You’re getting older, and before you know it, your kids will think you are a square. If you want to stay hip and ovalish-shaped, this section will do the trick. Designed like a coloring book, it includes tips on cool local stuff to do with the fam, throwing sweet kid parties, reading the best books, and buying sweet educational toys.

WHAT'S INSIDE:
   • Coloring Contest!
   • Family Things To Do
   • Kids’ Party Tips
   • V1 Staff Favorite Kids Books
   • Local Librarian Book Picks
   • Chippewa Falls Toy Company
 

Editors/Writers: Trevor Kupfer & Briana Krantz
Illustrations: Erik Christenson
Design: Brian Moen
Contributors: JoAnna Haugen, Kinzy Janssen, & Thadeus Logan

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COLORING CONTEST!
Win a gift certificate for art supplies from Benny HaHa Art Supply and Gallery in downtown Eau Claire!

HEY KIDS! Download this page for Volume One’s Kids & Families special section and color it however you want!

THEN PARENTS! Mail or drop off this page by Thursday, April 2 to the Volume One office at 17 S. Barstow St., Eau Claire, WI 54701.

Entries posted on VolumeOne.org between April 6-10, when viewers can vote on their favorites in three age categories: 4-6 years old, 7-9 years old, and 10-12 years old. One winner from each category will win a $20 gift certificate!

DOWNLOAD THE COLORING PAGE!
(PC users right-click to save. Mac users control-click to save.)
 

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local things to do and places to go with the whole family

PICNIC AT THE PARK
It’s a nice sunny day, so why not head to some of the Valley’s best parks for a picnic and playground fun? We recommend Owen Park in Eau Claire, or Irvine Park in Chippewa Falls.

PLANETARY VISIONS
Every Saturday, at 11am, UW-Eau Claire’s Planetarium presents fun and educational shows about the night’s sky, meant for ages 4-12.

HIT THE DUSTY TRAIL
Flex your muscle with a family bike ride or stroll along any of the many miles of one of the area’s best natural treasures, the Chippewa River and Red Cedar Trail.

CLOWNIN' AROUND
Every Wednesday, Famous Dave’s features friendly Ozseeker the Clown and free face painting, plus discount movie tickets with your meal.

ON THE FRIS
Fun on the beach meets the PGA with a rousing game of frisbee golf at Eau Claire’s Mt. Simon. This new-age sport is a great opportunity for those needing to escape with a low-key activity and those who appreciate an interesting challenge.

UP THE CREEK
Science-minded kids will surely get a kick out of the indoor nature center or butterfly house at Beaver Creek Nature Preserve.

HEAD FOR THE BORDER
The kids will love the cozy and colorful youth section at Borders, where you can peruse all day, if you want.

SPOT FOR TOTS
Drop off the kids with student supervisors while you shop for groceries at Festival Foods, then watch them on the monitors throughout the store.

RENT SOME MOVIES
Libraries always have free videos, and Family Video’s kids and educational sections are free as well.

DANCIN' AT THE MUSEUM
Every week, the Eau Claire Children’s Museum puts on Groovin’ Friday, a music and motion activity at 10:45am.

A DAY AT THE FARM
The farmers market is more than just food. Come for the produce, stay for the artists, occasional musicians, and fantastic freedom that Phoenix Park provides.

RUN AROUND
When they have way more energy than seems fathomable, take the kids to Eau Claire’s Indoor Sports Center on Friday nights, where they play music while kids run around, play basketball, watch a movie, or play on inflatables.

JUMP AROUND
Home games for the Eau Claire Express feature a big inflatable playground for kids.

CEMETERY STROLL
As long as it’s permitted, try a late afternoon stroll in the cemetery. Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire’s East Hill Neighborhood is particularly nice.

GET THEATRICAL
Nothing says family like a performance by the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre. With a wide variety of productions all year long, the State Theatre and Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild also feature family-friendly entertainment from time to time.

LOUNGE AT THE LIBRARY
Check out the extensive list of workshops, speakers, and activities available at the local library. Fun and informative, these programs are designed for all ages.

EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
The Chippewa Valley Museum is always a solid spot, from the everyday interactive learning opportunities and exhibits to the themed programs in summer (ages 3-11).

SOUNDS LIKE SUMMER
Perch up on the rocks in Phoenix Park for a performance by local bands every Thursday evening throughout summer.

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local expert sheds light on the secrets to throwing a sweet kids party

Kim Nimsgern is a mother of two, runs an online party supply boutique, and a party-planning website. Her friends and family routinely call on her expertise as well. So, yeah, she has planned her share of parties. Over the years, Kim has developed a knack for inventing and throwing theme parties that are a huge hit with kids, from Backyard Carnival, Hunt for Gold, and Detectives in Training to Party Like a Rock Star and My Favorite Doll & Me. If you’re looking for similar successes, follow Kim’s guidelines for developing a theme and infusing it with invitations, decorations, food, games, favors, and attire.

