Being truly helpful
30th May Posted by Tony Deis on May 30, 2009 in Raising Kids My mother was oldest of 4 children. Born in 1945 she was the one that had to follow my Italian grandfather to the produce stand every day after school, on weekends and in the summer. "I hated it at the time," she said about the hustle and bustle of the once infamous Yamhill market in Portland. As a teenager she began to realize her sisters were missing out. She experienced the buzz of a lively city, buying direclty from farmers on "Produce Row" and the graciousness of my grandfather, often giving food when someone could not afford to pay. Now she fondly remembers the time she spent with her father, Tony Rinella, as incredibly eloquent and defining for her life. Today my mother is practically a saint as she gives her days to watch children for young working families. A-lot people beyond my sisters and I think of Louise Deis as "Mom." So many of us worry so much about whether or not a cadre of activities is enriching for our children, we often forget how simply contributing to our families contributes to character. With my grandfather and my mother this was not simply "take your child to work day". This was about survival for the family. For thousands (even millions of years) that was what human children were: fully and completely responsible for feeding the village. Now that has dramatically changed. Now responsibility is only a lesson and no longer a reality. I challenge that the lesson may not be fully learned without "actual need" beating at its heart. How can we change this? Lets all think about it, go pick some salmonberries with our kids and come back with some answers. Let's do real stuff Little House in the Big Valley camp and much more at a TrackersKIDS summer. Find them all here... Land as a family member
21st May Posted by Tony Deis on May 21, 2009 in Raising Kids What is your relationship to the land you live. Is it a commodity you pay mortgage on? Is it a friend or a member of the family? These questions are very important to the children in our lives. They don't see the yards and neighborhoods we live as simply "where our house sits". Spider webs, weird bugs and trees to climb are etched into the ever evolving tale of growing up. They develop empathy only a few feet from the back door and even further into the forest and wasteland lots. Functionally, to them, this land becomes a character encompassing many other characters. They hold a wordless rapport with the topography and its denizens. You can't and don't need to decipher the whispered reality of these subtle relationships. All you need to know is that because of it, your entire family's interaction with the place you live is quietly noted and eventually informs the worldview of your child. So ask yourself, do I treat the land I live with respect? Do we care for it as a member of our family? Class roll... 6-8 years old Summer Camps Only a few spaces left in the new groups for June 15-19: Lost Island Adventure, June 22-26: School of Magic and July 6-10: Welcome to Middle Earth. Learn more or register here... 5 thoughts for family connection
14th May Posted by Tony Deis on May 14, 2009 in Raising Kids I grew up in an Italian family. A big one. My identity is wrapped up in mia familia. Here are 5 thoughts that could help strengthen those bonds so important to all of us... 1) Make a family recipe book. Simply ask everyone, including Uncle Earl, for their favorite recipe. If you're food snob, don't be so quick to judge; include Aunt Sofie's popcorn balls in spite of that. Then take it to the printer, adding a cover with a photo or drawing of Great Grandma's house. My family did it. It was called the Rinella Family Cookbook. Perhaps one day we'll release it under TrackersSTUDIOS. If you don't have the extended family around, do one better, make it a neighborhood cookbook. 2) Dig the slides up and have a real slideshow. Someone has to have a slide projector lying around. Remember that "click" as the carousel turned. You hopefully didn't throw the slides out when you digitized them (I know my dad didn't, he keeps everything). The kids will wonder what the heck is up and I will also bet you that they'll love it. Make them pull out the sleeping bags and have the show on the patio on a summer evening. 3) Go fishing. I seem to put this in all my blogs lately. What can I say, its great advice.Especially for the kids and parents. If you head East, stop at Joe's doughnuts in Sandy, OR. 4) Learn to harvest mushrooms. Again, this was a staple for good Italian families. Find a skilled teacher then look for the easy and safest ones: boletes, chanterelles and oysters. Can kids do this? With the right fungi and education, yes! Check out these awesome resources: the incredible book All the Rain Promises and More and a TED talk by Paul Stamets (fungus is awesome). Mushroom hunting is an adventurous day in the woods. Just be sure to lost proof your kids with simple navigation techniques. Demand a Trackers "family day" so we can help that lost proofing happen. 5) Have weekly dinners with the extended family and neighborhood. Make it a potluck featuring those cookbook recipes. Eventually when you release version 2 of the cookbook people will be sick of the popcorn balls and they will move onto something that will please us food snobs. Did I write that out loud? Class roll...
Nature of the Village September 6-12
Summer Camps Still some room but not much. Camps are filling very fast. We want to see your family there. Register soon. Clarification from last week's post... I noted that our lead instructors are fingerprinted and background checked. I wanted to tell parents our intern staff is also fingerprinted and background checked. You can be assured that everyone we hire to work with kids at Trackers is thoroughly reviewed to see if they are perfect fit and best match to work with your family. Please contact Tony (me), with any questions: 503-453-3038, tony@trackersnw.com Choosing camp instructors
7th May Posted by Tony Deis on May 07, 2009 in Raising Kids I realized I could do something very important with today's blog. I want to better inform parents about how we choose the instructors responsible for the well being of their children. Here are some important things to know about the people we hire. The ones we all trust to protect and care for our kids.
Getting in is hard, nigh on impossible
We pay well, very well
The big 3 of awareness
Hopefully this gives parents a better idea of our working standards and practices and how Trackers shapes relationships among our staff. A couple of other key points...
-we do full fingerprinting and backgrounds checks for our instructors
Call or email Melissa Deis, Camp Director, with any more questions about our staff and camps: 503-680-1508 or melissa@trackersnw.com
Only a little bit of room left in summer camps
Walking backwards
28th April Posted by Tony Deis on Apr 28, 2009 in Raising Kids As a teen I once walked barefoot in my garden. Dirty feet and hands. The smell of garlic in the sun. My non-high school tenure was a three-quarter acre Eden blossoming from my parent's backyard. Every day, for all day no one told me what to do. For hours I would sit, step slowly and listen for what was coming next. Each action and movement became a conversation and correspondence with that gently sloping hill. It was not a lesson nor an assignment. Where did I end up? One college degree later, teaching master level courses at major Universities, a social entrepreneur accomplishing things people tell me are impossible and I am also, first and foremost, a tracker. And the conversation with that hill continues. My choices are still rooted in the ecology of care for community and the wild; not money or professional success. My bottom line is family and feeding older people and babies for many generations to come. This is what waits for your teens when you let them live a real life tending to family and land. Our teen and tween summer programs Bring a boat to life. One to fish with and feed the village. Craft a kayak as a rite of passage. Shape a tribe as an ancient story told to the modern world. Learn more |
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