Rover Stay Over Expands Services

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bellingham dog training — Rainy, a young Leonbuger, is laser focused on trainer Brittany Olin during a recent obedience training session at Rover Stay Over. Photo credit: Patti Rowlson

Incorporating dog training services has been on a list of business goals since Rover Stay Over opened their doors in 2011.

The award winning startup business, located on Hannegan Road between Lynden and Bellingham, already expanded their operation in 2012 by adding a grooming salon for cats and dogs. Now they have hired certified dog trainer Brittany Olin to help with a new obedience training program.

“Training was part of our vision from the start – we were just waiting for the right time and the right person to join our team,” shares Charmae Scheffer of Rover Stay Over.

Olin’s experience and training style were exactly what Rover was looking for. She uses positive reinforcement tactics including treats, clicker training, redirection, and lots of praise.

Raised in Whatcom County, Olin attended Bellingham Technical College and received her dog training certification through Animal Behavior College. Before starting at Rover, she worked as a kennel and veterinary assistant at local animal hospitals and participated in an extensive dog training externship in Hawaii.

Positive obedience training helps people humanly communicate with their dogs in a way that strengthens their bond. It is a different approach from some training programs that teach people how to be dominant over their dogs.

Training with rewards instead of punishment can be helpful for dogs of all ages including new puppies that need to learn basic manners and adult dogs that may bark too much, show aggression or jump on people.

“Around here, all dogs are treated like furry kids. Nobody wants to feel bad when sending their puppy or older dog in for a bit of training, but that is sometimes the case when firmer methods are used. We feel correcting mild behavior issues with positive training techniques is a win-win for dogs and their people.”

Dog training and obedience lessons are currently offered onsite at the kennel with Daycare and Train bundles as well as a Board and Train Boot Camp. The pet care facility also offers private sessions at their customer’s homes, local parks and other public spaces.

Learn about Rover Stay Over’s new dog training program online at http://roverstayover.net.

Get Your Green On for the 5th Annual Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day Parade

By

Stacee Sledge

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Boundary Bay General Manager Janet Lightner loves St. Patrick’s Day. So much so that, during the St. Paddy season, she temporarily changes her email signature to Janet O’Lightner and always wears green for the first 17 days of March.

It should come as no surprise then that she’s the force behind the Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Always thrown in honor of the Bellingham Police and Fire Departments – to thank them for risking their lives every day for the safety of their community – this year’s parade takes place at noon on Saturday, March 15.

The parade route starts at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Ohio Street and winds its way through downtown, ending just past Depot Market Square and Boundary Bay.

“I love parades,” Lightner says, laughing and recounting her motivation behind kick-starting the tradition. “And St. Patrick’s Day at Boundary has always been a super special day.”

The brewery has long hosted local Irish step dancers – who study at the Penk O’Donnell School of Irish Dance in Vancouver, B.C. – during the brewery’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“We’ve watched these little Irish step dancers grow up,” Lightner says. “One will be 19 years old this fall and I’ve been throwing a celebration here for 17 years.”

Money earned each St. Patrick’s Day weekend at Boundary Bay helps pay for dancers to travel to Scotland to compete in world-class competitions.

“I always saw how much fun people have at Boundary on St. Patrick’s Day,” says Lightner, “and I said, ‘We need a parade!’”

It took a couple years to make it happen.

“I tried to do it six or seven years ago, but couldn’t get enough buy-in from whoever I was trying to corral,” Lightner says with a laugh. “And then I found the magical combination of volunteers; people around me rose to the occasion to help – and we did it!”

The parade costs about $3,500 annually, with security costs, sign rental, advertising, insurance, and so on. Lightner has pulled together an organizing committee and applied for nonprofit status.

“We don’t have federal approval yet, so we’ve got a little online fundraiser going on,” Lightner says. “We’ve raised about a $1,000 so far.” Donations can be made here.

On top of the online fundraiser, Sunrise Rotary has donated $500 and the Bellingham Farmers Market is sponsoring this year’s event with a $350 donation that will help pay for Blitz the Seahawk, who will make an appearance, along with a few Sea Gals and possibly some Seahawk alumni.

“We’re going to have a little Seahawk unit this year and I’m excited about that,” Lightner says.

The Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day strives to be a community event for everyone.

“If you’re standing on the sidewalk watching the parade and you’re so inspired you say, I’m gonna get in this parade!’ – you can just get in,” Lightner says. “It’s that user-friendly.”

Unless you have a big float or animals or something Lightner needs to orchestrate into the flow of the parade, she’s happy to welcome impromptu paraders.

“Show up with a bunch of parents, kids and baby strollers from your neighborhood and get in the parade,” she says. “It’s as easy as that.”

Lightner also welcomes live music and is excited to have the Squalicum High School Marching Band return this year.

“That’s kind of our holy grail,” she says. “I always want more marching bands.”

The Bellingham Firefighters Pipes & Drums also take part in the parade each year. The group formed the same year the parade began.

“They’ve been huge contributors,” says Lightner, and they’re also dear friends of mine.”

Lightner’s favorite part of each year’s parade is seeing the sidewalks lined with happy people.

“I think it’s kind of the end of hibernation,” she says. “It’s the first community event where everybody’s outside together. We’ve survived another dark, gray winter and the days are slowly getting longer.”

Whatever the weather, the crowds come out – everyone waving and shouts of “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” ringing through the air.

“The message, Lightner says, aside from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, “seems to be: Yay! We’re outside again! And spring is right around the corner…”

All photos courtesy Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Vikings Take Down Saint Martin’s To Advance in GNAC Basketball Tournament

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WhatcomTalk Editor

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By Tom Rohrer

Leading Saint Martin’s by 15 at halftime Friday night, the Western Washington University women’s basketball team appeared ready to advance easily into Saturday’s GNAC Conference Tournament Championship.

However, Saint Martin’s made the Vikings passage towards a second consecutive tournament championship very difficult.

Down 44-29 at halftime, the #6 seeded Saints went on a 17-4 run to start the second half, cutting the Vikings lead to 48-46 with 14:30 left to play.

“We’ve had two games with them where we got up and they came out in the second and made things difficult for us,” said Western Washington University head coach Carmen Dolfo. “They keep fighting and they certainly did tonight.”

