Neighborhood-Kids All Local. All for Kids. All the Time.

Movers & Shakers

•   Successful Girls on the Run Winter 5K
  

  The Girls on the Run Winter 5k was a BIG success! Over 200 community members came out on Saturday, December 5, 2009 to join our Girls on the Run and Girls on Track participants in this event. The 5k participants met at Depot Market Square in downtown Bellingham on the beautiful December morning. While waiting for the event to start, many of the girls (and even some boys) visited the Goody Hair Station where they had their locks colored with shades of pinks and reds!

•   Mentorship Opportunities in Bellingham
  

  Rearing your own children is a full time job, so you're probably thinking that the last thing you have the time or energy for is mentoring. But lots of ways to support the youth in Bellingham. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington, Communities in Schools of Whatcom County, and 4-H Youth Programs are just a few organizations that provide opportunities to make a difference for kids in our community.

•   Local Teen Magician Sterling Dietz
  

  Everyone knows that October 31st is the day we celebrate Halloween, but did you know that the last day of October is also National Magic Day? Celebrated on the anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death, Magic Day is a time for magicians to share their talents and inspire future generations of magicians. For this occasion, Neighborhood-Kids.com was delighted to interview Whatcom County magician Sterling Dietz.

•   A Talk with Local Author David Westerlund
  

  In 2005, David Westerlund headed west. He originally left the East Coast to attend graduate school in Vancouver, B.C., but moved down to Bellingham instead. Right away, he loved the size of our city and the beautiful, green parks. He's also a big fan of the Bellingham Farmers Market, so much so that he made its products and people the focus of his first children’s book, "Simone Goes to the Market."

•   Mojo Music Raises Over $1200 for Blue Skies
  

  Mojo Music’s 2009 Community Music Festival rocked the Meridian Street parking lot with live music from Marion Weston, Nick Vigarino and Carl Tosten on Saturday, August 22nd. The stage sounds concluded with the Mojo Music Funk Fusion Band. The day culminated with the $500 gift card drawing; 100% of raffle proceeds were donated to Blue Skies for Children, a local organization to help low-income, homeless and foster children achieve their dreams.

•   Get Ice Cream from Biking Vendor
  

  If you’re enjoying an afternoon outside in the yard this summer, you just might hear the friendly jingle from Tim Pattison’s ice cream bike. The sight of his half-bike, half-ice cream cart might be common on the New Jersey boardwalk, but it’s a bit more unusual in Bellingham. Tim has been peddling ice cream, and pedaling his ice cream bike, around Bellingham neighborhoods since the middle of June.

•   Laura Plaut Named Veggie Champion
  

  Local mom Laura Plaut, Director of Common Threads Farm on Lummi Island, was recently recognized by Hidden Valley® Salad Dressing as a winner in their Love Your Veggies™ “Search for Veggie Champions Contest.” Laura was one of ten women (all moms) from across the country recognized for the work their dedication to connect kids with healthy eating experiences, particularly when it comes to vegetables.

•   Local Boys Donate Birthday Gifts to Charity
  

  Ryder and Saar Swanson are two local little boys who agreed that they had more than enough toys to play with and decided that they would like to donate their birthday gifts to charities serving children this year. Ryder, who turned four years old, asked his friends to bring PJ’s and books for donation to the Great Sprout Tuck-In. Saar, who turned seven years old, asked his friends to donate financial gifts for Blue Skies for Children.

•   Sherman Alexie Visits Bellingham
  

  When the first annual Whatcom READS! project was announced last year, Washington author Sherman Alexie’s first young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, was chosen as the inaugural book. The culminating event of this community program took place last week when Alexie joined readers to share further stories of his childhood and answer questions about his work at several appearances around Whatcom County.

•   Friends Connect with Susin Nielsen
  

  Have you met Ambrose? He's a friendless nerd that's allergic to peanuts, but he loves to play a good game of Scrabble. Have you met Lillian? She's new in school, but she has some pretty neat beads that help her make friends. Have you met Susin? Susin is a writer who knows both Ambrose and Lillian quite well: she created them. Village Books invited the Vancouver author to read from her books at a recent Literature Live event.

•   "Smaerd" Illustrator Visits Village Books
  

  Something curious is afoot, and Bryn Barnard wants to show you what it can look like. Each night you sleep, whether you realize it or not, you are visited by the inhabitants of a land called “Smaerd.” Illustrator Bryn Barnard recently stopped by Village Books to read from "The Land of Smaerd," a world created by a Bainbridge Island sister-act, which tells an inspiring story for readers of all ages.

•   MaryAnn Kohl Helps to Teach Great Artists
  

  MaryAnn Kohl appreciates crafts, but her life’s passion is art. It might seem like a subtle distinction, but this Bellingham author has been publishing art activity books for children for over 20 years to help kids, and the adults in charge of them, understand that difference and to learn that art is important and worthwhile. To accomplish this, she teaches workshops with art project ideas for parents and teachers.

•   Girls on the Run
  

  Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month? There’s no better time of year to devote your spare time to help prepare young people, both your own children and children in our community, for a bright future; wasn’t “volunteer more often” on your list of New Year’s Resolutions anyway? A great program for Whatcom County girls in 3rd to 5th grade is Girls on the Run, locally organized through Whatcom Family YMCA.

•   Get Online for "It Moms"
  

  When you’re a mom, you don’t always have time to sit down to read a whole magazine or watch a 30-60 minute show on television. But you’re still looking for recipe ideas, creative crafts for kids, or ways to keeping the romance alive in your marriage. A great resource for moms is Better.tv, an online network with videos that cover a variety of topics. A show that you’ll definitely want to check out is "It Moms," featuring Portland-based moms Holly Resnick and Marni Renison.

