july 2012 baystateparent magazine

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Voted Best Parenting Publication in North America 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010

JULY

20

12baystateparent

Massachusetts’ Premier Magazine For Families Since 1996

OUR OUR GRAND GRAND ISSUEISSUECelebratingCelebrating GrandparentsGrandparents

WE BOUGHT A FARMOne Family’s Big Move

STICKS AND STONES AND POPSICLE STICKSMake A Tiny Treehouse

GONE GLAMPING!A New WayTo Camp

WRECKED ONNANTUCKETA FamilyAdventure

2 JULY2012

inspiredby freebies and fresh airbaystateparent honored 34 times in 2011 for editorial and design excellence by the New England Newspaper and Press Association and Parenting Media Association

Awards include General Excellence in Advertising Design and distinctions in overall writing and photography

Frisbee Golf, as featured in our August 2011 issue

photo by Steven King

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in every issue

AUGUSTSEPT.

OCTOBER

sneak peek

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our special guest

table the of the homeJ U L Y 2 0 1 2 • V O L U M E 1 7 • N U M B E R 3

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advertising directoriesSHOW AND TELL

BULLETIN BOARD

PARTY PLANNER

ADVERTISING INDEX

Voted Best Parenting Publication in North America 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010

Eve KazanjianAge 4,

Framingham

Captured byPortrait Simple

www.portraitsimple.com 10 WRECKED ON NANTUCKET

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grands! special sectionNO GREEN THUMB REQUIRED

NOT IN THE GRAND PLAN

CAPTURED: Grands!

UNDER ONE ROOF

MOMS ROCK: Pam Harris, Spencer

MISSING GRAMMYBACK-TO-SCHOOL

ARTS/EXTRACURRICULARS

WOMEN’S HEALTH

WELCOME

MEET THE COVER MODEL

GUESTBOOK

JUNKDRAWERS

FINALLY FOREVER: The Bodians

TAKE GOOD CARE: The Best I’ve Felt in My Life

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

ON MY PLATE: The Beloved Dog of Our Community

LET’S ROLL: Wrecked on NantucketDIRTY LAUNDRY WITH CHRISTINE HURLEY

FIGHT LESS, LOVE MORE: Are you a Love Optimist?

“Let’s sell our house and buy a farm,” Lisa Burris told her husband of 30 years. What would make parents of fi ve who had never farmed before trade their Maynard home for a Paxton farm? Read the full story to fi nd out.

Imagine becoming a grandmother at age 38. Pam Harris of Spencer did. “I became a grandmother earlier than most which also means I have more time to love my grandson,” she says.

If your kids love hunting for treasures on the sea shore, they will fi nd it fascinating that beach combers in the late 1800s/early 1900s saved lives by looking for signs of an astonishing 700 shipwrecks. The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum is worth a visit.

Moms Rock and Captured appears in our Grand section this month.

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something specialWE BOUGHT A FARMSTICKS AND STONES AND POPSICLE STICKS: Tiny Treehouses

GLAMPING

MOMSROCK

WE BOUGHTA FARM

Scan to learn more about Chris Streeks

“I saved $40,000 by starting my college education at MWCC before transferring to a private four-year college.” - Chris Streeks

Make MWCC your choiceClose. Convenient. Affordable.

You can too.I did it.

For more information:978-630-9110

mwcc.edu/[email protected]

M k MWCC h iM k MWCC h i

BAYSTATEPARENT 5

LET’S TAKE BABY STEPS TOGETHER!

222 Main Street, Acton, MA 01720

978-266-2779www.BlossomStation.com

Your child’s First Steps are guided by our dedicated educators

Our dynamic curriculum & nurturing environment provides the stepping stones for your child to acquire social skills, physical development, problem solving skills, & much more

Our Owner/Director is committed to making every Step count for your child & your family

Blossom Station Child Care Center of Acton

“Daily Discoveries, Endless Possibilities”

6 JULY2012

baystateparentpublisherGARETH CHARTER508-749-3166 [email protected]

creative directorPAULA MONETTE ETHIER508-749-3166 x [email protected]

graphic designerSTEPHANIE MALLARD508-749-3166 x [email protected]

editorCARRIE WATTU508-749-3166 [email protected]

promotionsJENNIFER [email protected]

presidents KIRK and LAURIE DAVIS

baystateparent Inc. is published monthly with a main office at 101 Water Street, Worcester, MA 01604

508-749-3166 Fax 508-749-3165It is distributed free of charge throughout Massachusetts.

www.baystateparent.com • [email protected]

Distribution Agency: Insight Distribution Management978-728-7785/603-661-8370 • [email protected]

18 Parenting MediaAwards

16 New England Newspaper Press Association Awards

Including Best Parenting Publication in North America 2010

Massachusetts’Premier Magazine For Families

sales & business development managerSTEPHANIE [email protected]

baystatestateparent101 Water St., Worcester, MA 01604

508-749-3166www.baystateparent.com

campguide.baystateparent.comwww.massfieldtrips.com

contributing writers

COMING

SOON

• Back to School

• Arts/Extracurricular

• Women’s Health

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account executiveEMILY [email protected]

Massachusetts' premier magazine for families has earned more than 160 national and

regional awards since 2004, including 34 in 2011:

photographers

MICHELLE CARRBRIANNE CROCKERMICHAEL GALVINSTEVEN KINGPORTRAIT SIMPLE

MEET THE COVER MODEL

Eve KazanjianAGE 4, FRAMINGHAM

Do your kids ride off on their bikes independently like we did when we were little? One reason why mine don’t is because we live on a winding, busy road without sidewalks. To go biking is a major family project which involves me, our car and a lot of effort. I must contort four bikes into our mini-van, where the kids sit with wheels in their faces and kickstands in their ribs. Or my husband heaves all of our bikes into his truck and drops us off and picks us up at the rail trail. I pack it all – water, snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, charged cell phone... Off and riding, someone’s helmet always pinches the wrong way. Someone in-evitably falls (should have packed Band-Aids!) or gets terrorized by horsefl ies. Wimping out, we end up calling my husband about ten minutes into the ride. I miss the simple joys of my childhood

RUTH BODIANCAITLIN KELLEHERCHRISTINE HURLEYMAUREEN MCNAMARADONNA MORINAMANDA ROBERGE

interns ALEX CAULWAYALANNA MORIARTY

where bike riding was as common as walking. This is why I was excited for my 8-year-old twins to bring their bikes to an overnight at their grandparents’ house. My parents live in a nice, contained neighborhood where the girls can loop endlessly around the streets, stop to pick dandelions, throw pebbles into the storm drain and report back on what’s going on in the hood. A little freedom and exercise, an inexpensive but priceless pleasure! Ah...but there’s that one thing, we parents – and especially grandparents – do not let kids out of our sight. And when we do, they are well armed – stranger danger info, bike safety, cell phone numbers and more. It’s so much material to cover, it’s just easier to stay home. Isn’t there a Wii game that covers this? So my dutiful parents – who let us run wild when we were kids, mind you (as most parents did) – felt obligated to stroll

behind the girls as they rode. You know how this ends up – my dear parents obviously could not keep pace with second-grade pedal power. Who could? Defeated, my dad got an idea – He would trail them in his car. Shirtless, fi lthy and sweaty (he had been gardening all morning), his black SUV crawled behind the girls. This might have worked better had the girls known it was Papa stalking them on that summer day and not some sicko creep hunting his prey. It was a good thing the neighbors knew it was the responsible man next door and police response was not necessary. For the love of grandparents! This brings us to the theme of our July GRAND issue where we shine the light on grandparents. Contributing writer, Amanda Roberge of Leominster, shares the stories of four grandparents raising grandchildren (page 24). We introduce you to a 40-year-old Grammy (page 28), as well as share photos of ten doting grandparents (page 26). Our July issue inspired a discussion with our readers on the baystateparent Facebook page to cover issues facing the sandwich generation in future editions, as many Bay State parents are raising their children while also caring for their parents as well. Please email [email protected] if you’d like to share something on this topic. Here’s to that bike rack I need to purchase as well as summer balance between watchful parenting – and grandparenting – and independence. Have fun!

Carrie Wattu, editor

portraitsimple.com

account executiveBETH [email protected]

WelcomeWelcome

katinabentleyphotography.com

proofreader

BRYAN ETHIER

July is our grandparents' issue. Tell us about yours. I like to do puzzles with my grandma and she likes to watch me ride my princess bike. I liked it when my papa took me fi shing, but I didn't get any fi sh.

What's the best part of being age 4? Well, I know how to do hard puzzles, and I get to spend a lot of

time at home with my family since I don't go to school every day.

If you had a treehouse in your backyard, what three things would you make sure that it had? A little adventure map, some milk and my blanket and pillow.

Editor's Note: See our treehouses on page 12.

When is your birthday and what kind of party would you like to have? April 13th, and I am going to have another Spider Man party.

BAYSTATEPARENT 7

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Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you on FOX25 news. I had a great time!

Quin Fitzgerald, Worcester

Editor’s Note: baystateparent selected fi ve kids to take a tour of the FOX25 studio in Dedham and to be featured in their summer Zip Trip promo. If you’d like opportunities like this for your family, please look for notices on the baystateparent Facebook page and visit baystateparent.com to sign up for our weekend fun planner.

Just wanted to say that I look forward to your magazine every month but June was especially great thanks to your columnist Stephen Rich. I always enjoy him but this month was so funny as I had the same experience at Disney. I had tears from laughing so hard. I even read parts to my 10-year-old son who thought it was hysterical. He has been quoting lines from the article for the last two days. Great job Stephen Rich!!

Brenda Lawrence, Worcester

On behalf of Birthday Wishes, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation for baystateparent’s generous donation in celebration of the magazine’s 16th birthday. Your support helps ensure that thousands of homeless children will be able to

celebrate their birthdays joyfully – a tradition many have never experienced. Thank you for helping us to provide the magic of a birthday party to these children, and reminding them that the day they were born was a very special day.

Lisa Vasiloff, Executive DirectorBirthday Wishes

WINNERS baystateparent giveaways are announced at baystateparent.com under “Giveaways” as well as on our Facebook page. We’ve made it easy and quick to enter to win a prize! Some of our recent prizes and winners include:

Two Weeks at Camp Birch Hill, NH$2,200 value

Ariana Berman, Winchendon

Marathon Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine

Robyn Stewart, Southborough

Cutie Patutie’s The First Years Stroller

Kerrie Merriam, Worcester

You Attract Wellness Personal Coaching, Wellesley

Tiffany Ordile, Leominster

Letters should be sent to [email protected] and will be

edited for clarity and length. Please include your full name and town

for publication.

“My daughter, Ariana, age 11 ½, is an exceptional kid. She’s the oldest of my three daughters and is the perfect example of what an older sister should be. She helps with homework, includes them when she has friends over and is a natural born leader. She is a stellar student, incredible cheerleader, saxophone player and just recently got into theater at her school. Ariana is very responsible and appreciative of everything she gets, which honestly is far less than most of her friends. Being a single mom, I cannot provide the experience of summer camp; it’s just too costly. I know she would love this and I would be overjoyed to tell such a deserving, awesome kid that she can go!”

Karen Berman, Winchendon

OUR CAMP BIRCH HILL SUMMER CAMP WINNER

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8 JULY2012

Junkdrawers strives to highlight the products, people and places of Massachusetts. Have an idea? Email [email protected].

Q&

A

I am nervous about my kids getting sick on family vacations. Any ideas for preventative measures? More parents are turning to chiropractic care to allow their children’s bodies to work better. Chiropractors can help with many of the common childhood conditions—colic, ear infections, constipation, asthma, allergies, learning disorders and headaches. Prevention is the key to health and wellness and visiting a chiropractor can be a step in the right direction and a great preventative tool as well.

The Massachusetts Chiropractic Society 781-271-0875, masschiro.org

FRESH ORGANIC PRODUCE ON YOUR DOORSTEP Boston mom and pediatrician Jen Truong has been ordering “takeout” for the past several years through Boston Organics, a pioneering home delivery service in New England to provide exclusively 100% USDA certifi ed organic produce. With online ordering, Jen, and foodies like her, can choose the size of their weekly or bi-weekly box and, using a ‘No-List,’ can opt out of veggies or fruit not to their liking. Boston Organics delivers to the Greater Boston area with new service to Wellesley. “The Boston Organics newsletter and website have excellent ideas and you can search by ingredient. It’s allowed me to introduce my daughter to a wide variety of things early which has resulted in her being a very good eater; even at 2.5 years old when kids typically get picky, she never refuses to try anything I offer her!” says Jen. bostonorganics.com.

JUNKD R AW E R SD R AW E R SA LITA LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH PEACHES2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts split1 bottle pomegranate vinaigrette (Appalachian Naturals)2 ripe peaches, sliced2 heads Boston lettuce, washed and chopped2 tbs. basil, thinly sliced2 tbs. shallots, dicedSalt and pepper

Lightly coat chicken with some of the vinaigrette. Let sit at least 2 hours (or overnight). Preheat grill. In a bowl, mix together lettuce, peaches, basil, shallots, a pinch of salt and pepper, and enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Divide onto plates. Grill chicken. Slice and arrange atop salad.

Courtesy of Lynne Wilson of Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant St., Lexington, MA wilsonfarm.com

GRANDMOTHERS GALORE! baystateparent heard from so many of you in our search for stand-out grandmothers for this issue. Many, like Denise Irwin of Auburn, are said to be grandmothers not only in their own families, but to all children.

“Denise is grandmother to two adorable little girls, Tessa and Ava, but is like a grandmother to many, many more kids.She has run a family daycare in her home since her daughter, Melanie, was a baby. She teaches children how to count and spell and read, how to play well with others, and so much more. But more importantly, she has loved. She has a smile every day, never asking for sick days or anything else. She never even wants a thank you. More amazingly, she has done this through several bouts of cancer. We all think of her as part of our family!” — Becky Frieden

SAY GOODBYE TO SIDS There was no sound, no warning, before the world crashed down on new parents Carolyn and Scott Zona of Milford. Eighteen years ago, their fi rst child, Coady, went to sleep after his feeding and never woke up. He was 3 months old. The couple went on to have three beautiful children, now ages 15, 13 and 9, but continue to honor Coady through education, explaining that SIDS is not preventable. One can lessen the odds through breastfeeding or back sleeping, but there is no known factor to prevent SIDS. It is not caused by suffocation, immunization, a cold, vomitting/choking, neglect abuse or a host of other reasons. For a long time, the Zonas felt there was no hope, but have been heartened by Dr. Hannah Kinney and her team of researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston. Through them, Carolyn says, “I fi nally feel like there will one day be answers to this nightmare we call SIDS.” The Zonas are raising money for the team’s research through a bike run, Hogs for Hope, on September 15th. Search Hogs for Hope on Facebook for more information on this fundraiser or for support and information on SIDS. Carolyn Zona can also be reached at 508-330-0087.

