Every student knows there is nothing better than taking a break and enjoying lunch before returning to the hustle and bustle of class — but not all students look forward to what’s served in their cafeteria. This back-to-school season, prepare your child’s lunchbox with their favorite snacks while incorporating some easy-to-prepare international cuisine to spice up their lunch and immerse your child in a new culture.

Being the new kid at school is a phenomenon many children will experience in their lives. Student mobility can be voluntary, especially with today’s environment and its many educational options, or involuntary, such as a change in a parent’s job or a move. Teach children to look for the new kids and reach out to them.

The 2021 Education Guide focuses on relevant back-to-school topics like separation anxiety, at-home STEM spaces, creative offerings for lunchboxes, welcoming the new kids at school, area open houses, homeschool events and much more.

Whether you are drowning in socks, consumed by crafts or just plain paralyzed with clutter, there is hope for home order. Professional organizer Ann Shenk, founder of Simple Spaces in Bay Village, offers tips to address parents’ most common complaints to get all hands on deck and help save our spaces.

Makerspaces have begun popping up in school classrooms, at libraries, and in local communities in recent years. They’ve become especially popular in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) classrooms, but they’ve also been popping up in homes.

It’s Fall. A time to explore. Eat. Create. Look to our gardens, fields, orchards and nature trails for a bountiful harvest of not only the season’s menu, but materials and inspiration for hands-on art projects and festive crafts. However simple or sophisticated, revel in these cooler months with a homemade masterpiece.

Laura Thomas, of Thomas Fitness Consulting shares about people's relationship with food and the psychological impacts of thinking negativity or positively about choices.

Learn more about this community through the eyes of residents, city officials, schools and businesses. Find out how to spend time in the city and get to know how Avon Lake residents stepped up to help the school district during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For preteens, at annual check-up visits, it is critical to watch for changes in the spine — especially during puberty. Dr. Lorena Floccari of Akron Children’s Hospital stresses the importance of getting kids checked for scoliosis and how a routine check-up can prevent irreversible changes of the spine. 

It’s difficult for children and teenagers, as well as young adults, to transition out of extra screen time, especially with the pandemic. Here are 10 strategies to help your son or daughter transition back to school and manage gaming in a healthy way.