•   Blue Skies for Children Update
  

  The mission of Blue Skies for Children is to raise hope and self-esteem by sponsoring enrichment programs and other essentials for homeless, foster, and low-income children in Whatcom County. During this time of thankfulness and giving, Blue Skies for Children would like to share an update on recent fundraising efforts and let know how you can support local kids through their programs.

•   Parent to Parent of Whatcom County
  

  Parent to Parent is a support program that provides emotional and informational support to parents of children with a variety of special needs, developmental delays and disabilities. The core value of Parent to Parent is to help parents during an emotionally stressful time and to provide ongoing support in the future through a one-on-one connection with another parent. Our local Whatcom County chapter has been operating since the 1980s.

•   Meet Moms at MOMS Clubs in Whatcom County
  

  Starting a new phase in your life as an at-home mom can take some getting used to, especially if you’re also new to the area. A great resource for at-home moms in Whatcom County is MOMS Club. The first MOMS Club of Whatcom County began in the summer of 1999 and split into two chapters, North Bellingham and South Bellingham, in 2001. A Ferndale chapter formed in 2003 to reach even more moms in north Whatcom County.

•   Library Hopes for 500 New Card Holders
  

  The Lynden Library’s “Best Place to Begin: First Grade Library Card Campaign” kicks off September 1st. Nationally, one out of five children is reading impaired by the time he reaches fourth grade. This campaign will help get library card into the life of every first grader in the Lynden Library service area. That’s approximately five hundred kids in twenty five classrooms spread among five public and private school districts.

•   Calling All Experts
  

  As we’ve mentioned before, what makes Neighborhood-Kids.com different from other parenting websites is our emphasis on our local Bellingham and greater Whatcom County community. We also keep our content locally-based by featuring Bloggers and Authors who live in Bellingham, so they can speak specifically to raising kids and resources for parents in our community. We would like to invite other experts to add their voice to this website.

•   Parents Can Exchange Ideas on the Forum
  

  We added the Neighborhood-Kids.com Forum a few months ago, and we’re excited about its ability to get parents actively involved with this site and with each other. Whether you’re seeking parenting tips or just looking for a laugh over funny kid stories, the Forum is the first place to check. Let's look at all the different ways that we believe the Forum can be a fun and useful resource for parents in Bellingham and Whatcom County.

•   Homepage Elements with You in Mind
  

  As with most websites, a lot of thought and time went into designing “the look” of Neighborhood-Kids.com. We wanted an attractive and easy-to-use layout that would include many useful features directly on the Homepage, like our latest Article and links to our Local Bloggers. There are two other Homepage elements that we’d like to direct your attention to this week: the Tip of the Day and Art in You.

•   Mother and Entrepreneur Delivers Milk to Your Door
  

  Imagine trying to raise a family, finishing a Master's degree in Public and Community Health, and starting up not just one but two businesses in the same year. Most people would be intimidated to undertake just one of those endeavors, let alone all of them at once. But that’s just what Amanda Werchan did. In March, she launched Eco Milk Delivery, bringing fresh milk, bread, and other goods to Bellingham homes by bike.

•   Whatcom County Girl Scouts and Their Famous Cookies
  

  If you’ve visited a Haggen, Starbucks, or even Best Buy over the past two weekends, you’re probably aware that the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale is on across Whatcom County and the rest of the country. But you might not know that the Cookie Sale coincides with the anniversary of this organization for American girls, or that the second week of March is celebrated as National Girl Scout Week.

•   My Trip to Tennessee
  

  A few weeks ago, we got to learn about Bellingham storyteller Maya Norton and her upcoming trip to the National Youth Storytelling Showcase in Tennessee. Maya, a teller at the 2006 Bellingham Storytellers Guild Tellebration, was selected as one of only four middle school age finalists for the Showcase. We’re happy to have a personal account from Maya about her experience at the Festival.

•   Local Youth Storyteller to Tell in Tennessee
  

  The after-school hobbies of Maya Norton, a 12-year-old homeschooler and Bellingham resident, are similar to many kids. She enjoys athletic events, like gymnastics and swimming, and she is also interested in creative pursuits, like art and singing. But Maya participates in one activity that’s not so common for most pre-teens: she is a storyteller. Her skills have qualified her to compete in the National Youth Storytelling Showcase in Tennessee this month.

•   Contributions from Users Like You
  

  We wanted to highlight the community atmosphere inherent in this site, which is why we named it Neighborhood-Kids.com. Just as you would seek out other parents in your literal neighborhood, we hope to bring parents together through this online community. We encourage all users to become Community Members. By creating a User Login, you can participate on our site in a variety of ways.

•   It Started With an Idea
  

  Welcome to Neighborhood-Kids.com, a new online community dedicated to keeping parents connected and up-to-date on kid-friendly activities and resources available in Bellingham, WA. As you begin to explore our articles, we wanted to give you some background on this website and how it came into existence. Rusty, Heather, and John, the creative team behind Neighborhood-Kids.com, are web designers and developers who had an idea for a site of their own.

•   Bellingham: A City of Active Kids and Parents
  

  It’s hard to narrow down just what makes Bellingham, the City of Subdued Excitement, such a special place to live. Many citizens enjoy our location's natural beauty, while others appreciate the strong sense of community here. One compliment consistently paid to our little town is that Bellingham is a great place to raise children. And that’s exactly what sets Neighborhood-Kids.com apart from other parenting websites: an emphasis on raising kids in our unique community.