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Hogs for Hope

Denise Irwin with Hannah and Sophie Frieden

BAYSTATEPARENT 9

parenting a preteen who had experienced trauma, I became focused on how I could be the best parent for Jaron that I could be. I reminded myself that I was well-equipped to handle the challenges that might arise and could access outside support if I needed to. Jaron moved into his new home in February 2007. The fi rst few months were a time of adjustment as we got to know each other better and transitioned to our new roles. As the celebratory period came to an end, the next few months became more diffi cult. Having gone through losses and disappointments in his life, Jaron tested my commitment. I had an administrative position with the Boston Public Schools at the time and realized that challenges were to be expected. A greater concern would be if Jaron were always on his best behavior since that would mean he did not feel safe enough around me to share his less-than-charming side, which we all have. The biggest rewards have come from making it through the rough times and becoming closer because of our ability to work through them together. We still have our challenging times, as any family, but we have learned how to navigate these times better. When I began thinking about adopting, I focused on how my life would change as I took on the responsibility of becoming a mother. I did not realized how wide an impact the child would have. Extended family, friends and even strangers have been inspired by our story. Jaron is very special and has touched many people with his warmth and kindness. I feel very proud and fortunate to call him my son. Jaron showers equally kind words on me. “She is nice, friendly, sweet, kind, generous, loving, caring and respectful.” At a MARE reception at the State House in March 2008, Jaron told an audience with no dry eye in sight,“I love my mom. And I never

thought I would be eating tofu.” “Fabulously well” is how my 6’3, 17-year-old son is doing today. Jaron likes to play basketball and hang out with his friends, but he is also quite a homebody. Whenever we go away for a weekend, he always says, “It’s so good to be home.” Jaron joined a Boston hip hop group and attended dance camp in New York City last year. Nervous about his abilities to fi t in at camp, Jaron called me and said, “I hate you for sending me here.” When I picked him at the end of camp, however, it was the fi rst time he did not say, “It’s so good to be home,” because he ended up loving his experience. This year, Jaron will return to camp on scholarship. It has done so much for his confi dence. It has taken him a while to realize how special he is. It’s been an ongoing process to help him heal and feel good about himself and who he is. Six years ago, I was terrifi ed to adopt an older child. Now I am MARE’s Director of Support Services and encourage others by saying, “The right match is so much more important than an age.”

Ruth Bodian is a single adoptive mom who worked in the Boston public schools for 10 years before

switching over to MARE after adopting her son. When she learned about the opening at MARE for the Family Support Services Director position, she knew that it was a position that she wanted to have in order to share her passion and wisdom about adopting older children and teens. She has been with MARE for the past four years, providing support and guidance to families considering or in the process of adopting from foster care. She is a frequent presenter at MAPP classes for families in the process of becoming approved and provides inspiring and practical advice about parenting youth who have

experienced trauma.

For more information you can contact MARE at 617-542-3678 x 117 or visit www.mareinc.org.

Sandra is a sweet, young Caucasian girl who just turned 15. Initially she comes across as shy and quiet but becomes friendly and talkative once she feels comfortable. Sandra is doing very well in her specialized foster home. She does require and demand a lot of attention but is slowly learning some independent skills. She enjoys being in the company of adults but also plays with other kids. Due to some cognitive delays and her past trauma history, Sandra needs additional

support, supervision and guidance from a trusting adult. Sandra has some academic, social and emotional delays. She is enrolled in a specialized classroom setting that provides more support around independent living and social skill building. Sandra has just completed 9th grade. She enjoys school and has been able to make friends there. Sandra would do well in a number of different types of families. She is looking forward to having a special family that

she can call her own. Sandra is legally free for adoption. For more information about Sandra, please call Department of Children and Families Adoption Supervisor Geoff Cushner at 508-929-1044. If you have ever wondered about the adoption process, the DCF Worcester Area Offi ce hosts a monthly Adoption Information Session.Please call 508-929-2143 to register.

CIRCLEOFFRIENDSHighlights of July’s Adoption-Related Events

Norwood Area Families with Children from Korea. Families with children adopted from Korea (in the 7-year-old age range) looking to connect with other families in the Norwood area should contact Patti Devine [email protected] or 781-769-3813.

Gay & Lesbian Adoptive Family Study is seeking gay and lesbian individuals or couples who have adopted a child to fi ll out a web-based survey. For more information, contact Dr. Scott Ryan at 850-644-9747 or email him at [email protected].

Adoptive Families Chat & Play. Meets on the second Saturday of each month in the Newton area for an hour of fun and conversation with other parents and adoptive children. Group is FREE but RSVP is requested. Contact Marcy Krasnow

at 617-244-6989 or e-mail her at [email protected].

Adoptive Moms Playgroup. Families with young children meets at the First Baptist Church in Weston. Contact Josée Bilodeau at [email protected] or 781-341-3699.

Over 45 Mother’s Support Group. This mother’s support group in the Needham area is for new adoptive mothers over the age of 45.

Contact Karen Steinberg for more information at [email protected].

Please submit August’s adoption-related events by Thursday, July 5th to be included in the August

edition of baystateparent. Events submitted after the 5th of the month will be included in our online calendar only. To submit an event, visit baystateparent.com and click “Calendar” and

“Submit an Event.”

ruth bodianBY

The Bodians The Bodians A SINGLE MOM’S ADOPTION STORY

I was always interested in adopting a young child be-tween the ages of 3 and 6, but after some research, I became concerned about my ability to handle the early trauma history of these little ones, and focused instead on adopting an infant. Two matches with newborns fell through, almost to my relief, and I decided to go back to my original plan. In the fall of 2006, I started attending the Department of Children and Families’ MAPP (Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) training course to become a licensed adoptive parent. Halfway through the classes, I went to a MARE Adoption Party at Jordan’s Furniture, not expecting to fi nd a child to adopt. I remember seeing Jaron, then 11 years old, and being immediately drawn to him. He

had a gentleness to him and a kindness in his eyes that made me want to fi nd out more about him. Upon in-quiring about him to his social worker, I learned that Jaron and I shared the same birthday. A few weeks later, I saw Jaron on WBZ’s “ We d n e s d a y Child,” which confi rmed for me that Jaron

was the child that I wanted to adopt. But in December, Jaron was featured on another TV program, “Sunday’s Child,” and I worried that there would be a fl ood of interest and that I would not be chosen as a match. Luckily, I was chosen, and visits between us began shortly afterwards. Though Jaron was older than the age I had been considering, it felt right. Instead of focusing on my fears about

FINALLY,FOREVER

SANDRA

JULY

’SCH

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10 JULY2012

On a family camping trip with six other families, Lisa Burris made a discovery

about her youngest son, Damion. Usually after about 20 minutes of play, an incident would occur amongst the children, requiring adult intervention. However, outside catching frogs, the children played well together. She noticed that when not bound by the four walls of a house, Damion had increased his communication with the other children and played for more than two hours without adult intervention. Damion is on the autism spectrum and is considered to be PDDNOS - pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specifi ed. He struggles with signifi cant learning disabilities as well as social problems and attention defi cit disorder. “His behavior makes people uncomfortable,” Lisa says. Finding activities that support her son without segregating him to special needs-only programs has been a challenge until Lisa got an idea.

Let’s Sell our House

and Buy a Farm Shortly after this trip, Lisa was laying in bed thinking about the next steps in her life. She had just left her well-paying job as a comptroller for a medical control company and knew being home with her two youngest children, 10-year-old Damion and 11-year-old Taylor, was important, but she was concerned about the fi nancial impact on the family budget. Lisa and her husband, who also have three grown children, welcomed siblings – Damion and Taylor – into their family as foster children through Permanent Placement Family Program through Hope Worldwide New England. The goal of the program is to stop the multiple placements of children by having them either be adopted by the foster family or to return to their birth parents. Lisa says she and her husband knew they wanted to expand their family and also knew they wanted to be as much of a support system as they could for children

caitlyn kelleher, steven king photographyBY

WE BOUGHT A FARMHelping Kids of all Abilities to Connect with Nature

BAYSTATEPARENT 11

in need. They adopted the brother-sister pair in 2006. Slowly, the concept of a small working non-profi t farm that could help her children connect with nature, but also help other children connect, began to form. “I woke up the next morning and told my husband we should sell our house and buy a farm,” Lisa says. The couple lived in Maynard at the time and neither had farmed before. Her husband of nearly 30 years agreed and the couple started on a journey that brought them to a 58-acre parcel of land in Paxton just over a year ago. The small farm will allow the family to work together in developing a program for children interested in the outdoors while also providing staff trained to work with children with special needs. “I don’t want kids to think we’re a special needs camp,” Lisa says. “It’s just a different environment. We believe this environment benefi ts all kids.”

Turning Back Time The idea of Turn Back Time came as Lisa thought about the connection she had to playing outside during her childhood. While she didn’t live on a farm, the name of the farm is to help her and those visiting to reconnect with that past era of outdoor living. “There is a crisis in our society and we know what the symptoms are but we don’t know what the cause is,” Lisa says. The symptoms are increasing rates of childhood obesity and diabetes as well as increasing psychiatric diagnoses. “I think the cause is: kids don’t go outside enough,” Lisa says. She does not blame children using technology but she believes children need to connect with nature. She adds that there is a large focus on language and mathematics in schools and some children need to focus their skills and interests in other areas. “We tend to think that as a society we need to know how to do things perfectly,” Lisa says. “Here we accept

failure as learning.” The property includes three garden areas – one row garden, one of raised beds and one for the family – 15 laying hens and 14 broiler (meat) chickens, 2 Angora goats, a horse for grooming and pigs. Every step of their project gets one more aspect of the farm up and running. The fi rst groups to formally go through the farm’s summer program will help to establish pasture areas and introduce new animals. Lisa says one of the projects for the pre-teen and teenagers in the program

will be to design and map a set of trails through the property and then help to begin to clear those trails. The Burris family has protected 47 acres of their land as forestry land. Lisa wants to keep the program small, focusing on 20 to 25 children during the summer and then offer preschool and after-school programs during the fall as well as be open to fi eld trips and small group activities including birthday parties. “What I’m trying to communicate to kids is you can work and love what you do,” Lisa says.

About Turn Back Time The public is invited to join summer camp programs but do have to register. The summer programs will give the children a chance to interact with the animals, to meet the staff and tour the farm as well as to participate in games and crafts. Information can be found at tbtinc.org or at facebook.com/turnbacktimeinc. For answers to questions, contact Lisa Burris at 978-760-3707 or at [email protected].

Caitlyn Kelleher is a contributing writer for baystateparent’s sister publication, The Landmark.

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12 JULY2012

Do your kids pine for a tree house? One with Tarzan swings, secret doors and

peepholes? Maybe your child has grand plans of including electricity and bunk beds. Let their imaginations run wild with a summer activity that may be scaled down in terms of scope and size, but super-sized with all the clever options your child can dream. Your child can create a tiny tree house independently or with you by his/her side. Either way, this activity involves critical thinking and creativ-ity, providing hours of practically-free fun. When completed, your child may brandish a burn or two from wielding the glue gun, but more importantly, he/she will have created a work of art for display or play. Use miniature animals and characters in the tree houses, or simply imagine that the fairies have taken summertime resi-dence in their new digs.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Piece of log for base• Assorted twigs and branches • Drill• Glue gun• Popsicle sticks – assorted sizes*Anything else you can fi nd around the house – string, blocks, pebbles, paint, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:It doesn’t get any easier than this: • Drill two holes into a log. This is the base of the tree house. • Insert two tree branches into the holes. These branches serve as the tree house foundation. • Create ladders, bridges, houses, swings etc. and attach using hot wood glue. • Build. • Problem solve.• Dream.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This tree house idea appeared in Disney’s Family Fun magazine in 2010 and inspired Cen-tral Massachusetts art teacher, Sarah O’Connor, to build them with her stu-dents. Construction has been conta-gious as variations of the idea pop up around the Bay State this summer.

STICKS AND STONES

AND POPSICLE STICKSTiny tree houses provide hours

of free summertime fun.carrie wattuBY

BAYSTATEPARENT 13

ENROLLING

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Your child may be eligible to join the

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If your child is 6 to 12 years old and has (or may have) autism, Asperger’s Disorder, or Pervasive

Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), he or she may be eligible to participate in the

ConnectMe clinical research progam.

The program includes three clinical research studies that will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of an

investigational drug on social interaction and communication skills in children (ages 6 to 12) with autism, Asperger’s Disorder, or PDD-NOS.

If your child is eligible to participate in the program’s first study, he or she may have the option to join the follow-up studies.

To see if your child can participate, or for more information, visit www.neurocarecenterforresearch.comor call 617-581-6434.

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14 JULY2012

TAKEGOODCARE

THE BestBest I’VE FELT in My Lifein My Life

I grew up eating Cap’n Crunch for breakfast. Spam on Wonder Bread was my favorite lunch. Peas only tasted good if they were mushy and came from a can. McDonald’s was a treat, and when I was old enough to walk through our neighborhood to get to one, I visited often. There I was, and my health was perfectly fi ne! Except it wasn’t. Once I started remembering, I made connections. There were the 48 allergies I’d been diagnosed with at age 8. I’m sure I was the fi rst in my childhood state of Maine to have a wheat allergy. I sneezed my way through spring and fall, and forget visiting friends who had cats. I lived with asthma so bad, it kept me from playing the sports I loved, left me laid up in bed beside a humidifi er many a school day, and nearly killed me a couple times

when I was struck with attacks and didn’t have an inhaler with me.

There is nothing quite as scary as struggling for every single breath.

Later, in my 20s, I was hospitalized with pneumonia for fi ve days. A few years later, a diagnosis of Stage 1 cervical cancer sent me to the hospital twice to have the cancerous cells surgically removed. In my 30s, I threw my back out with a sneeze and was forced to down giant pills for years afterward just to be able to get out of bed. This was my life. And I didn’t think anything was that wrong.

Illness was a mystery. You couldn’t really predict who got sick, who’d be diagnosed with cancer. Aches and pains were simply a matter of getting older. Seems everyone has a turning point in their lives. Often more than one. My latest defi ning moment happened shortly after the weekend of my 40th birthday. I’d spent the time in Woodstock, NY, with a bunch of my gal pals. It was a blast. But it was the photos taken by my camera-toting friend, Tracey, that changed my life. When I saw this photo, I cringed. I cringed beyond a cringe. It was painful. I had just turned 40, yet the photo showed a much older woman. Not only was I a little overweight, I was slouching, my skin was broken out and dull, and my hair…what was I thinking with that hair? Now, in all fairness to me, this was a gal’s weekend in the hippie mecca of the Northeast. Not exactly the kind of environment to be concerned about one’s physical appearance. But still, the person in this photo was not who I was, so I decided to make changes. With my son starting preschool, I was able to hit the gym three times a week. That felt great. By that time, I’d been researching nutrition, so I cut out dairy and was cooking with more whole foods. With just those fi rst steps, the extra weight came off and I had more energy. I shared what I was learning with friends, and they began coming to me with questions. I held an event called Veg Out Night. Vegetarian dishes lined the table and I presented information about the benefi ts of a plant-based diet to the 17 moms gathered in my living room. It was primitive and I was all over

donna miller, brianne crocker photographyBY

BAYSTATEPARENT 15

the place with my information, but it was a success nonetheless. After that, I knew I’d found my purpose. By chance, I received an email from a woman I’d interviewed for an article (I’m a freelance writer). Somehow I’d made it onto her address list. In the message, she praised a health coaching program, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), and all she learned from it. I clicked on the link- yet another defi ning moment- and here I am today. I wouldn’t trade in my 40s for a younger me, because I know so much more today and have so much more energy. I eat a clean diet. I know that illness is not a mystery; I have far more control over my health than I once believed. I no longer suffer from asthma. In fact, I

have not carried an inhaler for years. My allergies have nearly disappeared. I have no back pain. For two years, I’ve participated in a 2-day 150-mile bike trek on Cape Cod to raise money for MS. Now my days are full of joy. I’ve changed my attitude to welcome positivity into my life every day. When negative situations arise, I view them as learning experiences and do my best to change or remove them from my life. I love to live and see each day as an opportunity to learn something new. I appreciate all the beautiful people I am so fortunate to have in my life. I understand that I can make my future happen, and I’m a fi rm believer in manifesting what I desire.

