Sat. March 26 and Sun. March 27 Family Fun in Massachusetts

What's everyone doing this weekend with the "fam"? Here are some ideas...

baystateparent

Saturday 26

Debbie & Friends Special DVD Release Concert. Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington. 10:30 a.m. A$10, C$8. regenttheatre.com.

Book, Video, Audio Sale. Fountain of Blessing Ministry at People's Church
56 S. Main St., Ashburnham. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Thousand of books, videos, CDs and more for sale to benefit local food pantries. .25 each or $2 a bag. 978-297-1894, peopleschurchhome.com.

Gardening Book Swap. Tower Hill Botanic Garden,  11 French Dr., Boylston. 1 – 4 p .m. Bring your gardening books and journals in good condition and choose a few new ones you can use. Admission fees apply: towerhillbg.org.

For Parents Puppet Slam. The Puppet Showplace Theatre, Brookline. 8 p.m. Your opportunity to witness some of the most out-there, wild, and wildly creative puppetry for adults and teenage audiences anywhere. An amazing artistic achievements plus there are cookies and brownies! $15 general admission; $13 St.  617-731-6400, puppetshowplace.org.


30th Annual Duxbury Spring Antique Show. Duxbury High School. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Features 50 quality dealers sponsored by the Duxbury Boosters with all proceeds to go to Duxbury High School athletics. Home baked goods table. Luncheon available. A$7. Duxburyboosters.org. Also Sun., March 27, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Grafton Fine Arts and Music Festival. Grafton Municipal Center
30 Providence Rd., Grafton. Friday, 7 – 9 p.m plus artists reception & awards on Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; performances & exhibits on Sunday, 12 - 4 p.m. Hundreds of pieces of art  judged by a prestigious panel of judges on display. Children's art activities and artist demonstartions. A$3, C (ages 5+) $3.graftonartsfestival.org. 


Maynard Family Association’s Kid Gear Tag Sale. Boys and Girls Club
212 Great Rd., Maynard. 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.  Done with all the baby clothes?  Or maybe it’s time to weed through your children’s books and toys.  Are you looking for some sports equipment for your ever-growing little one? Come shop or sell your goods. Spots are $20NM. To reserve a spot, contact Alannah Gustavson at tagsale@maynardfam.org or visit maynardfam.org.




FREE Crafts for Kids. Lakeshore Learning Crafts, Newton and Saugus. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Held every Saturday for kids ages 3 and up. lakeshorelearning.com.



Magnet Play. Providence Children's Museum, 100 South St.,Providence, RI. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.  Kids investigate the playful power of magnetism by experimenting and sculpting with a marvelous array of magnets.  Ages 3 – 11. $8.50pp. 401-273-5437,  childrenmuseum.org. Also March 27.




101 Dalmatians.  Apple Tree Arts at Southgate Retirement Home, 30 Julio Dr., Shrewsbury. Fri. March 25 and Sat. March 26 at 7 p.m. Also Sun. March 27 at 2 p.m.
Featuring young students from grades two to five. A$8, Sr.$5, C $5, C under 4, FREE. 508-839-4286, appletreearts.org.

Sunday 27


Rube Goldberg Design Challenge with Olin College! The Discovery Museums, 177 Main St., Acton. Drop-in 1 to 4 p.m. Science Discovery
Can you engineer and build a complex machine to plant and water a seed? The Olin College Engineering Discovery team thinks you can!  Join them to design and test a multi-step fun/silly solution! Also discover how the properties of sand, soil, and water behave in surprising and unexpected ways when they are at the nano scale during this NanoDays program.
$10.50pp.  978-264-4200, discoverymuseums.org.

Talking about Words and Pictures with Mo Willems. Eric Carle Picture Book Art Museum, Amherst. 11:30 a.m.  Join The Carle’s bookseller, blogger, and book-lover, Andy Laties as he engages picture book artists and authors in conversation about their beginnings and their books. carlemuseum.org.


Grafton Fine Arts and Music Festival. Grafton Municipal Center
30 Providence Rd., Grafton. See  March 27 for details.

