We are all susceptible to cabin fever during the long winter months. We may berate ourselves for not bounding outdoors with our snowshoes or ice skates at every opportunity, but sometimes it’s just too darn cold. The problem is that sitting around looking at family members gets pretty boring—not to mention irritating—and there actually is a limit as to how much television one can watch. How about this instead: get out of the house, enlist the whole family, and embark on a new adventure—indoors. There are scads of engaging things to try within the shelter of four walls in Maple Grove. We uncovered four unique indoor exploits that are suited for all ages. Go ahead and try something different—it might just warm up your winter.
ART CLASS AT THE STUDIO AT RUSH CREEK
Is your family the artsy type? The Studio at Rush Creek is a wonderful place for the whole gang to get their creativity on. The Sheih family hangs out there a lot. “Our kids have taken lots of classes there and we go for family dates,” says Sandra, “we get drinks at the coffee shop and play games. There are also great knickknacks and art to buy, perfect for gifts.” Parents Sandra and Gene and their two elementary school-age kids, Rebekah and Joshua, decided to try a polymer sculpture class together. Polymer clay is a versatile medium, according to studio owner Karen Highness, “It is colorful, easy to work with and fun for people of any age.” Instructor Christa McKibben is well versed in the medium—she runs a polymer clay business and makes custom sculptures for every occasion.
The two-hour class started with an introduction to polymer, a plastic-based clay. Once everyone was comfortable with the material, various critters and plants and structures emerged—the wilder the imagination, the better. These creations took up residence in a plastic terrarium that went home with the family. “The terrarium was so cute and the process was super fun,” said Sandra. “Our teacher was great at articulating how to do things—you don’t have to be an artist, we could actually go in there and create something that looked good!” The Sheihs made 20 different clay beings adorned with beads, suffused with glitter, and decorated with glow-in-the-dark clay. They filled their terrarium with snails, turtles and a few unidentifiable—but beautiful—terrarium residents. “It was fun to see what each person created,” said Sandra. What’s more, they got to bring home their masterpiece, which now occupies a place of honor in the Sheih household. They will certainly go back for another family art class.
COOKING CLASS AT THE OILERIE
Oilerie hosts after hours private tastings for groups, but the Turnquist family was the first family group at a tasting—with a cooking class to boot. You’d never know it was the first, given the ease and expertise on the part of Oilerie owner Terri Chaffer. Chaffer loves cooking with kids, and it showed. She has the essential knack of empowering them to participate while teaching them by asking questions and having them taste and smell ingredients. The mini Turnquists, Connor and Emma, were palpably excited the moment they walked into Oilerie, peppering Chaffer with rapid-fire questions.
The class took place behind a curtain at the back of the store, adding a thrilling behind the scenes feel. Chaffer engaged the kids right away by asking them what they liked to cook. Three-year-old Connor, without a moment’s hesitation, shouted “chocolate!” Seven-year-old Emma considered the question for a moment and said “chocolate cake!” Chaffer went on to explain the menu that they would cook together: carrots with brown sugar; macaroni and cheese; breadsticks with rosemary and Parmesan; breaded honey-mustard chicken and Rice Krispy bars for dessert. It sounded like an overly ambitious undertaking for an hour-long class, but Chaffer had thoughtfully measured, chopped and pre-cooked most of the food so that the kids could put it together and then eat a meal with their parents. The kids got to make decisions at each juncture, like what kind of noodles they wanted to use for the mac and cheese. Their answer, of course, was chocolate! (they went with plain rotini). When asked if they wanted rosemary, garlic, or truffle oil in the mac and cheese, Emma commented sagely, “I read that poodles are used for truffle hunting!”
Emma’s brother’s main comments were “What’s this? What’s that? Why?” The kids not only learned about cooking, but about the ingredients, tools and even a bit of geography. Chaffer had them smell the oils before they used them, and explained that truffles come from Italy, Greece and France. She asked them to name all the tools they used: a rolling pin, a whisk, a pastry brush, an electric stovetop. Tasks included crushing breadcrumbs, squirting mustard, and lots of stirring. The dining table was already set and soon the family was happily eating their feast. Not surprisingly, the Rice Krispy bars, made with cinnamon and vanilla infused olive oil, were the biggest hit.