Western would weather the furious Saints run and eventually pulled away in the final eight minutes to an 81-71 victory inside a passionate Marcus Pavilion in Lacey. Led by Katie Colard’s 23 points, the Vikings shot close to fifty percent in the contest and held Saint Martin’s to 38.3 percent shooting. The victory for the #2 seed Vikings sets up a NWAC tournament championship affair with Simon Fraser tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Marcus Pavilion.

The loss ends Saint Martin’s (18-11) season and the career of senior standout Chelsea Haskey. The forward had 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting in her final collegiate game.

“She’s done so much for this program and she played tough tonight,” said Saint’s head coach Tim Healy. “She gave everything and doesn’t have to hold her head.”

SMU sophomore forward Megan Wiedeman added 17 points of her own and continued her tournament dominance on the glass. Wiedeman followed up her conference tournament record 17 rebounds in a win over Alaska-Anchorage Wednesday night with 15 boards more against the Vikings, seven of which came on the offensive glass.

“Her development is impressive and she has so much room to grow as a player,” said Healy of Wiedeman. “The future for her is very bright.”

Despite the efforts of Wiedeman and Haskey, Saint Martin’s was unable to slow down a potent Viking offensive attack when it mattered most.

Along with Colard’s scoring output, the Vikings received 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting from Jenni White and 17 on 7 of 9 shooting from Sydney Donaldson.

“We’ve been able to shoot the ball well all season and that’s won us a lot of games,” said Dolfo. “That’s what we needed tonight and our girls got their legs under them and followed through.”

Defensively, the Vikings held the Saints to eight points in the final four minutes and put Saint Martin’s in unfavorable positions on the court.

“Every day in practice we do a five minute overtime period where we have to lock-in for that stretch,” said Donaldson, who added eight rebounds in the win. “It wasn’t anything new for us. We just kept our intensity up and communicated like always.”

A Division II national semi-finalist a season ago, Western got off to a slow start to the 2013-14 season, and at one point their conference tournament hopes were in doubt.

“We just wanted to get here at the beginning of the season” said Dolfo of her team, who started the season 3-5. “Now we’re starting to play some of our best basketball, and it’s at the right time.”

The resurgence from Western during the season and the fight displayed by Saint Martin’s in defeat speaks volumes of the level of competition in the league.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Healy of the quality of the league. “There isn’t a better group of ten teams out there.”

“It’s a test every night, and Saint Martin’s, they aren’t a six seed in this tournament, they’re just a really good, tough team in this tournament,” said Dolfo. “You have to work hard for every victory.”

After a season that saw the programs first ever GNAC Conference Tournament victory, Tim Healy is optimistic regarding the present and future of SMU basketball.

“We have a lot of girls coming back and I hope they remember the feeling of what it’s like playing in this environment,” Healy said. “We just need to keep improving.”

Whatcom Center for Early Learning Holds 10th Annual Fundraising Gala

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Stacee Sledge

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whatcom center for early learning — Guests enjoy a prior WCEL gala.

By Stacee Sledge

“Our young children with developmental delays need help to thrive, to learn and to overcome challenges for full, happy lives,” says Peggy Zoro, interim executive director of Whatcom Center for Early Learning.

WCEL’s provides comprehensive family-centered early intervention services to children ages birth to three with developmental delays, offers family resources coordination services, and is the sponsoring agency for Whatcom County’s Parent to Parent Support Program.

Since 1973, WCEL has provided therapy, early childhood education, and caring family support to infants and toddlers with a 25 percent measurable delay in at least in at least one area of development: speech-language, cognitive, motor, adaptive and/or social-emotional.

“Eligible families receive early intervention services regardless of their ability to pay,” says Zoro. “There’s no cost for services, and no eligible child/family is turned away.”

This year marks Whatcom Center for Learning’s 10^th annual auction fundraising gala, which will be held Saturday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club.

“Fundraising is essential to our sustainability,” says Sandy Berner, who recently stepped down as WCEL’s longtime executive director and is now the organization’s fund development director.

“Our early intervention services costs are high,” Berner says, “and our work is extremely important to the 110 families we currently serve each month – and to those we will serve in the future.”

A decade ago, WCEL served 40 children and families each month. As the need for its services has risen, so have costs to keep the program going.

“Current funding sources include various government, public, and private agencies, in addition to generous individual and business donors,” says Zoro. “And WCEL is proud to be a United Way of Whatcom County Partner Agency for over 20 years.”

But these dollars are not enough to cover costs and sustain WCEL programs.

That’s where you, supportive community members, step in.

“This year’s gala brings a fun-filled evening featuring scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, a cocktail hour to enjoy while perusing the Silent Auction selections, and listening to the soothing jazz sounds of the Ray Downey Trio,” says Zoro. A delectable dinner with hosted wines will follow – a choice of New York strip steak, wild cedar plank salmon, or butternut ravioli – and then the auction itself.

“We promise our guests an extraordinary, fun-filled evening,” Berner says.

Auctioneer Manca Valum will present this year’s live auction packages, including a Sun Valley getaway, Dunham Cellars hosted wine party, Seahawks club-level tickets, signed memorabilia, and much more.

A delectable dessert dash will close out the evening.

A highlight of the evening will be the premier of the short film, You Never Stopped, created and produced by Max Kaiser and Hand Crank Films. A teaser of the film can be seen here.

“Max has captured the essence of WCEL through the personal reflections of our families and community members,” says Berner.

Max Kaiser knows the power of film in fundraising. He and his Bellingham company have generated it time and time again, as their productions are used to effectively fundraise in both for-profit and non-profit sectors.

“Our sincere gratitude goes out to Hand Crank Films for acknowledging the value of WCEL programs and services to children and families in need,” says Berner. “And for their willingness to give by donating this film.”

Whatcom Center for Early Learning welcomes community support at any level.

“WCEL is a local non-profit with a very big heart,” says Berner. “We’re asking this community to open their hearts and to invest in the future of our children and families.”

This year’s platinum sponsor is Edward Jones/Tony Pechthalt. Gold sponsors are Bellingham Nanny Connection and Samson Rope. Silver sponsors are Alcoa Intalco Works, Barron/Smith/Daugert PLLC, The Bellingham Herald, Brooks Property, NW Pathology, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, SuperFeet, Cascade Dafo, and Whatcom Educational Credit Union. And finally, partner sponsors are Barkley Company, Bellingham Cold Storage, Moss Adams, Windermere Real Estate/Kim Thompson, NorthCoast Credit Union, Peoples Bank, and The Unity Group/HUB International.

