Capital City Parent

A Net to Snare the Moonlight and Other Poems for Children is the latest book of Vachel Lindsay’s poetry to be released by the Vachel Lindsay Association. This 17-poem collection, illustrated by Springfield artist Felicia Olin, contains some of Lindsay’s creepier children’s poems. The publisher of record is the Vachel Lindsay Association and the book […]

The writer’s son, Anders, “meets” his grandmother for the first time. Anders was born six years after her death. PHOTO COURTESY ERIKA HOLST My mother’s pet name for me was lillegull, a Norwegian term of endearment that translates to “little golden child.” I was her only child, born when she was 36, and she loved […]

PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION It’s funny how things have a way of coming full circle in life. During the early 70s, “Sesame Street” was a cornerstone of my childhood. Now, after of 4 ½ years of parenthood, the show still captures my attention and it helps me explain the world we live in. The […]

PHOTO BY RODGER MALLISON/TNS You’ve probably heard about dangers inherent in excessive sugar consumption: empty calories linked to obesity, diabetes and other health problems. That it has displaced beverages such as milk and water. All true. But though they’re less widely known, there are other problems caused by regular and excessive consumption of non-nutritive beverages […]

Selene Lockerbie, left, holds her daughter Evelyn, 3, while she looks through a telescope at the transit of Venus between Earth and the sun. PHOTO BY JAY L. CLENDENIN/TNS When Anne Gregurich of Springfield was 13 years old, she decided to build her own telescope after watching a Nova documentary. “I made it out of […]

Equestrian camps, such as the Horse Riding Summer Day Camp offered by the Bright Star Equestrian Centre in Petersburg, or the Horse Camp at Riverside Stables in Springfield, are popular summer camp, for central Illinois children. PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION   Special Needs Summer Day CampJune 1 – Aug 14, 7:30-5:30pm Mon-Fri. Week-long inclusive […]

PHOTO BY GINNY LEE Cover photo by Ginny Lee is of Jakobi Ikerionwu, son of Jon and Colleen Ikerionwu of Springfield. The photo was taken in Washington Park when “Kobi” was two. He is four years old now, about to become a big brother of twin boys.

“There’s nothing for young children to do in Springfield,” is a common lament from parents. The next time you’re looking for a fun activity to share with your child, look no further than one of these local reading programs. Barnes & Noble 3111 S. Veterans Pkwy., 217-546-9440 Barnes & Noble has story times on Wednesday […]

 By age 81, my father-in-law, Joe Rogers, had raised three stepchildren and worked for more than half a century. He had served in Korea and had lived in Venezuela. He had been hang gliding in Germany and had flown small aircraft in Wisconsin. But one thing Joe hadn’t done in all his 81 years was […]

  Chris Britt’s illustrations will look familiar to readers of Illinois Times, where his exclusive editorial cartoon appears weekly.  He formerly worked as staff editorial cartoonist at the State Journal-Register.  A self-described “visual communicator,” Britt has recently crossed genres and tried his hand at children’s literature. The result is Blabbering Bethann (Pelican Publishing Company), a […]

When her three children were in elementary school, my friend, Cindy Davis of Springfield, had a great solution for getting them to try new foods. Cindy would go through the coupons, take them to the grocery store on Sunday afternoons and each one would get to pick out a fruit or vegetable that was new […]