Hearing drums from outside at our house is akin to hearing the ice cream truck. It means that most of us are going to run out of the house toward the end of the street where, at least once a non-COVID fall, we see a drumline from what we assume is a local high school. Our next-door neighbors were already on the porch by the time we got our shoes on, and for one unnamed member of the family, add pants. Then on Walk Day, which fell on a Saturday this weekend, we walked by the kids and their families participating in Sno-King Soccer at Frances Anderson Field. It was familiar to see the area busy with games, low on available parking, and adults rushing to make the games on time.

Small bits of familiarity have offered comfort in what I saw many lament as a very long week. Obviously the band and Sno-King activity looks a bit different than before, but I still recognized the look on the top half of the parent’s face I saw hurrying to make it to the field on time while holding all of the necessary items to make it through the game. I also recognized the little skip in the step of a young kid heading to a fun event wearing the most adorable matching gear.

While some are familiar and some are brand new, locally there are activity options indoors, outdoors, for the littlest ones, the high schoolers and for families to do together.

Sno-Isle Libraries has a 1,000 Books Reading Challenge for the baby, toddler or preschooler in your life. When you sign up at sno-isle.beanstack.org you can log the books you read together — Sno-Isle says “Brown Bear, Brown Bear 20 times counts! – complete “eight easy activities” which include cooking and signing all while earning digital badges and keeping track of your favorite books to share together. For more information on the activity and all of the Sno-Isle resources and events you can visit Sno-Isle.org.

Edmonds Lacrosse, which offers lacrosse to girls grades three to 12 in Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Martha Lake and Mountlake Terrace, have two free fall clinics this month. The first is Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at the Old Woodway High School. These clinics are a great chance to try a sport with no pressure and the clinic is “designed to teach basic girls lacrosse skills” and attendees will review the “ basics of throwing, catching, cradling, shooting, and more.” It is encouraged to bring any equipment you may have, but there will be gear available for those who don’t have any. For additional info or if you would like to attend this fall clinic, or the next one on Sunday, Oct. 24, you can register at EdmondsLacrosse.com.

The annual Orca Recovery Day family-friendly nature walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the Mountlake Terrace Community Senior Center at Ballinger Park. With the focus on saving the Southern Resident killer whales, “attendees will learn about local native and invasive plants, how to create bird habitat, and why this kind of conservation work benefits Puget Sound and can help orca populations” — you know how some things feel tailor made for you? This event feels like that for me and I cannot wait! The first 60 households can register for a native plant to take home and those with children in the 3rd and 4th grades can reserve a salmon lesson kit to take home. Organizers suggest bringing binoculars and dressing for the weather, they also said that “orca swag” will be available. When registering you can pick from different native plant options, including coastal strawberry! You can find more information and registration at https://bit.ly/3CJD2no.

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he Edmonds School District is putting out a call to all high school student leaders to join the Superintendent Student Advisory Committee for the 2021-22 school year. The district is looking for a “diverse group of students including students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGQBTIA+, English Language Learners, undocumented, homeless/unhoused, foster, and students with disabilities” to work alongside Superintendent Dr. Balderas and other district leaders. The committee, which meets with Dr. Balderas once a month and participates in a professional development meeting centered around equity issues once per month, will help ninth to 12th graders “develop leadership, policymaking, and collaboration skills” alongside students from each of our district’s four high schools. If your student is interested in applying they must do so by Oct. 15. There is more information, including multiple options for applying, at bit.ly/StudentAdvCommittee.

— By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx, an Edmonds mom of two boys, is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time.