The Toledo-based Kripke Enterprises, Inc.(KEI) was founded in 1993 and is the premier metal recycling facility in Northwest Ohio. Kripke is a family-owned business built on the mission of making the world a better place, with a strong commitment to serving the community through recycling, philanthropy, and community service.
Now, KEI is joining forces with Connecting Kids to Meals for Hunger Action Month throughout September!
Connecting Kids to Meals(CKTM) provides healthy meals to at-risk kids in our community at no cost to them. They partner with schools, libraries, emergency shelters, and community centers, as well as city parks and pools to ensure access to meals for kids in need.
Last year, they provided just over 875,100 meals and anticipate approaching one million served meals this year! CKTM has done critical work in our community for 18 years and is the largest provider of kids’ meals during out-of-school time in Northwest Ohio.
In Lucas County, 1-in-4 children experience hunger. Food insecurity is directly associated with delayed development in young kids, so Connecting Kids to Meals is leading the fight in providing them meals.
During September, Kripke’s customers can get involved by donating their metal. All metal is accepted from both businesses or households. Donations go directly to Connecting Kids to Meals. The goal is $10,000 which will provide 20,000 healthy meals, so bring in your metal to feed the future while recycling the past!
Metal can be directly donated to Kripke Enterprises. 8201 W Central Ave. Cash donations can also be made here. Please direct any questions to Andy Golding. 419-469-3405 [email protected]. kripke.com
I never considered myself a scientist. If you asked me to prioritize my subjects in high school based on interest, I would have said I liked English over science. But then I had a science teacher who took the time to build a student-teacher relationship with me, and that changed my path forever. Here are four ways you can encourage your child to build strong student-teacher relationships that last:
Help your child feel like choosing to learn is winning
My science teacher, Dr. Pavlica, asked me to apply to his new research class. It didn’t interest me … at all. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, he recruited me like I was a star athlete who needed to try out for the team. Anytime I saw him he would ask, “Have you applied for the class yet?” After about the fifth time of hearing his questions, I finally asked, “What do you mean by applying? Don’t you just sign up for a class?
“This is a different type of class,” he said. “You have to apply and then we accept the top students.”
This piqued my interest because of my competitive nature. The next thing I knew, Dr. Pavlica interviewed me and then accepted me into his class.
Encourage your child to follow through on curiosity
In Dr. Pavlica’s class mentioned above, we could choose any topic related to a field of science. After selecting an area of interest, we were to use the scientific method to analyze the chosen research. The fact that I could pick any area of science allowed me to explore something I found interesting. I liked working with children, so I chose child psychology. The research question I asked was, “Are there gender differences between preschool children at play?” Other students explored areas of biology, chemistry, and physics. It was the first time any teacher asked me what I was interested in and meant it.
Show your child how to find a mentor
Since my teacher’s area of expertise was biology, he didn’t know enough about child psychology to assist me with my interest in it. But that didn’t stop him. He arranged for me to meet with a college psychology professor to discuss my findings and teach me how to write a research paper. The paper was entered into the Westinghouse Science Talent Search Competition (now called the Intel Science Talent Search). I was one of 40 finalists nationwide selected to go to Washington D.C. and I had the honor of meeting President George H. W. Bush.
The experience taught me that I could use my passion out in the real world, and it was all thanks to my teacher, Dr. Pavlica.
Believe in your child and they will believe in themselves
Dr. Pavlica believed I could become a successful science research student. He saw an ability in me that I didn’t see within myself. His encouragement and persistence enabled me to participate in a class I normally wouldn’t have considered. He changed my perception and helped me to pursue an undergraduate and graduate degree in psychology.
Any teacher or parent can do what Dr. Pavlica did to build a strong student-teacher relationship. All it takes is one interested and supportive adult in a child’s life to make a difference.