I’m not fi nished with myself. I still have more to learn and much to “fi x,” but life is a journey.So, please… If you are frustrated with your health, do not give up. Know that you have the power to change your health…and your life. I did.

Donna Miller is a frequent contributor to baystateparent Magazine. She is a Massachusetts mom, freelance writer and health coach who can help families with nutrition coaching, pantry purge, food shopping tour

and more. Her blog betteroffwell.com helps busy parents reclaim their lives.

Now Enrolling:• Summer Camp Program for 3-4 year olds

• Full Day Infant and Toddler Program

• Morning Programs for Preschool andKindergarten Readiness

• Full Day Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten

• Full Day Toddler Program

16 JULY2012

GO OM: Families can try yoga at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on July 8, Aug. 2 and Sept. 12. Children are FREE every day. decordova.org.

GO CAPE COD: It’s great for the beach but also for fairy tales. Catch one every Wednesday in Hyannis. melodytent.org.

OH,OH,THETHE

PLACESPLACESYOU’LLYOU’LLGOGO

Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! - dr. seuss

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GO FRESH: The Fresh Beat Band is coming to the Life is Good Festival this September! Plus, Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds and Sara Bareilles for Moms and Dads! lifeisgood.com.

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GO LITTLE WOMEN: Visit the home of Louisa May Alcott this summer. The family programs are great! louisamayalcott.org.

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Robot Weekend. Davis Farmland, 145 Redstone Hill Rd., Sterling. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Transform yourself into a robot as you learn to walk, talk and dance like one. Join in on some robot games, make marshmal-low robots and have robotic fun! $19.95pp, Under 2 FREE. 978-422-MOOO (6666), DavisFarmland.com.

FREE Playground & Picnic. Dean Park, Main St., Shrewsbury. Play in a nice fenced-in playground. Bring bikes for kids to ride in the courts or on the sidewalks. Great sidewalks for strollers. Pack a picnic! shrewsbury-ma.gov.

ONGOING Pitter Patter Puppets. Cape Rep Outdoor Theatre, 3299 Rte. 6A, Brewster. Tuesdays, through August 28, 10 a.m. Puppeteer Mary Wilson’s wildly popular puppet shows are interactive, inventive and extremely funny. Perfect for ages 2-6 and great fun for ages 7-100 too! No Performances July 31 & August 7. $8pp. 508-896-1888, caperep.org.

Block Party and Fireworks. Downtown Fitchburg. 5 - 10 p.m. ci.fitchburg.ma.us.

Concert, Parade and Grand Fireworks Display. Gloucester. Starts at 5 p.m. capeannvacations.com.

Fireworks. Fruitlands Museum, Harvard. 5 p.m. Live music, food and fireworks. Picnic onsite or buy drinks and food. Rain date: July 6. Admission may be charged per car. fruitlands.org.

Milford July 4th Fireworks. Rain date: July 5. milford.ma.us.

The Fireworks at Memorial Park, Needham. Food, pony rides, face painting and other family entertainment followed by fireworks. needhamex-changeclub.org.

Rutland Fireworks. 9:30 p.m. rutlandma-4thofjuly.org

Annual Weymouth Fourth of July. George Lane Beach in North Weymouth. 9:30 p.m. Musical groups, food and novelty vendors and moon walk structures, fireworks. Details: 781-340-2133.

City of Worcester Independence Day Celebration. Cristoforo Columbo Park, Worcester.

Park opens: 6 p.m.; Concert: 8 p.m.; Fireworks: 9:30 p.m. Rain date: July 5. worcestermass.org.

Independence Day Celebration. Nara Park, Acton. 3 – 7 p.m. Family friendly activities. FREE concert featuring Rolling Stones Tribute Band. Fire-works 9:30. acton-ma.gov.

Fireworks. Woodsom Farm, Lions Mouth Rd., Ames-bury. $3 - $2 charge for parking. amesburydays.org.

Boston Pops Fireworks. Charles River, between the Longfellow and Mass Ave Bridges, Boston. 10:30 p.m. immediately following the Boston Pops Concert - ends at about 11 p.m. july4th.org.

Independence Day Celebration in Chatham. Main Street. 9 a.m.. A bigger-than-ever parade with more marching bands, more floats and a special Grand Marshall. chatham300.com

Fourth of July Fireworks in Falmouth, Falmouth Heights Beach. 8:45 p.m.. Spectators are asked to bring a radio and to set it to 92.7,WMVY, in order to hear the music that accompanies the show. capecod-chamber.org.

July 4th Bike and Carriage Parade. Falmouth. Children and families dress in creative Uncle Sam costumes. Beginning at the Village Green at 10 a.m. they parade down Main Street to Margaret E. Noonan Park where a patriotic singalong will take place. capecodchamber.org.

Hyannis Main Street Parade & Fireworks. Parade followed by fireworks at dusk. hyannis.com. Natick 4th. Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at S. Paul’s, 7 a.m. - 12 noon. Parade at 9 a.m. natick4th.org.

Fourth of July Fireworks. Nantucket Island.. nantucketchamber.org.

July 4th Grand Parade. Needham. Parade, food, a flea market, an old-fashioned baseball game, children’s games and much more. needhamexchangeclub.org.

Newton Community Pride. Kids Morning at the Newton Centre Playground at Tyler Terrace for ages 3- 12, 10 a.m. - Noon. Foot races, pet and teddy bear parade, decorated doll carriage promenade. Open air market and amusement rides at the Russell J. Halloran Field & Sports Complex, Albemarle Rd. off Watertown St., Rt. 16, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; m usic and dancing, 6 p.m.; fireworks, 9 p.m. 617-796-1903, newtoncommunitypride.org.

Orleans 4th of July Parade. Eldredge Park Way, 10 a.m. Rain or shine. capecodchamber.org.

Provincetown Fourth of July parade. Begins at 11 a.m. at the Harbor Hotel and proceeds along Com-mercial Street until Franklin Street. 508-487-7097.

Plymouth’s Fourth of July Festivities. 9:30 a.m. Parade; 7:30 p.m. Waterfront Concert; 9:15 p.m. Fireworks. 508-747-7174, seeplymouth.org.

Salem Celebrates the 4th. Derby Wharf, Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Salem. 4 p.m. Kids’ activities; 7 p.m. Pop Concert; 9:15 p.m. Fireworks launched over Salem Harbor. salem.org.

Sudbury Chamber of Commerce July 4th Parade. 1 p.m. Rain or shine. sudbury.org.

ONGOING Fairy Tales by Kaleiodoscope Children’s Theatre. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. Thurs-days, 10:30 a.m. $11pp. themusiccircus.org.

ONGOING Summer Thursdays. Meadowbrook Farm, 5 Gould Rd., Westford. 3 – 7 p.m. Bring your own picnic and explore the farm. Local veggies for sale. Kids can do a craft for about $5. thefatmoon.com and healthylivingandlearning.com. 978-496-9606.

11th Annual Berkshires Arts Festival. Ski Butternut, Great Barrington. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. This

Berkshire tradition offers families fun and interactive ways to experience theatre, dance, music and art. A$12, Sr. $10, St. $5, C (under 10) FREE, Weekend Pass: $13. berkshiresartsfestival.com. Also July 7 & 8 (closes at 5 p.m.)

Fireworks and Concert. Groton. 6 p.m. townof-groton.org.

FREE Master Sandsculpting Competition. Hampton Beach. The entire area is illuminated for night viewing through July 8th. This invitational-only event has grown in leaps and bounds making it the largest Masters competition in the Northeast United States. 603-926-8717, hamptonbeach.org.

Annual Mashpee Sand Sculpting Festival. Three days of live music, food, giveaways and more. mashpeecommons.com. Also July 7 & 8.

Greater New Bedford Summerfest. This two-day event is an internationally recognized folk music and arts festival. newbedfordsummerfest.com. Also July 7 & 8.

The Ocean State Tall Ships Festival. Newport, RI. Parade of sail, exhibits, food, music and enter-tainment. Children will love to board these remark-able vessels. oceanstatetallships.com. Also July 7 – 9.

FREE & ONGOING Friday Mornings for Children. Stanley Park, Beveridge Pavilion Annex, Westfield. 10 – 11 a.m. Chairs are provided, but bring a blanket along. July 6: Annie and The Natural Wonder Band; July l3: Family Singalong with Dave Polansky; July 20: Magical Moments with Ed Popielarizyk; July 27: Shine On with Bill Shontz and Donna Lee. stanley-park.org.

FREE & ONGOING Highland Street Free Fun Fridays 2012. Ends Aug. 21. Visit a designated museum or attraction in the Boston area for free over during the summer. Just show up and enjoy! highlandstreet.org.

Ayer Parade and Fireworks Concert. Pirone Park, Ayer. Ayer.ma.us.

ONGOING Recycled: Exploring Energy through Art and Nature. Exhibit opens at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, and runs through August 31. A$10, Y (3-17) $5, C under 3 Free. newfs.org.

11th Annual Berkshires Arts Festival. Great Barrington. See July 6 listing for details. Also July 8.

Enrichment Day. Franklin Park Zoo, Boston. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Throughout the day, guests will have the opportunity to see many of the animals receive enrichment items made especially for them. In honor of Franklin Park Zoo’s centennial, the animals will be celebrating too with birthday-themed enrichment items including paper mache cakes, ice treats and other fun surprises. Zoo admission required. 617-541-5466, zoonewengland.org.

Independence Day Celebration. Beacon Field, Greenfield. Food and fireworks. townofgreenfield.org.

Annual Mashpee Sand Sculpting Festival. Three days of live music, food, giveaways and more. mashpeecommons.com. Also July 8.

Fireworks. Onset Bay Association, Onset-Ware-ham. Fireworks are set over Onset beach and bay. 508-295-7072.

Monthly Fat Moon Picnic. Meadowbrook Farm, 5 Gould Rd., Westford. 6 – 8 p.m. Bring your own

MELTDOWN WARNING: Before you pack up the mini-van, please confirm your destination. Although we’ve done our best to assure accuracy at press time, things can and do change…

A Adult C Child Y Youth M Member NM Non-Member PP Per Person

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The Tall Ships sail into Newport July 6 - 9th. The kids can even climbaboard! oceanstatetallships.com.

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18 JULY2012

picnic, go on a night hike and enjoy the campfire. You may even get to cook a healthy local treat by the fire, like a cinnamon and honey apple. thefatmoon.com and healthylivingandlearning.com. 978-496-9606. Next picnic: Aug. 4.

Amazing Animals. Davis Farmland, Sterling. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Meet and greet farm animals, make over Jenny and play games! $19.95pp, C under 2 FREE. davisfarmland.com. Also July 8.

11th Annual Berkshires Arts Festival. See July 6 details for information.

Vintage Baseball Game at Georges Island. Boston. 11:30 – 3 p.m. Step into the 1860s and watch Civil War-era baseball games played at historic Fort Warren with original rules and uni forms.Free, but ferry rates apply. 617-223-8666, boston-harborislands.org.

Miata Day. Larz Anderson Auto Museum, Brookline. This is the most colorful show of the whole season. Only on Miata Day is the Great Lawn is speckled with cars painted every shade under the sun! Admission fees apply. larzanderson.org.

Annual Mashpee Sand Sculpting Festival. Three days of live music, food, giveaways and more. mashpeecommons.com.

Pilgrim Breakfast. Harlow Old Fort House, Plymouth. 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Costumed servers dish out piping hot fishcakes, baked beans, cornbread and other tasty fare, while strolling singers share songs, riddles and 17th century cheer. This hearty New England breakfast is a local tradition not to be missed! Proceeds benefit the preservation of the 1677 Harlow House. $10pp & a family discount available.508-746-0012.

FREE Morning Playdate. Meadowbrook Farm, 5 Gould Rd., Westford. 9:30 – 11 a.m. Spend a morn-ing at the farm with other families. thefatmoon.com and healthylivingandlearning.com. 978-496-9606.

Amazing Animals. Davis Farmland, Sterling. See July 7 listing for event details.

Ben Rudnick & Friends Concert. Burlington. 6:30 p.m. Gazebo in front of Town Hall. benrudnick.com

ONGOING The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival. MASS MoCA, North Adams. July 9- 29. MASS MoCA is the Massachusetts Museum of Contem-porary Art. This celebration is dedicated entirely to adventurous contemporary music. Enjoy exhibitions and performances by renowned artists and cultural institutions, but also explore creativity, rehearsals, art fabrication shops, and production studios. bangona-can.org/summer_festival.

ONGOING Brimfield Outdoor Antiques Show.

Route 20, Brimfield. July 10-15. 413-283-2418, brimfieldshow.com.

ONGOING The Look Park Children’s Entertain-ment Series. Look Park at the beautiful Pines Theater, Florence (Northampton area). Tuesdays, 10 a.m. The series features a collection of children’s performers who sing, dance and perform a variety of children’s activities on stage. A$4, C$3. Rain site: Garden House Tent. lookpark.org. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a beautiful park with paddle boats, train rides,

playground equipment, picnic sites, fields and more. A great place to spend the day!

Rick Goldin Children’s Concert at The Beebe Estate, Melrose, Free “Tuesday Tunes and Tales” concert series, sponsored by the North Suburban Family Network, rain location: First Congregational Church, 121 West Foster Street.Tue, July 10, 2012

ONGOING EGO Castle Adventure. Springfield

Science Museum, 21 Edwards St., Springfield. Tues. - Sat., 10 am. - 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ends July 22. Children will be able explore the inside of a castle filled with LEGO brick figures, the king’s and queen’s thrones, secret passageways, royal treasure chests and the dragon’s lair. A towering knight and a giant red dragon with her baby, all made out of thou-sands of tiny LEGO bricks, protect the fortress. kids can climb into a lookout tower and slide back down to the ground or stroll along the battlement wall. The exhibit also includes a wall of revolving Lego displays, including replicas of famous places such as the wind-ing maze of Leeds Castle Gardens and the Blarney Castle in Ireland. Admission fees apply. *Bring a picnic

to enjoy in the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden! 413-263-6800, springfieldmuseums.org.FREE Toe Jam Puppet Band. Central Square Branch

Library, Cambridge. Laugh, sing and dance along with the Toe Jam Puppet Band while they perform their fun, original songs and stories. Call for times: 617-349-4010, cambridgema.gov. benrudnick.com.

Annual Falmouth Arts & Crafts Festival, Falmouth. This annual event celebrates traditional arts and crafts. Attracting more than 40,000 people last year, this event is considered one of the most popular one-day shows in Cape Cod. falmouthvillageassociation.org.

FREE & ONGOING Drop-in Fun. Elm Park, Highland St. and Park Ave., Worcester. 1 – 4 p.m. Wednes-days, July 11 – Aug. 22. Drop in anytime for activi-ties, crafts, stories, and nature walks. Take a break from the playground to learn about the plants and animals that can be found in Worcester through hands-on projects and games. Register: 508-753-6087.

ONGOING How to Train your Dragon Live Spectacular. DCU Center- Arena and Convention Center, Worcester. Wed., July 11 – Sun., July 15. Various times. The show features 23 dragons, some with wingspans of up to 46 feet, Viking warriors and world-class circus artists and acrobats, to perform against a state-of-the-art, wall-to-floor immersive projection measuring more than 20,000 square feet. dcucenter.com.

FREE Cartooning Program. Worcester Public Library. 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Ages 5 – 10. worcpublib.org.

