Brava

September 2011

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live with family Keeping Your Little Bees Busy While school is back in session, find fun (and educational) after-hours activities for all interests with a sampling of these local opportunities When they're not into sports: Even if you're not signing your child up for a team sport this fall, there's a range of ways to keep kids active. For gymnasts young and old alike, Madtown Twisters Gymnastics and The Little Gym help develop courage and tumbling skills at the same time. Your child not ready to hit the high beam? Kick start a love for martial arts at one of many places offering lessons, including Infinity Martial Arts. With classes targeting little ninjas and high kickin' karate kids alike, it's especially great for boosting discipline and confidence. If you'd rather keep it low-key, yoga lessons for young ones can be helpful for taming anxiety and stress while staying active. Try Blackbird Family Yoga, which specializes in yoga for the whole family. When they want to create: If your youngsters can't wait to get their hands dirty, try a lesson in pottery. Find a class at Fired Up Pottery, which offers lessons and supplies for kids starting at age 5 and you might even get a new coffee mug out of the deal! Madison School and Community Recreation also offers crafty classes at various locations around town in ev- erything from cooking to jewelry making, painting and more while Monroe Street Fine Arts Center offers a range of group and private art classes alongside its musical offerings. For an out-of-the- classroom experience visit the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and get an ArtPack, a free tool that allows kids to explore the museum and learn about art. Just stop by the reception desk to pick one up as you head inside. When they love to own the stage: Help little ones put their flair for the dramatic to good use with several classes around town. The Children's Theatre of Madison, is Madison's premier place for theater lessons for a range of ages, even offering performance opportunities for budding Shakespeares. If your child is more of the musical sort, look to one of the many schools including the Madison Academy of Music, which specializes in traditional instruments or Madison Youth Choirs, where kids (ages 7 and up) can hone their vocal skills. For more information about these venues, visit bravamagazine.com. Ask Doctor Mom Lights out! By Dr. Kristin Seaborg With the school year starting, many children and adolescents find it hard to readjust to the early mornings and earlier bedtimes.To help your school- aged child avoid sleepless nights, here are a few simple rules: Limit late night Facebook time. Turn off all electronic devices 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. The bright lights that illuminate computer screens, televi- sions and even cell phones alter our internal clocks and confuse the brain into thinking it's daytime. Bright lights also suppress melatonin levels—the body's natural sleep facilitator—and make it harder to fall asleep. Stick to a routine. Try to go to bed at the same time every evening and wake up around the same time every day. I know this is a quasi-unrealistic goal for most teens and preteens, but keeping bedtime and waking time relatively close each day will help regulate our natural rhythms and make it easier to fall asleep. Bed is for sleep. Period. To help the subconscious understand that bed is a natural sleep environment, avoid doing homework, talking on the phone or us- ing any electronic devices in bed. MSCR Don't make bed a war zone. When most children (and adults) can't fall asleep, they often get progressively agitated while watching the clock and thinking about how tired they'll be the next day. If your child has been trying to fall asleep without success for more than 30 minutes, let them get up and find a quiet activity to do. Read a book in a dimly lit room or try to do something like a crossword puzzle to calm the body down before headling back to bed. Finally, if you've tried all of these tricks and still can't sleep, talk to your doctor about other suggestions. After all, even the most perfect children can turn into devils if they don't get adequate shut-eye. Kristin Seaborg is a pediatrician with Group Health Cooperative. She has three children, ages 7, 4 and 2. Blackbird Family Yoga 26 BRAVA Magazine September 2011 Photos courtesy of MSCR (above) and Blackbird Family Yoga (below)

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