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State Farm Funds 15th Annual Early Childhood Safety Campaign Kick-Off This Month with Poison Prevention Week

State Farm Insurance has once again awarded a grant to Habitot to sponsor an annual "Early Childhood Safety Campaign". The Campaign, which kicks off this month, will host free car seat inspections in the community as well as a two-day safety fair (with free admission) in July. Safe Kids California is supporting this month's event highlighting poisoning prevention and awareness with an information table on display in the Museum March 15-21. 50% of calls to Poison Control are about a child 0-5 years old - learn how to avoid being one of them. (see Poison Prevention Tips Here).

Habitot’s 2015 Safety Campaign seeks to address the high number of unintentional accidents among very young children—“the biggest threat to the life and health of children one to six years old,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Last year, Habitot was commended by the CA State Legislature for its annual campaign of informational events, training and community services, especially the milestone of 1,500 car seats inspected. Watch for future issues of Totmail and our Facebook page for information on upcoming events.

April 1st Last Day to Complete Our Annual Survey

The April 1 deadline nears for completing our quick, online survey of how well Habitot is serving its visitors, members and the general public. We need your input to prioritize improvements, upgrades and changes. Thank you very much for your time! All those completing the survey will be put into a drawing for a 12-Visit Pass (for up to 3 people each visit) worth $195! Complete survey by April 1 to be included in the drawing!
Click here to take survey.

Welcome New Board Member

John Davidson, Product Manager at Opower, a locally-based company that helps the nation's utilities encourage consumer energy efficiency, has joined Habitot's Board of Directors and its Finance Committee. He has a young daughter so is really into Habitot's mission and is excited about the prospect of moving Habitot to a larger facility. Welcome aboard!
Interested in board service? Click here

Best Practices for Employing a Nanny
FREE Parenting Workshop (with registration)
Thursday, March 12
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Join Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network for a FREE workshop for parents employing childcare providers. This workshop is designed to help you develop the knowledge and skills to form long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with childcare providers.
More info »

FREE with Registration on Eventbrite.
Questions? contact Rachel at (510) 647-1111 ×16 or parented@habitot.org

National Poison Prevention Week
March 15 – 21
9:30 – 12:30 pm

All week, check out our information booth on preventing accidental poisoning during National Poison Prevention Week, a part of our 2015 Early Childhood Safety Campaign. TEXT the word SAFEKIDS (SEGURO in Spanish) to 69866 for weekly poison prevention steps that you can take to help prevent accidental poisonings and tips for promoting community involvement in poison prevention.

Shamrock Day
Tuesday, March 17
9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Top ‘o the Morning! For Shamrock Day, hunt for hidden “gold” throughout the museum and in the Art Studio decorate leprecaun spyglasses that make the whole world look green. Play with green gak and wear green for an extra dose of the luck of the Irish! All visitors will enjoy interactive storytelling in the Multicultural Reading Tent.

Nowruz - Persian New Year
Saturday, March 21
9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Nowruz is a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years. Nowruz means "The New Day" and is traditionally celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan and other middle eastern regions at this time of year. Throughout the day at Habitot, children can dance with traditional satin scarves, plant “sabzeh” wheatgrass and paint “tokhme-morgh” eggs, the symbols for bringing fresh life to a new year. Check out our Haft sin table which is a traditional table setting that families use to decorate their houses on Nowruz .

We are grateful to the Persian Center of Berkeley (www.persiancenter.org) and Golestan Kids for their collaboration on this event.

Every 4th Friday*
Now Year-round!
Lower Price for Siblings!

*Except for November and December; the 3rd Friday of the Month.

Parents' Night Out
Friday, March 27
5:30 – 9:30 pm

Drop off your kids, 2-7 yrs, for play and fun while parents enjoy an evening out.

$39 per child, $29 for siblings.

Cheese pizza for dinner included.

ADVANCE registration strongly encouraged to permit us to adequately staff these evenings. Last minute registrations June not be possible.

To register, call our Reservations Desk at 510-647-1111 ×14.

Pizza Fridays!
Fridays • March 6, 13, 20 & 27
11:30am - 12:30 pm

Our friends at Papa John's(2222 Shattuck Ave.) will deliver child-sized cheese slices on sale for $1 each beginning at 11:30 am, first come first served. Proceeds benefit the Museum.

Mamas & Papas (for LGBTQ Families) FREE drop-in
Wednesday, March 4
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Join our free, drop-in support group for LGBTQ families and their 0-5 year old children, presented in partnership with Our Family Coalition. While parents engage in lively and supportive conversations facilitated by Habitot and Our Family staff in our classroom annex (Habitot, Too), children play (with supervision) in the Museum.