ONGOING Fairy Godmother for Hire. Barre Players Theater, 64 Common St., Barre. July 12 – 14. 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Performed by 7-14 year-olds, this play tells the story of what happens to Cinderella and Snow White after they marry their handsome princes. A$8, C under 12 FREE. 978-355-2096, barreplayerstheater.com.

FREE Free Admission Every Thursday Night. Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton. 5 – 9 p.m. Fullercraft.org.

ONGOING Fairy Tales by Kaleiodoscope Chil-dren’s Theatre. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. $11pp. themusiccircus.org.

FREE Rick Golden Children’s Concert. Dun-stable Public Library. Call for times: 978-649-4514. dunstable-ma.gov.

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How to Train your Dragon is coming LIVE to the DCU Center, Worcester, July 11 - 15.dcucenter.com.

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Southeast Advocate Associates helps families of children with special needs in steering their way through the com-plicated network of education, medical and legal systems to obtain adequate and appropriate educational services for their children in both public and private schools.

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Summer Enrichment Programs

BAYSTATEPARENT 19

FREE Annual Lantern Festival: Forest Hills. Ja-maica Plain. 6 – 9 p.m. The Lantern Festival draws its inspiration from the Japanese Bon Festival -- a celebration each year when a door opens to the world of their ancestors allowing loved ones to send mes-sages to the other side. It is a time when neighbors come together to share stories, celebrate, and honor the memories of loved ones. Bring flashlights and your own food and drinks. $10 donation per lantern. $10 parking. foresthillstrust.org. Raindate: July 19.

FREE & ONGOING Friday Flicks at the Hatch Shell. Storrow Drive, The Esplanade, Boston. July 13 – Aug. 24. 8 p.m. Enjoy classic and popular, family-oriented movies. Bring chairs, blankets and picnics to enjoy movies under the stars. Rain or shine. The WBZ Tent for lots of free giveaways, food samples and fun interactive games! 617-787-7200, wbz.com.

Whaling City Festival. New Bedford. 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Daily. Over 200 flea market and craft vendors, food vendors, music and entertainment, carnival rides. Whalingcityfestival.net. Also July 14 & 15.

FREE & ONGOING Friday Mornings for Children. Stanley Park, Beveridge Pavilion Annex, Westfield. 10 – 11 a.m. Chairs are provided, but bring a blanket along. July l3: Family Singalong with Dave Polansky; July 20: Magical Moments with Ed Popie-larizyk; July 27: Shine On with Bill Shontz and Donna Lee. stanleypark.org.


ONGOING Green River Festival. Greenfield Community College. July 14-15. 413-773-5463, greenriverfestival.com.

Rainforest Reptiles. Davis Farmland, Sterling 11 a.m.-3 p.m. See alligators, lizards, snakes and more! $19.95pp, C under 2 FREE. davisfarmland.com.

FREE Disney Outdoor Family Concert. Mas-sachusetts Symphony Orchestra Summer Family Concert. Institute Park, Salisbury St. and Park Ave., Worcester. 7 – 9 p.m. 508-754-1234 or email [email protected]. Rain date: July 15.

ONGOING Summer Tubing. Ski Ward Hill, Shrews-bury. Open Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. TubaSliding is a blast and it’s not wet, but it’s wild and it is safe and affordable fun for all levels! Recommended for ges 5+. $9 for one hour of sliding. skiward.com.

Rainforest Reptiles. Davis Farmland, Sterling 11 a.m.-3 p.m. See July 14 for details. davisfarmland.com.

FREE Hike & Play. Purgatory Chasm State Park, Sutton. baystateparent recommends visiting this unique landmark fi lled with trails, caves and rocks. Wear sturdy sneakers and watch out for little ones carefully! There is a fabulous little playground here as well as wooded picnic areas. Top off your day with a visit to West End Creamery in Whitinsville – right down the street. mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/purg.htm

ONGOING Annie. North Shore Music Theatre, Bev-

erly. Leapin’ Lizards! The popular comic strip heroine takes centerstage in one of the world’s best-loved musicals. July 17 – 29. Tickets: $40 - $70. nsmt.org.

ONGOING The Look Park Children’s Entertain-ment Series. Look Park at the beautiful Pines Theater, Florence (Northampton area). Tuesdays, 10 a.m. The series features a collection of children’s performers who sing, dance and perform a variety of children’s activities on stage. A$4, C$3. Rain site: Garden House Tent. lookpark.org. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a beautiful park with paddle boats, train rides,

playground equipment, picnic sites, fields and more. A great place to spend the day!

ONGOING Sawyers Bowl-a -Drome. 13 Blake St., Northborough. Generally open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Families can enjoy candlepin bowling in an old-fashioned, no frills basement bowling alley. Typically $20 an hour. During the summer months, be sure to call ahead to see if Sawyer’s is open. There are quite a few pizza places in the area if you want to combine a meal with your outing. 508-393-8032.

Learn to Kayak at Spectacle Island. Boston. Wednesdays and Thursdays through August 30. Ages

12+. Free but ferry rates apply. 617-223-8666, bostonharborislands.org.


FREE The Hootchies Summer Concert. Nara Park, 25 Ledgerock Way, Acton. 6:30 p.m. 978-929-6641, acton-ma.gov, the hootchies.com.

ONGOING Fairy Tales by Kaleiodoscope Children’s Theatre. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. $11pp. themusic-circus.org.

GOING Boating & Swimming. Hopkinton State Park, Cedar St., Hopkinton. 12 – 7 p.m. Rent a canoe or kayak! The park offers swimming, hiking and biking available. Spend the whole day! But call to verify rates and hours: 508-435-3965, 617-299-3392, boatinginboston.com, mass.gov/dcr/


FREE Star Gazing! Buffumville Dam, Charlton. 8:30 p.m. Mr. Todd Jaarsma comes all the way to us from another galaxy! Take a look at the night sky through a good telescope and think about the cosmos instead of what’s on TV. Also Aug 17 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Bring the kids. Bug spray!.

FREE New England Sale and Northeast Youth Sheep Show. Eastern States Exposition, West Springfi eld. July 20-22. 413-737-2443.


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Head to Western MA for a 3-hour Zip Line Canopy Tour this summer!zoaroutdoor.com.

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20 JULY2012

FREE & ONGOING Friday Mornings for Children. Stanley Park, Beveridge Pavilion Annex, Westfi eld. 10 – 11 a.m. Chairs are provided, but bring a blanket along. July 20: Magical Moments with Ed Popielarizyk; July 27: Shine On with Bill Shontz and Donna Lee. stanleypark.org.

ONGOING Barnstable County Fair. July 21 – 28. The Cape Cod fair includes rides, livestock and horticultural displays, and a petting zoo. barnstable-countyfair.org.

Abbadia Mare Renaissance Festival. Hammond Castle Museum, Gloucester. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. A$15, C(5-12) $0, C under 4 FREE. abbadiamarefestival.com. Also July 22.

FREE Super Saturdays. American Textile His-tory Musuem, Lowell. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Fun and educational hands-on activities that celebrate the joy of invention and the do-it-yourself spirit that have shaped our history. 978-441-0400, athm.org. Also September 29.

Glasgow Scottish Festival. Celebration of Scot-tish and Celtic Culture. Look Park, Northampton. Highland dance and athletic competitions as well as pipe and drum and band contests, Scottish food, entertainment and more. $16. 413-862-8095, glasgowlands.org.

Birds of Prey. Davis Farmland, Sterling. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. An unbelievable chance to be up close with wild life. $19.95pp, C under 2 FREE. davisfarmland.com.

FREE Classical and Broadway Music. Massachu-setts Symphony Orchestra Summer Family Concert. Institute Park, Salisbury St. and Park Ave., Worces-ter. 7 – 9 p.m. 508-754-1234 or email [email protected]. Rain date: July 22.

The Alchemystics Concert. Goodale Park, West Boylston. 7 p.m. Hear this reggae, soul and hip hop band. Time Slips Daily is the opening band. Bring the kids. There is a nice playground across the street. Pick up a pizza or sub at nearby Shannon’s Pizza on Central Street. A$10, C ( 12 – 17) $5, C under 12 FREE. wbaf.org. All proceeds benefi t school arts and music pro-gramming. Rain location: West Boylston High School.

Let’s Move Outside! Family Fitness Day at Spec-tacle. Boston Harbor Islands. 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Bring the family for yoga, hiking, zumba, hula hoop-ing and more! Free but ferry rates apply. 617- 223-8666, bostonharboris lands.org.

FREE Dam Tours. Buffumville Dam Tower, Charl-ton. All start at 12:30. Meet the ranger in the BVD parking lot for a guided tour of the inside of the dam. 3 fl oors down, you’ll see the machines that lift and close the gates. Sorry; not handicapped accesible. Contact Ranger Jamie: nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/bvl/bvlevent.htm. Also August 12.

4th Annual Familly Day. Daniel Webster Estate & Heritage Center, Marshfi eld. 12 – 4 p.m. Big Joe the storyteller, pony rides, bouncy house, happy slide, face painting, balloon animals, petting zoo and children’s crafts. FREE admission. 781-834-0548, danielwebsterestate.org.

Birds of Prey. Davis Farmland, Sterling. See July 21 listing for more details. davisfarmland.com.

FREE Tree Talk. MA Audubon and Boston Parks Depart-ment host an informative tree lecture for all ages.Public

Garden, Boston. 1 – 2 p.m. cityofboston.gov/parks.

ONGOING Spider-Sense Scavenger Hunt. Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ends Sept. 3. Delve into the amazing world of spiders and spider-like animals from around the globe. The Spider-Sense! Scavenger Hunt will guide you on a journey of discovery – exploring the astounding diversity of spiders and their kin and the elegant adaptations which have allowed

their survival for tens of millions of years. Tolerance to numbing toxins and wall-crawling ability not required. 617-495-3045, hmnh.harvard.edu.

ONGOING The Look Park Children’s Entertain-ment Series. Look Park at the beautiful Pines Theater, Florence (Northampton area). Tuesdays, 10 a.m. The series features a collection of children’s performers who sing, dance and perform a variety of children’s activities on stage. A$4, C$3. Rain site:

Garden House Tent. lookpark.org. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a beautiful park with paddle boats, train rides, playground equipment, picnic sites, fi elds and more. A great place to spend the day!

FREE Poetry by Flashlight. Worcester Public Library, Salem Square, Worcester. 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Ages 6 – 10. Regisration required. worcpublib.org.

ONGOING Arts on the Arcade. City Hall Plaza, Boston. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Currently in its 11th year, Arts on the Arcade is held in conjunction with the popular Farmer’s Market on the Community Arcade on City Hall Plaza. Each year, juried selections of year, juried selections of visual artists and crafts artists are given the oppor tunity to sell handmade crafts and artwork cover ing many different styles from painting, photogra phy and jewelry to leather goods and apparel. Local performing artists also provide live entertainment from 11 – 2 p.m. 617- 635-4500, cityofboston.gov/art

ONGOING Puppet Shows. The Puppet Showplace Theatre, Brookline. Wednesdays - Saturdays, July and August, 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Complete schedule available at puppetshowplace.org.

ONGOING Fairy Tales. Cape Cod Melody Tent. Hyannis. Wednesdays this summer at 11 a.m. Presented by Kaleidoscope Children’s Theatre. $9pp. Check out the schedule at melodytent.org.


ONGOING Fairy Tales by Kaleiodoscope Children’s Theatre. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. $11pp. themusic-circus.org.

Ben Rudnick and Friends Concert. Town Hall Medford, 7 – 9 p.m. benrudnick.com.

ONGOING Circus Smikrus the Big Top Tour. July 26 – 29, Waltham and July 30 – August 1, Sandwich. This traveling youth circus performes all over New England and New York. smirkus.org.

22SUNDAY 23MONDAY

21SATURDAY

Thar she blows! A New England whale watch is a New England must. Depart from Cape Ann, Cape Cod and even Boston and Plymouth.

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ONGOING The Lowell Folk Festival. July 27 – 29. This 3-day festival is the largest free folk festival in the United States. The festival includes delicious cui-sines, children’s activities, and live bands throughout the downtown ending with an evening parade on the fi nal day. lowellfolkfestival.org.

ONGOING FREE at Five. Providence Children’s Mu-seum. Providence, RI. 5 – 8 p.m. 401-273-5437, ChildrenMuseum.org.


FREE & ONGOING Friday Mornings for Children. Stanley Park, Beveridge Pavilion Annex, Westfi eld. 10 – 11 a.m. Chairs are provided, but bring a blanket along. July 27: Shine On with Bill Shontz and Donna Lee. stanleypark.org.

FREE Family Jam Concert at Georges Island. Boston Harbor Islands, 3 p.m. Come dance the after noon away with one of Brooklyn coolest kid’s band, Rolie Polie Guaca mole who will debuting at Fort Warren. Free but ferry rates apply. 617- 223-8666, bostonharboris lands.org.

FREE Play Date: Rhythm and Moves. ICA, Bos-ton. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tickets are free for families: up to 2 adults per family accompanied by children ages 6–12 on the last Saturday of each month. Enjoy a daylong exploration of contemporary art and dance as well as ongoing art-making projects related to works on view in the galleries. icaboston.org.

Sizzlin’ Summer Sidewalk Sales. Concord Center, Thoreau Street Depot Area, and West Concord. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. A day of sidewalk sales, entertain-ment and fun!

Fireworks. Ludlow Fish & Game Club, Sportsman’s Rd., Ludlow. Fun starts at 3 p.m. with fi reworks at dusk. lfgclub.org.

A-MAZE-Ing Weekend. Davis Farmland, Sterling. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Come celebrate the opening of Davis Mega Maze! There will be lots of fun themed games, activities and more. davisfarmland.com. Also July 29.

FREE Hampden County 4-H Fair. Eastern States Exposition, West Springfi eld. 413-737-2443.

Annie. North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly. Leapin’ Lizards! Last day to see the popular comic strip hero-ine takes centerstage in one of the world’s best-loved musicals. Tickets: $40 - $70. nsmt.org.

A-MAZE-Ing Weekend. Davis Farmland, Ster-ling. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Come celebrate the opening of Davis Mega Maze! There will be lots of fun themed games, activities and more. davisfarmland.com.

FREE Sudbury Summer Concert Series. Haskell Field, Hudson and Fairbanks Rd., Sudbury. 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 6. Rain location: Fairbanks Community Center Gym. sudburyma.us

FREE Ben Rudnick and Friends Concert. Goodwill Park, 416 Green St., Holliston. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. benrudnick.com.

Submit An EventFill out our form at baystateparent.com

by Thurs., July 5th.

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baystateparent creative director, Paula Monette Ethier, made this inexpensive and gorgeous paper fl oral arrangement out of her four nephews’ hand prints as a present for her sister Donna. They are Donna’s grandchildren’s hands.

No Green ThumbGreen Thumb RequiredJust A Lot Just A Lot of Handsof Hands

Paula Monette Ethier, creative directorCarrie Wattu, editorSteven King, photographer

You don’t need a green thumb to make this stunning paper fl oral arrangement, but you do need lots of hand prints from your kids as each fl ower is actually made out of hand prints. Make one for Grandma with all of her grandchildren’s hand prints. How about giving one to a beloved teacher as an end-of-the-year gift? And since you’ll really want one for yourself, get crafty and take some time to create something beautiful out of your children’s hand prints that you’ll enjoy for many years to come. Invite your sisters or friends over and make them together!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A Vase• Scrapbooking Paper • Poster board• Wooden Skewers• Green Florist Wire

Directions: To Make the Flowers:

• Outline children’s hands on poster board, and cut out the hand prints with scissors or an Exacto knife. This is the template for your fl owers.

