This week's newsletter is packed with exciting questions, healthy recipes, inspiring athletes, local events you won't want to miss, and a must-read blog post! Enjoy reading this weeks newsletter!

Click on the map to find events in your city!

Which event typically marks the beginning of the NFL Draft?

A) The announcement of the Heisman Trophy winner

B) The singing of the national anthem

C) The commissioner announcing the first overall pick

D) The Super Bowl champion trading their pick

Nordic Breakfast Porridge

Ingredients

• Barley Porridge

  • 2 ½ cups whole milk

  • 1 cup barley flakes

  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter

  • kosher salt

• Toppings

  • 1 pint raspberries

  • 1 tbsp light brown sugar

  • ½ granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks

  • 2 tbsps roasted chopped pistachios

  • 4 tsps chia seeds, covered in 1 tbsp water

  • ¼ cup whole milk

  • Ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Barley Porridge

   1. Bring the milk and barley flakes to a gentle boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover and cook until the milk is almost fully absorbed and the barley is super soft but still a bit creamy, around 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar, butter, and ½ tsp salt.

2. Toppings

   1. Roughly smash the raspberries with the sugar in a small bowl with a fork

3. Serving

   1. Divide the porridge into 4 bowls. Add the toppings neatly around the edge of the bowl, putting a quarter of the crushed raspberries, apple sticks, pistachios and chia seeds in each bowl. Drizzle each bowl with 1 tbsp milk and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

Click HERE to go to the recipe!

This week, our swim coach at The University of Illinois Olivia, is in the spotlight! Check out her bio below and book your next lesson by going to our website!

Introducing, Olivia Dorshorst!

“Hi! I am a rising junior on the University of Illinois Swim and Dive Team. I am a distance freestyler, specifically the 500 freestyle and 1650 free style. I have been a swim coach for the past three years as well as taught swim lessons and clinics. I worked with children 9 months-16 years old. I have taught children the basics of swimming and water comfort in addition to working with advanced swimmers on technique and other specific things they wanted to work on for all strokes. I can't wait to meet you!”

Book Your Lesson With Olivia Now!

Family Fun Night

Family Fun night is a weekly evening that will have fun games, crafts, STEAM activities, and more that the whole family will love. This weeks activity is May Day is Lei Day that is celebrating Hawaiian culture by making leis while enjoying ukulele tunes. This event is happening on Thursday, May 1 from 6:30 PM - 7:15 PM at the Main Champaign Public Library.

Click HERE to learn more! 

Parade of Playgrounds Highland Park

Highland Park has 22 playgrounds within the city. Every Thursday morning from 10 AM - 12 PM a group of parents and kids meet at a different playground to utilize and explore it’s equipment until they have visited all of the parks. This is happening from May 1 - September 25.

Click HERE to learn more!

The end of the school year is approaching but with the end in sight also comes increased assignments and possibly more sports related activities. Balancing a busy schedule with academics can be overwhelming, but with the right tools and planning it doesn’t have to be. In this blog post we are going to look at effective methods to manage both school work and sports, the methods we will be looking at are setting clear priorities, creating a schedule, setting goals, and having rest built into your schedule.

Click HERE to read more!

Based originally in Champaign, Illinois and quickly expanding across the rest of the Midwest, we at Top Tier make it our goal to connect you and your kids to high quality and successful college athletes across every playing field. We are currently offering lessons for several different sports from an array of elite college athletes. As college sports are expanding and becoming more popular throughout the country, we want to guarantee our customers can benefit from this great opportunity to receive quality training with flexible times. Check out our website to learn more.

The correct answer is C! (source: ChatGPT)