For more information, visit www.wcel.net. To purchase a ticket to this year’s auction, please call 360.671.3660 or email info@wcel.net.

Whatcom Center for Early Learning

2001 H Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.671.3660

Whatcom Center for Early Learning Annual Fundraising Gala

Saturday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Bellingham Golf & Country Club

3729 Meridian Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

Ticket price: $75.00

Community Supported Agriculture – Farm Share Boxes Sustain Whatcom County Farmers

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Stacee Sledge

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is nothing new. But the number of Whatcom County residents buying CSA shares grows greater with each passing season.

Fortunately for us, Whatcom County CSA options abound – with nearly 20 area farms offering shares of their wares – allowing non-gardeners who want to eat organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables to get a delicious (and nutritious) weekly dose from spring through fall. Many CSAs offer eggs, meat and a variety of other items, as well.

While most CSA farms provide a pick-up spot that’s centrally located, a handful of our local farms offer workplace CSAs, meaning you and your co-workers can have a bounty of beautiful produce plopped down right where you work.

Looking for a farm share of your own? Read a bit about these local farms to help decide which one you’ll welcome into your kitchen this year.

ACME Farms + Kitchens
1309 North State Street, A101

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.383.6716

A bit different – and a whole lot bigger – than a traditional CSA, ACME Farms + Kitchens offers a year-round online shopping experience and a huge variety of farm fresh products from meats and cheeses to pasta and baked goods – and seemingly everything in between.

Visit www.acmefarmsandkitchen.com to check out their offerings and to learn about different options for pick-up or delivery.

Cedarville Farm | Mike & Kimberly Finger
3081 Goshen Road

Bellingham, WA 98226

360.592.5594

Cedarville Farm has been offering CSA shares for over a quarter of a century and lets customers choose spring, summer, fall and/or Farmers Market programs, depending on what best fits their needs. With pick-up locations in Bellingham, Ferndale and at the farm, Cedarville also offers workplace delivery to locations with six or more shareholders.

Summer shares run June through October at $269 for a half share (11 boxes total, delivered every other week) and $528 for a full share (22 weekly boxes). Fall season shares run between $74 and $144. Visit www.cedarvillefarm.com for lots more details.

Crop Circle CSA at Vine Maple Acres | Pam Felke & Thomas Sandblom

East Smith Road

Bellingham, WA 98226

360.223.4900

Crop Circle CSA gives its shareholders the option of selecting produce from a weekly order guide or picking their own from a catalog. Its season runs from late June through late September, with a variety of farm share packages delightfully named after the farm’s chicken flock leaders.

Vegetable share prices range from between $420 and $840 with the option of adding a dozen eggs to your weekly bounty. Delivery is included in the price, with a discount for groups of 6 or more. Much more information found at www.vinemapleacres.com.

F.A. Farm | Walter Haugen & Toni Lyons
5890 Barr Road

Ferndale, WA 98248

360.312.0335

F.A. Farm grows over 60 different fruits and vegetables and offers two programs for those who want to buy fantastic food straight from the farmer – in full or half share amounts.

Theirs is a smaller CSA program compared to some others, so they simply offer on-farm pickup for CSA boxes on Wednesdays between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Their website explains why nicely and succinctly: “So the farmer can keep farming.”

A full share costs $550 and provides a weekly box for 17 weeks, beginning in June, while a half share, for 8 weeks, is $300. Visit their website at www.fafarm.org for more details.

Five Loaves Farm | A Rocha

201 South 17^th Street

Lynden, WA 98264

360.961.4061

Started in 2008, Five Loaves Farm offers a broad variety of fruits and veggies, as well as eggs, bread, and more – all grown, laid or crafted in Lynden. Local meats are also an option. Tuesday afternoon pick-ups are at 514 Liberty Street in downtown Lynden; in-town delivery can be arranged for a fee.

Five Loaves Farm organizes the Lynden Farmers Market, which is supported by its CSA program.

A full share of at least 18 pick-ups is $475; a half share of at least 9 pick-ups is $250. Find more information at www.fiveloavesfarm.blogspot.com.

Growing Washington’s Local Choice Food Box | Jay Dennison & Clayton Burrows
P.O. Box 30282

Bellingham, WA 98228

360.927.4845

Growing Washington brings together small-scale Washington farmers with consumers looking for fresh, locally grown, chemical-free food. Two Everson farms – Alm Hill Gardens and Hopewell Farm – partner with Growing Washington to offer CSAs abundant with local vegetables and berries.

With 20- and 25-week programs, Growing Washington allows members to choose every item in their weekly box or go the more traditional route of letting the farmer choose for them.

Visit Growing Washington’s website for details on its array of Local Choice Food Box and Farmers Choice Food Box options.

Holistic Homestead and Spring Frog Organic Farm | Gretchen Norman
5709 Putnam Road

Everson, WA 98247

360.303.3711

Spring Frog Organic Farm at the Holistic Homestead specializes in fresh-cut salad mixes, strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and more.

They offer three CSA pick-up locations: at the Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Bellingham, the Wednesday Farmers Market in Fairhaven, and at the Holistic Homestead farmstand not far off the Mount Baker Highway in Everson.

Holistic Homestead offers a CSA early bird discount for those signing up before March 17. Learn more at www.holistichomestead.net.

Jordan Creek Farm | Jon Gergen
4933 Elder Road

Ferndale, WA 98248

360.653.3005

Jordan Creek Farm has been growing vegetables and sustainably raising pigs just outside of Ferndale for six years. You’ll find them every Saturday at the Ferndale Farmers Market.

The small family farm produces vegetables, eggs and meat throughout the year and includes a whole or half pork option with its CSA. They offer three different levels of shares, ranging from $225 to $525.

Learn more and get in touch directly with Jon and Sarah Gergen at www.jordancreekfarm.net.

Moondance Farm | Billy Tate & Nicole Brown
460 Innis Creek Road

Acme, WA 98220

360.595.0155

Another small family farm, Moondance Farm rests in the foothills of Mount Baker. Offering vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers, their CSA can either be picked up in Bellingham or at the farm.

