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Start 2012 Right:
Language & Music Education, Stress-free Healthcare, and More
January 17, 2012
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Happy New Year!
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Read the Jan 2012 issue online
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Hope 2012 is treating you well so far! There have been many exciting changes happening at NW Kids - we just keep getting better and better! Check out our January 2012 issue - you can pick it up at your local community center, library, coffee shop, or favorite kids' boutique, or you can view the entire issue online here.
Features include:
- Our Annual Schools Open House Guide
- Portland Music Schools, for your budding rock star
- Events and performances calendar
- And much, much more!
We also know that the magazine and everything we do just wouldn't be possible without our readers... that means YOU! We've been putting our noggins together to find ways to show you exactly how much we appreciate your dedication to our mission and to our favorite business partners around town.
The surprises are currently being brewed - so stay tuned! You won't want to miss what we have up our sleeves! And to make sure you don't, like us on Facebook or stop by Twitter to start following us today.
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From Our Friends at Sprig Healthcare
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Keep your kids healthy in 2012!
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A fresh way to think about healthcare! When you think of doctor's appointments, what kind of feeling comes to mind? If you're anything like us, it feels like stress, hassle, and just another task piling up on your to-do list. What if there was a way to find a care provider without having to deal with insurance, co-pays, or bills that come months later? Or what if you don't have insurance?
Good news, busy parents: Sprig Health gives you an easy way to shop online for a health care provider with no waiting, no forms, no red tape. Get direct access to over 45 services, including baby/child wellness and nutritional counseling for the whole family. Visit www.sprighealth.com and save 20% on a kids' wellness exam!* *Enter Kid20 in the discount code field at time of booking.
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�Hola! Ni Hao Ma? Salut!
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Image courtesy of International Leadership Academy
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While foreign language learning has been in schools for decades (how many of you took Spanish in high school?), language immersion programs are becoming more and more of a presence in elementary-age schooling. (Did you know that Portland Public Schools' K-12 Mandarin Immersion Program is considered a flagship program in the country?) Some half-day, some full-day - either way, kids are learning not only vocabulary and grammar in a foreign language, but also subject matter. Start 'em early and they'll retain their skills longer, especially if they continue on through high school and beyond!
is an early childhood program (ages 3-5) that prepares kids to more successfully enter a Chinese immersion program in Kindergarten (Hope Chinese Charter School, perhaps?). Northwest Chinese Academy is a full-immersion private school from preschool through 6th grade. Prefer public education? Woodstock Elementary is home to Portland Public's Mandarin Immersion Program, where enrollment is determined via School Choice lottery.
If immersion isn't for your kiddo, but you still want them to have a second language, Portland Language Arts and Bodhi Tree Center offer after-school and weekend language classes, from beginner to advanced. Bodhi Tree Center also offers adult classes so you can learn along with the little ones!
More of our favorite language immersion schools: French American International School, Petit Pois Daycare, and International Leadership Academy for fran�ais, Aprende con Amigos and Escuela Viva for espa�ol, Scuola Italiana for italiano, and German American School for Deutsch.
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What's That Sound?
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Image courtesy of Sound Roots School of Music
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Whether it's banging on pots and pans or singing the silly version of "Jingle Bell Rock" at the top of their lungs, most kids are just bursting to release their inner rock star. It's never too early expose kids to music, and the more positive musical influences, the better. Here are a couple options around town:
Sound Roots School of Music
East Coast transplants Fara and Chris Heath opened the studio three years ago, after moving here and seeing the state of music education in the schools.
The Rookie Rock hour-long drop-in class ($5 per kid age 0-7) lets kids and their parents hang out with local musical favorites like Mo Philips and Tyleena Fairyfunkmother as they learn about rhythms and explore various instruments.
Junior Jams classes ($60/month, once a week for 45 minutes) is for kiddos age 3-6, who learn different instruments, compose their own songs and build a band.
Older kids 6-9 can spend two weeks each of a 10-week course ($160) exploring a single instrument to find their favorite.
Starfish Studios
Musical Me classes are offered for tots age 1-4 every Wednesday morning. The 40-minute class ($15 each) includes games, activities and a weekly featured classical instrument. Kids have a chance to try out the instruments and learn a few music basics.
Lessons are also available in piano, guitar, drums, bass, violin, fiddle, cello, sax, clarinet, flute, trombone,
trumpet, steel drum, marimba, ukulele, banjo, mandolin, and more.
-Jen Anderson
For more Portland music schools, check out our January 2012 issue, page 24.
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Don't Let Winter Get You Down!
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Image courtesy of NW Children's Theater
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The rain (and snow!) lately has made us want to hunker down and spend the weekend on the couch - until we remember that kids + cabin fever = insanity! Luckily, there's still plenty going on around the city that's fun, affordable, and most importantly, family-friendly.
Not to entice the kids with sugar, but at least it's gourmet and local: World Forestry Center's Annual ChocolateFest is happening Sat-Sun, Jan 21st-22nd. Hop down to the Convention Center and taste the newest and best offerings from Northwest chocolatiers. $7-$10, Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm (Psst! Be one of the first 150 people in on Sunday and get a free pair of Sock Dreams socks!).
Feel like taking in a show instead? Our local children's theaters have got you set. Oregon Children's Theatre brings Ms. Frizzle and her class's sci-fi adventures to the stage with The Magic School Bus Live: The Climate Challenge at the Newmark Theatre downtown. Weekends Jan 22nd-Feb 19th, $20-$40.
Also scientifically fantastical (no one's hair could be that long... could it?!), a fairy tale gets remixed and reworked in Northwest Children's Theater's Rapunzel--Uncut!, an indie rock musical featuring a live youth band. Fri-Sun performances Jan 27th-Feb 19th, $18-$22. More events to keep you and the kidlets busy on our online calendar!
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About NW Kids
NW Kids is informative, fun, exciting, and the perfect resource for local moms and dads. Check us out in print - pick up our monthly issues in family-friendly spots all over the Portland metro area, or online - nwkidsmagazine.com is chock full of web-exclusive content.
All content is editorial, though messages "from our friends" are sponsored by our advertising partners. We have a feeling you'll think they're as great as we do.
We hope you enjoy receiving this email. If you don't, please unsubscribe and we will cease contacting you.
Thanks, and see you around town!
Your friends at NW Kids
nwkidsmagazine.com
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/nwkidsmag
Follow us on Twitter: @nwkids
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NW Kids Magazine / P.O. Box 91563, Portland, OR 97291 / nwkidsmagazine.com
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