• Using the poster board template, trace the children’s hands onto colored scrapbooking paper. You will need to do this several times; each fl ower is made from two hand prints.

• Take a wooden skewer, and on the non-sharpened side, twist the colored hand print around the top of the skewer so it curls into the shape of a fl ower. Use a little Scotch tape to hold the fl ower in place.

• Wrap a second colored hand print around the fi rst hand print

• White Decorative Wire• Decorative Beads with holes through the middle • Styrofoam • Hot Glue Gun

• Exacto Knife• Scissors• Paint • Paint Brush• Craft Stones

on the skewer and secure with hot glue. This is your fl ower! Your child’s fi ngers are the petals.

• Twist green fl oral wire around the base of the fl ower to fasten it more securely onto the wooden skewer.

• Repeat to make as many fl owers as desired.

To Make the Leaves:

• Cut the shape of a leaf out of green scrapbooking paper. To make the Midrib of the leaf, score down the middle of your leaf with an Exacto knife (don’t cut through). This will look like a little vein.

• Using hot glue, attach each leaf to the wooden skewer stem of each fl ower. Put 3 to 4 leaves on each fl ower’s stem.

• Also make some skewers that just contain leaves and no fl owers.

Decorate Inside the Petals:

• Pretty beads popping out of each fl ower adds a nice touch.

• Cut 5 to 6 inches of white decorating wire and string as many beads as you’d like. Push some of the beads to one end of the string, and twist the wire so that they don’t fall off. Push the rest of the beads to other end of the string, and also twist the wire there.

• The goal is to have a little space in the middle of two sets of beads. To keep the beads from running into each other, dab hot glue onto each of the ends.

• Wrap this middle section around the top of the skewer inside of the fl ower. You want to twist so that this pretty adornment is secure and popping out of the fl ower.

Make Decorative Accents:

• To make a pretty swirled decoration for your arrangement, choose scrapbooking paper to complement the color you chose for the fl ower.

• Paint a few wooden skewers the same color as this scrapbooking paper.

• Cut strips of scrapbooking paper in different lengths.

• To curl each piece, wrap the strips around a pencil.

• Thread multiple papers on the color skewers.

• Secure with a bit of hot glue.

To Arrange Flowers:

• Place Styrofoam into the bottom of the vase, and push skewers into the Styrofoam.

• Create a variety of heights for the fl owers, leaves and accents by pushing some skewers in deeper than others.

• Add craft rocks on top of the Styrofoam.

24 JULY2012

Being a doting grandparent is the fi nal frontier of the American dream. It goes like this: Fall in love, get married, buy a cute home and start a family. Raise

your kids, join the PTO, build your career between Little League games and swim practices. At the end of the tunnel, once your grown children have started on that path themselves, you settle in, retire comfortably and sit back to enjoy the view. To have grandbabies plopped in your lap until they need to be nursed or have their diapers changed, to throw the

ball around in the yard until you need to rest, to attend grandparent breakfasts at the elementary school or be honored in a Daisy Scout ceremony. Jen Gadowski of West Boylston had every intention of being the involved grandmother. She envisioned sleepovers, nights of babysitting, stopping in for visits between business trips to catch up on her granddaughters’ lives. She got quite a bit more than she bargained for. Jen, at 56 years old, is one of an estimated 2.5 million grandparents in America who is raising her child’s children, organizing playdates and supervising homework and

doling out discipline – all for the second time around. “It’s been really tough,” she admitted. “I’ve lost the privilege of being that gramma, the one baking the cookies. That’s just not my reality.” Her reality is, well, much more real. It involves shuttling Janelle, 13, and Jaidah, 9, to their various school and social events. It involves a hormonal teen and a sassy tween, both of whom carry the weight of disappointment in a mother with addiction issues without the ability to process all of the questions. It involves being the brunt of their anger and confusion, even though she is the

one who is right there, doing the job her daughter chose not to do. Mostly, it involves giving up on the leisurely-retired lifestyle she signed up for, working two part-time jobs to make ends meet for her newly established family of three, with the expense of them growing faster than she can keep up. And it involves having no one to turn to for a weekend off or a night out with her friends. Jen knows where to seek solace – ever since she became the girls’ full-time permanent guardian 5 years ago, she started going back to church. She makes the girls go too.

NOT

in the GRAND PLAN

amanda robergeBY

“I’ve lost the privilege of being that gramma,

the one baking the cookies. That’s just not my reality.” - Jen Gadowski

BAYSTATEPARENT 25

“I’ve made my peace,” she says, admitting that watching her daughter fail as a mother has been horrifyingly traumatic for everyone. “I have these long conversations with God.” And even though Jen is prone to feeling isolated from all the more typical families in her suburban town, she is not alone. The culture in the nation, and here in the Bay State, includes an alarmingly high rate of grandparents called back to the front lines. So much so, in fact, that in July of 2008 an 11-person commission was formed under the umbrella of the Child Advocate bill through the Executive Offi ce of Elder Affairs in Massachusetts. The Commission on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren embodies the express intent of fostering unity among grandparents raising grandchildren and serving as a liaison between government and private interest groups with regard to the unique interest and concern of grandparents raising grandchildren. And while one might think that the most prevalent concerns are all about being in your 50s or 60s and trying to keep up with kids’ energy levels or dealing with new technologies that didn’t exist in your parenting heyday, the biggest concern – not surprisingly – is fi nances. Prior to the tumbling cascade of events that led to the girls being placed in her home, Jen had a plan and a pretty good one too. A lifelong fi refi ghter and EMT, she had moved to West Boylston after 31 years on Martha’s Vineyard and established herself working three-day weekends doing trainings in New England and beyond. The pay was good, she was comfortable, and the hours allowed her to pursue her own life in between work trips. “I had a beautiful house, no kid stuff lying around; it was a grown-up life,” she says. Now she scrambles to afford the basics. Janelle, who was invited to travel to Europe this summer as part of a prestigious invite-only program based on a teacher’s recommendation, will need money for the trip – to the tune of $8,000. “No grandparent has a fi nancial plan in place for this.” And miles away, in her own way, Woburn resident Jane Fallon is in the same emotional boat. Having just turned 50 and sporting

blue toenail polish and several eye-catching tattoos, she could pass for a mother on the older end of the spectrum as she escorts her 4-year-old grandson Connor around the Stoneham Zoo. They have a membership, just like she did 20-something years ago when she was raising her own small children here. He knows where to fi nd everything – the fruit bats, the fl amingos and especially the snack bar where she hands him a Popsicle and sits to watch him play. He calls her “Mom.” “I am really the only mom he has ever known,” she shrugs apologetically, a quick but not mean-spirited reference to the daughter who resents the title being

taken away, though she lacks even the most basic of plans in place to take it back. Watching one of her children struggle with addiction issues and not behave as a loving mother has been painful for Jane to watch, and unlike Jen, she has not made peace with how everything has gone down. “My world revolves around his world,” she says, adding that it was no different when her own kids were small, making it impossible for her to understand how and why someone can choose a path other than the one she is on – wiping up Popsicle drips and watching in awe as a child experiences something new or magical. “Everything has been for my kids. I just don’t understand how you can give that up.” When friends recently took a cruise, Jane and her other daughter took Connor to Disney instead.“I can’t leave for a week to go off with friends,” she says. “I am all he has.” And across the state, Margo Chevers is feeling much the same as she raises her great-granddaughters, ages 7 and

9, in the Brimfi eld area. Though her granddaughter’s inability to care for her own kids is due to mental illness, she says the symptoms are much the same and the experience has mirrored those of people dealing with addiction. The reality of the situation has been equally painful for both her and the children. “There is no such thing as children being raised by their grandparents who are not dealing with some psychological trauma, which makes the problems that much more multi-leveled,” she says. Chevers, who sits on the Commission on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, has also been inspired to start a support group called Grandparents in the Know,

which meets in the Brimfi eld area. The need hit her, she says, when her youngest was in kindergarten. Out of 20 kids, a staggering four of them were being raised by grandparents. “That’s huge,” she says. “And the more I got talking with them, the more I realized that we all had different pieces of the puzzle – resources and services we knew about – and we’d all be better off if we started sharing information.” And so they do, on the second Thursday of each month at Hitchcock Academy in Brimfi eld, just one of a handful of support groups happening all across Massachusetts. The full listing, at massgrg.com, is ever-changing. As far as Margo Chevers is concerned, it is absolutely imperative for grandparents in this situation to reach out and join up for support. As part of her work with the Massachusetts GRG Commission, she helps to create policies that will benefi t and support grandparents as they struggle to make their grandkids’ lives better. Like many grandparent groups of this nature, she adds, the kids are welcome – as most of the attendees have neither

the money to afford nor the ability to locate a good babysitter. “If you think about it, we are all several generations away from having babysitters,” she explains. “One of our group members called me looking for one – she said ‘I just want to go out to dinner with my husband.’ What we do, it’s wonderful and we wouldn’t trade it, but it’s a lot.” Though it doesn’t lessen her fi nancial struggle all that much, Jane Fallon is able to access free day care for Connor through a grandparent discount program offered at her child care center. Without such a resource, keeping her 40-50 hour a week job as a dispatcher would be virtually impossible, although she has relied heavily, in the past, on the patience and understanding of her employer. She also relies on extended family and friends who give her some much-needed emotional support. She has girlfriends who know that if they want to hang out and catch up, Connor is part of the package. She has siblings who – like last year when she suffered her own battle with cancer and still had Connor to care for – step in and do the day care drop-offs and pick-ups, and deliver an occasional hot meal. She lets people know she is open for hand-me-down clothing; she tries to get on board with a whole new world of parenting that involves things she’d never heard of like soy nut butter and strollers that require a PhD to open and close. But she also, some days, feels like she’s rockin’ it. She laughs, a lot, and Connor does too. Some of this, she feels, is due to the fact that he was only a young toddler when she fought for custody. Many other kids have already suffered abuse, neglect or other types of trauma by the time they get placed with their loving grandparents. In many ways, he came to her with his innocence still in tact, and he continues to be a ray of sunshine for her. “You do what you have to do,” said Jane Fallon, with one hand combing absentmindedly through Connor’s hair. “He is fi rst in my life.”

Amanda Roberge is a freelance writer and mother of three girls who muses online at ConfessionsofaCurvyGirl.com.

An estimated 2.5 million-grandparents in America are raising their child’s children.

Located at Whitney Place Assisted Living Residences3 Vision Drive, Rte 9W

26 JULY2012

CAPTUREDCAPTURED

CAPTURED: bsp is looking for photos of Arts and Extracurriculars for our September issue. Email photos to [email protected] by August 5th.

FALLING IN LOVE: Boston photographer Amara Cohen captures Grandma meeting her grandchild for the fi rst time.

GrandsGrands

Storytime: Mason Crow of Ashland snuggles with his grandfather, Ronald Huse.

Hands-on Harley: Desmond Robicheau of Georgetown tries out his grandfather’s 1940’s Harley Davidson.

Pride & Joy: Susan and Gary Koblara with grandson, Jackson Kostantin of Sturbridge

Last Day!: Cathy Mealey’s mother and daughter skip home from the last day of preschool.

Mimi and Girls: Frances Roy with granddaughters,

Sienna and Sophie Smith

Grandparents’ Day:Emma DeJong shows her school

to her Grandma Joy.

Thankful: Braden of Gardner and his grandfather David dress up for Thanksgiving.

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BAYSTATEPARENT 27

Not every set of grandchildren living under their grand-parents’ roof is there because of rocky waters with their

biological mother. In fact, in some cases, their mother’s devotion is the very ship they sailed in on. Cristin Murphy, 41, prides herself on being an involved stay-at-home mother to Brett, 11, Hunter, 8 and Scarlett, 5. Up until last year, when her husband Robert’s Leukemia diagnosis turned their world upside-down, life was pretty good. She was actively involved with volunteering for the MOMS Club; she managed to get the lunches made and the kids to school on time, and she was there when the bus rolled up in the afternoon. Robert’s illness, which progressed rapidly and involved a stem cell transplant and multiple surgeries, threw everyone in the family into turmoil, but mostly Cristin, who became run-down from the six exhausting months of shuttling from her parents’ house to the hospital and back again. At the hospital, she was Robert’s number one advocate – brassy and determined, even pushy, when it came to his care. But at home, she didn’t have any fi ght left in her and she reveled in being her mother’s daughter. “It was awful for her,” says Gerry Alberts, who at 61 years old is thrilled to have her grandchildren – and her daughter – living at home. Along with Cristin’s dad, Mike, the two have stepped in to take over in every way necessary and any way possible. And not just during his illness, but also since Robert’s passing in April. “She was right there for him every step of the way,

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but it took its toll.” Ultimately, Cristin’s decision to move home was a logical one. With runs to the hospital, long post-surgery days spent by Robert’s bedside and the zombie-like state she would enter into upon leaving his unit, she simply could not function at her usual speed. She lived on constant edge about getting called into the hospital in the middle of the night. Without missing a beat, Gerry and Mike – who, after 42 years of marriage, were no strangers to teamwork – picked up her slack and then some. “It was hard for me to accept the help at fi rst,” she says. “But if I didn’t have my parents, I would have basically been homeless. How could you do all that? It just was too much to think about.” And aside from the benefi t to Cristin, the kids have gotten constant and unwavering love and support from their grandparents. Mike checks in via phone when he is on business trips, always wanting to stay engaged and involved in whatever is happening at home. And the discipline is easier for Cristin, who fi gures that for a 41-year old widow trying to get her footing, “man-on-man defense” is a pretty good way to go.

So Gramma – or “Grand-Mother” as Gerry insists on being called, alluding to the fact that she is indeed an older but grander version of the mother – works full time but does most of the cooking while Cristin regains a sense of balance in her everyday life. The mother-daughter duo has only been brought closer by the experience. “This is all so new so we just put one

foot in front of the other and get through each day,” says Gerry. “The main thing is to make sure the kids’ needs are being met, and we are all on the same page with that.”

Amanda Roberge is a freelance writer and mother of three girls who muses online at

ConfessionsofaCurvyGirl.com.

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28 JULY2012

Four years ago, Pam Harris’ whole life fl ashed in front of her. She was involved in a horrifi c motorcycle accident. With a broken neck, a rod placed in her leg, collapsed lungs and every rib in her body broken, doctors were surprised that she lived. At just 36 years old, Pam’s life was shaken to the core. In severe pain, Pam spent 2 weeks in ICU followed by nearly a month in a rehabilitation center. Her daughter Andrea, a high school senior at the time, cared for Pam throughout the whole ordeal. She bathed and dressed her mother, remaining by her side every day after school. The dedication was mutual. Pam worked hard with her physical therapist, motivated by her goal to attend her daughter’s upcoming graduation. “My daughter is my life,” she says. Pam, who became a mom at 18, made huge improvements and was there for her daughter’s senior year events, neck brace and all. Today, Pam credits the accident for

enriching her life and bringing her family closer together. “It took a tragedy like this to make me realize just how much I really did take life for granted,” she says. “It has turned my life into a blessing to live by.” Since the accident, Pam lives what she describes as a nice, quiet and humble life with her supportive fi ance, John Barrell, and family. It’s also a full life, full of faith, love and the simple things such as hiking, fi shing and kayaking, a life that she knows can be taken away at any given moment. “We don’t engage in drama,” says Pam. Her family prays together and makes family night a priority. “It doesn’t matter what we are doing; it’s the time we spend doing it that matters,” she says. However, two years after Pam’s accident, another life fl ashed before her eyes. This time it was the life of her daughter Andrea. She was pregnant at age 19. Pam was devastated and emotional but pulled herself together. “I gave my daughter unconditional love, support and fi rst-hand experience. I didn’t sugarcoat a thing.”