Moondance Farm is one of ACME Farms + Kitchens partners, offering another way to sample their produce. Its full season, 20-week share is $440.

Get in touch with famers Billy Tate and Nicole Brown at www.facebook.com/MoondanceFarm/info.

Osprey Hill Farm | Geoff & Anna Martin
5800 Saxon Road

Acme, WA 98220

360.595.9134

Offering three different 8-week sessions June through November, Osprey Hill Farm mixes it up with harvest box shares, farm fresh egg shares, and chicken meat shares.

Folks can sign up for one, two or three sessions, with pick-up locations throughout Whatcom and Skagit Counties. It takes just six shareholders to create a drop site in any area neighborhood or workplace.

Learn more about 2014 CSA prices at www.ospreyhillfarm.com.

Rabbit Fields Farm | Roslyn McNicholl
Everson, WA 92847

360.393.8747

In its eighth season of farming independently, Rabbit Fields Farm offers an array of produce during the early, peak and late seasons. A main season share costs $400 with pick-up locations at the farm, Wednesday’s Fairhaven Farmers Market and Saturday’s Bellingham Farmers Market.

They also offer “Bunny Bucks,” a separate program that can be purchased on top of CSA shares, which tacks an extra 10 percent to a shareholder’s account. Bunny Bucks can then be used at the Rabbit Fields Farm booth at the Fairhaven and Bellingham Farmers Markets.

Get all the details at www.rabbitfieldsfarm.com.

Sage & Sky Farm | Andrea & Sam Roper
3002 East Smith Road

Bellingham, WA 98226

360.255.0757

On top of a variety of verdant vegetables and herbs, Sage & Sky Farms also offers grass-fed lamb, pastured eggs and pastured chicken.

Sage & Sky Farm’s 2014 season will focus on staples such as carrots, beans, cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes – and they promise to add a few other items to “spice it up.”

Full shares run $425, with half shares (delivered every other week) costing $225. Sage & Sky Farm is one of the area CSAs that offer drop-off locations in Bellingham and also at participating workplaces.

Visit www.sageandskyfarm.com for more information.

Sumas River Farm | Helen Solem
4289 Rock Road

Sumas, WA 98295

360.319.0895

Leave out a bucket, and then return home each Wednesday to find it replaced with one filled with fresh fruit and vegetables grown by Helen Solem at Sumas River Farms.

Sumar River Farm is quite small – less than an acre – so only 12 CSA shareholders each season get to enjoy Solem’s sensational peas, broccoli, lettuce, corn and carrots – with samplings from 40 additional crops thrown in to round out each week’s delivery.

Check out www.helenssumasriverfarm.com for all the Sumas River Farm CSA details.

Terra Verde Farm | Amy & Skuter Fontaine
806 Chestnut Street

Everson, WA 98247

360.393.2520

Spread out over seven acres in Everson, Terra Verde Farm offers full or half shares of its vegetables, rhubarb, strawberries, herbs and flowers. Three distinct seasons are offered from June through September with full share costs ranging from $142.50 to $382.50.

This year, Terra Verde Farm’s CSA will also include the option to add a pound of whole coffee beans from Hammerhead Coffee Roasters to a weekly box. A loaf of fresh Bread Farm bread can also be added.

Pick up your share at the Saturday Bellingham Farmers Market or Terra Verde’s mid-week drop site. For more information, contact farmers Skuter and Amy Fontaine directly at the number above or via email.

WakeRobin Farm | Brigget LeClair
2660 Thornton Road

Ferndale, WA 98248

360.815.1190

Just west of Ferndale, WakeRobin Farm grows an abundance of farm-fresh foods in its sweet loam soil and also offers eggs, chicken meat and purebred Icelandic sheep for meat and wool.

Weekly CSA pick-ups at the farm are shared in charming wicker baskets, generously filled with a sampling from more than 40 different vegetable crops harvested during the season at WakeRobin Farm.

For more information, email Brigget LeClair at wakerobinfarm@gmail.com.

All photos courtesy Growing Washington.

Apple Yarns: Bellingham Yarn Shop Where Everybody Knows Your Name

By

Stacee Sledge

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apple yarns — Andrea Evans opened Apple Yarns in August 2007. The shop has expanded twice to reach its current location on Iowa Street.

By Stacee Sledge

Andrea Evans wanted to create a Cheers for the knitting crowd.

If a recent visit to the shop she co-owns with husband, Andrew Evans, is any indication, that’s exactly what they’ve built with Apple Yarns.

A stream of customers comes through the yarn shop’s door just after opening, taking a seat at a long table or one of four cushy red armchairs in a window-lined space called the gathering room.

And sure enough, everyone is greeted by name – by Andrea, by Andrew, and by one another.

Andrea grew up in retail. Her family owned a lumber-hardware store in California. “I worked there from when I was a little kid,” she says.

After college, she worked for an interior design firm and in marketing, met and married Andrew, and started a family. The couple moved to Bellingham days before their oldest son started kindergarten – and they never looked back.

“We live in Bellingham, love Bellingham, and are so happy to raise our kids here,” she says.

The couple has always worked for themselves – Andrew also owns Blazing Banners – and as their three children grew older, Andrea was looking for a different career path.

“I was ready to go back to work, but I didn’t want to do interior design anymore,” she says.

Andrea had taken up knitting a few years before, as something to do while waiting for the kids at their various activities.

“You can’t talk and read at the same time,” she says, smiling. “I wanted to learn right then and couldn’t wait for my mom to come for holiday – so I took a class at Whatcom Community College.”

Always a small business supporter, Andrea was shopping at a local yarn shop when she realized what she wanted to do.

“My retail genes started kicking in,” she says with a laugh.

There was no yarn shop on the east side of the freeway, and no place that fulfilled her personal yarn shopping wish list – somewhere customers could gather and socialize while knitting. “We had great small businesses but we didn’t have what I wanted,” she says.

A space opened up in Barkley Village, Andrea wrote a business plan, and Apple Yarns opened its doors in August of 2007. It eventually moved to a larger space in Barkley, next door to Starbucks. When the current space on Iowa Street became available – with twice the square footage – they jumped at it, confident that Apple Yarns could stand on its own as a destination. It certainly has.

