Hilltown Families 
Meet the Robinsons Gives Negative Adoption Messages
By Vicki Peterson, E.D. of External Affairs
Wide Horizons For Children
We feel that it is important to warn you about a Disney movie called “Meet the Robinsons” that is now playing in many local cinemas. The advertising for this animated feature makes it sound like a great movie for any young child, but this is misleading. Fortunately, one of our adoptive parents alerted us about the negative adoption messages in the story and the very unhappy experience she had with both of her children who were greatly disturbed by the messages conveyed in this film. As a result, I went to see the film to decide if it warranted putting out an alert to our adoptive parent community. Indeed, I thought the concerns raised were completely justified.
Shakespeare & Co.’s Spring Residency Programs Begins Western MA
Shakespeare & Company’s popular Massachusetts spring Elementary and Middle School Residency programs for grades four through seven begin performances this week beginning with Pine Cobble School’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 5:30 pm, April 12th at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. See complete schedule below.
Other schools involved in the Residency program include:
- Lenox Middle School
- Monument Valley Middle School (previously Searles Middle School)
- Richmond School
- Upper Middle Cape High School
- Williamstown Elementary School For more information on the Company’s Residency program and other Education Programs please contact Youth Programs Director Jenna Ware at (413) 637-1199 ext. 172 or education@shakespeare.org.
SAFETY IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR MONTH OF APRIL
School playground in Williamsburg, MA. (Photo credit: Sienna Wildfield)
The National Safety Council has compiled a list of safety observances. For the month of April, their website highlights:
- National Youth Sports Safety Month
- Sports Eye Safety
- World Health Day
- National Window Safety Week (beginning of April)
- National Playground Safety Week (end of April)
- Among many others throughout the year!
The National SAFE Kids website has additional information on preventing child fatality and injuries which, if followed, could prevent an estimated 38,000 children’s lives each year.
Listen to Podcast:
Hilltown Family Variety Show
WXOJ LP – 103.3 FM
Northampton, MA
April 10th, 2007 – 7pm
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Playlist
- Super Hero Invasion – “Wonder Woman”
- AurdaRox – “I Like to Pretend”
- Lead Belly – “Ha Ha This a-Way”
- Dizzy Gillespie – “The Umbrella Man”
- Gustafer Yellowgold – “Cooler World”
- The Nields – “Anna, Kick A Hole In The Sky”
- Dan Zanes – “Thrift Shop”
- Syd Barrett – “Effervescing Elephant”
- Gunnar Madsen – “Elephant Traffic Jam”
- Gustafer Yellowgold – “Tiny Purple Moon”
- Eric Bibb – “Here Comes the Sun”
Wonder Woman
My daughter been on a superhero kick lately. Last week it was Batman, this week Wonder Woman. I see Spiderman coming down the pike. With Wonder Woman being this week’s pick, it opens the door for an introduction to the Greek myths Wonder Woman is based on.
“Since this influential comic book super hero character was first created by polygamist feminist psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1941, Wonder Woman’s origins and continuing storylines have been tied intricately to Greco-Roman mythology. The ancient Greek and Roman pantheon consisting of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, etc. have always been rendered as explicitly real in Wonder Woman’s universe. This pantheon is also known as the Olympians, or the gods of Olympus, named after Mount Olympus, the mountain in Greece which was until recently their home.” (www.adherents.com)
Art-ful Eggs: Batiked, Wooden & Collage
By Victoria Worth, for Hilltown Families
This past Saturday morning at The Children’s Art Museum (CAM) in Shelburne Falls, my family joined several hilltown families to decorate eggs in celebration of Spring & Easter. CAM offered several ways to create and decorate, creating a festive and rich atmosphere to explore art with my daughter.
One method we were shown was batik egg art, using wax to draw patterns and words, then dipping into colors for a reverse affect. On wooden eggs we used stickers to decorate, an easier project for the very young kids. But my favorite was placing strips of colored tissue paper around an egg, creating a blended collage look.
What In The World?
Kids’ Music Goes Global
by Bill Childs
Dan Zanes caused a stir a few months ago by noting the overwhelming whiteness of a particular national parenting magazine. (I won’t mention which magazine, because the criticism is pretty fairly addressed to almost any of them.) His point, which is a sound one, is that a “healthy, inclusive, celebratory society is, I think, where the music flourishes.” Well said, Mr. Zanes.