THE IDEA
    “Be creative and have the theme reflect the guest of honor’s current interests,” Kim said. These could be a color, a food, a game, a hobby, a movie, a song, or a location. “You can build a theme around just about anything,” she added.

For specific ideas, Kim suggests The Big List of Birthday Party Ideas website (www.birthdaypartyideas.com). A simple Google search will unearth loads of sites just like that one.

THE DETAILS
    “I don’t think there is one right answer to how many guests to invite to a party, but that is one of the first decisions that needs to be made,” Kim says, adding that location is also crucial. Once you determine the size of the party, then you can worry about the format and activities. Do not attempt to plan the activities before determining the group size, because the number of kids makes or breaks the awesomeness of the activity.

The length of the party depends on the age of the kids, the number of kids, the personality of the guest of honor, the location, and the patience of the host.

“Shorter time spans are better for younger children,” Kim says. “The longer the time span the more unstructured time there will be, so ask yourself how long can the guests stay entertained without structure.”

PARTY TIME
    In order to get an understanding of how to throw a successful theme party, here are three examples of how Kim executed parties for various ages and personalities.

“The Princess for a Day party was for my daughter’s sixth birthday,” Kim said. “We had 10 girls dress up like princesses in gloves, tiaras, their favorite princess shoes, and long glitzy dresses (which we bought from secondhand stores). Then we took them (via a limo) to the local movie theater to see The Princess Diaries 2. The other moviegoers seemed to enjoy the girls’ experience as much as the princesses themselves.”

“My son has always had good friends that were both male and female,” Kim continued. “It can be a bit tricky developing themes that appeal to both boys and girls equally. So, for my son’s seventh birthday we came up with Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The guests came dressed for the part, and arrived in true celebrity style, in a limo (which was a surprise for them), and walked the red carpet. Once at the party, they had their pictures taken with famous sports figures, movie stars, and the President. The life size cardboard cutouts provide an authentic party atmosphere and fun photo ops.”

“The attitudes and expectations of tweens adds a unique challenge to party planning. Dressing the part is a common and fun feature associated with most of our theme parties. However, when my son was turning 11, he wasn’t sure his friends would want to dress the part. We had decided on a Battle of the Bands party theme. Invitations took the form of VIP backstage passes and with the pass we included a list of awards that would be given away at the party. The awards included things like Best Sing Star, Best Guitar Hero, and Best Dressed Rock Star (the activities included Rock Band and Guitar Hero). As the RSVPs rolled in, over and over I heard from the parents how excited the guests were about the rock star outfits they planned to wear to the party. Every single one of them dressed the part.”
DOUBLE DIPPING

Though typically a party faux pas, Kim endorses double dipping as much as possible, though not as you might think.

“I love it when my party favors also function as decorations or when the party favors are created during a party activity,” she said, adding that mini piñatas or candy bouquets that match the theme make great favors.

This “double dipping” technique can save you time and money, plus keeps you from having to come up with another jackpot idea that fits the theme.

THE BOTTOM LINE
    The believing is half of the fun of a theme party, Kim says, as it engages partygoers’ creativity on a whole new level. You can have your traditional birthday parties all you want, but Kim says the appeal of a theme party is a gift unto itself.

“In our household, the party is the gift. Like most of us, if I were to buy my children a present, even a present they really wanted, they would struggle even a year later to remember what it was that I gave them, but they don’t forget their birthday parties. Even years later, they still remember the parties,” she said.

    Kim Ninsgern’s businesses CasualPanache.com and PartyArchitect.com specialize in specialty party supplies and interactive, customizable theme party planning. “Our goal is to help you host parties that are uniquely you and amazingly simple,” she says.

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our contributors weighed in on their favorite kids books, so here’s the most popular ones

1 Where the Wild Things Are
    by Maurice Sendak

2 Goodnight Moon
    by Margaret Wise Brown   

3 Green Eggs and Ham
    by Dr. Seuss

4 The Very Hungry Caterpillar
    by Eric Carle

5 The Giving Tree
    by Shel Silverstein

6 The Giver
    by Lois Lowry

7 If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
    by Laura Joffe Numeroff

8 The Babysitter’s Club books
    by Ann M. Martin

9 The Berenstain Bears books
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

1 The Velveteen Rabbit
    by Margery Williams

Runners up included: The Borrowers, Caps for Sale, The Cat in the Hat, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Corduroy, Frog & Toad, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harry Potter, Henry the Ant, Holes, Huckleberry Finn, Love You Forever, Madeline, Millions of Cats, The Pumpkin Smasher, Sideways stories from Wayside School, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, The Velveteen Rabbit, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Wind in the Willows.