And the shop name? “I don’t know what it is about apples,” Andrea says. “I’ve just always liked the way that word looks.” The couple has five apple trees in their front yard – and a dog named Apple (who came before the store).

“Also, we knew when we opened that we’d do a web business,” Andrea says. “We love where we live, we love our community, and apples represent the great state of Washington.”

Selling locally is most important to Andrea and Andrew, but the Apple Yarns website grows every day and helps keep the store successful.

“Knitters are pretty computer savvy, which most people don’t guess,” says Andrea. “The fastest growing age group for knitters is 18 to 35.”

Apple Yarns employs four part-time staff members – all of whom have been with them since the very beginning.

Ask Andrea to name her favorite thing about owning and operating Apple Yarns and she answers without hesitation: “Oh, that’s easy,” she says. “The people. We are a community within a community. We really get to know our customers – and we like them.”

But don’t think that Andrea gets to sit down every day with those customers who drop in and congregate in the gathering room, talking, laughing and knitting.

“The only time you’ll see me knit is the last two or three weeks before Christmas,” Andrea says, “because I’m like every other knitter, trying to finish up gifts.”

But that’s not to say she doesn’t knit, because she does – nearly all the time when she’s away from work.

“I don’t sit down without knitting. How do you even watch TV without knitting? I don’t get it,” she jokes. “I don’t sit in the car without knitting.”

Andrea especially likes knitting things for her kids.

“They’ve grown up around all of this,” she says. “I know my middle schooler is not going to wear a sweater to school that I hand knit, but a cowl in angora, something like that? She’ll wear it all the time. I’m pretty good at picking those projects.”

She says this year has been the year of hand knit socks at her house and the kids wear them all the time.

Andrea points out a gorgeous, intricate sweater a customer is wearing. “That sweater Gretchen did, there? That requires thought. I would never knit that. I don’t think and knit. I just do simple knits.”

And she doesn’t knit alone. After the couple opened the shop, Andrew picked up the knitting needles, as well.

Apple Yarns

1780 Iowa Street

Bellingham, WA 98229

360.756.9992

855.850.YARN (toll-free)

Hours:

Mon – Fri: 10am to 6pm

Sat: 10am to 6pm

Sun: 12pm to 4pm

Bellingham’s Hand Crank Films Marries Filmmaking with Commercial Projects, Non-Profit Fundraising

By

Stacee Sledge

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If anyone’s looking for the largest green screen in Western Washington north of Seattle – and come on, who isn’t? – it can be found at the Bellingham studio of Hand Crank Films.

Founder Max Kaiser and his team – Chris Donaldson, Jim Pidgeon, Cameron Currier, and a talented crew of contract directors, producers and editors – have built a successful film production company that creates commercial spots for a wide range of clients. They also donate their time and talent to help local nonprofit organizations.

What they produce isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill commercial work: Hand Crank Films creates short films that truly engage the viewer, are cinematically powerful, and include intriguing narratives.

But back to that gigantic green screen at the Hand Crank Film office, which is a stone’s throw from the Civic Athletic Complex.

Though the majority of Hand Crank Films’ work is done on location – with locales ranging from local and regional to across the country and as far-flung as Africa, Bangladesh, Uganda and India – having this particular no-frills space with the gargantuan green screen means they can do top-notch professional interior work in-house, as well.

“It’s pretty utilitarian, really,” Kaiser says, showing me around Hand Crank Film headquarters. “We had a fancy space in Fairhaven, but we outgrew it. And when I started to look for something, it was either utilitarian and fit our bill or it had character but not the drive-in ability that we really needed.”

He literally means being able to drive a vehicle into the building. A large white van loaded with filmmaking equipment is parked inside the cavernous green-screen room at the back of the Hand Crank Films offices.

That very van marks a lot of miles – back and forth between Bellingham and Seattle – as the majority of Hand Crank Films’ commercial work these days comes from the Emerald City.

“The idea always was to grow the company here in Bellingham and eventually make our way down there. Seattle was always the market,” says Kaiser. “And that’s exactly what happened – we just wound up doing a lot more films around the country and the world first.”

And while Kaiser makes that I-5 trip two or three times a week himself, he has no plans to move south. Hand Crank Films, he insists, will always be headquartered in Bellingham.

Kaiser grew up in Indiana and graduated in 1994 from Yale, where he did a lot of theater. He also completed an intensive film workshop at New York University.

“After that, I just kind of bumped around the industry for a long time,” Kaiser says. “Finally, when I decided I wanted to move here, I wrote a film about a girl who lived out in the islands.”

That film, Desolation: A Comedy, came out in 2004 and can still be purchased at Village Books.

“Desolation was a complete failure; it’s not a good movie,” Kaiser says, smiling. “But it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot.”

Kaiser also garnered recognition for – and more valuable filmmaking experience from – his second film, 2008’s On A Wing and a Prayer, a PBS documentary about a local American Muslim man working to get his private pilot’s license under FBI scrutiny in post-9/11 America.

“That was a big deal, with worldwide distribution,” Kaiser says.

Kaiser’s family roots grow deep here, where his grandfather opened an ophthalmology practice – still run today by Kaiser’s uncle – in 1945. His father Nicholas Kaiser is the co-founder of Saturna Capital, where two of Max Kaiser’s sisters also work.

“My wife is from Bellingham and I have tons of family here,” Kaiser says. “I always wanted to move to the area but couldn’t figure out how to do film stuff here.”

He eventually did figure it out.

Kaiser hit on a successful filmmaking company formula that makes sense here. Hand Crank Films, which began in 2003, expects to reach a million dollars in business this year.

“We’ve never had a worse year than the year before,” he says. “Our average growth is 25 percent a year, so if we can keep that going, the sky’s the limit.”

While the vast majority of their work these days comes from Seattle, Hand Crank Films still has a solid segment of local business. Clients include Western Washington University, PeaceHealth, Whatcom Smart Trips, and many others.

“Bellingham is a great town but there’s just not the demand for us,” says Kaiser. And that’s fine; it’s all according to the plan.

An important change for Hand Crank Films this year is its donation of work to local nonprofits, helping organizations raise significantly more money for their causes.