With that in mind, think for a moment about your local record store’s kids’ section. (First, pretend that you still have a local record store, and in the unlikely event that you do, pretend that it has a kids’ section with more than four copies of The Hamster Dance.) What does this record section look like?
I bet your imaginary local record store’s imaginary kids’ section is filled mostly with white musicians. They’re playing tremendously diverse styles of music, no doubt, but they’re not from particularly diverse backgrounds. There are some exceptions, and many of the stars of kids’ music have worked with amazing artists of color (notably Zanes, but also AudraRox and many others), but a disproportionate number look a lot like, well, me. Which is to say: white (particularly after a long, dark winter).
More reasons to eat green
“
Tween and teen girls are the most likely group to become vegetarians, and a recent study linking early consumption of red meat and breast cancer may give girls yet another reason to go veggie. The Harvard University Medical School study of over 90,000 women found that the more red meat the women consumed in their 20s, 30s and 40s, the greater their risk for developing breast cancer fueled by hormones in the next 12 years. The correlation is likely due to growth hormones fed to animals as well as natural hormones in meat, or to substances produced by high-heat cooking processes that may be linked to cancers.
Easter Candy – Fact or Fiction?
- The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 19th century and remain among the most popular treats associated with Easter.
- 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year.
- 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter.
- Each day, five million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter.
- Easter is the second top-selling confectionery holiday behind only Halloween.
- 88 percent of adults carry on the Easter tradition of creating Easter baskets for their kids.
- 76 percent of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.
- Red jelly beans are kids’ favorite.
- According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25-ft high and made of chocolate and marshmallow. The egg weighed 8,968 lbs. and was supported by an internal steel frame.
World Health Day: 7 April
Collection of links to sites related to World Health Day. “On this day around the globe, thousands of events mark the importance of health for productive and happy lives.” Also includes links to recent UN documents on the subjects of human health and illness prevention and treatment. Available in several languages. From the Dag Hammarskjöld Library of the United Nations (UN). (LII)
No matter how you celebrate the arrival of spring, you’ll find many ways to celebrate this weekend for we are rich in Spring, Passover and Easter events! Also, take a look under “The Outside World” (left-hand column) for fun & educational seasonal links. Share your web gem by posting in our “comment” box at the end of this week’s Suggested Events.
LISTEN TO PODCAST:
Hilltown Family Variety Show
World Premiere!
April 3rd, 2007 – 7pm
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- Super Heros Invasion – Batman
- Dennis Caraher – Elephant Played Electric Guitar
- The Nields – Going to the Zoo
- The Beatles – Octopus’s Garden
- Jim Dale – Green Eggs and Ham
- Uncle Rock – Break a Few Eggs
- Rosie Flores – Red, Red Robin
- HFVS Special Guest – Dennis Caraher
- Zoe Lewis – Sheep
- Langston Hughes – Dreams
- Rebecca Frezza – If I Were a Kite
We’re Going to the Zoo!
April is National Zoo and Aquarium Month. Read We’re Going to the Zoo! for local Western MA places to visit, sites to surf and books to read – all about the zoo!
The Nields sing a great rendition of Tom Paxton’s, We’re Going to the Zoo. My daughter and I love the Nields, a sister/mother duo from the hilltowns. We saw them recently at the Amherst Library for a great family performance from their album, All Together Singing in the Kitchen. Read more about that performance here on Hilltown Families. They will also be performing live on Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child this Saturday (04/07/07)!
If you’re looking for more zoo songs, Alphabet Soup has a nice page of songs, poems and fingerplays, and Perpetual Preschool has a short list of songs too.
April is National Zoo and Aquarium Month
There are lots of opportunities to visit zoos, farms and aquariums in our area. We’ve put together a list of suggested locations below. Please post any recommendations you may have in the comment box below to add to the list.
Snap-Shots & Juice On-The-Rocks @ Jalopy’s
The Brooklyn Hootenanny was F-U-N! Bill & Audra did a swell job putting it together. My daughter & I are still tired! But it was well worth it. I’m too tired to really write anything creative, so instead I’ll offer a photo montage and videos from our adventure.
[rockyou id=62168595]
Lots of cool musicians, and even cooler kids. Click here to see a list of all the performers. You can be sure to hear many of these musicians on the Hilltown Family Variety Show, premiering this Tuesday at 7:00pm on WXOJ!
Hilltown Family Variety Show
PREMIERE!!!