FREE Family Music Makers Jam! Little Bits Toys, 21 Main St. Natick. 3 p.m. Sing, dance and play instruments with Miss Carrie from Family Music Makers! Enjoy an engaging hour of hands-on musical activities designed to delight the whole family! 781-235-3210,  linx-usa.com

101 Dalmatians.  Shrewsbury. See March 27  listing for details.

Family Fun Day. Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester. 1 – 4:30 p.m. All ages. Explore the many amazing works of art on view in the newly reopened “Art Since the Mid-20th Century” Galleries. Art-making activities, games, performances from the Worcester Children's Chorus and much more! C under 17 FREE. worcesterart.org.

38th Annual New England Adoption Conference Comes to Bellingham April 2nd

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bellingham High School, 60 Blackstone Street, Bellingham, MA  02019

Adoption Community of New England, Inc. is pleased to announce that Susan Badeau will be this year’s keynote speaker and featured workshop presenter. She will share some of her tales of the journey as the lifetime parent, with her husband, Hector, of twenty---two children, two by birth and twenty adopted. They have served as foster parents for more than 50 children in three states, and as a host family for refugee youth from Sudan, Kosovo and Guatemala.

Susan Badeau has a degree in Early Child Development and Elementary Education from Smith College. She has been a child welfare professional for thirty two years. Currently, she is the Director of the Cross Systems Integration team within the Knowledge Management Department of Casey Family Programs. In recent years, Ms. Badeau has served as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Children’s Commission and as the Deputy Director of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care.

We are looking forward to her contributions to Tales of the Journey: Past, Present & Future

The 2011 conference will include over 90 workshops with a wide mix of topics. We have a mix of workshops on tried and true topics with established presenters as well as workshops on new topics to help workshops help you navigate the changing world of adoption. Whether you are an adoptive or foster parent seeking to learn more about parenting your child, a birth parent interested in search and reunion, an adopted person interested in returning to your country of origin, a professional looking to hone your skills, or a prospective adopter seeking to discover whether adoption is a good choice for you. This year there will be two new workshops on social media and internet safety related to adoption, stories from birth parents, a birth sibling in an adoptive family, and single parents. Former ACONE Board member Sue Harris O’Connor returns after a several year hiatus with Reflections of a Transracial Adopted Person.

The gym will be filled with dozens of exhibitors, adoption service providers, support organizations, and vendors with goods of interest to the adoption community. Children of the World, LLC will sponsor the conference bookstore, providing books on adoption and adoption---related topics, in addition to many multi-cultural books for parents and children.

What makes the ACONE conference stand out from all the others? It is the inclusion of all members of the triad. Come see, hear, and learn from adoptive parents, birth parents, and adopted persons. Some of the comments and reflections from previous conferences: “Just wanted to let you know that I had a wonderful conference experience this year.” “I really enjoyed the conference.” “Loved it!! Powerful, helpful, thought provoking.” “I laughed, cried and learned a lot!”

Registration information will be available online NOW. Do not wait to register. 

Please contact www.adoptioncommunityofNE.org or call 508-366-6822

$5 Family Concert on Sat., Feb 12 , Central Mass

                                                                       Chuck and Mud

                                                        Mr. Kim Webster and his puppets!

The West Boylston Arts Foundation is hosting a Winter Family Concert by childrens’ entertainer Mr. Kim Webster and family musicians Chuck & Mud on February 12 at 3:00 PM in the West Boylston High School  Auditorium on Crescent Street.  Only $5 per person at the door!! Buy three, get one free.

As always, proceeds are used to help  support school arts & music programs in West Boylston from being cut or eliminated.

www.mrkimwebster.com

www.chuckandmud.com

Babysitter Training Class Coming Up: Jan. 30, 2011

Here's an FYI from the Children's Museum in Easton:

Come join us on Sunday, January 30^th from 12:30 pm -5 pm to learn everything you need to know about caring for children from Jane Rotondi, MASpEd.

Topics that are going to be covered include diapering techniques, safety and accident prevention, basic first aid, how to handle emergencies, great ideas for healthy and wholesome snacks and age appropriate activities.

Don’t forget to bring a large doll, or if you don’t have one a large teddy bear will work just fine, to practice diapering and first aid techniques. 

This workshop is $55 and we ask that the potential babysitters be ages grade 6 and up.  We also ask any potential babysitters to eat lunch prior to class due to the length of the class, however we will have a snack during class.

 The Museum is located in the Old Fire Station on Sullivan Avenue in North Easton Village.  Admission is $6.00 per person; members and children under 1 are free.  For more information check our website www.childrensmuseumineaston.org or call us at (508) 230-3789