February 26, 2004
Child expo beats winter blahs
Child Building Expo draws more than 500 attendees to Grand Traverse Academy
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
For three hours, the Child Building Expo was large dose of fun with lot of learning thrown in for good measure.
Held Saturday afternoon at the Grand Traverse Academy, the expo drew 519 attendees who roamed the school to partake of dozens of activities. From petting zoo on one end through a gym filled with sports activities, from reading challenges to crafts, the expo had something for children of all ages.
Infant massage, miniature golf, a small toddler playground and a climbing wall were some of the sports activities while other rooms featured hands-on learning activities for children. Free popcorn and water kept energy high while one table offered snowman accessories kids could take home to make their own.
"It's been wonderful, I'm glad we came," said Luanne Zak of Traverse City, who attended the expo with her three preschool-age children. "It's nice there's a lot to chose from because I have different age kids and there's something for each of them."
Melanie Davis of Traverse City attended the event with her daughter, Kennedy, who at 3 « romped merrily from one area to the next.
"We just heard about this from friends and thought it would be a lot of fun," Davis said.
The Grand Traverse Academy and the Way to Grow program sponsored the event as a way to beat the mid-winter blahs.
"The purpose is it is easy to get the winter doldrums," said Kaye Mentley, principal of the Grand Traverse Academy. "It is nice for parents to have activities they can come to free of charge."
Tom Kaufman, an area musician and educator, provided a lengthy musical program while Kat Brown, a local dance instructor, guided young children through festive movement games.
Michelle Honing of Traverse City brought her two daughters to the event. Stephanie, 10, is a student at the Grand Traverse Academy while younger sister, Lauren, 3, will come next year for preschool. That didn't stop Lauren from eagerly following in her sister's footsteps Saturday.
"Lauren is excited, she thinks she's in school today," said Honing. "The Way to Grow program seems to really understand all that parents' need, they do a good job. I've seen people here from all different schools."
The North Shore Safe Kids organization offered infant and child car seat safety information to parents. Bill Sholten, a nationally certified car seat technical instructor, noted that there are still a lot of misperceptions surrounding car seats. With some seat check events showing a 90 percent failure rate of either installation or restraint of a child, educating parents is key.
"Even though a parent has a car seat, if it is not properly installed and the child is not properly in it, it is against the law," said Sholten, a retired Michigan State Police trooper. "The biggest thing is compatibility between the seat and the car and the child and the seat."
"We see a lot of very conscientious parents wanting to have their child carried safely," he added.
Given the popularity of the Child Building Expo with area parents, Jacki Holland, the Grand Traverse Academy's Way to Grow coordinator, said there is interest in making it an annual event. However, since the Way to Grow program's funding expires in June, the future of the expo is uncertain.
"On the minds of every body is how can we pull this off next year, maybe you'll see the second annual one but I can't commit to that yet," she said. "We were very pleased with it, it was wonderful."