Two yoga instructors, Kathy Flaminio, a Minneapolis Public School social worker, and Julie Hurtubise, a Minneapolis occupational therapist, have joined forces to bring yoga into Jefferson Elementary School in Minneapolis.

Jefferson is the site of a 12-month research project, using the Yoga Calm curriculum created by Jim and Lynea Gillen of Portland Ore., which is supposed to measure the benefits of using yoga techniques in the classroom.
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How much ‘you’ on YouTube?

Question: My 10-year-old son and his friends like to make short movies using the video camera. They want to post the video on YouTube. Should I allow it?

Answer: The YouTube phenomenon allows anyone with a camera to upload digital video snippets onto the Internet for all to see.

While YouTube’s policy forbids video uploads that contain pornography or gratuitous violence, video is not monitored or screened. YouTube relies on users of the site to flag any video they find offensive, and YouTube will review it to see if it goes against their policies.

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“Any place is a hidden treasure if you get there early,” as Melissa Peterson of St. Paul says, and truer parenting words have not been spoken. (Well, maybe that line about how “as soon as you figure them out, they’re on to something new” — I’ve found that to be as true as it gets.) This month, so many of you, like Melissa, generously shared your hidden treasures — making them, de facto, not so hidden anymore (see page 40).


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I’ve lived in Minnesota for just 20 of its 150 years, not quite half my life. That may make me a newcomer despite my Scandinavian name and my grasp of the useful phrase “I s’pose,” as the ever-appropriate, inscrutable response to those with whom I vehemently disagree, utterly fail to comprehend, or intensely dislike.

My children, on the other hand, are born and bred right here on the soil formerly known as prairie. My adopted home state is pretty good place to be a mother. (Read: “Wow, is this a great place to raise a family, or what?!”) So by virtue of kinship, may I offer a sesquicentennial anniversary list for your consideration?

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The other day, a friend and I were debating which show was the better guilty pleasure, “Real Housewives of Orange County” or this year’s knock-off, “Real Housewives of New York City.” I argued passionately for the Left-Coast ladies, whose boob jobs, dye jobs, and jobless, petulant offspring make me feel vastly superior and not at all like the kind of person who stays up late watching contrived cable reality shows. My pal, by contrast, finds the O.C. team one-dimensional and dull, preferring the more nuanced, layered backbiting practiced by the New York housewives.

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Thanks to everyone who voted. Enjoy your free 6-month subscription to Minnesota Parent — and start saving up ideas for next year!

 

GO, SEE, DO

Best indoor entertainment (babies & preschoolers)

Minnesota Children’s Museum

Runners-up: Edinborough Park, Maple Grove Community Center

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For you, dear readers, we’re laying bare our secret treasure map, so that you, too, can enjoy our area’s hidden treasures.

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Haiku Baby
By Betsy Snyder
Random House Books for Young Readers
$6.99, ages 0–3

What a delightful board book! Babies and toddlers will love the bright, colorful illustrations depicting children’s favorite aspects of nature, including birds, flowers, and rain. Children and adults alike will revel in the simple, sweet haiku verses celebrating the intricacies of all that the natural world has to offer.

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I had the pleasure of interviewing the Next Food Network Star finalist, Nipa Bhatt, who competed earlier this year while raising two children, running a household, and working full-time (episodes began airing in June and run throughout this month).

Nipa is from Gujarat, India. She started cooking when she was 16 and had several great cooking role models: her mom, aunts, and grandmothers. She lived with 35 members of her extended family, so she also got a lot of cooking practice!

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In the rock-and-roll boys’ club, women are making strides playing for kids.

The world of rock has long been considered a boys’ club. While that’s been changing over the past 20 years or so, it’s still disproportionately male — as of this writing, seven of the top 10 on Billboard’s rock charts are from men or male-led groups. Happily, there are real efforts to do more, from the terrific rock camps for girls to lots of bands made up of kids
featuring girls.

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