March-April 2022

Shy and not too sure about learning new activities, four-year-old William needed the support of his mom Kristy when he first started classes at River City Inclusive Gymnastics (RCIG).  William was born with cerebral palsy which impacts his motor planning (where the body creates a plan to move muscles, limbs,…

Richmond, Virginia is home to one of the preeminent art museums in the nation. Explore all VMFA has to offer its visitors. As I walked through the galleries of the Denver Art Museum last November, taking in the exhibition Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France, two thoughts crossed my…

When NBC12 meteorologist Andrew Freiden and his wife purchased their home in Henrico, they ripped out a large, semi-circular driveway in front of the house. While removing such a convenient aspect of the property might seem surprising, it’s actually one of the best things they could have done for their…

Richmond, Virginia is home to one of the preeminent art museums in the nation. Explore all VMFA has to offer its visitors. As I walked through the galleries of the Denver Art Museum last November, taking in the exhibition Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France, two thoughts crossed my…

When NBC12 meteorologist Andrew Freiden and his wife purchased their home in Henrico, they ripped out a large, semi-circular driveway in front of the house. While removing such a convenient aspect of the property might seem surprising, it’s actually one of the best things they could have done for their…

Spring in Richmond! It’s rife with daffodils in gardens, baby bunnies in backyards, a dusting of yellow powder on everything, and hummingbirds helplessly trapped in the garage.  Okay, maybe that last one’s just at our house. But we all know the season. It’s the transitional period before summer, earmarked for…

Richmond, Virginia, has an abundance of places to get outside with the family for loads of free family fun. One of my most unexpected blessings in motherhood has been learning to truly love the outdoors alongside my children. Witnessing the immeasurable benefits of nature and sunshine on our entire family…

Careful! Cut away from yourself.”  My seven childhood trips to the ER make me stress this rule more than most. Levon ripped open the cardboard. He was ready to get started. The box was no bigger than a desk dictionary. Working like a surgeon, he cut efficiently, and then, there…

Greetings, Friends! As you read through this issue, you can practically smell spring popping off of the pages, and I for one can’t wait for the warmer weather and longer days. You may notice that this is our first ever combined March/April issue, which is great news for those of…

A superbly crafted exploration of race, identity, and family. Identical twins Desiree and Stella Vignes and most of the Black folks who live in the Deep South town where the The Vanishing Half is first set, are so light-skinned they could pass for white.  In the 1940s, young Desiree and…

Make this festive garland using items from your recycling bin to celebrate Earth Day! There are many ways to put this fun craft to work: birthday and graduation parties, team celebrations, classroom and home décor, and more. What you need: • Cardboard, paper, cardstock • Yarn • Glue, tape •…

We are having a baby this year! My partner and I have very different ideas about discipline in general and spanking in particular. I think this is an important part of parenting, and I would like us to have a strategy in place as early as possible. Thoughts? It is…

Teaching can be challenging, exciting, exhausting, and uplifting all at once. There’s a resource in the region designed to make teachers’ jobs and lives a little less stressful.  What teachers say about SCRAP RVA: “SCRAP RVA is a lifesaver! I always felt good about buying handfuls of pencils for my…

Kids and adolescents are naturally active and on the move. From toddlers learning to walk to teens playing in a lacrosse game, children often engage in activities that can lead to falls, collisions, and injuries.  What should you do if your child takes a fall or sustains a hit to…

Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups 2 cups old-fashioned oats 2 teaspoons cinnamon ½ teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ⅓ cup egg whites 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅓ cup maple syrup 2 medium bananas, mashed 1 ½ cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk ¼ cup chopped…

It would be pretty hard to have gotten through the last five years without ever hearing or talking about cryptocurrency or the blockchain. The explosion of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies onto the national scene means the price movements of these digital currencies are reported on national news. However, if…

As a music therapist, I often use music to address goals in therapy. One thing I frequently hear from kids and teenagers, as well as their parents, is that they wish they could connect more with each other, but they don’t know what to talk about. Here are some ways…

After World War II, the federal GI Bill prompted a vast suburban expansion across the nation. Here in our region, cheap, subsidized tract housing lured many white Richmonders from the city to the suburbs.  Compounding that, the threat of desegregation of neighborhoods and schools in the 1950s caused an increasing…

Taxes can be complicated, and it can be especially difficult to maximize your refund when completing your taxes on your own. For low- and middle-income households, these complexities are often a barrier to building financial stability.  There’s a program to help low- and middle-income households establish financial stability through tax…

Have your kids close their eyes. Ask them to imagine walking through your neighborhood. What do they see? Hear? Smell? Are they in sun or shade? Are they near a park or a parking lot? Do they hear cars whizzing by or birds singing and dogs barking? While this exercise…