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books suggested by youth services librarians L.E. Phillips Memorial, Chippewa Falls, and Altoona public libraries

Early Readers:
• Biscuit: series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
• Frog & Toad: series by Arnold Lobel
• Hi! Fly Guy: series by Tedd Arnold
• Llama Llama Red Pajama: Anna Dewdney

Picture Books:
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?: Bill Martin, Jr.
• Falling for Rapunzel: Leah Wilcox
• Hen Hears Gossip: Megan McDonald
• How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?: Jane Yolen
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse: Kevin Henkes
• My Truck is Stuck!: Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk
• One-dog Canoe: Mary Casanova
• Previously: Allan Ahlberg
• Roadwork: Sally Sutton
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble: William Steig
• The Gardener: Sarah Stewart
• The Mitten: Jan Brett
• Tibet Through the Red Box: Peter Sis
• What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?: Steve Jenkins

Chapter Books:
• Bone: series by Jeff Smith
• Bridge to Terabithia: Katherine Paterson
• Bud, Not Buddy: Christopher Paul Curtis
• Charlotte’s Web: E.B. White
• Chasing Vermeer: Blue Balieet
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal: Jeff Kinney
• Ella Enchanted: Gail Carson Levine
• Frindle: Andrew Clements
• Hatchet: Gary Paulsen
• Holes: Louis Sachar
• Mercy Watson to the Rescue: Kate DiCamillo
• Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: Kate DiCamillo
• Paint the Wind: Pam Muños Ryan
• Princess Academy: Shannon Hale
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Mildred Taylor
• Shiloh: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing: Judy Blume
• The Secret Garden: Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Underneath: Kathi Appelt
• Walk Two Moons: Sharon Creech

Parenting Books:
• 1 2 3 Magic series: Thomas Phelan
• Generation Text: raising well-adjusted kids in an age of instant everything: Michael Osit
• Have a New Kid by Friday: how to change your child’s attitude, behavior, and character in 5 days: Kevin Leman
• Just Two More Bites!: helping picky eaters say yes to food: Linda D. Piette
• Love & Logic books
• Screamfree Parenting: the revolutionary approach to raising your kids by keeping your cool: Hal Edward Runkel
• The Happiest Toddler on the Block: Harvey Karp with Paula Spencer
• The Sneaky Chef: simple strategies for hiding healthy foods in kids’ favorite meals: Missy Chase Lapine

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company in Chippewa Falls invents educational toys
by Thadeus Logan

It seems that the Chippewa Valley area can’t help but be robustly populated by an array of artists, musicians, and creative innovators, and it looks like we can add another group to that list. Nestled in a warehouse district just northeast of Chippewa Falls, Hubbard Scientific, at first glance, seems like just another nondescript manufacturing or distributing company; but, in truth, Hubbard is manned by a team of motivated, creative individuals all working towards the goal of creating and improving effective, original, and stimulating scientific educational aids for students from kindergarten to high school.

    The most novel characteristic of their creative strategy is working with ideas for educational products that come straight from teachers and professors themselves. They have established a collaborative network of like-minded educators who come to them with personally crafted educational tools or toys and work with Hubbard’s team to hone the toy’s design, lay out the lessons that can be derived from that toy, and start in-house production to increase availability to interested educators across the country (and beyond).

Ryan Chernik, an industrial designer who began working with Hubbard straight out of college, primarily in creative development and design, explains one particular learning tool: The Human Heart Walk-Thru, a 50-inch-by-60-inch colorful rendering of a heart, with arrows guiding one’s eyes (and one’s feet) along the route blood takes through the various veins, arteries, and chambers of the heart.

“This was actually brought up to us by an Eau Claire elementary school teacher. She had drawn this up on a large sheet in her garage, because of how well she thought it would help her students understand this area of the circulatory system, and brought the concept to us.”

These garage-hewn inventions currently fill Hubbard’s catalogue (though not exclusively, as the creative team is constantly researching and refining ideas independently); they have worked with educators from the grade school level all the way to professors at universities across the country.

    The Hubbard team primarily generates business through educational tradeshows (the next being held by the National Science Teachers’ Association, the largest organization of science educators worldwide) and work to sell to schools nationally and internationally through various distributors, but anyone local interested in taking a peek at their vast catalogue of learning tools, toys, and games, can surf over to their user-friendly, informative website (www.amep.com).

Other notable items include the Teaching Tornado, a compact device that models crosswinds and updrafts, creating an actual funnel out of smoke. It’s simple to use, completely safe, captivating to watch, and comes (like all of Hubbard’s products) with an elucidating teacher’s guide to lessons and applicable activities.

    Another interesting line of teaching tools are Hubbard’s inflatable anatomy models – from fish, birds, and turtles, to an actual human torso, these colorful, three-dimensional blow-up maps of networks of internal organs are simple to understand, informative, and easily stored.

“We’re always working on something new. Always keeping our products growing, improving, continuing to produce fun and educational toys, is what we pursue,” Ryan says, while playing with a potential prototype for a future Hubbard toy: a handmade Fog Cannon. It’s a small cardboard drum that can allow someone to, with just a tap of his or her hand, hurtle fog-made smoke rings 20 feet up into the air.

Watching Ryan talk about the goals of Hubbard while playing with the Fog Cannon makes it obvious that the fun part of the toy equation is not something taken lightly. Which just makes sense to the people at Hubbard – their products are about learning and fun, two things that can too often seem mutually exclusive in our nation’s schools, but to Hubbard Scientific, might as well be the same word.