Media and the Developing Mind, Dr. Jane Healy

Tonight I will go see Dr. Jane Healy, presenting "Media and The Developing Mind," at the Marin Center Showcase Theater, in San Rafael.  I am looking forward to this event since as an educator I have long been worried about this very topic.  With the coming of Common Core Standards within public schools across the nation, how much will schools be integrating technology, what kinds, and what kinds of effects will this have on children?   I'll be blogging tomorrow about what kinds of discoveries I made through attending the class.

Resources:

Media and the Developing Mind
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Marin Center Showcase Theater
10 Avenue of the Flags
San Rafael, CA
(Tickets may be purchased at the box office,  by phone at (415) 473-6800, or
online at tickets.marincenter.org.)

Depot for Creative Reuse- inexpensive supplies

The Depot for Creative Reuse is a treasure chest for local teachers, who often find there school supplies and cheap materials for art projects.
4695 Telegraph
Oakland, CA
94609
(510) 547-6470
http://www.creativereuse.org/

What is an upshernish in the Jewish faith?

For some people of the Jewish faith, at three years old, at the age Abraham recognized the existence of G-d, the creator of heaven and earth, the formal education of a child begins.  What is the meaning of upshernish?  Why wait three years to cut a boy's hair?  At the age of three, the child is no longer considered a baby.  Until three it is considered that his intellect starts to blossom, he can understand a story, think in full sentences, and starts to play an active role in his own education.

Yesterday was actually Tu b'shvat- the Rosh Hashana for the trees.  The Torah compares man to a Tree- Ki HaAdam etz Hasadeh:  For man is the tree of the field.  Just like a tree will grow crookedly if it is not straightened when it is small, so too with man.  Therefore it is believed that education must start when the child is small.  for this reason they do not wait until 5 or 6.

There is a special mitzvah concerning trees.  The Torah restricts people from enjoying the fruits of a new tree, during the first three years of life.

At the Upshernish the formal jewish education formally begins.  When the hair is cut, some leave the Payot, the sidelocks the Torah commands Jewish people to wear.  At this time, the child begins to wear a yarulke and tzitizis.  These represent a reminder of a G-dly presence that is constantly above us.  The Tzitzit are a constant reminder of the Torah and the 613 commandments that it contains.

At a child's upshernish it is celebrated that the chid's jewish education reaches a new level.

Should children learn cursive in third grade?

Should children learn cursive in third  and fourth grade.  Some schools have opted out of teaching cursive.  Why? They don't have enough time.  In our age of technology some schools believe cursive is becoming extinct.  I personally think cursive is important, and do not believe it should be left out.  What do you think?

Take My Word For It- writing classes in Bay Area

Take My Word For It was founded by Sondra Hall, who is an Oakland mom and personal essayist Sondra Hall.  It offers community-based and after-school writing classes throughout the bay area.  When her two young sons attended Chabot Elementary School, she was troubled at how little expressive writing was included in the curriculum.  She then started teaching an after school writing class at Chabot.  Today, Hall has a business of teaching writing, and has a staff of 15 teachers.  Her programs are now offered at 21 sites in the Bay Area and also northern Virginia.  She even offers a Saturday mother-and-daughter (aunts, grandma's, etc. welcome too!)  writing workshop at Berkeleys Teahouse Studio.

Resources:

Take My Word For It!
510-388-1548
www.takemywordforit.net

Crayola Beginnings giant coloring pages

When my son was little he loved the Crayola Beginnings Giant Coloring pages.  His first one was Baby Pooh and Friends and they were fun for painting and coloring.  My son started using these pages when he was about 18 months old.  Each page is 13 1/2 by 19 1/2, so there is plenty of room for little hands to draw, color, and paint!

Resources:

Crayola Beginnings
Baby Pooh & Friends Giant Coloring Pages
18+ months, nontoxic
Disney Baby

PJ Library - Free bedtime stories

I love the PJ Library of Jewish books multicultural books and songs.  A package of books comes every month and my son loves it, plus they are free!  Our books are generously donated by the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay.

Resources:

PJ Library
Jewish Bedtime Stories and Songs
Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay
300 Grand Avenue
Oakland,CA  94610
http://pjlibrary.org/communities/community-detail.aspx?id=7

Wrestling The ABC's by Tom and Veronica Davids

Over New Years's we went to a New Year's Eve party and my son learned about the fine art of wrestling!  I started researching wrestling, since all three of my brothers wrestled on teams in Michigan, and I learned about this book, Wrestling the ABC's.



