READ TO ME: Reassurance for kids who live in storm country This children’s picture book delivers reassurance, and even though the scenery presents an ocean town, it's appropriate for children who live in landlocked, storm-thrashed places like Arkansas.

7day Menu Planner Parental Guidance: This week's worth of budget-conscious meals for a family includes Salad Nicoise, which has ... anchovies.

ASK THE VET: Cats’ compulsive disorder is treatable Like humans with OCD, cats can develop "compulsive disorder," or CD. The word "obsessive" isn’t used because it refers to thought patterns we can't objectively evaluate in cats.

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READ TO ME: ‘The Stray’ is a keeper A family out for a stroll happens across a lost little lifeform in a wrecked flying saucer. He or it has jagged teeth and wiry whiskers and eyeballs on eye stalks, but also a curly tail and four dog-like legs.

State parks lodging reopens, with new restrictions Arkansas State Parks, which have stayed open to some degree during the entire stretch of covid-19 restrictions, aim to move closer to normal operations as the summer vacation season arrives.

Jumble for Kids Unscramble the letters to spell real words and use those words to solve the Jumble for Kids. Study the picture for a hint. You can color the picture, too.

Arkansas moms’ book is a resource to inspire kids After covid-19 shuttered schools around the world, three mothers — two in Little Rock and one in Europe — found themselves in need of a book.

Children of the pandemic Associated Press reporters around the world asked kids to use art and music to express how they view the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some of their stories.

CDC clarifies surface safety advice After widespread reports that the CDC was telling people to stop worrying about catching covid-19 from surfaces like doorknobs and groceries, the agency issued a news release to clarify that such indirect contact remains a risk.

Grow your own salt Making a small salt farm and harvesting the salt crystals is an easy science project for elementary school kids.

LRSD plans limited summer sessions The Little Rock School District is taking steps to provide on-site summer school for elementary pupils and online summer school for high school students, district leaders announced this week.

LR, partners to continue with meals program The grab-and-go meal program that has been feeding children and some elderly people will continue and expand in Little Rock through the summer.

MASTER CLASS: It's like your driveway was built for this workout It's not hard to transform a driveway from a utilitarian necessity to an exercise playground.

Tenting in the old backyard Our kids are going to have the weirdest memories of this time, and, ideally, some of them will be beautiful. Or at least comedic. This is where backyard camping comes in.

Arkansas officials: Stay up to date on vaccinations Child vaccination rates have dropped since covid-19 tightened its grip on Arkansas two months ago, prompting concerns of outbreaks of some preventable diseases.

It's Junior Sudoku! Fill all the empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 6 appear once and only once in each row, column and square.

Number Pyramid All fields in the pyramid must be filled in with numbers. The numbers of two adjacent boxes must be added to find the number that goes above them.

Build your memory skills Images are hiding behind these cards. Click on a matching pair, and they disappear. If you click on a pair and it doesn't disappear, look for a third matching image.

Mermaids of the landlocked sort collide in this book In this graceful new picture book with chapters, an independent little girl befriends a rude old woman staying at the Mermaid Hotel.

Schools to open up for some activities The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has released a list of school-related education activities and programs — such as summer day camps and small-group summer tutoring — that can resume on campuses, effective June 1.

Home Movies Capsule reviews of recently available movies include several rated PG and PG-13

REVIEW: Scoob! For all of its flaws, it's obvious the PG-rated Scoob! was made with love.

Girl power Little Rock has its own Little Big Shot. Seven-year-old Vivian Lord will appear on the NBC show to explain how she asked toy makers to add women to their line of Army men.

Advice for covid-positive pet owners Should a pet owner who tests positive for the novel coronavirus have family pets tested too?

Treat your dog to a race, and you win a workout The Treat Race combines two things most dogs love, snacking and being outdoors.

Kids run faster when they think about ninjas Fitness guru Matt Parrott offers another backyard workout idea to burn off children’s excess energy.

Box Hop Race gets kids exercising (parents too) Here’s a present for parents who might be running out of at-home workout ideas, a routine that's perfect for a parent and child.

Older kids will put a parent through a real workout Challenge your parent or older sib to a front yard ball race.

Want to keep kids active? Make it like playtime How do parents encourage young people to be more active without making activity another draining chore? Exercise scientists and coaches have suggestions.

Party out front! Ideas for joyful birthday celebrations With a little creativity, parties in isolation might be the ones kids remember as the best they ever had. Here are a few ideas.

Online extracurriculars keep kids baking, dancing and learning Instead of chauffeuring kids to and from activities, parents need only power up the computer or tablet and log in.

Cooped-up crafts! Fun projects can keep kids entertained with their own creativity Children who can’t leave the yard soon decide to be happy. Art projects can help. Not just any art projects will do, however.

Soapy math adds some STEAM to playtime Here are simple and fun experiments involving math and soap — with helpful videos.

Kids can have fun with these brainy home crafts and science projects Here are some STEAM-related projects that kids won't immediately recognize as "educational."

One, two, make your own kazoo Making your own kazoo is as easy as one, two, three.

Forks and spoons that say 'clunk' can also ring like chimes These simple but surprising activities can start young scientists thinking about how sound travels.

Inventors invited to make chain reaction devices Little Rock’s Museum of Discovery and two corporate partners are challenging Arkansas inventors of all ages to create chain reaction machines.

These apps let you make comics even if you aren't an artist Drawing comics can entice children into creative writing. Here's a guide to apps for making digital comics on a "screen" or a plain old piece of paper.

Soapy videos about washing hands Here are videos about the importance of using soap to wash our hands.

Help Mom manage her to-do list with a handy organizer Mother’s Day is Sunday! A handmade, custom clipboard would help Mom manage her ever-changing to-do list.