After carefully reviewing all of the options with her daughter, Andrea made the decision to keep her baby, which would make Pam a grandmother at age 38. On February 4, 2010, Pam became a grandmother to a handsome baby boy, Jayden Anthony. “It was one of the best days of my life,” says Pam. “I am so grateful that God saw fi t to carry me through so I could witness this amazing thing called ‘the circle of life.’” Pam says that having her daughter young – with all of its worries and sleepless nights – has turned into the biggest blessings of her life. “I became a grandmother earlier than most which also means I have more time to love my grandson,” she says. Pam survived a tragedy and came out grounded and grateful, the mother and grandmother she might never have been. And sharing a good life with Jayden, Pam says, just makes her hungry for more.

Carrie Wattu is editor of baystateparent.

Take 10 with Pam

1. I am the queen of: silly time, healthy fun treats and antibacterial soap.

2. Three words to describe my family: honest, loyal, understanding

3. We love going to: the great outdoors depending upon the seasons. We enjoy Rutland - hiking the Rail Trail and kayaking and fi shing on Sergents Pond. We love Southwick’s Zoo, miniature golf, ice cream stands and our local apple orchards. Jayden’s favorite place to visit is Davis’ Farmland in Sterling.

4. My grandson teaches me: how to live through the eyes of a child and that it’s OK to get dirty

5. My relationship with my daughter now that she is a mother: We are best

Pam HarrisOf SPENCER

Age: 40

Mom of: Andrea (22)Grandmother of: Jayden (2)

Engaged to: John Barrell

MOMSROCK!

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BAYSTATEPARENT 29

friends. She also has so much more respect and appreciation for me today because she is experiencing motherhood fi rst hand. She now knows how much is really involved when raising a family and all the sacrifi ces we make along the way.

6. How people react when they hear I am a grandmother: Wow! What!?! No Way!!! Many ask, ‘How does it feel to be a grandmother?” And I say, ‘One of the best feelings ever.’

7. Things I do differently as a grand-mother vs. mother: I was a germ freak raising Andrea. My family will tell you I still am, but I allow my grandson to get dirty. I’m not always chasing after him to wipe his face and hands. Boys play in dirt and get dirty. We go puddle jumping and get muddy. My daughter was always clean, neat and never dirty.

8. Current family obsessions: We are clutter free, neat and very organized — even Jayden with his crayons and toys. My daughter and I are particular with our closets, drawers and cosmetics. Our clothes have to be organized by tops and bottoms but also by color and season. We also need to use the same hangers, all the same color.

9. I look forward to: Sharing stories with Jayden about his mommy and me when we were little girls. I used to love the stories I heard from my grandparents, so I want that to continue.

10. Biggest challenge my family faces: Calming down our 7-month-old

Labradoodle, Zip. He is very hyper, full of energy and knocks my grandson down a lot; although, he adds a lot of joy to our family and Jayden loves him. Another challenge is my daughter fi nding the balance and time to fi nish college. She is so busy with work and the baby that it’s a little diffi cult to take as many classes as she would like to. However, she’s a fi ghter and will continue to better herself no matter what might stand in her way. She also

knows that she always has my love and support no matter what and that John and I are always readily available to take our grandson so she can continue to better their lives.

Moms Rock is an award-winning monthly feature that celebrates the good that moms do. Do you know a mom who just rocks? Email [email protected].

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30 JULY2012

Missing Grammy

The grief, it takes you by surprise sometimes. Like when your kids have some friends sleep over and you go to pull a couple of extra warm blankets out of the trunk in your room, and you see the quilt she made. It stares back at you, waiting to be touched. And so you do, and the tears start to fl ow instantly at the feel of the soft cotton in your hands, knowing that your grandmother's hands touched this too while she made it. For you. I miss her. She had a long life! they exclaim, a condolence offered – insincere – like a coarse tissue. My grandmother died too, they lament. But my grandmother was my Grammy. More than just my dad’s mom, she was a walking hug, a gentle but snarky spirit, and she

loved me. She didn’t just love me, but she loved me a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. Whatever your grandmother was, mine was more and whatever she was to herself she was more than that to me. So there. It’s been a couple of years and therefore, according to the American system of moving on with your life, I am supposed to have forgotten that she ever existed in the fi rst place, not to mention stop crying about it already. But she is everywhere. She is hidden under the small white table that my plants rest upon, because that is really her sewing machine table under there. It fl ips out like a secret, and I talk to her while I bring old clothes back to life or make little dresses for my girls. She is in the yarn that I will never

use because she gave it to me and once I make it into something else, I feel as though she will have slipped away like a stitch. So it will always be just that, a skein of yarn that was hers. She is the plant on my desk. I stole it after her funeral and she can scold me for that later. For now, I would steal a thousand more plants from a thousand more funerals just to feel some life left over, something to continue to grow in front of my very eyes. She is perched atop armoires, small glass treasures handed to me over the years. She is in the Tupperware that she unloaded on me fi fteen years ago, sure of her imminent demise. She is in my children, my middle child her namesake, carefully chosen to honor the fact that she hated not only her name but all of the names ever given to any baby over the course of her life. Finicky, that Grammy of mine. But mine. She is somewhere in the air, they say, in our hearts, our memories, maybe even heaven. But I, the agnostic and potentially atheist, choose to believe she is right here. In quilts, in plants, in sewing machines, skeins of yarn. A part of my home, now, though she never was before. And it makes me miss her ever so slightly less. But it will never make the missing stop.

Amanda Roberge is a freelance writer and mother of three girls who muses online at

ConfessionsofaCurvyGirl.com.

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To know Bear was to love him, a cliché, but in Bear’s case it was true; even people who were not “dog people” ended up being more than fond of Bear. I wonder why one mixed-breed shelter dog had such an enormous impact on so many people’s lives. In under 24 hours since Bear died – at age 15 – we’ve received calls, emails, presents and visits from people who say what an amazing dog Bear was and how much he meant to them. Adopted from Baypath Shelter in Hopkinton at 12 weeks of age, Bear’s purpose in life from the start was clear—to provide constant companionship, loyalty and friendship to our son, Evan, who was riddled with physical, developmental and mental disabilities. At 7, Evan had never experienced the joys or struggles of traditional friends. We hoped a bond would form between Evan and Bear, and that Evan might see what caring about and for others meant. Those were big shoes to fi ll for an 8-week-old puppy who had just been dropped off at this shelter. From the start, Bear seemed to sense that something was different about Evan, and in the nearly 15 years that he was our middle “son” those feelings for Evan never changed. He was instinctively and emotionally tuned to Evan’s mood disorders; he knew before doctors when Evan’s psychiatric meds were off and he would alternatively stay closer or give Evan the space he needed when the demons of his mental illnesses surfaced. When Evan was hospitalized for weeks at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, Bear stayed and waited on his bed, barely lifting his head. Bear had to be coaxed to eat just to survive. One would think this was an amazing feat of intellectual prowess for an untrained shelter dog—do not be misled—Bear was not the brightest dog in his class. His vet Dr. Susan Gilham would fondly remark: “…ah Bear of little brain….” which forced a sketch of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet in my mind. Nor was Bear ever particularly good looking—he had what we would describe as a cheap polyester coat of fur and even before he lost his long, albeit scrawny, tail to a garage door accident he was an average mixed-breed dog. So with less-than-average intelligence and poor looks, how did Bear come to be the beloved dog of our community? Bear had a humbleness and a humanity about him that attracted people of all ages. He would tolerate toddlers tugging and pulling at his skin and older people petting him when he really wanted to walk. He would accept people and other dogs for who they were – not who he wished they could be. And, from the start, he accepted himself and his purpose in life. Bear was the type of friend that

all parents wish their children could have—he offered unconditional love and acceptance to a boy named Evan and later a brother named Marque. And because of all his imperfections and all his averageness, he offered so many other people an opportunity to feel okay about their averageness too. You see Bear was never going to make it into the Ivy League dog schools; he was never going to be a dog whose video went viral showing amazing prowess and skill—that was so not Bear. But let me tell you, Bear made hundreds of people feel pretty special—he loved them for who they were—paperboys, plumbers, walkers, kids of all ages—he just waited and loved them and hoped they would pet him. When kids on Evan’s Special Olympics teams were furiously sad and inconsolable, they would only need to sit with Bear and pet him (sometimes tugging, pulling and pinching) to then get back on the fi eld and continue the game. Maybe the lesson I’ve learned from Bear is that it’s okay to be average in head but special in heart. That accepting others’ weaknesses allows you to accept your own. That not everyone is going to be a 4.0 AP student or dog but that doesn’t mean you can’t be great in your own skin, or fur. Maybe Bear’s greatness lies in the fact that he was just a dog….just a dog from a shelter that needed a home and provided a whole lot of love and happiness to one very average family.

Maureen McNamara lives in Westboro with her husband, Pete and sons, Evan and Marque.

She is a Special Education Paraprofessional in the Shrewsbury Public Schools

“On My Plate” is a forum for Massachusetts parents. Do you have a viewpoint you’d like to express, a story or experience you’d like to share? It can be serious, humorous, persuasive, informative...whatever you’d like to share with an audience of 100,000 parents. You don’t have to be a published writer to be considered. Please submit essays to [email protected] for consideration.

Bear The Beloved Dog of our Community

maureen mcnamaraBY

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32 JULY2012

Wrecked on Nantucket

LET’SROLL

As your kids comb the beach looking for treasures, do they dream they’ve discovered a pirate coin

or a piece of debris from an exotic land? If your kids love hunting on the shore, they will fi nd it fascinating that in the late 1800s/early 1900s, “beach combing” was a bona fi de occupation on Nantucket, not only in the summer sun but in the angriest of winters. These hunters were Nantucket’s Beach Patrol. Rather than

looking for riches washed upon the shores, they scouted out signs of shipwrecks that were so common near Nantucket. Due to the lack of technology to detect the island’s treacherous sandbars, there were an astonishing 700 shipwrecks! Thousands of lives depended upon the trusty beach patrol of the day who would brave all odds to rescue shipwrecked sailors. The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum brings many survival stories

and rescue techniques of the sea to life in an affordable (yes, affordable) and worthwhile visit. Admission is just $5 per adult, $3 for youth 5 – 18 and free to children under 5. And since most families are on the Cape at some point during the summer, a visit makes a wonderful adventure especially on a non-beach day. The high-speed ferry out of Hyannis will take you there in just about an hour. At $39 one way per adult, it’s very comfortable with Wi-FI and fl at screen TVs. Refreshments are also available. Opt for the more affordable ferry – $45 round trip – and you’ll arrive at a more leisurely pace, about 2 hours. Plus the kids ride this ferry for free! It shouldn’t matter much as you will be on island time. Bring your bikes (for an additional fee) as cycling is the preferred way to tour the island, or rent them when you arrive (rental shops are plentiful). You may want to bring a backpack with a picnic lunch as the Museum offers a lovely picnic spot atop a knoll, offering breathtaking views of Folger’s Marsh. But of course, Nantucket Town is as quaint and historic as you can imagine, fi lled with cobblestone streets and historic residences of whaling captains – so a leisurely lunch is a fi ne way to unwind

and recharge before heading off to the Museum, a manageable bike ride just 3 ½ miles outside of town. The Museum itself is spacious and beautifully done having just undergone a $3 million renovation. It’s ideal for families with children of varying attention spans as it can be enjoyed in an hour’s time. Tours are included with admission, and baystateparent’s was led by the curator’s son, Andrew McCandless. Animated and passionate, he made the stories of the Nantucket shipwrecks come to life. We couldn’t get enough of the stories of rescue and heroism. The Museum offers short and fascinating fi lms, especially a kid-friendly one about Marshall the sea dog. Families will learn how to make lifesaving knots, see life vests of the day and behold the power of a pair of breeches sewn into a buoy – breeches buoy – a clever, rescue tool. Plus, see thousands of artifacts and a map pinpointing each shipwreck. A visit to the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum provides a unique look into Nantucket’s history which adds new character to the island Bay State families hold in such high esteem. It will also fortify your children’s imaginations the next time you stroll the beach.

carrie wattucarrie wattuBY

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BAYSTATEPARENT 33

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The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum is located on 158 Polpis Road. Their Family Days will be held Sunday, July 15 and Wednesday, August 15 at the Museum. There will be daily tours, fi lms, maritime games, stories, sea chanteys and a live breeches buoy demonstrations, allowing children to rescue Marshall the Sea Dog (a huge, toy stuffed Newfoundland). For more information, visit nantucketshipwreck.org. Ferry information can be found at hylinecruises.com.

Now on Exhibit – Guiding Lights

Imagine living in a lighthouse during a time when the captains of the sea counted on your family to help them sail their vessels to safety. Now through October, families can learn more about the importance and magic of three Nantucket lighthouses – Brant Point, Great Point and Sankaty – as well as the men, women and children who lived and worked there. Through stories and photographs, you will learn about their everyday lives as well as remarkable stories of shipwrecks.

WIN! Win two Nantucket-themed hardcover books, valued at $56.90.

Kids will love Marshall, the Sea Dog by Whitney Stewart which takes readers back to 19th-century Nantucket where Captain James Wright and a big Newfoundland named Marshall battled a fi erce storm at sea. Learn all about these true-life characters, shipwrecks and other heroes of Nantucket. History fans will like Quarterboards by Sharon L. Hubbard, which shares the history of elaborately carved signboards of wooden sailing ships, or “quarterboards.” Today the quaterboard tradition lives on in homes in coastal communities.

Carrie Wattu is editor of baystateparent. She visited Nantucket when her oldest daughter, Margot, was 2.

Margot referred to the island as Nana-tucket after her Nana Dee.

Where We Stayed

baystateparent stayed at the only hotel on island with both an outdoor and indoor pool, The Nantucket Inn. While it is located directly across the street from the airport, there is no need to worry - the Inn is quiet and very relaxing. It’s 2 ½ miles outside of town, which was nice to get away from summer crowds. We could join the tourists by taking the Inn’s complimentary shuttle which runs frequently. Children under 18 stay at the Inn free of charge and an all-out Mom’s Breakfast for two is included (children’s breakfast is extra). Beach shuttles run every hour too! For more information, visit nantucketinn.net.

Get Your Fudgy Fashionsbaystateparent stumbled into a wonderful shop on Nantucket, Cheryl’s Fudge Company. Surprisingly, it’s not a candy shop but a store that offers people of all ages the opportunity to become fashion designers for the day. Create original articles of clothing and accessories. Cheryl offers birthday parties, day camps and special events. Check it out: cherylsfudge.com.