Hand Crank Films has long worked – for a fee, usually between $12,000 and $15,000 per film – for many larger nonprofits, helping them bring in far more fundraising dollars.

“We generally see organizations make about five dollars for every dollar they spend on our fundraising films,” Kaiser explains.

For instance, Hand Crank Films made a promotional video for a Seattle Humane Society fundraising event, which had pulled in $600,000 the year before. With the Hand Crank Films clip to help boost awareness, they upped that to $1.2 million in funds raised.

“It makes business sense for them to do it,” Kaiser says of the larger nonprofits that have marketing budgets.

This new venture into helping nonprofits for free is based on one litmus test – the organization must literally have no money to spend. Hand Crank Films expects to produce four free promotional films this year.

Its first, for Kids’ Council NorthWest’s TreeHouse program, which provides grief support to children, teens and families, helped the organization raise more than it ever imagined it could.

“We quadrupled their numbers for the evening,” says Kaiser. “And there was nothing different about the evening other than our movie and the fact that we got really involved in consulting with them about their event, how best to do it.”

Hand Crank Films sets some criteria when considering which nonprofits to work with. “We have a goal of at least doubling their revenue,” Kaiser says. “So if they can’t give us a certain number of seats, we won’t do it.”

TreeHouse historically offered 35 seats for its annual fundraiser; Hand Crank Films asked them to sell 100 at $100 a pop. “They didn’t think they could do it,” says Kaiser, “but they did.”

Circulating a teaser of the film on Facebook helped stir up buzz for the event. See the entire finished TreeHouse film here.

Hand Crank Films is currently working on a film for Whatcom Center for Early Learning, an organization providing early intervention for kids born with special needs.

“There’s no way to say no to that,” says Kaiser. “It’s such a good cause, but they don’t have a good way to express it. That’s when we see we can really help.”

His team is also working on a retrospective film for the closing Larrabee Elementary. “It’s not a fundraiser, but it’s an event that means a lot to people in the community,” Kaiser says.

“It’s a big initiative for us and we hope to do a lot more of it,” Kaiser says of these special projects. In the meantime, there’s plenty of paying commercial work coming the Hand Crank Films crew’s way.

“The real key differential with our company is that every single person who works here has a background in independent filmmaking,” says Kaiser “That’s different than being someone who came up doing corporate commercials.”

“Our feel – which I think is special in the market – is this narrative, cinematic feel, as opposed to a very sort of corporate feel.”

And this special way of coming at commercial projects has caught the eye of bigger and bigger clients.

“We own the local, no problem, and we’re doing a lot more regional,” says Kaiser. “We’re working our way up to national.”

“It’s a trick trying to climb that ladder. Some people just skyrocket right into national, but we’ve always just been a one-step-after-another kind of company, small and steady.”

Take a few minutes to look at a few of the spots Hand Crank Films has created for local organizations and see how exceptional their work is.

Whatcom Smart Trips

Sustainable Connections

PeaceHealth

GET Washington Savings Plan

Western Washington University

Saturna Capital

Rainy Day Family Fun Around Bellingham

By

Stacee Sledge

-

Whatcom County sees plenty of rainy days, no doubt about it. But isn’t that a fair trade for our (mostly) moderate weather during most of the year?

This Midwestern transplant sure thinks so.

When I arrived in Bellingham from Iowa in 1996 and spent a blissful first winter without a single ice storm wreaking havoc on my social life (not to mention my car), I hoped to never leave.

When I then enjoyed a picture-postcard-perfect first summer with nary a 100-percent humidity day while everywhere else sweltered, I knew I’d do whatever it took to stay put for good.

Drizzle is just a fact of life for those of us lucky enough to call Whatcom County home. And it doesn’t have to put a damper on kid-friendly fun. Here are some rainy day options to help run the kiddos ragged, keep a smile on their faces (and yours), and let them while away the time until the sun peeks through the clouds again.

Jump Around Fun Zone

My daughter wanted – no, needed – to have her fifth birthday party at Jump Around Fun Zone. And every pint-sized attendee had a blast.

With a giant, open room full of bouncy houses and blow-up slides, Jump Around Fun Zone offers a safe, clean, fun space for kids up to 10 years old and under five feet tall.

An added bonus? Free wifi lets mom or dad keep an eye on their children while also getting some work done.

Jump Around Fun Zone

www.jumparoundfunzone.com

4600 Guide Meridian

Bellingham, WA 98226

360.647.JUMP

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Lynden Pioneer Museum

My kids have finally fallen for the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I loved so much in my youth. I can’t wait to take them to the Lynden Pioneer Museum.

A small storefront inside the museum’s front door opens into a wonderful time machine chock full of artifacts from our area’s pioneer days and forward, including a 1950s soda fountain.

Visitors can stroll an early-twentieth century small town main street and study exhibits on early settlers and American Indian cultures that are educational, yes, but also fascinating and just plain fun to experience.

Lynden Pioneer Museum

www.lyndenpioneermuseum.com

217 Front Street

Lynden, WA 98264

360.354.3675

Hours:

Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Whatcom Museum’s Family Interactive Gallery (FIG)

The Family Interactive Gallery – or FIG – at Whatcom Museum is a vibrant, hands-on wonderland for little ones, with a variety of intriguing spaces fit for children of all ages.

Over a dozen different activity stations offer a wide range of learning-through-play experiences. Smaller children can pretend to plant (and harvest) a garden, while older children can create their own movie at the stop-motion photography exhibit. And they can all make a delightful racket in an exhibit offering musical instruments, a cacophony of sounds, and colorful lights galore.

Family Interactive Gallery at Whatcom Museum

www.whatcommuseum.org/fig-intro

250 Flora Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.778.8930

Hours:

Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sundays, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

20th Century Bowl

Who doesn’t love to bowl? And with the help of bumpers and bowling ball “ramps,” even the smallest preschoolers can get in on the fun. 20th Century Bowl offers a clean, fun, colorful space – in a 16-lane building built over 50 years ago – that was remodeled just a few years ago.

20^th Century Bowl

www.20thcenturybowl.com

1411 North State Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.734.5250

Hours:

Monday, 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (leagues between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (leagues between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.)

Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Thursday, 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (leagues between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.)

Friday: 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Perch and Play

Perch and Play is pure delight. A huge, open play space divided into two distinct age-appropriate areas, both of which contained by a low wall and gated entry, so even the littlest ones can’t slip away and get into any mischief.