Hilltown Families is very excited to announce the
Hilltown Family Variety Show (HFVS)
Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm
on WXOJ LP – 103.3 FM
Valley Free Radio – Northampton, MA
Premiering on April 3rd, 2007!
Share your evenings between bath and bed-time during a half hour radio adventure.
- Discover new music from some of the hippest kiddie musicians around.
- Rediscover classics, traditional tunes and folksongs.
- Experience world cultures with music from different regions of the world.
- Listen to jazz, big band and blues the kids will groove to while soothing your nerves at the days end.
- Hear bits of poetry, stories and spoken word.
- You never know what you’re going to discover on HFVS!
Brooklyn Hootenanny
Pictured here is Bill Childs and Ella from Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, a local children’s radio show aired every Saturday morning. This past weekend HF headed to NYC for a Hootenanny with nearly twenty-five rockin’ kiddie musicians that Bill and AudraRox organized at Jalopy’s in Brooklyn. Photos will be posted from the event soon, so check back with us for a photo review of our adventures in New York.
Let us know about your exciting weekend adventures here on Hilltown Families by posting your comments below. Have a neat photo you’d like to see on HF? Send it our way with a brief description.
Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day
By Diana J. Schemo
[Fall River, MA., March 26, 2007] — States and school districts nationwide are moving to lengthen the day at struggling schools, spurred by grim test results suggesting that more than 10,000 schools are likely to be declared failing under federal law next year.
In Massachusetts, in the forefront of the movement, Gov. Deval L. Patrick is allocating $6.5 million this year for longer days and can barely keep pace with demand: 84 schools have expressed interest.
Mud & Bugs
It’s mud season here in the hills and we have a little time before the torturous black-fly season, followed by the ever so itchy mosquito season – a time when our kids can easily be mistaken for having the chicken pox and adults have at least one token bug bite on their face in an ever so prominent spot.
Towards the end of the summer, copious numbers of tent caterpillars that wiggled all over our trees, bushes, rain gutters and lawn furniture, turn into swarms of butterflies. Ahhhh … the hilltowns, an entomologist’s promised land.
If you have a child that doesn’t scream and run at the sight of a spider, or makes stomping on ants a competitive sport, then you just might have a budding entomologist on your hands – or at the very least, a child that is open to learning more about INSECTS. There are many books available on arthropods and spiders, including guides to use out in the field to identify any bug your child may thrust towards you while asking if it’s poisonous.
Happy Vernal Equinox!
There are plenty of community events this weekend on which to blow your New Year’s resolutions, including an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast in Ashfield, and a chili cook off in Hinsdale for lunch on Saturday. But no worries … you can get back on that resolution train by shaking your caboose with drumming and dancing in Shelburne Falls the next day. Read More
IT’S BASKETBALL TIME!
With the Women’s Final Four just around the corner, Dads & Daughters offers advice on how to spend time with your daughter during the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship season.
March Madness is underway in women’s college basketball (and the start of the WNBA season isn’t far behind!). This is an exciting time for dads to watch or listen to the women’s game with their daughters and stepdaughters. Here are some tips for fathers and stepfathers during tournament time:
Now You See ‘Em, Now You Don’t
When you were a kid, children’s movies and television didn’t have many females or characters of color. That’s all changed for today’s kids, right? Not.
Now You See ‘Em, Now You Don’t: Gender & Racial Disparity in TV for Children is a new report released today (03/21/07) that documents this persistent problem. The report draws on the most comprehensive content analysis ever conducted on children’s television and movies.
Cinderella Ballet
The Pioneer Valley Ballet performed Cinderella at the Academy of Music in Northampton, MA, this past weekend. Families attended with young girls dressed in fancy gowns, tiaras and ribbon wands. A lovely performance for the entire family, on both Saturday and Sunday.
Visit the Pioneer Valley Ballet on-line for future productions at www.pioneervalleyballet.org.
Health Rules Delayed [Boston (AP)] – That’s what the headline on the front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette reads today. According to the Gazette, “Requirements won’t kick in until early 2009.”
The Power Nap
by Sienna Wildfield
The ride into town is a good 40 minutes long. It’s a time my 4yo daughter can get in a power nap, when she’s not domineering the radio dial through whines and wails (which she can dish out for the full 40 minute ride … and back!)
She likes neither talk radio, nor music without words. “They just talk, talk, talk and just keep talking, and they don’t even say anything!,” I’ve heard her complain on several occasions.
