Friday July 15, Sunset (8:19 pm)
"MEGAMIND"
Friday July 22, Sunset (8:14 pm)
"Despicable Me"
Friday July 29, Sunset (8:07 pm)
"How To Train Your Dragon"
August 2011
Friday August 5, Sunset (7:59 pm)
"Tangled"
Friday August 12, Sunset (7:50 pm)
"Toy Story 3"
Friday August 19, Sunset (7:40 pm)
"Rango"
Friday August 26, Sunset (7:29 pm)
"Iron Man 2"
Chiara
SUNDAY PARKLAND GAMES!
Sundays, July 10th - September 25th
@ Herter Park on the Charles River
(1100 Soldiers Field Road)
Games & Athletic Activities:
2:00pm – 5:00 pm
Yoga:
5:00pm – 6:00pm
Charles River Wellness Initiative for Seniors:
4:00pm – 5:00pm
What:
The Charles River Conservancy and the Department of Conservation and Recreation invite families and members of the community to join us for our annual Sunday Parkland Games series! Each Sunday afternoon, between July 10th and September 25th, 2-5pm, Allston's Herter Park (1100 Soldiers Field Road, additional parking available at 1175 Soldiers Field Road) will be set up for games, sports, and other athletic activities such as badminton, bocce, volleyball, cycling, tennis, running, walking...and more! These activities are completely FREE, open to the public, and designed with the help of Knucklebones, a Cambridge company that inspires people of all ages to enjoy athletics...for the love of play! At 5pm, the Conservancy will host free yoga sessions, taught by certified instructors.
Beginning this summer, Sunday Parkland Games will offer a new program to engage local seniors: the Charles River Wellness Initiative for Seniors. The Conservancy will lead a walk along the Charles River, beginning at 4pm, aimed at improving the health and well-being of our senior citizens, providing a unique opportunity for social interaction in a beautiful outdoor setting, and encouraging cross-generational communication. These walks are free, open to the public, and do not require registration. To join us, please meet at the Charles River Conservancy's info tent at 4pm.
Why:
Being active is the key to optimal health and to reducing the risk of preventable diseases such as obesity. Parklands along DCR's Charles River Reservation are a natural space uniquely suited to spending time outdoors, within Boston. By continuing the Sunday Parkland Games program for a third year, the Charles River Conservancy hopes to make the river's Parklands "more active, attractive, and accessible for all" by encouraging families to come together to enjoy them and appreciate their natural beauty. All are welcome to pack a picnic, bring a blanket, and enjoy a day outdoors on the banks of the Charles!
Herter Park has green space, playgrounds, picnic tables, an outdoor theater, and plenty of parking. Its large parking lot and open paths make it a prime location for bicycle riding, running, and in-line skating. The 2011 Sunday Parkland Games will be situated between the recently remodeled Artesani Playground and Charles River Canoe & Kayak. Herter Park has something for everyone! All activities are free of charge and the program does not require registration - anyone can attend, and all are welcome to participate.
Where:
With the exception of Sunday, September 11th, all activities will take place in Herter Park, located at 1100 Soldier's Field Road in Allston. This new location is in closer proximity to residential areas and will allow the Conservancy to work more directly with residents of Allston-Brighton, as well as offer additional free programs. On September 11th, the Sunday Parkland Games will take place upriver from the Weeks Footbridge on the Charles River off of Memorial Drive in Cambridge (the location of the 2009 and 2010 Games).
Additional Information:
For more information, please contact our Director of Outdoor Wellness,
Dr. Alexios Monopolis, at anm@thecharles.org
Weekly updates and weather cancellations will be posted on our Facebook page.
Chiara
Children's Workshop with Traci Jansen
Saturday, June 11th at 12:30pm
At the West End Museum
7-11 years old
Traci Jansen, head of children's programming at the Middlesex Museum will be offering a child friendly introduction to the Middlesex Canal. It will include a short lecture about the canal, a role play of canal personalities, as well as paper boat building. Participants will use maps, drawings, and models to learn about this engineering marvel. Please reserve your space with Traci Jansen at middlesexcanal4kids@gmail.com
Chiara
Tuesday 6/7 thru Thursday 6/9
12 noon - 8pm
Enjoy all you can eat ice cream at Government Center to raise money for cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute! More than 30 flavors of ice cream!
$8 for adults
$4 for children 3 -9 years old
Children under 3 are FREE!!
Chiara
FREE event sponsored by the Charelstown Mother's Association.
Location: Bunker Hill Community College Parking Lot
There is NO on-site parking!!