Resources:

Wrestling the ABC's-Creating Character and Fostering Fitness
by Tom and Veronica Davids
wrestlingtheabcs.blogspot.com
http://goldmedalwrestling.com

ABC's of Yoga for Kids, by Teresa Power

I took my son to yoga at Bloom in Walnut Creek last week and the teacher read to the students part of the book, ABC's of Yoga for Kids, by Teresa Power.  This is a great book, and even the yoga teacher approved and used it!

Resources:

The ABC's of Yoga for Kids
by Teresa Power
www.abcyogaforkids.com

Here's a link to the ABCs of Yoga Kids' poster:

The Great Train Expo Comes to the East Bay!

Today was the second day of the Great Train Expo's visit to the East Bay.  The Great Train Expo is a large traveling model train show.  Located on the Richmond waterfront in a refurbished warehouse that is now the Craneway Pavilion, the Great Train Expo included several enormous model train exhibits.

We had a fantastic time.  It really seems like a unique experience -- in part because of the venue, which is right on the water with views of sailboats, San Francisco across the Bay, El Cerrito and Emeryville in the distance, and of the working port of Richmond.

Exhibitors included multiple model train clubs from around the Bay Area.  We saw model N (very small trains), HO (a typical model train size), and G-gauge (large model) exhibits.  Model N train sets seemed to be the most prevalent at this year's expo.

We highly recommend visiting the Great Train Expo on its visits to the Craneway Pavilion.  We'll probably also go see model train shows up in Sacramento and in San Mateo in the next few months.

Here are some pictures.

This first picture shows a model/chart created by one of the model train clubs -- The Diablo Pacific Short Line -- which displays several popular model railroad sizes.  The smallest "Z" train is exceptionally small; we didn't see any Z trains in actual operation.  "N" gague is the next size up; we saw several model N trains on display.  HO was the most common size when I was growing up I think; there were a few HO trains on display.  And my son's favorite is the largest -- the Model G train.

Outside the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront:

Outside the Great Train Expo someone set up two (somewhat expensive) bouncy-houses:

Outside the Craneway Pavilion:

Inside the Great Train Expo:

An HO gauge train:

HO train passing by grain elevators:

Going through the desert:

Old-style house and car:

The G-gauge model train displayed by the Diablo Pacific Short Line club was enormous:

Lego train going around a lego village:

Back to the G-gauge railroad, which was my son's favorite.  The California Zephyr (circa the mid-1960s I think) is in the middle:

Near the tunnel of an HO model:

An N-gauge model:

The lego village again:

The wine train:

Going past a vineyard:

Outside the Craneway Pavilion, exhibitors begin packing up:

Looking towards Emeryville:

View towards San Francisco:

More trains:

Marin on Ice- Today is last day open!

Yesterday my son and I went to Marin on Ice in San Rafael, CA.  This is one of my son's favorite outdoor ice skating rinks, mainly because they have these blue things called, "skate buddies" that children, and some adults, hang onto while they skate.  They do not have a concession stand here but there are plenty of places to eat and drink nearby since the rink is centrally located in a mall.  We had a late lunch at the chain,  Pandora Bread, and my son enjoyed the turkey sandwich which included a yogurt.  I am sad that this is the last weekend that this ice rink is open.  When all the outdoor ice rinks close, which is soon, I'm going to have to start researching the indoor rinks in the area.

We stayed until about 7:30PM and it was really pretty when the twinkling lights came on.

The outdoor ice rinks in the urban areas do not have the same sense of ambiance as being up in the mountains, but there is something to be said about convenience and being close to so much food and conveniences.

Resources:

Marin on Ice
Open November 10, 2012  to January 13,2013
(Today is the last day open for the season, and they are open from 12 noon to 10PM today.)
Location:  Marin on Ice is located at Northgate Mall in San Rafael, just off Hwy 101.
Cost- $15.00 per person, includes skating and ice skate rentals.  The blue skate buddy, which is an aide to ice skating, is $5.00 extra.  There is a limited supply to the skate buddies and sometimes you have to wait.
Tips:  There are no lockers, so I would recommend leaving all purses, bags, expensive shoes, etc. at home.  There are wood cubbies for shoes, jackets, etc.

Pets - Wet noses really warm hearts! ARF

I  took my son to ARF in Walnut Creek, CA yesterday.  This is our second time we have gone there in search of a dog.  We walked away alone again, but I know eventually we'll find  a match made in heaven!

I love ARF as they do not euthanize their pets.  Once a dog or cat finds a temporary home at ARF, they are safe.  This is great because this time when most of the dogs were gone, my son and I can talk about how they found new homes!

They have many children's programs at ARF, too many to explain here on this blog.  I'd recommend looking at the website or visiting to see what they have for your children's age group.

Camp Arf-  In the summer, there will be a Camp Arf for children grades 1 through 12, register and find out more information at www.arf.net.