Cheryl Maguire holds a Master of Counseling Psychology degree. She is married and is the mother of twins and a daughter. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents Magazine, AARP, Healthline, Your Teen Magazine, and many other publications. You can find her at Twitter @CherylMaguire05
Did you know that September is National Friendship Month? During each week of September,The Imagine Neighborhood podcast is celebrating with new friendship-themed episodes featuring special celebrity guest stars. If you are interested in joining the fun, check out the exciting lineup for September:
September 13 – The Hastabee
Carly Ciarrocchi, star of Disney’s humorous science show Weird But True, guest stars as an award-winning pillow fort designer with a lot of rules, or “hastabees” for the way a pillow fort is designed. When characters Scotty and Count Vacula are set about building their own epic pillow fort, Carly throws the book at them and the pillow fort starts crumbling. Will our heroes escape before being covered in blankets? And will they all learn the difference between a “nice to have” and a “hastabee?”
September 20 – No Filter With Count Vacula
Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, joins The Imagine Neighborhood, as a part of the ongoing “No Filter With Count Vacula” series. A robot vacuum vampire cleaner learns how to make new friends, and that feelings aren’t bad, they’re just feelings!
The Imagine Neighborhood is aligned with the award-winning social emotional learning curriculum Second Step, produced by Committee for Children. For over 40 years, the Committee for Children has championed the safety and well-being of children.
STEAM PARK at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum premiered on August 18, with community members, museum officials, the media, families, private-sector industry leaders, politicians, and others on hand to commemorate the occasion. They now invite everyone to participate in promoting everything STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) related — all under one roof.
The United States Congresswoman Debbie Dingell was at the event and states less emphasis is needed on politics and more on science and facts, especially now during a pandemic, and to solve scientifically-based challenges in the future. Dingell states that when she was growing up, STEM fields were not encouraged for girls. She states that she is pleased with the opening of the STEAM PARK and to see the inclusion of everyone.
The STEAM PARK includes a number of new exhibits. Some of these include a look at the inside of a 17th-century timepiece clock, a 16-foot mechanically interactive maze next to an arched window titled “Window Maze Ball Machine,” propeller chair connected to pulleys, and many other interactive, hands-on play stations.
Image courtesy of Donna Iadipaolo.
Exhibits at the STEAM PARK
In total, the STEAM PARK includes 23 exhibits that were created in association with Toyota engineers in Ann Arbor. The STEAM exhibits explore such concepts as aerodynamics, structural supports, mechanical machines, and many more ideas.
“STEAM PARK is a hands-on, minds-on experience designed to offer a tactile one-on-one or group experience consisting of 23 interactive and magical mechanical exhibits,” describes Mel Drumm, President & CEO of the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and the Leslie Science & Nature Center. “STEAM PARK was created in partnership with Toyota engineers over the last four years. The exhibits are designed for hands-on engagement that reveals the inside-out mechanical marvels normally hidden from sight. Our exhibits explore simple machines, structures, aerodynamics, mechanical movement, and much more.”
Toyota contributed grants totaling $1.5 million. These were made possible by the Toyota USA Foundation and Toyota Motor North American. This funding was used for renovations to the accompanying Toyota-funded “Engineers on a Roll” preschool exhibit. The exhibit will be refreshed and renamed STEAM Play, and the forthcoming outdoor environmental education experience STEAM Place.
Toyota Motor North American also announced that they committed $25,000 to a starter seed fund managed by the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. This starter seed will help local non-profits continue to give equitable access to resource STEM education.
Image courtesy of Donna Iadipaolo.
STEAM PARK Highlights
Drumm highlighted many of the main features of the STEAM PARK. “The 23 exhibits include a large Window Maze Ball Machine, Airfoil, Propeller Chair, Coding display, and a first-in-the-world digital Roulette Curve exhibit,” Drumm stated. “There is even a floor-to-ceiling, multi-interactive 17th-century clock.”
According to Drumm, a few highlights include:
Airfoil: Visitors control the flight of a model bird by changing wind speed and the angle of the airfoils (wings of the bird).
Time Switch Cuckoo: Visitors explore and interact with mechanical and electric technologies that span over 500 years.