Chiara
BOSTON -- Health officials warned recent visitors to the New England Aquarium that they may have been exposed to the measles after a volunteer was positively diagnosed with the virus.
The Boston Public Health Commission on Friday reported that a 17-year-old Vermont resident was contagious when they volunteered at the aquarium on May 19 and May 22.
The Commission's Infectious Disease Bureau said anyone who was at the aquarium's main building after noon on those days may have been exposed to the virus.
Anyone who was in the building during those times and who does not know if they are immune to measles was advised to refrain from public activity until 21 days after the exposure, according to a Health Commission news release.
The aquarium was working with health officials to minimize the chance of infection spreading.
The latest outbreak of the measles in Massachusetts has state health officials concerned.
"It really is a real worry for us. We have not had this many cases since 2006. We've had 17 cases so far this year and 12 since May 1," Massachusetts of Public Health Dr. Al DeMaria said.
With measles on the rise, the Department of Public Health said young children, anyone who works in health care or anyone who plans to travel should get vaccinated.
Health officials said they believe the source of the outbreak is from people traveling out of the country, who haven't been immunized.
An infected person can easily spread the airborne disease, and doctors say anyone returning from a trip with symptoms should call their doctor.
The vaccine is widely available and should be considered for anyone born after 1957.
Measles is a very contagious disease that usually lasts a week or two and can cause serious problems such as ear infections, pneumonia, swelling of the brain in some people, especially pregnant women, infants and those with weakened immune systems, according to health officials.
Adults are also at increased risk for severe disease and may need to be hospitalized due to complications, health officials said.
The DPH said measles looks and feels like a cold at first. A cough, high fever, runny nose and red, watery eyes are common. These symptoms start about 10 days after infection. A few days later, a red blotchy rash starts on the face first, then spreads to the rest of the body.
This week I found out my son's car seat probably contains neurotoxins and carcinogens! (1)
I thought my little boy was safe when I buckled him into his cozy car seat.
But then I saw the news. A study just published in the journal "Environmental Science & Technology" found that the majority of foam samples from baby products (like car seats, changing pads, and infant carriers) were laced with toxic flame retardants shown to be neurotoxins and carcinogens. (2) Yikes!
After reading this information, my first instinct was to ransack my bedrooms and closets, and make sure not a single shred of foam was left in my house. But after a deep breath (well, maybe a few deep breaths), I realized there's a better, long-term solution, for all of us.
We need Congress to effectively regulate toxic chemicals in this country and make it easier for us to keep toxics out of our homes and lives.
*Please ask your U.S. Senators to immediately co-sponsor, and urge your leaders to support, the Safe Chemicals Act today! http://action.momsrising.org/go/958?akid=2764.1554137.lOlEQq&t=4
When I read about this new foam study, I was super shocked that toxic chemicals are in so many children's products. I was also blown away by the information about the double-dose of chemicals kids get through both touch AND through the air. (3) That means my asthmatic son is exposed to toxic chemicals through both his skin while he sits in his car seat AND through his lungs as he breathes the air around his car seat.
The neurotoxins and carcinogens in many flame-retardant foams aren't just in baby products, they're also in our couches and chairs. In fact these toxins are so prevalent, a recent study found them present in nearly 100% of the U.S. population. And these toxins have been shown to cause reproductive, thyrod, endocrine, developmental and neurological disorders including decreased fertility, birth defects, learning disorders, and hyperactivity in animal studies. (4)
(To learn about how to reduce your family's exposure to these chemicals, check out the information in the P.S. below.)
The Safe Chemicals Act is a much needed update to our not-so-current toxics legislation, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. In 1976, we didn't know as much about how toxic chemicals can migrate into our bodies and accumulate causing health issues now or decades later. Under the outdated TSCA, the EPA has only been able to require testing of a few hundred of the 62,000 chemicals that have been on the market since TSCA was passed, a number that has increased to 85,000 chemicals today. (5)
Thirty-five years after this law was first passed, the Federal Center for Disease Control has found that every American carries hundreds of these chemicals through their blood and tissues. These chemicals aren't just in our bodies; they're in our babies too. Just last year, the President's Cancer Panel found over 300 contaminants in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. (6) It's clearly time to update this outdated toxics law!
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have already spoken up for our kids and have come out in favor of toxic chemical reform, but now our leaders need to hear from you. (7)
Our kids deserve safe toys and car seats, and parents shouldn't have to worry about the products they buy.
