Mark your calendars—it’s a busy time!
Soda Springs School District Community Coordinators Bonnie Speas and Cohlee Winward have a busy first quarter planned for events in Soda Springs.
As part of a series under the umbrella “Time Well Spent,” they will be running a large event early next month. Monday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m., a Parent Night will be held at the Idan-ha Theater in Soda Springs. The main event, so to speak, will be the screening of a documentary called “Childhood 2.0,” which explores the issues involved in growing up in the digital age. The event is free to attendees, and will include a screening of the film itself, followed by a live panel discussion.
Free drinks and popcorn will be provided, as well as a raffle for tech-safe prizes.
“The idea of Time Well Spent goes along with the topic,” Speas said. “You can’t spend time well if you are always on social media. We want kids to read more, move more, and connect more. This is kind of our kick off for that.”
“Yes,” Winward said. “We will have a panel of experts talk about the dangers of what’s out there in the digital world. We have someone from the hospital who will be talking about how social media affects brain development, and also social and emotional awareness, especially for with relation to things like depression. We are also having someone come in to talk about things that parents can do right now to keep their kids as safe as possible.”
Those speakers are planned to include Detective Cory Payne of ICAC (Internet Crimes against Children division) from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s, Ashley Wright, Licensed Master of Social Work at Caribou Medical Center, and a third speaker who is not yet confirmed but highly anticipated.
The movie theater venue is something that they feel should add to the experience. “It’ll be fun, and there should be room for everyone,” Winward said.
The grant that supports the efforts of Community Coordination with the School District started toward the end of last year, making this the first full program year for Speas and Winward. “Our goal is to have a family night like this at least once a year,” Speas said.
They are also planning to work with the library on a Community Reads project involving the book “Anxious Generation.” The details of book availability and planned discussion nights remain to be finalized.
This coming January 22, Thirkill will be hosting a STEM night from 5:30-6:30 p.m. 4-H will be there to discuss robotics, PBS will be talking about coding, the Fire Department will talk about technology related to firefighting, and there are many more expert guests planned.
The week after, there is even more planned. For the youngest kids’ parents, “Ready for Kindergarten” is a workshop they will be hosting with the group IDAEYC, which stands for Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children. “They sponsor workshops for parents. It’s a fun way to teach parents ideas of how to educate their children in fun ways to get them ready for kindergarten.” The workshops are for parents of children ages 0-5, and will be held at Caribou Kids Daycare from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on January 26 and 27. Space is limited, with room for one parent (or caregiver) per child of each age group. Space can be reserved at idaeyc.org/ready. Speas and Winward can also be contacted at Thirkill elementary directly, where their offices are.
The workshop emphasizes giving parents ways to engage with their kids during daily activities in order to stimulate their thinking, verbal, and other skills. “There are things you can do, even while playing at home to help teach them,” Speas said. “These workshops give parents ideas. They get toys and learning tactiles from it. If they come, I think they’ll feel like they walk away with a lot of good ideas and resources. They find that if kids go into kindergarten behind, they tend to stay behind, and this can help them be where they need to be.” There are three age groups for classes, so visit the website or contact the school for more information. Child care will be provided in place, and food will be provided.
As the events move forward, we will keep you updated on what is coming up!
