Parent to Parent ParentValley MAGAZINE By the time you read this, school will be back in session after another all-


too-short summer vacation. I hope that you and your family got to spend time together making some great memories. Send us some photos of your children making those memories on a summer adventure. We’ll publish as many as we can in an upcoming issue, and we’ll post some on our VP Facebook page, too. We’ve got some great articles in this issue of Valley Parent. “Wired Differently”


explores signs and solutions for children with learning disabilities. We talked with educators on both sides of the river who offer tips to parents on recognizing and addressing the problem if your child is having difficulty. In our cover story, “Acting Out,” we share how children learn life skills on stage.


Through theater camps and drama programs at school, children can become comfortable in the spotlight and learn to work well as a member of a team. Plus, skills introduced through theater arts are transferrable to everyday life. Is your child or someone you know dealing with the loss of a parent or other


close relative? Family psychologist John Rosemond answers a reader’s question about how to deal with the struggles that a child goes through when he loses a par- ent. I hope this is something that you and your family will never experience, but Rosemond offers advice on how to help a child move through the grief process. I have always loved playing games. As early as I can remember my siblings,


friends and cousins played card games like Go Fish, War, Crazy Eights, Authors, Rook and Gin Rummy. Board games we liked included Parcheesi, Chinese Check- ers (and regular checkers, too) Mystery Date, Monopoly and Clue. I think my favorite was Scrabble, though, and I thought I was pretty good, at least in my circle, I was. That was until I married into the Venable family. These people are world-class Scrabble players and boy, do they take it seriously, and they know all those little obscure two-letter words like qi and za. I have to admit that the pros- pect of NEVER beating Mike has taken some of the joy out of playing Scrabble for me. In all other games I’m on equal footing, though, so when someone breaks out a deck of cards, it’s “game on.” We played games with our boys growing up, and it was so much fun to com-


pete, talk and laugh. You can learn so much about your children while playing a game with them. And true to the Venable philosophy of game-playing, we never ever let them win. That way, when they did prevail, it meant something. I don’t think their self esteem suffered at all due to their losses along the road to victory. Read “Make Game Night a Hit” and start your own family tradition. Thanks for reading VP, and if you like to read your magazines electronically,


soon you’ll be able to read VP on your iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or phone. And you can already read it on the website at ValleyParent.com.


EDITORS/PUBLISHERS Mike Venable and Jill Tigner


mike@columbusandthevalley.com jill@columbusandthevalley.com


ASSISTANT EDITOR Callie Sprague


callie@columbusandthevalley.com


ADVERTISING SALES Carol Ann Kaplan


carolann@columbusandthevalley.com Beth Martin


beth@columbusandthevalley.com GRAPHIC DESIGN


Sixty Two Graphic Studio


CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brett Buckner Sarah Cook


Courtney Loving John Rosemond Calista Sprague


PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Culpepper


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Columbus, GA 31902 ___________________________


706-324-6214 • fax 706-324-6216 www.valleyparent.com


VALLEY PARENT MAGAZINE is published monthly by Chicken Dinner News, Inc., dba COLUMBUS AND THE VALLEY MAGAZINE, P. O. Box 229, Columbus, GA 31902. The cover and contents are fully protected and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of COLUMBUS AND THE VALLEY MAGAZINE. We are not responsible for loss of unsolic- ited inquiries, manuscripts, photographs, transparen- cies, or other materials. They will not be returned unless accompanied by return postage. Editorial contributions and letters should be addressed to VALLEY PARENT MAGAZINE, Post Office Box 229, Columbus, GA 31902. Copyright © 2006 by Chicken Dinner News, Inc. trading as COLUMBUS AND THE VALLEY MAGA- ZINE. Subscriptions are available by mail for $25 per year. Call 706-324-6214 to subscribe. Postmaster: Please send address corrections to: Post Office Box 229, Columbus, GA 31902.


Valley Parent Magazine 2 Valley Parent | AUGUST 2012


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Jill Tigner Editor & Publisher


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Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Phenix City/Russell County Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau of West Georgia and East Alabama and Georgia Chamber of Commerce


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