Here's that link again to ask your Senator to cosponsor the Safe Chemicals Act:
http://action.momsrising.org/go/958?akid=2764.1554137.lOlEQq&t=6
And please pass this link along! We need lots of parents to speak up. Together we can protect a lot of families and a lot of kids from harmful chemicals.
Wondering how to reduce your family's exposure to this type of toxic chemicals? Here are a few steps you can take:
1) Keep dust levels down by wet mopping and vacuuming with a HEPA filter
2) Purchase baby products and furniture filled with cotton, polyester, or wool instead of polyurethane foam
3) Avoid products that use polyurethane foam and have a TB117 label which likely contains chemical flame retardants
4) Contact manufacturers to inquire whether retardants were added to products
Some manufacturers state their products do not contain halogenated flame retardants, including (but always double check each product): BabyLuxe organic pads and mattresses, BabyBjorn baby carriers, OrbitBaby strollers and car seats, and Boppy nursing pillows.
You can read more about practical tips for reducing your family's exposure to toxins by going to these great sites:
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
Green Science Policy
(1) Freeman, Dan "Baby products contain toxic flame retardants, study says: Are kids at risk?," CBS News, May 18, 2011
(2) "Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam
Collected from Baby Products," Environmental Science & Technology (PDF).
(3) Ibid.
(4) Green Science Policy Center
(5) The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011: Introduced Today, Legislation Would Protect American Families from Toxic Chemicals.
(6) Kristof, Nicholas, "New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer," New York Times, May 5, 2010
(7) "Pediatricians Urge Tougher Chemical Safety Law," CNN
Please be safe!!
Chiara
I'm SOOO tired of all of this dreary weather!! The pool at Charles River Park opens this weekend! Let's hope we have some good weather!!
Chiara
Not sure if you have been but the MIT Museum is pretty cool for the older kiddies. Matthew (4.5) loved it but not so much the little ones. It is short walk from Central Square T, but we drove at 10:00 today and there were plenty of street parking spots just in front. Under 5 is free. Adults are $7.50
web.mit.edu/museum/
I had a listing that EarthFest was both saturday and Sunday, but apparently it was just yesterday!!!
MY APOLOGIES!!!
Chiara
Welcome some new parents to the group, and please pass along info about us with other neighbors! We will try and get some flyers up soon!
We hope to see everyone outside as the weather gets nicer! Please let us know about things you hear about so we can share it with everyone!
Check in here at the blog and check for updates!
Don't forget the West End Children's Festival is in August!! We are looking for Volunteers to help plan the fun!! Contact the West End Community Center at 617.670.1900 or Tatiana at tm@westendcommunitycenter.com
Chiara
To the most rewarding and challenging job!!
Enjoy!!
I hope you have all marked your calendars to join us for our Annual Spring Hunt at 10:30am and this year we are going to head to the West End Community center for our Mother's Brunch at 11am.
Please meet us by the playground by J.Pace and we'll start from there! Please bring a bag or basket or something to put the eggs into. If your kids don't want to keep the actual eggs, we will have a bag to collect them for next year!
If you can, and would like to, please bring something to share for the brunch. There will be some fruit and goodies there, but we love the personal touches of treats from the community!
Hope to see you all there!
Contact me for questions or if you can help us out! Westendparentsgroup@gmail.com.
Thanks!
The meeting begins at 6:00pm at Amy Lowell House, 45 Martha Rd
Chiara
Karyn wrote:
At the library yesterday she said they have a tutor available late afternoon/early evening for school aged kids to help with homework but because there is not a school nearby they often have no children. So the tutor will do small crafts and read to the preschool age kids when she is free from homework
Chiara
So watch those signs and be careful where you park!
Check this site to find out about certain streets! http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/sweeping/
Chiara
For all the Families : we are having our Annual Spring Hunt the following Saturday, May 14th, 10:30am on Thoreau Path, with a Mother's Brunch following at 11am at the West End Community Center!
Save the date!! :)
I, personally, am DONE with winter! I'm going to will it away and put my big winter coat away! Let's see if it works!!
I bought new beach towels for goodness sake!
Here's to hoping!