Community Service at ARF-  There are four hour community service days to students grades 6-12.  Community service days create projects to benefit ARF shelter animals, such as creating enrichment items for ARF animals, baking dog treats, landscaping and animal care cleaning tasks, etc.  As everyone knows now, colleges are looking for not just grades but students with character.



Resources:

ARF
2890 Mitchell Drive
Walnut Creek, CA  94598
www.arf.net

Flu outbreak

My flu is spreading throughout my family.  This flu is the worst I remember.  Tips that my friend who is nurse practitioner told me is the following:

Drink ginger tea
Stay hydrated with water and electrolights
Eat light
Rest
Eat soup

Here's a link to the CDC's flu website for more facts about the flu this year:  http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Walnut Creek on Ice- Walnut Creek, CA

I went to the Walnut Creek Ice on Friday with my son.  They have walkers for beginning skaters.  The walkers worked but my son likes the dolphin walkers at Little Skate in Alameda better.  The closing day at Walnut Creek on Ice ends on Sunday, January 13th.

Resources:

Walnut Creek on Ice
Walnut Creek, CA
iceskatewalnutcreek.com/

How to Raise Healthy Eaters

Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD wrote a book called Eat Your Vegetables- Redefining How To Raise Healthy Eaters.  She also has a website, howtoraisehealthyeaters.com.  A few things she recommends is the following:

-Don't make your child clean their plate, so they develop self monitoring
-Don't bribe students with dessert is they finish their plate or eat their vegetables
-Keep apples and pears for snacks instead of juices and potatoe chips
-Stay  away from apple juice, it is better to eat an apple instead.
-Don't create a meal for each person in family, stay away from being a short order cook, instead plan and create healthy meals.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

Missing the snow!

I am already missing the snow!  I wish I had a cabin in Twain Harte or Lake Tahoe.  It was so much fun seeing my son play in the snow, and he was so tired at the end of the day!  When I grew up I  got to play in the snow all winter and I loved it!

German Restaurant in Alameda- very child friendly

After ice skating last night in Alameda with my son, I took him to Speisekammer Restaurant in Alameda, CA  This was a great introduction to German food for children, and they were very friendly!  My son had German sausage and mashed potatoes from the children's menu, and it came with ice cream for dessert.  I had the vegetarian vegetable strudle stuffed with goat cheese, roasted red pepper, & spinach served over carrot sauce.  It was delicious!  They also have dairy free and gluten free items.

Resources:

Speisekammer German Restaurant
2424 Lincoln Avenue
Alameda, CA  94501
(510) 522-1300
speisekammer.com
facebook.com/speisekammer

ice skating in Alameda until January 21, 2013

Last night my son and I went ice skating at The Little Ice Rink in Alameda, CA near the beach.  We had so much fun.  My son loves the orange seals they rent for $5.00 each and at four he can spin around the entire rink by himself holding onto the seal!

They also do parties, call (510) 872-1773 for more information.

Resources:

The Little Ice Rink
523 South Shore Center West
Alameda, CA  94501
(510) 521-8100

Tip:  I would recommend bringing hats, warm jackets, gloves, a scarf,  and other warm clothes.  It gets pretty chilly there because it is winter by the water!  Also,  next time I'll bring snacks and drinks, plus some hot chocolate as there are no drinks or food available for purchase at the ice skating rink!

Dell' Osso Family Farm, Holidays On The Farm

Last night as we were driving back from Twain Harte on our snow adventure we saw the lights of Dell' Osso Family Farm in Lathrop, CA.  We stopped at this is what we found.  The holiday events will all end this Saturday, January 5th.  They are thinking of extending until Sunday.  There is a large ice skating rink, which we didn't do because we had just done that in Long Barn, CA.

There was an area called Snow Tube Mountain, which had 8 inner tube lanes.  There is a size limit and my 4 year old wasn't tall enough to go on the tubes.  There is also a snow area with a snow machine, and a hill with snow where children were playing.  My son really enjoyed sitting by one of the two bonfires and having s'mores, they actually sell the s'more kits and have a s'more cooker at each firepit, so you don't have to worry about any crazy people with sharp objects.  We stayed for about an hour before we continued our journey home.  They are winding down so many of the activities on the website are already closed.

I want to go in early October to see the pumpkin patch festivities!  The woman who sold me the s'more kit said it gets packed by Halloween, so she recommended to come when it opens!

The entrance:

One of two fire pits:

Billboard near entrance:

Firepit:

Skating:

Enjoying s'mores:

Snack shed to the right:

The big slide:

Snow-making area:

Resources:

Holidays on the Farm
Dell' Osso Family Farm
501 S. Manthey Rd.
Lathrop, CA  95330
(209) 982- 0833
www.holidaysonthefarm.com