Category Archives: Education/Enrichment

Be the Parent you want to be

A New Way of Understanding and Parenting Kids. Do you ever feel frustrated with your child/teenager? Find yourself shouting often and imposing punishments or rewards in reaction to challenging behavior? Do you wish you had a more effective parenting approach that also helps to build a better relationship between you and your child/teen?

Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach, based in MGH’s Department of Psychiatry, provides parents with concrete tools to better understand and parent their kids (ages 3-18) in the face of day-to-day challenges – e.g., getting to school, homework, screen time, bedtime – and more serious challenges. It’s based on the understanding that many kids lack the skill, not the will, to behave well – specifically skills related to problem-solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance.

The Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving Approach helps parents to:

  • Shift their thinking and approach to foster positive relationships with their child/teenager
  • Reduce their child/teen’s challenging behavior
  • Solve problems collaboratively and proactively
  • Build their child/teen’s skills in self-regulation, communication and problem-solving

For more information and to register for the April/May 4-week CPS group in Newton or the 1-day CPS training on May 21st in Brookline, please visit: http://www.betheparentyouwanttobe.weebly.com.

Flute Artistry at Amadeus Music School

•Specialized flute lessons in preparation for District Competition, All-State, NEC
Preparatory Ensemble auditions
•Expert music instruction and development of practice techniques for steady progress;
beginners through advanced levels welcome
•Convenient lessons at your home, or at studio near Lexington Center
•Flute lessons structured to build a strong musical foundation and centered around a
student’s specific needs and goals

Call 781­-354­-5693 for your complimentary trial lesson today! Visit
www.amadeusmusicschool.net for more information.

Newton Has Talent auditions open until April 15th

Newton Has Talent is a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Newton. Funds go to programs such as annual scholarships to graduating seniors, grants to local organizations, recognizing a “Student of the Month” each month, collection of food and toiletries for our food pantries, camperships for kids who need some help with their summer plans, and a variety of hands-on service projects that help the Newton community.

Please check out the Flyer or their website http://www.rotarynewton.org/.

Auditions are open until April 15th.

During April, Raise Money for South Stage while you shop!

Throughout the month of April, WALNUT MARKET, at 20 Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands, will give 10% of its sales to Newton South High School’s theater department when you mention “SOUTH STAGE!”

Walnut Market sells international groceries, local free trade, fresh breads, fine wines, craft beers, and custom gift baskets.  This is a wonderful opportunity to buy hard-to-find, artisanal foods and beverages AND support the Newton South theater department. You don’t have to have a student in South Stage to participate – anyone can chip in! Please remember, you must mention that you’re shopping for Newton South High School’s South Stage for them to donate 10% to our theater program!

Walnut Market
Open Tuesdays-Fridays from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturdays and Mondays from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm

Newton CPC: Newton Highlands Historic District Pre-Proposal

The Newton Community Preservation Committee will hear a report on a CPA-funded citywide survey of historic architecture and discuss a pre-proposal for surveying a potential new local historic district in Newton Highlands. If the CPC agrees to consider a full proposal for the new district, that proposal would be due in September 2016.

Full information is online from www.newtonma.gov/cpa. For assistance, contact Program Manager Alice Ingerson at 617-796-1144 or aingerson@newtonma.gov.

April 14th, 7:00 pm
City Hall Room 204

Parent Strategies for Adapting to Life with Food Allergies and Asthma

Parents of children of varying ages will lead a panel discussion on adapting to life with food allergies and asthma The program is free and open to the public. All are welcome and pre-registration is not required.

For info, call the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter at 781-444-7778 or visit www.asthmaandallergies.org.

April 13th, 7:00 pm
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Free film part of the Created Equal series

The documentary Slavery by Another Name shows how systems of involuntary servitude affected African-Americans long after the end of slavery in America. Watch excerpts and discuss the legacy of this history with Daunasia Yancey of Black Lives Matter and James DeWolf Perry of the Center for Reconciliation.

The series of programs, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle, is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Free.

April 14th,  7:00 pm
Durant-Kenrick House, 286 Waverley Avenue

Support Historic Newton by becoming a member today! http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/historic/support/member.asp

New memberships or renewals at the $100 level come with North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM) membership. NARM’s 800 museums offer reciprocal membership benefits of free/member admission, etc. Area museums include the deCordova, Peabody Essex, & Harvard’s art museums.

Stretch your mind

You are invited to Temple Ohabei Shalom’s TOS Talks Speaker series where great thinkers share their big ideas from the fields of art, culture, ethics, health, religion, science, and politics, followed by provocative Q & A’s led by Temple Ohabei Shalom’s Rabbi Sonia Saltzman. Stretch your mind this Spring.

The first talk, on April 13th, features Loretta Claiborne. Loretta is a World Class Athlete who happens also to be a Special Olympics Athlete and a person who has an intellectual disability. She will speak about her journey from Anger to Inspiration.

On May 18th, bestselling author Ron Lieber will explore the connection between values and money—Ron is a wonderful speaker, especially appealing to parents of children of all ages looking for guidance in this area!

Complimentary light refreshment follows each speaker. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite at: www.tos-talks-16.eventbrite.com. More information can be found on the website: www.ohabei.org.

West Suburban YMCA Aims to Bring Out the Wow! Factor

Bring Out the Wow! Factor in Local Kids During 25th Annual Healthy Kids Day®

The West Suburban YMCA is holding a free community event to inspire more kids to keep their minds and bodies active. This year marks the 25th annual YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day®, the Y’s national initiative to improve health and well-being for kids and families.

YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day, celebrated at over 1,300 Ys across the country by over 1.2 million participants, works to get more kids moving and learning, creating habits that they continue all summer long, which is a critical time for kids’ health. When kids are out of school, they can face hurdles that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Research shows that without access to out-of-school physical and learning activities, kids fall behind academically. Kids also gain weight twice as fast during summer than the school year. As spring turns to summer, Healthy Kids Day is a powerful reminder not to let children idle away their summer days. Instead, the Y hopes to focus on wowing them with their potential and make this their best summer ever by staying active and learning.

Healthy Kids Day will be held outside on the Y’s New Balance Track & Field. Bring or ride your bicycle to the event. Thanks to the generous support of the Newton Elks and Farina’s Bicycles, they are giving away bicycle helmets. The day also features fun, active play and educational activities such as:

• Face Painting from 1:00-2:00 pm
• Bicycle Decorating from 1:00-3:00 pm
• Drumlin Farms Presentation – “Where Food Comes From” at 1:15 pm
• Family Zumba & Yoga Class from 1:30-2:00 pm
• Curious Creatures presentation from 2:00-3:00 pm
• Bouncy House, GaGa Ball & Obstacle Courses from 2:00-4:00 pm
• Bicycle Parade at 3:00 pm

April 30th, 1:00 to 4:00 pm

YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day is sponsored by the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation, the Newton Elks and Farina’s Bicycle Center in Watertown. For more information, contact Trevor Williams at 617-244-6050 x 3021 or visit wsymca.com.

New Preteen Wellness Group!

Safe and fun environment for students ages 9-12 to discuss any of life’s stresses or issues. It will be a four week after school psychoeducational group that will promote wellness around topics such as body image, peer pressure, self-esteem and bullying.

Contact MEDA at 617-558-1881 or email info@medainc.org to learn more or visit the website: www.medainc.org.