Chiara
West End Parents Group
| Location: | 50 Oakland Street, Wellesley Hills, MA, 02481 |
| Phone: | 781-400-1411 |
| Dates: | Saturday, March 26, 2011 - Sunday, March 27, 2011 |
| Hours: | 2:15 PM-4:00 PM |
| Ages: | Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | $12 general admission $6 children under 12 $10 for seniors |
| Location: | 2450 Beacon, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 |
| Phone: | 617-277-0065 |
| Dates: | Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun from 3/27/11 - 3/27/11 |
| Hours: | Wednesday - 11AM - 9:00 PM Thursday-Sunday - 11:00 AM - 4:00PM |
| Ages: | Kids, Teens, Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor, Outdoor |
| Cost: | Free |
Enjoy the grand opening event for this new discovery and learning museum devoted to the environmental, technological and historical aspects of the supply of clean water to metropolitan Boston from the founding of the city to the present. The museum is located at 2450 Beacon Street, across the street from the historic Chestnut Hill Reservoir (recently re-named Chestnut Hill Reservation), in the Brighton section of Boston. | Location: | 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston, MA, 02121 map |
| Phone: | 617-541-5466 |
| Dates: | Saturday, April 2, 2011 - Saturday, April 2, 2011 |
| Hours: | 10 AM - 5 PM weekdays 10 AM - 6 PM weekends |
| Ages: | Infants, Toddlers, Kids, Teens |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | Admission to zoo |
Zoo New England is pleased to announce that a new giant anteater exhibit will open April 2 inside the Tropical Forest at Franklin Park Zoo.| Location: | City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA map |
| Phone: | (888) 541-3750 |
| Dates: | Saturday, April 2, 2011 - Sunday, May 15, 2011 |
| Hours: | The performance is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, including a 15-minute intermission. |
| Ages: | Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | $$ see below |
The spectacular Big Apple Circus leaps into its 33rd Season with a thrilling All-New Show, Dance On! The World’s Greatest Circus artists swing into action in the spotlight under our intimate Big Top, where no seat is more than 50 feet from the ring!  Cost |
As written in Boston Magazine:
The zones vary in size: the North Zone, for example, goes all the way from East Boston to Allston/Brighton to the South End. That means a lot of choices for you, but it also means that if you don't get any of your nearby favorites, your child could end up traveling by bus for an hour or so each way. (THIS IS OUR ZONE for the West End)
For this reason, BPS recommends doing your research (taking school tours, attending parent Q&A sessions, and using its Countdown to Kindergarten website to request at least five schools, ranked in order of preference. There's no limit to the number of picks you can make.
But what if you really have your heart set on just one or two schools? The assignment consists of the following factors, listed below in order of importance:
1. Siblings: If you already have a child in a given school, the next one to come along will have a much better chance of getting in.
2. Geography: Fifty percent of all seats are reserved for students within a one- to two-mile "walk zone" of any given school. One of the best things you can do to get your child into a school is to live near it.
3. Your order of preference: If you list a school as your top pick, that will be factored into your ultimate ranking.
4. Application date: Always apply within the earliest round that is available to you. Applying a round late is a huge factor in not getting the school you want. To find out what round you qualify for and the dates when it accepts applications, go to
bostonpublicschools.org/register.
5. Randomness: This is the most angst-provoking piece of the puzzle. Once students are ranked according to priority (by the above factors), they are given a random number which determines who is in and who is out. And there's not much you can do about that.
If your child doesn't get into the school you've had your heart set on, there's always the waitlist. In fact, you may be put on up to three waitlists. Here's how it works: Let's say you live in the West Zone and list the Curley, the Lyndon, and the Kilmer in order as your top three choices. If you don't get into any of them when assignments are announced in March, you'll immediately be put on the waitlist for all three. If you get into, say, your third choice of the Kilmer, but not the Lyndon or the Curley, you'll be put on the waitlist for the first two choices. And so on.
The BPS Family Resource Center in your area can inform you of your standing on each list — whether you're third in line or number 150 for a particular school. Your waitlist ranking is determined, again, by siblings, geography, stated order of preference, application date, and a random number.
If spots become available at a school, students are automatically assigned based on their waitlist number. When classes begin in September and students have been enrolled in schools, BPS staff continues to place waitlisted students in their choice schools, but only if parents authorize the move. Once January rolls around, however, the waitlist is retired and the process starts all over again.
Originally published in Boston magazine,
March 2011
Chiara
West End Parents Group
$20 a day, and go when you can!
Not having to sign up for the week makes it easy!
Chiara
West End Parents Group
 Hours |
| Cost |
I'll be making some posts soon! I got swept away with school vacation, and then some computer issues. But I can post through email, so will get some stuff on here soon!
Sorry for the delay!
Chiara
| Location: | 200 Newbury Street, Boston, MA, 02116 |
| Phone: | (617) 267-3400 |
| Dates: | Wed from 12/2/09 - 12/1/11 |
| Hours: | 6:30pm |
| In/Outdoor: | Outdoor |
| Cost: | Free |