So the news and classical music are off limits when she’s in the car. For the sake of my own sanity I try to introduce her to an assortment of kid/mommy friendly music, ranging from Uncle Rock and the Beatles, to Nate King Cole and Squirrel Nut Zippers.
But as much as I love Uncle Rock, sometimes a mom needs a little Bach to soothe the nerves, or to hear the honest voice of Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. I decided to take her over to visit Marla BB at WXOJ-LP 103.3FM in Florence, MA. She’s the hostess of the Marla BB’s Blues & Etc. radio show every Thursday from 10am-noon. I wanted to give my daughter a behind the scenes look at how all this talk she so vehemently protests reaches our ears.
Web Review: BrainPOP
The awards list for BrainPOP is impressive. Just judging from their awards you could easily conclude that BrainPOP is considered by many to be a top educational website for children.
What is BrainPOP?
BrainPOP is a non-commercial web site that consists of both quality and entertaining educational curriculum, presented through an effective use of animation and web technology. Their curriculum-based content spans seven main subjects including: Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health, Technology and Arts & Music.
Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival
March 10th – March 31st, 2007
Through collaborative community effort, the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival will be offering a spectacular array of award-winning, entertaining films from around the world this month. Hilltown families and filmgoers of all ages can enjoy compelling drama, comedy, documentary, and shorts from the best film festivals.
The PVJFF runs for three weeks and includes discussions with filmmakers and other speakers, social receptions, art exhibits, and concerts. Film venues range from the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Showcase Cinema, to the Smith College Museum of Art and the Pleasant Street Theatre. Click here for a complete list of venues and film schedules.
Amy Dryansky from the festivals steering committee, has suggested two film programs that may be of interest to hilltown parents:
Marketing the Sexualization of Young Girls
One of the most recent calls for action by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has encouraged concerned parents to tell Scholastic to stop distributing Bratz books in schools through their Book Clubs and School Book Fairs.
A recent report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls had drawn attention to the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harming girls’ self-image and healthy development. This report explores the cognitive and emotional consequences, consequences for mental and physical health, and impact on development of a healthy sexual self-image. (Click here to read the report)
Books of The Bratz – a line of highly sexualized dolls for girls as young as four are – being marketed in schools by Scholastic, Inc. Scholastic promotes Bratz through its book fairs and book clubs, selling titles such as Lil’ Bratz Dancin Divas; Lil’ Bratz Catwalk Cuties; and Lil’ Bratz Beauty Sleepover Bash to a captive audience of young students.
Kyle Good, Vice President at Scholastic, has sent a prompt response to one concerned parent’s request to reconsider their distribution in schools:
Read More
WHAT’S A GIRL (AND PARENTS) TO DO?
Our young girls (and our larger population) are bombarded with media images of sexualized feminine esthetics. You see it everywhere: in line at the grocery store, billboards on the highway, songs on the radio, commercials on television, books, games, videos … what’s a girl to do?
As a parent, you are the most powerful tool our girls have to teach them how to interpret our media’s projection of images that portray girls as sexual objects. The remedy to this assault is to support and teach them how to value their own inner beauty and strengths.
It’s equally important for our young boys to be taught to respect and value the roles girls play in our society, as sisters, mothers, friends and teachers, rather than being brainwashed into the sexual objectification our media flashes before them.
Passion & Fire
Last month Art Bridge in Shelburne, MA, held a Passion Party and invited people to come celebrate passion and creative community for Valentine’s Day. As part of their monthly Performance Potlucks, guests were encouraged to bring passion-themed food and beverages – “something luscious and delightful” – and to dress in something romantic and extravagant.
Along with delicious homemade foods, the evening festivities included a mythical puppet show, belly dancing, original music, performance by the Greenfield Center School Young Performers, poi spinning and fire dancing. The fire dancing was more like a circus arts troupe performing improvisational acrobatics with a fusion of dance along with poi spinning.
Art Bridge is having another Performance Potluck this Saturday evening. In this weeks Suggested Events you can find out more about this event and many other exciting activities for the family.
Biotechnology Summer Camp for girls
Girls who want to explore the field of science will have a special opportunity to do just that this summer. Girls who are currently in 7th or 8th grade are eligible to attend a free Biotechnology Summer Camp (2007) , thanks to a Pioneer Valley Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (PV STEMNET) grant.
High School Biotechnology Teacher Cyndi Jensen applied for the funding, and the award was announced two weeks ago. “This program is just for girls, taught by young women who have a passion for biotechnology,” explained Jensen.
