Free! Take one CENTRALPENNPARENT.COM AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 TheFOOD Issue! IT’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME ● FUN AT THE COUNTY FAIR! Plus: OUR CHILDCARE & PRESCHOOL GUIDE AUGUST 31 RIVERFRONT PARK SEPTEMBER 1 & 2 & CITY ISLAND EXPANDED FREE FAMILY FUN ZONE LIVE MUSIC • ROLLER SKATING RINK • ROCKWALL • KIDS STAGE FACE PAINTING • KIDS CRAFT • STREET SOCCER • & MORE! ALSO FEATURING FOOD • FIREWORKS • CARNIVAL GAMES • FUN slide • WIREWALKERs artist market • PAWS IN THE PARK • CANOE & KAYAK RACES NATIVE AMERICAN POW-WOW • RUBBER DUCK RACE • & MORE! HARRISBURGPA.GOV/KIPONA CENTRAL PENN 1500 PAXTON ST., HARRISBURG, PA 17104 CENTRALPENNPARENT.COM | 717-236-4300 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Cathy Hirko Editor s Note [email protected] ' The first time In this back-to-school issue, we have features to help EDITORIAL I sent my son off you get ready for the new school year. We review the to school, he was state’s vaccination requirements and back-to-school EDITOR, Leslie Penkunas [email protected] just shy of 3. We’d physicals. We shine a light on keeping kids with food been living in Birmingham for nine months and the allergies safe at school. We explore common problems RESEARCHER, Ana Mrdalj new school year took me by surprise. Suddenly all of that arise within the first month of preschool. And we [email protected] my son’s neighborhood friends were gone, enrolled in also look at the growing number of homeless students various morning or all-day preschool programs, while within our region, and how school districts are he stayed home with his baby sister and me. By the end responding. DESIGN of that first week, he was bored and I was exhausted. Working on these articles, I’ve found my mind SPECIAL PROJECTS DESIGNER, Kady Weddle One preschool took pity on us and enrolled my son wandering to first days of school of years past — and a week later. When I dropped him off for his first day, future. What will things look like a year from now? AD DESIGNER, Lauren Seybold I put on my happy face. “Don’t upset him with your Will my son be heading off to some campus within a tears,” I told myself. He scrambled out of my car and as two-hour drive, or will Chicago or Dallas beckon? Will AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT the teacher closed the door behind him, ran off toward it be his dream college with his preferred major, or the school building. will practicalities intervene? And what will his sister MANAGER, Tracy Bumba Wait, what? I rolled down the passenger window and do when he’s gone? Since the day she first entered called out to him. Without breaking his stride or even preschool, her big brother has been there to help her ADVERTISING turning his head to look my way, he lifted his arm for a navigate her way through the various transitions that SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER, Carley Lucas fleeting wave behind him. accompany each new school year. [email protected] I muttered to his sister — strapped in her rear-facing Maybe what I worry about most, though, is the car seat — “Well, that was easy.” moment we are finished moving our son into whatever And it always has been. While my daughter had college he’s chosen. Will there be long hugs and a few a rough go of it when she started preschool a few tears? Awkward silences and then promises to call years later, my son has plowed forward with little or text often? Or will he simply run off, his attention fanfare at the start of each subsequent school year. He already focused elsewhere? Will he lift his arm — enthusiastically climbed out of my car in the preschool neither turning around nor breaking his stride — to drop-off line, then stepped up to the school bus, and offer a fleeting wave goodbye? most recently, hopped into his car to drive to school. Central Penn Parent is published six times a year by BridgeTower Media™, This year, I might drag my feet and perhaps whine with a circulation of 22,736. Distribution of this publication does not that the new school year has come too soon. It’s his Happy parenting! constitute an endorsement of information, products or services. Central Penn senior year, and it’s come much too quickly. This has Parent reserves the right to reject any advertisement or listing which is not in keeping with the publication’s standards. Manuscripts and photographs, if been the summer of college visits, senior year pictures, they are to be returned, must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed and much planning. I’m already tired and school envelope. Copyright 2019 by Central Penn Parent. Reproduction in whole or doesn’t start officially for another month. in part without permission is prohibited. Pick up your copy of Central Penn Leslie Penkunas | EDITOR Parent in more than 700 locations in Central PA! Libraries Book Stores Schools Children’s Retail Shops Daycare Centers Museums Pediatricians’ Offi ces And so many more! Recreation Centers PUBLISHED BY MEMBER OF AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | CENTRALPENNPARENT.COM 3 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 Contents 5 EDUCATION MATTERS Throughout Pennsylvania, the only constant 23 in some children’s lives is their homeroom. 