help their students become successful in high school and college. Two Springfield District 186 teachers share basic, proven approaches parents can use during these formative […]

 Fun mealtime and snack presentations can motivate toddlers and school-age children to eat healthy foods. They can also provide a positive experience at the dinner table and a good introduction to foods your kids have never tried. Youngsters like food that has color, shape and character. And remember, children take their cue on everything from […]

 Summer is more than just fun in the sun. While most students are enjoying a much-appreciated breather, administrators at local schools use these months as an opportunity to implement improvements to the schools, both in terms of the physical premises and to scholastic programming. Darrell Schaver, director of operations and maintenance for Springfield School District 186, […]

  “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life and, most importantly, cookies.” That quote by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani characterizes what grandmas and grandpas freely give to their children’s offspring. They do so in ever increasing […]

Families looking for a fun, lively, learning excursion this summer don’t have to look far. Central Illinois is home to several family friendly museums that offer engaging permanent installations and special events for all ages. Here is a look at four great destinations within 90 miles of home, including one right here in Springfield.  Illinois […]

  The Place Where We Live Ken Bradbury and Steve Varble, illustrator Bookkrafters, Jacksonville Lifelong teacher Ken Bradbury of Arenzville is well known in these parts as playwright and theater director. He has had more than 300 plays and musicals published. Designing and building theater sets for numerous Bradbury productions was freelance designer Steven Varble […]

Many of the issues parents face today would have seemed like science fiction in Abraham Lincoln’s time. How do we monitor our kids’ online activities? At what age should they get cell phones? How do we balance “screen time” with sports, homework and playing outside?  Yet as far as parenting philosophies go, the Lincolns and […]

My grandfather, Charles Faingold, was a vital, robust guy for most of his life. At different points during his young manhood in Minneapolis and Chicago he plied his trade as both a wrestler and an accountant. He lucked into a job with the U.S. Postal Service just before the Great Depression hit, managing to remain […]