The family bonding at this cooking class was apparent. Emma encouraged her little brother by offering help, but not by taking over. Her sounds of encouragement, oohs, aahhs and “good job”, were priceless. The verdict was unanimously positive, although the Connor’s mouth was too full to reply coherently. Emma, on the other hand, revealed herself as a budding food critic, commenting, “the food was pretty good. The chicken was fruity and you can taste the cinnamon oil in the Rice Krispy.” Her final call: “Oh my belly is saying; give me more!” Which her brother immediately repeated: “give me more!”
SCUBA DIVING AT AQUAVENTURE
If you love the water like The Haynes family does, then scuba diving class is a shoe-in for your clan. Parents Nate and Cyd brought their kids, Piper, 15, Sage, 13 and Huck, 9, to a scuba diving class at Aquaventure Dive and Photo Center, and they all loved it. The instructor, Dive Master Mike Daust, has been diving since 1993. He began with a pow-wow with each individual family member to get a sense of their needs and skill. He clearly explained what would happen during the hour-long class and demonstrated the underwater hand signals. Sage said, “he really knew what he was doing and made sure you were comfortable with everything. Huck added, “he was patient.”
The family members picked out flippers and masks, donned vests and tanks and perched on a 3-foot deep ledge to try breathing through a tube. “The natural instinct when submerging is to hold your breath,” said Cyd, “so getting the feel for breathing like a fish is a bit disconcerting.” Daust coached each member to the bottom of the 10-foot pool depth, checking masks and ear pressure at 2-3 foot increments.
The family spent the next 30 minutes underwater, moving in slow motion, testing the speed of an underwater Frisbee, and tossing toys back and forth while trying not to laugh their mouthpieces loose. “I was laughing way too much and the water went into my mask, so I had to blow it out so I could see,” said Sage, “I felt like I was floating in space in slow motion underwater.”
The two girls took to floating underwater like mermaids; Huck floated on the surface, until he was able to join the rest of the family with an underwater game of catch. When the family ascended, it seemed too soon. They wrapped up with a Q&A with Daust, who told them about a wreck he’d explored at the bottom of Lake Superior.
The final word? Fantastic. “It was good to see each of my kids trying something that was out of their comfort zone,” said Cyd, “even my youngest child was able to partake.” One of the best things about it was swimming in a warm pool when the weather outside was prohibitively cold. The Haynes family will be back. And in the meantime, said Cyd, “I’m fairly convinced that I will have dreams of breathing underwater for the next week.”
ARCHERY CLASS AT ARCHERY SPECIALISTS
Jacob Hopkins, age 15, is a long-time archery enthusiast—he even got his own bow and arrow three and a half years ago for his birthday. The Hopkins family—parents Terry and Lynn, and sister Rachel, 13, gamely followed Jacob’s interest by taking a family class at Archery Specialists. The kids thought the idea was the coolest, and the parents were delighted to finally hit upon something that every family member was eager to do. The Archery Specialists opened in 2006, boasting top of the line equipment and a six-target range for shooting practice. The Hopkins’s loved every minute of it. “The instructions were good and we excelled at it pretty quickly,” said Lynn, “so it held our interest.” They worked on perfecting the fundamentals and then had the opportunity to play and try a few things out. “The teacher helped us think through the process, and we all got into it easily,” she said.
The 45-minute time allotment was more than generous; by the end, everyone’s arms were tired and sore. “One of the most fun things about being at the range was meeting other people from the archery world,” said Lynn, “it was interesting to see the different apparatus and methods that they used.” The Hopkins family wasted no time in building on their newly acquired skills and returned to the range two days later. They plan to keep doing it together when schedules allow. Their bowling nights may be a thing of the past: the novelty and challenge of archery has captured their interest, and remarkably, in unison. “And it’s economically feasible,” said Lynn, “cheaper than the movies, and better for you too.”
SIGN UP THE WHOLE FAMILY
Art Class: $29 per person, including polymer clay and glass terrarium to take home. Second person in family gets 10% discount. 763.315.3001; studio-rush.com
Cooking Class: $15 per person, including food. 763.657.0857; oilerie.com
Scuba Diving Class: $30 per person per one hour. Must be 10 years old. Includes equipment. 763.424.8717; aquaventurescuba.com
Archery Class: $15 per person per 45-minute lesson and practice. 763.493.3070; archery-specialists.com