State unveils 'playbook' for school return Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key on Thursday unveiled a "Back to School Playbook" compiled by some 130 educators that identifies skills that students missed when the state's schools closed abruptly in March and lesson plans for filling in the gaps when classes resume.

ASK THE VET: Distract and redirect a dog that marks furniture The most common negative behavior exhibited by unneutered — what veterinarians call "intact" — dogs is marking.

ASK THE VET: Don't allow dogs to swim in green water A pond or creek that suddenly turns green could harbor bacteria deadly to dogs.

ASK THE VET: Second-hand smoke sickens cats Is a veterinarian who advises a cat's owner to stop smoking overstepping his expertise?

ASK THE VET: Leave baby bunnies in the nest Would wild baby bunnies that appear to be abandoned make good family pets?

ASK THE VET: What to do when the puppy gets skunked Commercial de-skunking products are safe for puppies, or you could try these home remedies.

Yawns are coming, and they are cute In this new picture book, the Yawns catch the kids, the kids don't catch the yawns.

READ TO ME: A picture book for kids curious about Mars This is not a bedtime story, at least not the first time you share it with a child. It's brainy. It stimulates thought.

Chemist's book has 25 kid-friendly science projects Designed for for children ages 8 to 12, the experiments rely on common products including dish soap and baking soda, with a dash of glitter thrown into the “puffy slime” formula.

This free digital book answers kids’ questions about covid-19 A new, free, digital picture book will help adults struggling to answer children’s repeated questions about why the world has turned upside down.

READ TO ME: Now more than ever, these animals need to apologize In this unexpectedly timely book, little animals say mean, mean things that do not represent their true feelings for each other.

Clever Hans amazed the world just by being himself ... a horse This lively picture book about a horse that seemed to be a genius will worry and then please young scientists while also satisfying kids who want to believe in a talking horse.

Mom of 8 named Mother of the Year Naomi Meeks, adoptive mother to eight children ... all of whom are under 10 years old ... has been busy during the pandemic.

Arkansas moms’ advice: Be gentle, be patient In honor of Mother's Day, we checked in with some Northwest Arkansas-area moms to find out how life during a pandemic is going for them.

Historic film and facts about the last day of WWII The phone on Gen. Omar Bradley's bedside table rang at 4:45 a.m. He sat up and turned on the light.

A book for Momma What to give the mother who has had everything already? How about a book about her life and family history?

7day Menu Planner A week's worth of quick, healthful meals for budget-minded families

7day Menu Planner From Cinnamon-Pineapple Pork to Spinach and Artichoke Heart Two-Potato Casserole, here’s a full week menu plan with recipes.

7Day Menu Planner From Barbecue Eye of Round to Walnut-Crusted Pesto Salmon, here are seven days of budget-conscious meals for a family.

7-day menu planner Eggs in Bacon-Potato Nests, y’all. Imagine Mom’s delight, especially if she didn’t have to cook it ...

7-day menu planner Turn Sunday’s fancy chicken into Monday’s chicken tacos. Cap the week with Chipotle Honey-Glazed Salmon.

7-Day Menu Planner Susan Nicholson lays out a week's worth of quick meals for budget-minded families.

Eat to conceive? Diet’s a big player in early pregnancy In the Nurses' Health Study II, researchers found that nearly half the cases of infertility associated with ovulation disorders could be traced to poor diets.

City Year Little Rock offers tutoring sessions City Year Little Rock is offering virtual tutoring sessions for all Little Rock School District students.

Six LR parks will be closed each weekend Six Little Rock parks will be closed each weekend until further notice due to the covid-19 pandemic, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department said on social media Thursday.

Skills testing for driver's licenses to resume Arkansas State Police plan to restore skills testing for driver's license applicants this week, according to a release from the agency.

Here’s one-stop shopping for the in-state virtual tourist The website of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism is a clearinghouse for virtual visits to an assortment of attractions in the Natural State.

The Great Pause lays bare family fault lines and foundations Will the end of pandemic sequester bring more divorces or healthier family ties?

Pro has advice for middle school parents tasked with replacing the teacher A teacher offers reassuring reminders for the parent overwhelmed by supervising a middle-schooler's distance learning.

Area restaurants offer multicourse takeout meals to feed your kin Here’s a list of Central Arkansas restaurants offering family-size takeout.

Kinder, gentler billy goats dare to cross the bridge These billy goats are not so Gruff that they can't make friends with a hungry troll.

Butler Center asks Arkansans to share their covid-19 stories and photos The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is collecting personal stories and images that show how Arkansans are spending their days during the covid-19 pandemic.

Opinion: Saving Sonic is not a disaster Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler and his collaborators somehow have managed to create a watchable movie from a videogame.

Socially isolating dad, mom and kids clean up the river in their own backyard Michael and Tonya Sacomani and their teenage boys are staying active by pulling litter out of the Saline River, which runs past their backyard.

ARKANSAS SIGHTSEEING: Touring museums with virtual touch Here are some museums in the Natural State that offer online visits of one kind or another.

Small precautions allay fears about fabric, hair, mail, shoes, experts say Infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists and microbiologists answer questions about the risks of tracking the virus home during essential trips outside and from deliveries.

Review/Opinion: Trolls World Tour The first Trolls proved "cute" can only carry a movie so far. So it’s good Queen Poppy and Branch now have to go somewhere.

Parents, put your own oxygen mask on first, every day Halfway through Day 3 of our covid-19 lockdown, I yelled at my kids, “You’re both driving me nuts!” On Day 3.

UAMS updates postpartum policy Women who give birth at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences can now each have one visitor stay on the postpartum unit for two days, provided the visitor does not leave the hospital.

What to do when you can’t pay your bills If you're in a situation where you can't pay all your bills, or likely to be there soon, you might have some options to limit the damage to your finances.