2018 Free Days

By:  Gloria Sanchez, Adams County Site Coordinator

It’s springtime! Birds are chirping, days are longer, the sun is shining, children are ready to go outside, and summer is around the corner!  Many parents find themselves asking questions like, “What are we going to do? How are we going to entertain the kids? What will they do for fun?”  Well, not to worry because 2018’s free days are here!  For the last few years, the Denver area’s cultural institutions such as museums, gardens, and the zoo have offered FREE DAYS for the community.  These are days when admissions to such places are FREE FOR ALL to visit.  This initiative is largely welcomed by those on a budget and is especially convenient for families.  Every year, several institutions offer different days throughout the year for families to visit for FREE! The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District provides a calendar with a monthly listing of free days that can be found at scfd.org. For example, this month you can enjoy the Clyfford Still Museum (1250 Bannock St.) Friday evenings from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. 

But the fun doesn’t stop there!  As the days warm up, have a family picnic at the Hudson Gardens (6115 S. Sante Fe Dr.) or Chatfield Farms (8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Rd.).  If you are an art lover, you can plan a visit to the Denver Art Museum (100 W. 14^th Ave. Parkway) or the Arvada Center Galleries (6901 Wadsworth Blvd.).  The Children’s Museum of Denver at Marisco Campus (2121 Children’s Museum Dr.) offers free admissions from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month throughout the year. 

Check out the dinosaurs, mummies and awesome exhibits at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (2001 S. Colorado Blvd.), and if you visit in the summertime, be sure to bring a towel and enjoy the splash pad in the adjoining park.  If your grandchild is a little builder, your local Home Depot also offers workshops on Saturdays mornings (registration required).

While all of these are amazing ways to spend your days, don’t forget you can always visit your local library, take a walk or bike-ride on a nearby trail, or just go run around at the neighborhood playground.  There are many free options or low cost activities that you can do with your grandchildren.  I have only mentioned a few, so check out the rest on the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District website at http://scfd.org/p/free-days-calendar.html.

GRANDcares Phase Two: Positive Youth Development

     GRANDcares program is excited to announce the completion of a newly developed curriculum for children ages 9-12 years old.  The six-week educational intervention was developed by teams from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Colorado State University.  The curriculum was created outside of the box, and the classroom is transformed into the “GRANDcares Youth Club”.  The program features interactive classes that are packed with lively learning activities.  The GRANDcares program is implemented in three phases; strengthening self-care for grandparent caregivers, developing communication and leadership skills in grandchildren, and increasing the ability of service providers to meet grandfamilies' needs.  The GRANDcares Youth Club will launch off the second phase for the national pilot program funded through USDA.  In 2016, the first phase of GRANDcares, was introduced to grandparents raising grandchildren in Hawaii and Colorado.  The first phase is ongoing and the six-week course for grandparents will run simultaneously with the Youth Club.  

A unique element of the GRANDcares Youth Club is that it was designed specifically for grandchildren being raised by grandparents. Research indicates that many children being raised by grandparents may encounter greater risk of behavioral and emotional hurdles.  There are many reasons for this, often the event of losing a parent or being taken away from a parent, is a traumatic experience for young children.  The GRANDcares Youth Club deliberately created activities for youth to strengthen their resiliency, or the ability of a person to recover after experiencing trauma and to overcome problems and difficulties.  The GRANDcares Youth Club is rooted in recognizing and enhancing young people’s strengths while promoting positive youth development.  Each week of the club provides hands-on learning experiences, that have been curated to build leadership skills, encourage self-confidence, practice communications skills and learn goal setting strategies.  Based on similar foundations of 4H Clubs, the GRANDcares Youth Club also helps youth develop and practice important life skills.  By providing “tools” for life skills, they will have more resources to cope with daily situations, make important decisions and enhance their quality of life.

In September 2017, the Youth Club was tested for the first time on the Big Island, Hawaii.  (Photo above) A small group of youth volunteered to be the first to experience part of the Youth Club program as the team reviewed and edited the curriculum accordingly.  Just last week, the first team of Youth Facilitators for the program were trained at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Maui.  The GRANDcares Youth Club begins on Thursday April 5- May 24th, 2018, 5pm-7pm on Maui.  The classes are 90 minutes and prior to this, the grandfamilies are invited to talk story and enjoy a free light meal together.  Currently on the Big Island, GRANDcares program’s first phase is underway with grandparent caregivers until March 31^st.  Dates will be announced soon for the Youth Club on Big Island.  To find out more information contact grandcaresmaui@gmail.com

This week, a team from Hawaii is traveling to Colorado State University to train Youth Facilitators.  The GRANDcares Youth Club will launch in Colorado on March 28^th (kick off!) at 4:30-7:00 pmThe program will run until May 9^th in Fort Collins.  For more information contact Jana.Carson@colostate.edu   There is no cost to join the classes, but space is limited. 

Written by: Christine Spencer, Site Facilitator, GRANDcares Maui