8 BACK-TO-SCHOOL FEATURE Does your child have a learning disability? 14 NEWS & NOTES 16 FAMILY FESTIVAL YORK! 20 FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS Why our readers recommend these for Features dining out with kids. 12 WHEN FOOD HARMS 34 MIND ON HEALTH Navigating the scary world of food allergies at home — and in school. They are what they eat. 18 THE FAMILY MEAL 36 SEASONAL FUN When parents own two restaurants, things get interesting. Your guide to area county fairs! 40 CALENDAR 21 FARMERS MARKETS Where to fi nd the best local produce, dairy and more. 42 MOM-ISH Remember the teachers. 23 CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOL GUIDE Our annual guide to help you with daycare decisions, 42 BIRTHDAYS! preschool matters and more. ON THE COVER: Sisters Amara, 8, and Gia, 14, join parents Jenn and Robert Ayala at Revival Social Club in downtown York. See the feature article, “Th e Family Meal,” on page 18 to get a peak at what it’s like to keep the family connected while running two restaurants in two cities. Photo by Kara Clouser of C onte Photography. 21 4 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | CENTRAL PENN PARENT EDUCATION MATTERS No place to call home Throughout Pennsylvania, the only constant in some children’s lives is their homeroom. By Lisa Maddux For thousands of Central Pennsylvania students, the most The PDE is required to address and support displaced the school districts. They also work closely with each constant space in their lives is their school. Within those students throughout the state under the federal county’s homeless coalition to make sure service providers walls, they know what to expect and where to find things McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. In order to understand the educational rights of students experiencing from one day to the next. accomplish this, PDE created the Education for Children homelessness. For many students, home is also that kind of safe space. and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) program, “Homelessness exists in every school and community,” But for those who are experiencing homelessness, it’s that which ensures that the school districts are in compliance. Hoffa says. “Many people don’t realize how easy it is time outside of school that can be the most difficult. Not Kristen Hoffa is the Regional Coordinator for ECYEH to become homeless. Tragic events, job loss, accidents, all students in our area have a home to call their own. And Region 2, which includes Berks, Chester, Lancaster, house fire. [They] can happen to anyone and can result in although the image of someone living on the street with all Lebanon, Dauphin and Schuylkill counties. Hoffa, whose homelessness.” of their belongings is still the prevalent one when someone Student homelessness is often hidden, Hoffa explains, says “homeless,” the living situations of our areas homeless office is located at the Berks County Intermediate Unit, students are far more varied, though just as challenging. works with a small team of coordinators to support continued on next page Those who work with the issue of homelessness point out that there are many circumstances that equate with families being considered homeless. If they lack a fixed, adequate nighttime address, individuals are considered homeless, displaced or in transition. “Homelessness exists in every school and community.” It’s not just the person on the street; in fact, it’s rarely the person on the street. It’s families living in shelters, campgrounds, hotels, motels, cars or even doubled or tripled up with family and friends who represent the biggest percent of people in our area living without a fixed home. And despite the continuing use of “the homeless” as a group, local experts stress that there is not a classification of people who fit that role. The mark is a moving target, able to strike in a variety of circumstances. “Homelessness is something people are experiencing; it does not define them,” says Lisette Rivera, site coordinator for the Families in Transition program of the Lancaster County School District and its designated homeless liaison. “Homelessness does not discriminate against anybody,” Rivera says. People generally become homeless because of a specific act or incident — a fire, act of nature, escape from domestic violence. Rivera says society at large still often thinks that people are homeless because “they don’t have their act together,” when, in reality, that’s not the truth. Homelessness in Central Pennsylvania According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), 36,823 students are experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania; Lancaster County has the third-most — 2,684 — in the state, behind only Philadelphia and Allegheny counties.