This 1,200-square-foot indoor playground is monitored by staff and includes a large play structure with monkey bars, slides, fireman poles and other fun-to-explore nooks and crannies, as well as a fantastical two-story playhouse. And all of which is easily viewed by parents who can sit in the “Parent’s Perch” and enjoy lunch or coffee (and free wifi) while keeping an eye on the fun below.

A separate area for younger guests – adorably dubbed “the pea patch” – includes soft toys for toddlers and plenty to engage any young ones who might be overwhelmed by the larger play area.

Perch and Play

www.perchandplay.com

1707 North State Street

Bellingham, WA 98226

360.393.4925

Hours:

Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Inside Pitch

There’s not much my nine-year-old son likes more than a chance to hit Inside Pitch and spend some time in their batting cages.

Rent a tunnel by the half-hour or hour and have a mini-practice – hitting off a single-feed pitching machine, taking grounders, pitching – or simply play catch with a friend.

Inside Pitch

www.insidepitchbellingham.com

1750 Moore Street

Bellingham, WA 98229

360.647.1600

Hours:

Monday through Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

VITAL Climbing Gym

Sure, you’ll likely be envious of how effortlessly your kids climb the walls compared to you at VITAL Climbing Gym, but don’t let that keep you from trying out Bellingham’s newest climbing facility.

Opened in 2013, the space is cavernous, beautifully designed and – most importantly – fully decked out and with a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help get even the beginning climber bouldering safely in no time.

VITAL Climbing Gym

www.vitalclimbinggym.com

1421 North State Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.399.6248

Hours:

Monday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Trampoline Zone

The entire family can get a workout at the Trampoline Zone. My kids love to go on “Two For Tuesday,” but anytime at the Trampoline Zone is a great time to burn off excess energy and have a blast while doing so.

Trampoline Zone

www.trampolinezone.net

4201 Meridian Street, Suite 107

Bellingham WA 98226

360.255.0722

Hours:

Monday through Thursday, noon to 8:00 p.m.

Friday: noon to 10:00 p.m.

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Sunday: noon to 8:00 p.m.

Rainy Day Play at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

Looking for a completely free way to spend a couple rainy hours inside four walls that aren’t your own? Our Savior’s Lutheran Church holds a free Rainy Day Play every third Wednesday of the month, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., for newborns and children up through five years old. Parents and guardians must stay for drop-in play, where all can enjoy the church’s large, (warm and dry!) carpeted space.

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

www.oursavioursbham.org

1781 Harris Avenue

Bellingham, WA 98225

360.733.6749

Bellingham Girls Rock Camp: Empowering Whatcom Girls and Women Alike

By

Stacee Sledge

-

By Stacee Sledge

bellingham summer camp — Last year’s Bellingham Girls Rock Camp recorded a session at Champion Street Sound Studios.

Morgan Paris Lanza wasn’t in charge of Bellingham Girls Rock Camp during its first run, in 2012. But she did volunteer – and quickly became a champion of the empowering event.

Lanza took over in 2013, after original organizer Casi Brown – whom Lanza knew from their studies at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College – graduated and moved out of Bellingham.

Now Lanza wants to be the person to grow the camp and make sure this important opportunity for Whatcom County girls sticks around for good.

Inspired by Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, which originated in Portland in 2001 and has evolved into different iterations across the country, Bellingham Girls Rock Camp (BGRC) gives girls between the ages of 8 and 17 the chance to pick up an instrument (no experience necessary), learn to write a song, record that song in a professional recording studio, and perform live onstage.

Workshops about women in music history and a range of other topics round out the camp experience, which is held at downtown Bellingham’s Make.Shift Art Space.

“It’s half way between summer camp and a rock and roll music school,” says Lanza. “Campers can expect to have a lot of fun, but also to work hard.”

This summer’s camp will be expanded by half a day, starting at noon on Sunday rather than Monday morning.

“We’ll do a half day on Sunday because I think it’s important that the girls get to know each other and figure out what camp’s going to be all about before we just dive right in,” says Lanza.

This added Sunday camp session will also include a workshop about women in music, Lanza says, “to give girls an idea of whose shoulders they’re standing on as they proceed into this world.”

Campers then hit the ground running on Monday morning, breaking into bands, attending more intensive workshops, receiving instruction in their assigned instruments, and jamming.

“Every day they have an hour of instrument instruction – bass, guitar, vocals, drums. This summer we’ll be adding keyboard as an option,” says Lanza. “They have Monday through Thursday to really write their songs, get some practice, and get ready to go,” says Lanza.

The week is basically a crash-course in songwriting and how to play an instrument.

“We give them the instruction, support and time they need to start learning those things that will enable them to write songs and express themselves through music,” says Lanza.

On Friday, campers are taken to a professional recording studio to record the song their band has written.

“They get an opportunity to be treated like professionals in that environment, with an intro into microphones and mixing boards,” Lanza says. “All these things that are part of your work as a professional musician.”

On Saturday, the final day of BGRC, campers are given a compilation of all the recorded. “They can listen to it over and over,” Lanza says, “or keep it as a memento.”

And then? These new musicians get to hit the stage. Last year’s campers performed at the Green Frog.

“The first year we had a group of three younger girls write a song about balloons,” says Lanza. “It was really awesome.”

On the day of their performance, the singer got stage fright. “She did the classic Miles Davis face away from the audience to sing her song,” Lanza remembers, laughing. “It was really great and she was really proud of herself afterward.”

It’s not just the campers who leave camp feeling empowered and encouraged.

Katie Weiss volunteered at last summer’s camp, though she didn’t have any particular musical experience.

“I’ve always loved music, and have learned to play clarinet, piano, guitar, and have had tons of experience with musical theatre, but I never felt like I was talented enough to actually play anything in a band,” says Weiss. “The thought of playing music in a band felt foreign to me. That was for people who were talented and cool.”

Weiss watched BGRC campers who didn’t “feel talented or cool” get up and make music anyway and, she says, it woke her up. “I realized that I belonged on stage because I wanted to be there, and that making music is empowering for everyone.”

Weiss was so inspired by the girls at camp that she learned to play bass and now regularly performs live in Bellingham band Fictions.