Shape Stress: Visitors choose from a variety of clear plastic shapes to see how each shape responds to stress using a polarizing filter.
The exhibit was designed to appeal to each and every one of us. “The exhibit is geared to the great explorer in all of us,” Drumm explained. “In our very busy lives, we are surrounded by what appears to be engineering miracles each and every day. These marvels often go unnoticed. Tens of thousands of people have dedicated their lives to create engineering solutions designed to improve our lives, ease productivity, or increase efficiency across our societies. There are experiences throughout the exhibit conceived to delight a child, engage an engineer, or awaken one to discover something new.”
The STEAM PARK is for Everyone
He added that different people may enjoy different aspects of the exhibits. “I believe visitors will enjoy the variety of experiences,” Drumm details. “Some of the exhibits are more contemplative while others provide an ‘ah-ha’ moment or encourage you to solve a challenge. In seeing advanced visitors testing the exhibits, I enjoyed watching everyone discover the connections between the engineered world and the natural world, too. As one that enjoys puzzles, I even find myself feeling almost spellbound by an exhibit that may appear simple but needs thinking.”
The most important aspect of the exhibit is to enjoy all aspects of it. “I would like visitors to know that while the experience truly is playful and fun,” Drumm encouraged, “the exhibit gallery draws one to the point that some lose track of time. If someone walks away realizing that everything is engineered, I will have a smile from ear to ear. I wish there would have been such an exhibit when I was younger. I believe visitors will discover that the magic is really engineering.”
A side room at STEAM PARK is dedicated to the accomplishments of women in STEAM. Additionally, this room has a video presentation telling their stories.
Megan Schrauben, Executive Director at the Michigan STEM Council, also spoke at the event. She states that when people engage in play, 50% of what they are learning at the same time is mathematical in nature.
At this time, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is only taking pre-scheduled visits. Be sure to purchase tickets to the STEAM PARK at their website!
220 E. Ann St., Ann ARbor. 734-995-5439. aahom.org.
If there’s anything the isolation of the pandemic has taught us, it’s that our social connections are especially critical. Parents need to talk to others, compare notes and learn new things. During and after the pandemic, it has been vital to continue those connections, whether by Zoom calls, Facebook Groups or middle-of-the-night texts. And many more options to make those social connections have become available, most in the form of online contacts, apps or both.
As we begin establishing new routines this year, many of those social connections have earned a place among our regular contacts. Here are some we’ve heard most about:
Good choices for everything parenting
toledo.momcollective.com is a locally focused parenting website for getting the most out of raising your kids in the Toledo area. A sister site of the national City Mom Collective, this page is filled with all the events and important information parents need to know. The group has a strong presence on social media, with Toledo Moms pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
In fact, Toledo Moms won the Toledo Parent “2020 Family Favorites”award in the categories Local Parent Facebook Group and Local Online Influencer.
Another “Family Favorites” winner was mommy blogger “Mom on the Go in Holy Toledo” (runner up in the Local Online Influencer category – www.momonthegoinholytoledo.com). This site is full of places around the region made for family fun.
Apps for easy contact
Apps cover everything from conceiving and pregnancy to parenting and child rearing. Often, they provide regular emails with a variety of information, based on your child’s age. Many offer local and regional connections for resources, products, events and groups. (Reminder: For many apps, you’ll need to request that the site does not sell your personal information).
Peanut peanut-app.io is a social network for women throughout all stages of motherhood. Stories, connections and support about everything from pregnancy (questions for doctors, etc.), baby products and giveaways,as well as things no one told you. Parents can ask questions and start conversations. After downloading the app, do a simple search for Toledo to connect to other local parents.
(babycenter.com) provides everything you will need for all stages of parenting life – from getting pregnant to traversing the complicated domain during baby’s first year. Some cool things available here include a baby name generator, tracking your baby’s development through pregnancy, and localized groups (such as Ohio Moms). There is also a great deal of health information and reviews of baby products.
(thebump.com)
In addition to everything you need from conception and pregnancy through parenting, The Bump offers product information (and deals), a registry and local boards (including Toledo Babies).