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34 JULY2012

GGone glamping. Glamping is simply family camping without the tent and all the trappings, adding a touch of glamor to the camping experience. Could this be just what you need

to scratch your family’s camping itch? Read on. Last summer we treated our kids to a night of camping complete with outdoor cooking, movies under the stars, campfi res, fl ashlight walks and campground freedom. Packing was so easy! We each brought a backpack of clothes, some toiletries and lawn chairs. That’s it. Not kidding. Not a dish. Not a roll of tinfoil. Nothing. We headed to the South Shore’s KOA Boston/Cape Cod in Middleton, right near Plymouth, just an hour from our house. This was a spur-of-the-moment, after-work kind of thing. Who camps without tackling a checklist longer than your daughter’s Christmas list? We do now. What made it easy was that we booked one of KOA’s Kamp Lodges, which is basically a motor home decked

out in pine so it smells and feels like a rustic lodge. No branch in your back from sleeping on the ground. No wrestling with an infl atable air mattress. No morning dew on your sleeping bag. And no squeezing a tent back into its case when you really need to get on the road. Since these lodges are a pretty new concept, the accommodations are stellar. Ours had a master bedroom with a queen bed, a small bunk area with two bunks (compact and cozy), a full bath, kitchen with sink, fridge, cabinets and microwave (no stove), nice table, fl at-screen TV, futon. It was so comfortable! We had our own patio with table and chairs, a fi re pit and gas grill. The price was $155 per night for two adults and four kids, a bit cheaper than summertime hotel rates. If this price seems high to you, the advantage here is that you are paying for the campground experience. If you don’t live in a neighborhood that the kids can explore, a

Glamping

Glamping

carrie wattuBY

campground is a fun place for kids to walk to the campground store, the playground, swim, ride bikes and more with plenty of kids their own age. At night, you can sit around a campfi re instead of the TV in a hotel room, or take fl ashlight walks around the grounds. Campgrounds are all about kids and families. A hotel room is just one room with a TV, two beds and a bath. It can only accommodate a family of four. A lodge is spacious and can accommodate larger families, which is a great value for the price. Sound like cheating? It is. But if you are not the camping type and the kids are really on you about sleeping in the great outdoors, this is a nice alternative. One of the biggest advantages – aside from comfort – is that it is helpful for busy parents who do not have the time or money to round up all the equipment a family needs for camping. Plus if it rains during your outing, as it did for the McCarthy family of Scituate, you don’t have to pack up and go home. “The cabins saved us from what could have been a miserable weekend,” Melanie McCarthy says. “We strung tarps over picnic tables between our cabin and our friends’ and played cards and games.” Another perk was not having to lug coolers of food. The grocery store was so close that we got what we needed for dinner and breakfast when we arrived. Because we had a fridge, we didn’t have to worry about coolers and ice. And you don’t need to pack sheets or pillows. All the bedding is provided as well as towels in the bathroom and kitchen dishes and utensils. What we did pack, however, was plenty of activities for a less-than-24 hour period. Kids made tie-dye T-shirts, swam, jumped on “the Pillow” (a pillow-shaped trampoline), enjoyed sundae night and watched a movie under the stars. If we didn’t feel like paying $155 for a Lodge, many KOAs also have adorable wooden houses with front porches, swings and beds (no kitchen or bath). These average about $70 per night. We loved these too! “We rented these cabins, with bunk beds only. They were rustic, cozy and cute,” says Melanie, adding that the community bathroom was just a short walk away. Because the KOA we chose was so close to Plymouth, we visited Plimoth Plantation. We experienced living history and had great discussions that made it worth the trip (two adults, two 10-year-olds and two 7-year-olds). While there is something for all ages at the Plantation, admission does add up – Adults are $25.50 each and Children ages 6 – 12 are $15 each. Additional admission is charged to tour the Mayfl ower 11. You may want to consider planning your trip when you feel your kids will truly appreciate the history. You can bring your own drinks and lunch into the Plantation to save on food but they also have a nice cafe. Another option is to explore Downtown Plymouth, which bustles with cafes, restaurants, ice cream shops and stores. Very happening! Going glamping will not only surprise the kids this summer with a fun adventure but it will surprise you as you just might like camping after all. For more information, visit koa.com and plimoth.com.

Carrie Wattu is editor of baystateparent.

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· STRENGTHENING CONFIDENCE AND BUILDING SKILLS FOR KINDERGARTEN READINESS

· MUSIC CLASS · SWIM INSTRUCTION · COOKING Explore our

FAMILY PACKAGES! PuritySpring.com/baystate

East Madison, NH(800) 373-3754

Too early to

think about Polar Express?

PuritySpring.com/polarexpress

One Thousand Acres ofLAKESIDE ADVENTURE

All Day Family Fun…nearby!

520 Northwest Main Street, Douglas, MA

Open Full Time June 9th

thru Labor Day (weather permitting)

36 JULY2012

$10OFF A full day pass coupon

Must purchase online with promo code: BYSP10

Count downwith CoCo

150 Royal Plaza Drive, Fitchburg, MA 01420

855-701-2626

WWW.COCOKEYFITCHBURG.COM

Thursdays in July Full Day Passes

Buy One Get One Free! Must purchase online with promo code:

BYSPBOGO.

TGIF Fridays this JulyFull Day Passes for the

½ Day Price! Must purchase online with promo code:

BYSP20.All Promotions - Not valid for twilight

pass discount. Not valid with any other coupons or special offers. Not valid with AAA discount. Only original coupons will be accepted. No copies. No cash value.

Hours of Operation- July 2012Mon-Wed. Closed

Thursday- Saturday 10am-9pmSunday 10am-8pm

Ages 23 months and younger are free with a ticketed adult

Book Your Group or Summer [email protected]

978.602.1948

Visit WWW.CLAYTIMESTUDIO.COM for more information about us!Route 9, Shrewsbury (Next to White City East) (508)798-9950paint your own pottery & bead studio

Summer Vacation!More Time to CLAY!

Visit claytimestudio.com and check out our summer programs. Join us for our week-long themed summer programs ages 8 & up

4-7 year olds Tuesday Mornings 10:30-12

BAYSTATEPARENT 37

Expires 7/31/12

BSP0712

Early intervention is crucial for a child whose development is delayed. Criterion programs provide support, education and individualized therapy services to help parents and caregivers promote their child’s maximum development.

We offer a full range of programs in the home or at our EI centers located in communities statewide. Our services include:

and Speech Therapy

Comprehensive and Caring Early Intervention Services for Children Birth to 3 Years Old

New locations in

(855)EI4-KIDZ criterionchild.com

Where Creativity Comes to Play

38 JULY2012

S U M M E RCAMPCOUNTDOWN!

ADVERTISING PROMOTION

SHOW&TELL

Road Trip!!

Hours in the car are more fun with games to keep everyone happy. The trip there is half the fun of vacation!

No more prenatal horse pills! Introducing PreMama, the doctor-recommended prenatal vitamin drink mix. Complete with all the key prenatal vitamins and minerals including folic acid, iron & DHA, it also helps with nausea and digestive relief, two major side effects of prenatal pills. Flavorless Premama can be added to fl avored drinks, and even some foods.DrinkPremama.com

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Premama Prenatal Nutritional DrinkCutie Patuties Consignment1021 Central St., Leominster, MA 01453978-534-6604www.everythingcutie.com

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To advertise your product, call Sales at 508-749-3166 x 151.

Register Online: www.chesscamp.com

Register Online:

www.gamebuildercamp.com/video.htm.

ww

Tuition includes tee-shirt, trophy,chess board & pieces & much more.

Your child will actually design, develop and create a one-of-a-kind video game or animated story.

CHESS & GAME BUILDER SUMMER PROGRAMSJuly 30 - August 3, 2012

July 30 - August 3, 2012

July 30 - August 3, 2012

August 6 - August 10, 2012

Chess Program 16th Annual National

Summer Chess Tour

Your child will actually design, develo

Video GameCreation Program

Check website for details.

BAYSTATEPARENT 39

Century Mill offers a hands-on, interactive approach to learning horsemanship that keeps kids

and teens active and engaged. Whether you’re coming to the

barn for the very first time, or have been riding for years, there is a CMS Summer Camp Program just for you.

Specialty Weeks!

105 CMR 430.190: This camp has complied with regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and is licensed by the local board of health.

COME TO HORSE CAMP!

11 Irving Street, Worcester508-635-6900 worcesteracademyofmusic.com

*Not affiliated with Worcester Academy*Use your WOO Card for discounts!

Join Us Today!

Summer Music Lessons & Classes for ALL!

Grades 1-6

SUM

MER

CA

MP

CO

UN

TDO

WN

910 BOSTON TURNPIKE, SHREWSBURY, MA

Fall Registration Now Open!Wednesdays 9:00am-12:00pm & 4:00pm-7:00pm

throughout the summer(Please call ahead to schedule an appointment during these hours)

August 20th-24th 4:00-8:00pmSeptember 3rd-7th 10:00am-5:00pm(Drop in at your convenience during these hours)

Classes for Everyone! Ages 2-Adult Recreational and Pre-Professional Levels

Hot Set! Directing, Filming and EditingJuly 23rd-27th $425 10:00am-4:30pm Ages 9-17Students learn techniques in acting, rehearsing, directing, filming and editing while producing an original screenplay in iMovie. Digital Audio Production and CompositionJuly 30th-Aug.3rd $245 1:00-4:00pm Ages 9-17Students will learn the basics of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) production and composition with GarageBand. Exploring sounds, recording and integrating acoustic instruments, and creating loops and sequences to form songs will all be a part of the workshop. AliveWire Theatrics: Playwriting CollaborativeJuly 30th-Aug.3rd $210 11:00am-3:00pm Ages 10-17Chana Porter (playwright) and Scott Rodrigue (director and actor) of AliveWire Theatrics from Manhattan impart their knowledge on the fundamentals of stage presence and awareness and accessing intuitive impulses and potentials in writing and performing.

*More details and descriptions online. *Earlier drop off and later pick up are available all weeks.

Hot Set! Acting and Screen WritingJuly 16th-20th $385 10:00am-4:30pm Ages 9-17A multi-disciplinary approach will be taken to cultivate student skills by developing and expressing their authentic voices with acting and writing for the movies!

www.worcesterthinktank.com

36 Harlow St., Worcester, MA 508-757-TANK (8265) There is still time to sign up!

registration forms can be found online

Summer Workshops

40 JULY2012

We all have our guilty pleasures. My latest has got to be that I religiously – with shock and awe – never miss the real-life (loosely-used term in this case) television series train wreck known as “The Real Housewives.” I am most happy right now as we are back with the new season featuring Teresa and all the lovely ladies of New Jersey. Fascinating. I must admit that I may be a bit too envious of these ladies (another loose term). First off all, I am like a magpie, and they are all very sparkly and shiny. I would love to live in a 15,000-square foot gaudy mansion, fi lled with marble and wrought iron. I would love to wear $500 red-soled shoes to the Stop and Shop. I would love to actually have my hair done - long gorgeous blonde extensions softly framing my Botoxed head, cascading down my well-toned New-Jersey-housewife back. Yes, I would love to have my hair done in a salon, instead of having poor long- suffering Jimmy Hurley pull my hair through a circa 1987 frosting cap every six weeks, and then trimming it with poultry shears. And I wish I had a do-over in naming my children. I wish I had a Giannia or a Milania or a Malaria or a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy... And their husbands? Oh, what keepers! They are also very shiny due of course to the constant working out, intense weight training and just that little bit of glistening sweat that occurs when one mixes a little too much Drakkar Noir with human growth hormones. Not accusing, just speculating. And all that glistening is only a complement to their circus-peanut orange pallor and skin-tight Ed Hardy “Up-in-Da-Club” wear. But, alas, back to my reality: a three-bedroom, 1 ½ bath, 1,500 square-foot residence harboring seven people. There’s no bedroom for me and the hubby, so we have taken up residence in the dining room. It’s fi ne, but if you jump up too quickly from the air mattress, you will poke your eye out on the chandelier. I do drive an SUV, but it is not an Escalade. Nooooo; I drive a 2001 Ford Excursion. It’s a ridiculous-looking behemoth of a vehicle that runs on 10 cylinders, and last we tearfully checked, gets about 9 miles per gallon. They don’t even make these stupid things anymore. I did recently hear that they were still making a few bullet-proof models to ship over to Afghanistan.I continue to cruise the mean streets of suburbia in this dinosaur. If I had a nickel for every shopping cart I have run over and dragged all the way home without even feeling a thump - God help me. Jimmy Hurley may not be as sharp a

dresser as these New Jersey house husbands, but let me tell you my fellow readers, there is nothing quite as beautiful as the pride and sheer satisfaction on his face when he zips up his baby blue “Members Only” jacket from 1983. I am pretty confi dent that he is, in fact, the last member. And I am sure that these lovely ladies are not – I repeat not – working the food shopping shell game. You buy your groceries on Thursday, write the check and get the three business days plus two weekend days to get the cash in. You see, the original cash allotted to me at the beginning of the week for groceries is more than likely going to be spent at T.J. Maxx (I wish there was a Forever 47). I am also miles away from living the Housewife dream as I am a 47-year-old woman without a credit card. This was a very sad day. I somehow was able to rationalize the purchase of a ridiculously-expensive purse: I’ll just work some extra hours and pay it right off. He’ll never know. Ha ha. Didn’t happen. When I knew the bill was coming, I took some advice from a co-worker (Thank God I am not the only evil genius out there). His secret? “Get down to the post offi ce and fi ll out a ‘We’re on vacation card.’ The mail doesn’t come until you restart it.” I heard angels singing. Why hadn’t my twisted mind ever thought of this? It could’ve saved myself years of fl ashing my mailman. Well, unfortunately, I was so thrilled with my latest discovery that I forgot to restart the mail. Unbeknownst to me, Detective Jimmy Hurley paid a special visit to the post offi ce to investigate. Oh yes, believe me, I am still paying – and not in cash. And I bet you, those “Housewives’” husbands don’t say the wonderful things my betrothed says to me, things like: “Ya know what? You really look good…in clothes” or “Whew, that laundry is really piling up down there!” And the always-thoughtful: “If we ever hit the lottery, I’d have your turkey neck done.” That’s my reality. Jealous Teresa?

Comedian Christine Hurley is a Plymouth mom of fi ve who was fi rst runner up in the nationally televised “Nick at Nite’s” search for America’s Funniest Mom

contest. For booking Christine Hurley, call Dawn Christensen at 508-746-3998, ext. 15.

Dirty Laundry is a humor column about day-to-day life raising kids. Basically it’s about not being afraid to air out the dirty laundry and say it like it is, making the rest of us not feel so alone.

mic

helle

car

r

with Christine Hurleywith Christine Hurley

A REAL HOUSEWIFE

DIRTYLAUNDRY

SUM

MERC

AM

PC

OU

NTD

OW

N

Theater Camp

July 9 – July 20Ages 7-12 9 am – Noon

Come explore your creativity, while learning about theatre production and performance skills, in a

safe, nurturing, fun atmosphere! Ms. P will tailor activities to meet the needs of varied learning styles, help young actors gain self confidence, expand teambuilding skills and experience the thrill of putting on a BIG SHOW that is sure to dazzle family and friends! If you love acting - Come join the fun!

Ms. P is delighted to offer this two week session at the

Millbury Federated Church in Millbury Center

in their main hall/basement.

Call 774-239-2889 to register!

MS. P Productions!

Tina Pugliese has over 18 years exerience teaching theatre. She holds a MA Teaching Certification K-12, a Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Master of Education

and works as Worcester Arts Magnet School’s full time Drama Specialist.

** July 19th and 20th

actors come at 4 pm -

Big Show at 6:30 pm **

Sue Carlsen - Preschool Director [email protected] Oak Street, Westborough, MA

www.boroughsjcc.org Phone: (508)366-6121

Check Out The Upcoming Fall Programming At

NAEYC AccreditedLicensed for Children15 Months to 8 YearsFull Day Toddler OptionCustomized Schedules

Afternoon Programs Including Science, Yoga, Art, Music and So Much More.School Vacation Week Programming Also Offered.

Pre-School Miniature Golf Tournament in SeptemberParent’s Nights OutCommunity Outings

BAYSTATEPARENT 41

OFFICIAL PARTY STORE OF THE

BOSTON RED SOX

We have all the elements to make your summer rock! Stop by a store near you to check out the fantastic selection of toys, games, luau partyware and so much more! Visit www.iparty.com to find a store near you.