“That’s one of the most inspiring things for me, in terms of working with volunteers,” says Lanza. “I want women across the board to have the opportunity to express themselves through music and to feel supported.”

Lanza recently brought on Tasha Kern as a co-organizer for BGRC. Kern was a volunteer in 2012 and 2013.

“In January, Tasha organized a three-day benefit concert at the Shakedown, which was a huge success,” says Lanza. “She’s great on the ground, organizing events, whereas I’m really good at the more administrative side of things. But what we both love the most is being at camp with the campers and volunteers.”

BGRC is always looking for volunteers, people who are interested in music, social justice, empowerment, and working with young girls.

Lanza and Kern are now fully in the planning stages for this summer’s coming camp.

“I’m also working to legitimize the organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, putting together a lot of the administrative and logistical things,” Lanza says, “but also making sure that the actual camp – which is the important thing – continues to happen, continues to grow.”

Lanza’s plan is to eventually set up an internal structure so that if she leaves Bellingham after graduation, Bellingham Girls Rock Camp continues on. She wants to be sure the community doesn’t lose this service that’s been in such high demand.

“I wish I’d had this opportunity as a girl,” Lanza says. “I want to make sure that every girl in Bellingham, for 10 years of her life, can go to rock camp – and then for years after can continue to be involved as a volunteer.”

To learn more about volunteering or registering for this summer’s camp, visit the Bellingham Girls Rock Camp website.

Special thanks to Kevin Lowdon for the photos.

Sunnyland Teacher Brian Pahl Brings Technology to the Classroom Forefront

By

Stacee Sledge

-

Sunnyland Elementary fourth grade teacher Brian Pahl maintains a classroom blog titled Be Good Humans.

The blog’s name gives some insight into the type of teacher — and person — Pahl is.

And the fact that he’s created a classroom blog hints at something else about Pahl: His desire to weave technology more tightly into his teaching practice and the importance he places on doing so.

Just a few of the ways Pahl and his students use technology in their classroom curriculum include producing digital stories on the aforementioned blog, creating book trailers, and individually recording math tutorials, which are then used in the classroom and by Pahl in evaluating and helping his students succeed.

During a recent visit to Room 12, Pahl and his students break into small groups to work on several different projects — in several different ways.

A few work together on math problems in a sun-filled corner of the room, while others work with student teacher Ms. Binderup at the front on a SMART Board (think white board married with an old-school overhead projector, that responds to touch). Some students study workbooks at their desks, pencils in hand.

At the back of the room, a handful of students type away on laptop computers, one girl balancing on an exercise ball while she works. Two students use math games to study math facts, while one adds photos to his “space glog” — an online multimedia poster each child is creating with Glogster software.

Out in the hallway, a group of five students sits at a small table with Mr. Pahl. Each has an iPad or iPad Mini in hand. Pahl explains the activity and sends the children off to explore.

They walk around the corner with their iPads in search of angles to photograph — one 90-degree angle, one angle less than 90 degrees, and one greater than. Pahl helps gently guide them from time to time as they search.

“Instead of just giving them worksheets, we’re turning it into this cool experience where they’re using technology,” Pahl says quietly, as we watch the group. “They’re looking for the angles they’ve learned about and they’re taking photographs — that’s the technology piece.”

When the group reconvenes at the table, they then use an app to write directly on their photographs with a stylus pen, labeling the angles they’ve found.

Part of the group then begins to work on number line problems, again writing directly on their iPad screens with a stylus.

Two students, Miranda and Tim, separate from the group and find quiet corners in the hallway to record themselves on their iPads as they work through fraction subtraction and addition problems.

“Tim and Miranda are actually making video tutorials of how to solve a certain problem,” Pahl explains. “Those then go on to our Educreations website and our blog.”

Sure, the same thing could be done on paper or on the white board — who among us doesn’t remember standing in front of the class, chalk in hand, showing how we worked through a problem step-by-step? — but the novelty of recording it on the iPad, and then playing it back for classmates, ups the engagement factor.

“I then use it in the classroom,” Pahl says. “I’ll say, ‘Here’s an example Miranda created, and it’s on the blog in case you don’t remember it or need help with it.’ Parents can also get on the blog and look at it.”

Another benefit to often recording the work is it gives Pahl a breakdown of each student’s process; he can listen to them narrate each step — and any stumbling blocks — as they work through a problem.

We move back into the classroom and students swap activities. Pahl pulls up a screen on an iPad to show me a myriad of student-created math tutorials.

“These are all the different lessons. So now I can click on it” — a child’s voice begins to describe the steps for solving a math problem — “and it’s showing his thinking,” says Pahl. “If he said, ‘I’m not sure what to do right here,’ as a teacher I can jump in and help him. And I can’t always do that in the moment.”

Pahl saves his students’ recordings and looks them over at home at night. “That’s the thing that’s unique about this,” he says. “If I were evaluating paper-and-pencil work, I couldn’t know exactly where a student is struggling.”

He kneels down at the desk of a boy working on an iPad who is struggling to place a specific decimal point on a number line. Their conversation is recorded as the student talks through the problem with encouragement from Pahl.

It’s a slow process and Pahl is patient, guiding the student slightly, but mostly sitting back and letting the boy persevere as he talks his way through the problem. After focusing for several minutes, the student lands on the correct answer.

“He just showed me that he used a strategy that I taught him to be successful,” Pahl says to me later, clearly proud of the student’s work. “Now, when I’m meeting with his folks, I can show this to them, let them listen to it, and say, ‘Look at the great job he’s done here. He struggled with that, but he didn’t give up.’”

Pahl’s use of technology in the classroom is meant to engage his students further, but also to prepare them for their futures.

“I’m trying to help them be successful 21^st-century learners,” Pahl says. “They’re learning how computers work, how to use technology to create, collaborate, solve problems and — perhaps most importantly — they’re learning the higher-level thinking skills required to be college- and career-ready. I aim to give my students experiences that will prepare them for whatever path they choose.”

Watch this video made by Pahl, which he has entered into the PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator Contest. If selected, he would participate in a year-long professional development program designed to foster and grow a community of digitally savvy educators, as well as receive national recognition and membership into a robust professional learning community. The top 15 applicants will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2014 PBS LearningMedia Digital Summit.

All photos by Stacee Sledge

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