Local websites and social media resources
HerHub & Mothers’ Center of Greater Toledo – A web-based resource for connecting local women, resources, businesses and organizations, HerHub (www.419herhub.org) also connects to a variety of mom and family groups. MOMentum / Mothers’ Center of Greater Toledo provides parenting support, community activities and playgroups, among many other services. The Mothers’ Center is on Facebook and online at www.motherscentertoledo.com. HerHub also mentions the MOMS Club of Perrysburg (on Facebook), the Old Orchard Family Group (on Instagram) and the Ottawa Hills Moms Group (on Facebook).
MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) – mops.org – While they’re called Mothers of Preschoolers, they have expanded to include all ages of kids. They also partner with church communities and other organizations to expand their reach worldwide. You’ll find several in the Toledo area.
Writing has been a part of Tina Ballon DeBord’s life since childhood. In middle school she would jot down ideas on a pad, inspired by the lyrics she heard in songs. As she learned more about literature, those ideas began to crystalize into a love of poetry. She began writing poems herself and at the University of Toledo she earned an undergraduate degree in poetry, followed by a graduate degree from the University of Michigan.
Transitioning into writing for children was “completely accidental,” DeBord explained. “I never aspired to write for children until I had kids of my own. And then, I saw that children have this way of just making stories appear all around, all day long, every day. That was something that I was fortunate to experience.”
Family inspiration
Smell My Elephant, DeBord’s whimsical and charming book, was inspired not by her own kids, but by her nephew, Beckett, when he was three years old. One day, Beckett walked up to DeBord’s sister-in-law and uttered a memorable phrase: “Smell my elephant’s head, mom!”
“He was talking about his stuffed animal,” DeBord explained. “His mom wrote down the quote and repeated it to me, which expanded into an entire narrative [in my mind]. Though the narrative was made up, what he (Beckett) said was factual.”
DeBord’s writing process is a bit unconventional. She came up with the book’s plot while raking leaves. “There’s something for me about staying busy, whether I’m riding a bike or hiking or walking the dog or doing yard work, that allows me to focus. Then I sit down at a computer later and loosely lay out the narrative,” she explained.
The story she settled on was one of exploration, a curiosity that Fletcher— the book’s lead character, inspired by Beckett— embodies. “When I was coming up with the narrative, I was thinking of a little boy who just wants to explore his world. So he’s got this question, ‘Why does my elephant smell funny?’ And his whole purpose is try to come up with an answer to that question, and he asks everyone he knows.”
Sweetness at the center
Eventually, Fletcher comes to the conclusion that his elephant’s unusual smell is because he (and others) hug and love it so much.
“There’s a sweetness that the publisher appreciated and really latched onto,” DeBord said. “And for them, it became a book about children and their love of stuffed animals. But when I was writing the book, I wasn’t really thinking about that. I was thinking about a kid who just wants to make sense of his world.”
DeBord’s sister-in-law, Kim Jackson DeBord, often drew sketches to relate anecdotes about her family, as a way of remembering the stories, so she was a natural choice to join the project as an illustrator.“I explained to Kim, ‘I don’t know if we can do anything with this, or if you’re even interested, but that quote stuck in my head. I think we’ve got a really interesting character here,’” DeBord said.
A good story
The end result is a delightful work that reaches a wide ranging audience, though DeBord admits the central theme she had built the story around isn’t what many audiences are taking from it.
“For me, the story is about a character going on a mission to discover an answer to a puzzle. For others, the story is about the cute relationship between a child and a beloved stuffed animal. That feedback helped me calibrate my purpose as a children’s book author.”
“Children and the parents who read to them usually just want a good story. Now, when I write, I aim to put the narrative first and the lesson last, if I intentionally include a lesson at all.”
Smell My Elephant, 32pp, Sleeping Bear Press. Available at Amazon.com.
Peanut peanut-app.io 
(babycenter.com) 
(thebump.com)
HerHub 
MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) – 