HOT SUMMER FUN!

Enter in stores today to win greatprizes! Visit us at www.iparty.com for

complete contest details!

42 JULY2012

Research shows that couples who blissfully stay together for a lifetime have an uncanny ability to downplay the negative and highlight the positive in their

mate and their relationship. When you are with your friends, do you talk up your mate’s overall helpfulness or do you prefer to tell a juicy story about the one incredibly thoughtless thing he or she did? It’s all in the eyes of the beholder. Take this joke, for instance: A woman’s husband has been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she stayed by his bedside every single day. When he came to, he motioned for her to come near her. As she sat by him, he said, “You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fi red, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you gave me support. When my health started failing, you were still by my side. You know what?”

“What dear?” she asked gently. “I think you bring

me bad luck.” When you started your relationship, you talked like an optimist, expressing joy and happiness about building a future together. As the years progressed, you and your mate probably shifted into a pessimistic auto-mode, in which you talk more about what is wrong and less about what is right. How can you renew the optimistic feeling you once enjoyed? For one thing, fi nd a single positive in your relationship every day and say it out loud. Yes, you think your spouse knows that you are happy when he/she arrives home, but if you don’t smile and greet your mate with a warm hello or a hug, then you are leaving your honey in the dark. Even if things aren’t perfect at home, every day you must fi nd one upbeat moment to focus on. For instance, if you

and your partner bicker a lot, but were more civil on a certain day, point that out: “Hey did you notice that we didn’t argue at all today? I am proud of us.” Or if your mate made a generous offer, recognize it and say, “That was kind of you to offer to go to the doctor with me. Your support means a lot.” Just because your mate did something to tick you off early in the day doesn’t mean that you should ignore something positive done later in the day. Next, choose your friends wisely. On the TV show Saturday Night Live there is a recurring hilarious skit about the Needlers, “a bickering couple who should be divorced.” The couple is always complaining, fi ghting or rudely putting each other down in front of others. They are a toxic couple, sapping other people’s optimism and draining their energy. If you have the misfortune of spending time with a couple like them, I suggest you exit as soon as possible because pessimism and optimism are contagious. It is rewarding to spend time with people who are upbeat and show appreciation and respect for each other. Finally, practicing optimism means fi nding and sharing a variety of activities with people who inspire love, peace and joy in your life. Don’t make your love relationship the one meaningful thing you have. Widen your lens. Get involved with people and interests to complement your relationship with your mate. Do you like to go for walks in the park? Do you enjoy exercise, yoga, sports or cooking? Do you have a close friend who likes to do those things? Call him or her more often. Do you like to write, paint or knit? Then introduce your child to those activities. If becoming a love optimist seems like work to you, just consider the time and energy you will waste as a pessimist who instills anxiety, worry, anger and fear into your relationship. Practice these uplifting strategies and in days you will discover that you like yourself, your mate and your life, much more.

Laurie Puhn is a Harvard-educated lawyer, couples mediator, and bestselling author of

Fight Less, Love More: 5-Minute Conversations to Change Your Relationship Without Blowing Up or

Giving In, who frequently appears on CNN, Good Morning America and The Early Show to offer

relationship advice. Visit her at fi ghtlesslovemore.com

Are You ALOVE OPTIMIST?

FIGHTLESS...LOVEMORE

laurie puhnlaurie puhnBY

WANTED

icked big fan of baystateparent

chiever

atural communicator

eam player

xcellent organizational skills

etail oriented

These are just a few qualities we are looking for in our next baystateparent advertising account executive.

If this describes you, call Gareth Charter at 508-749-3166 ext. 153

or email [email protected]

“Come Join The Fun!”237 River Rd. RT. 146A

UxBridge, MA

508-278-3220The Gymnastics Place,where learning is fun!

45 MINUTE CLASS: $85.00*1 HOUR CLASS: $102.00*90 MINUTES: $145.00*

6 week program 7/9/12 - 8/16/12

TGP Summer Fun 2012Tuesday

3:30-4:30 7-12 years (TUMBLING ONLY)4:30-5:30 5-8 years4:45-5:30 3-5 years5:45-6:30 3-5 years5:30-6:30 9+ years

6:30-8:30 ** OPEN GYM

Wednesday 9:00-9:45 3-5 years9:00-10:00 5-7 years10:00-11:00 9+ years11:00-11:45 3-5 years11:00-12:00 5-8 years

Thursday3:30-4:30 9+ years4:30-5:30 5-8 years4:45-5:30 3-5 years5:45-6:30 3-5 years5:30-6:30 5-8 years6:30-8:00 13+ years

(TUMBLING)

Call Now for Fall Classes **Come Check Out Our New Pre-School Gymnastic Area**

BAYSTATEPARENT 43

MUSICCLASSES

SURROGACY

email:[email protected]

A quality education founded on the four foundations (Education, Character,

Social Responsibility and Family) that are the Cornerstones to Life.

SCHOOLS

TUTORING

The Knowledge

uestQ

Special Ed & Learning Disability Instruction

ACADEMIC EARLY EDUCATION

A Readiness Program for 4 & 5 year olds.

623 Chandler Street Tatnuck Square, Worcester

Tel: 508-797-5050 Fax: 508-797-5051

www.theknowledgequest.com

TUTORINGBEHAVIORALSERVICES

New EnglandBehavorial Services

We provide high quality, individualized Applied Behavior Analysis services for families and schools to help children diagnosed with autism, developmental dis-abilities, mental illness or any other behavior difficulty.

We work in a respectful, family-centered way.

Insurance accepted

[email protected]

781-499-2775

CPRCLASSES

Vocational child care training with CPR certification EMS Safety Certified instructor

A.H.A. and Red Cross guidelines exceededwww.cprangel.com

978-424-5483Serving the baystate

Classroom and mobile training available.

CPR Training & Re-certification

CPR AngelProfessional/

Healthcare provider level CPR AED

/First Aid

MUSICCLASSES

BulletinBoardTo advertise call Stephanie Pearl at 774-364-0296 or email [email protected]

5 Oak Avenue • Northboro, MA 01532 508 351-9976

www.cornerstoneacademy.orgemail:[email protected]

Tutoring ServiceAvailable for Grades K-6

TUTORING

SPEECHPATHOLOGY

Speech and Language Private Practice now

accepting new clients.• Specializing in pediatric population (birth-18 years old)• Providing diagnostic testing and evidence based speech and language therapy in a 1:1 setting• Experience treating a wide-range of diagnoses• We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, and private pay• Inquire about home visits

Located in Easton Industrial Park5 Hampden Dr.

South Easton, MA 02375p: 508-230-8181f: 508-230-8182

www.letstalkspeech-mass.com

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!!

To advertise call

Stephanie Pearl

at 774-364-0296

or email

stephaniep@

baystateparent.com

To advertise call Stephanie Pearl

at 774-364-0296

or email stephaniep@

baystateparent.com

44 JULY2012

www.rosalitaspuppets.com617-633-2832

All Ages. Birthday Parties, Schools, Fairs,

Day Care Centers, Etc.

An Educational Experience

New England’s #1 Traveling Animal Show

Singing Princesses

508.853.4257www.copacabanaent.com

Princess Singer (with Bachelor of Music)

Our Original Singing Princess has enchanted children since 1994

Costume Characters

Singing Princess

are our Specialty

w/ Karaoke, games, face painting and balloon sculpture

Tons of BricksTons of Fun

LEGO® Themed Birthday Parties for all ages.

wwww.brickapalooza.comCheck our website for current

class offerings, summer camp offerings and drop-in play times.

164 Westford Rd.Tyngsboro MA 01879978-649-2654

To advertise, call Stephanie Pearl at 774-364-0296 or email [email protected]

PARTYPLANNERthe

Balloon ArchBalloon ArchMake an inexpensive and impressive balloon arch Make an inexpensive and impressive balloon arch

by attaching a string to two structures in your by attaching a string to two structures in your

yard (buildings, trees, etc.). Tie helium balloons in a yard (buildings, trees, etc.). Tie helium balloons in a

row along the string. The balloons will lift the string row along the string. The balloons will lift the string

into the air, and the balloons will dance in the wind. into the air, and the balloons will dance in the wind.

[email protected] 617-424-6634 www.bostonchildrenstheatre.org

Theatre Programs, Classes and Workshops for Ages 4 to 18

Call us or visit the web for more info...

Storytelling fun for Birthday Parties, Schools, Daycare Centers, Library Programs, Special Events and TVFeaturing:

• Original & Classic Stories• Puppets, Props and Surprises

For Bookings and Info Call: 617-713-4349

E-mail: [email protected] me on the web at: www.BigJoe.com

Big Joethe Storyteller

BAYSTATEPARENT 45

Kids all love the silliness of myinteractive,high energy, and musical

shows!

Mike SlatteryChildren’s Entertainment

* Songs* Concerts

* Puppets* Schools

* Magic* Parties

978-779-6789mikethemusicman.com

Come join the fun! My silly sense of humor and

rythmic style will soon have you and your kids giggling,

wiggling, dancing, and singing with delight.

Have you ever wanted to pet, hold or just touch a turtle, ball python or bearded dragon?

Reptile Circus connects kids to reptilesBirthday Parties, Preschool & Camp Visits

617-407-7533reptilecircus.net

The Coolest Party EVER! There’s Nothing Else Like It.

Fordshometown.com1-800-649-9992

“All Live” Insects, Small Reptiles & Animals

We’ll Get You Through the Day! Find baystateparent on Facebook and Twitter.

Invite the Babysitter! Invite the Babysitter! Consider hiring a few babysitters Consider hiring a few babysitters

for your child's next party. for your child's next party.

Preteens can be in charge of games, Preteens can be in charge of games,

facepainting, tattoos, serving cake facepainting, tattoos, serving cake

and ice cream and more while you focus and ice cream and more while you focus

on the behind the scenes party details.on the behind the scenes party details.

PARTYPARTYPLANNERPLANNER

the

To advertise, call Stephanie Pearl

at 774-364-0296

46 JULY2012

“A Once-In-A-Career Opportunity!”

baystateparent

Is Looking For An Editor

One of the most honored parenting magazines in the country is looking for its next editorial leader.

Join our team and journey into the next decade of publishing Massachusetts’ premier magazine for families.

Strong writing, editing, organizational and digital skills needed...plus a love for the parenting experience.

Contact Gareth Charter at [email protected] Best Parenting Publication in North America

2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010

Adventure Bootcamp..............................................................................33Applewild School...................................................................................26Attorney James Connors...........................................................................36Balle Arts Worcester ...............................................................................31Becker College.......................................................................................11Blossom Station ......................................................................................5Boroughs JCC........................................................................................40Breezy Picnic Grounds & Waterslides.........................................................35Canobie Lake Park.................................................................................31Century Mill Stables ...............................................................................39Chess Program ......................................................................................38Children’s Music Academy........................................................................30Cirque de Soleil.....................................................................................41Claytime...............................................................................................36CoCo Key Water Resort...........................................................................36Commerce Bank....................................................................................47Cornerstone Academy.............................................................................39Criterion Child Enrichment .......................................................................37Cutie Patutie’s.......................................................................................22Danforth Museum..................................................................................38Davis Farmland.................................................................................19,21Discount Characters................................................................................21Dr. McCarty ...........................................................................................33Dr. Mel - Pediatric Dentistry......................................................................34Ecotarium.............................................................................................22Elite Dance Academy..............................................................................39Family Labels........................................................................................46Health Alliance/Umass ...........................................................................15

Inn at East Hill ......................................................................................19iParty..............................................................................................33,41Leader Basement Systems ......................................................................26Life Is Good ............................................................................................3Living Earth ...........................................................................................14Lowell Summer Music Series ...................................................................15MaryKay...............................................................................................33Mount Wachusett Comm. College...............................................................4NeuroCare Center for Research ................................................................13Next Generation Children’s Center.............................................................13Panera Bread........................................................................................29Portrait Simple ......................................................................................48Purity Spring Resort ...............................................................................35Roche Bros...........................................................................................37Salmon Centers for Early Education .....................................................20,25Skribbles................................................................................................7Southeast Advocate Associates.................................................................18Speech, Language and Hearing Assoc.........................................................7Springfield Museum ...............................................................................22The Gymnastic Place.... ..........................................................................42The Village............................................................................................29Wheelock family Theatre ........................................................................38Women Earning Six Figures......................................................................34Women’s Health of Central MA................................................................Worcester Academy of Music...................................................................39Worcester Think Tank.............................................................................39Worcester JCC.......................................................................................35

INDEX

Money tight?Is your pay gone after paying the bills?

Are you using credit to get by? It’s time to call the Budget Coach!

Let’s get started working on a Budget today!TheBudgetCoachHelp.com or 508-792-9087

Surrogate Mothers Needed Earn up to $28,000. Established Surrogacy Agency seeks

loving women ages 21-43, to carry couples biological babies. You must be a non-smoker, and prior birth experience

is required. Be a part of a miracle.For more information, please call

888-363-9457 or visit our website: www.reproductivepossibilities.com

CLASSIFIEDS

BAYSTATEPARENT 47

1 This is a special limited time offer. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer and is limited to one incentive per customer. Offer does not apply to second or multiple personal accounts; business accounts excluded. Up to $75 worth of incentives available to new checking accountholders as follows: (1) Get $25 when you enroll in Direct Deposit; (2) Get $25 when you use your debit card for the new checking account to pay for at least 10 purchases from a merchant; (3) Get another $25 when you sign up for e-statements and use our online bill payment service to pay three bills from your new checking account. Maximum $25 incentive available to existing checking accountholders as follows: Get $25 when you enroll in Direct Deposit. If currently enrolled, you will not receive an additional $25. No incentives are paid for debit card usage or online bill pays. Checking accountholders who meet all of the terms of the offer will receive incentive(s) within 90 days of the qualifying transactions(s); incentive(s) will be deposited directly into the Commerce Bank checking account.

2 All Drive-Ups open 7:00AM-7:00PM weekdays and Saturdays 8:30AM-12:30PM except 386 Main Street (open 8:00AM-5:00PM weekdays only; no Saturday hours).3 Veribanc’s rating and Blue Ribbon accommodation is for the quarter ending December 31, 2011. Please contact Veribanc, 800.442.2657, to determine if this is the most recent rating. Other featured words or symbols used to identify the source of goods and services are the trademarks of their respective owners. Commerce Bank is a registered service mark in Massachusetts of Commerce Bank & Trust Company. ©2012. Commerce Bank & Trust Company. Commerce Bank member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. All rights reserved.

WHEN YOU ENROLL IN DIRECT DEPOSIT

GET $25www.BankAtCommerce.com

We have Free Checking.Really, really Free Checking. And now, get up to $75.Our Free Checking account is just that: free. There’s no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement. Plus, you can choose to get $751 - it’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1 Get $25 when you enroll in Direct Deposit.2 Get an additional $25 when you make

10 debit card purchases.3 Get another $25 when you sign up for e-statements

and make three online bill payments.

For just $10, open a Free Checking account and receive a generous offering of perks. Free VISA® Debit Card Free Online Banking Free Online Bill Pay Free CommerceCentsSM Savings Service Convenient Hours:

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Switch to a free checking account that’s better than free. Call us at 800.698.BANK(2265) or stop by any one of our convenient locations today. At Commerce Bank, we’ve got you covered.

Nurjan Wilkie Park Ave Branch Manager

Phone: 508.797.6926

48 JULY2012

july 2012 baystateparent magazine

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