May 2008

This issue's newsletter sponsor:
http://www.nurturecenter.com/

Rocketship Returns! Landing Scheduled for May 7 Back from its cosmic trip through the Sierra Nevada (Kidzone Children's Museum), Habitot's popular Rocketship and Mission Control will be returning on May 7th. Don't delay, the Rocketship will be blasting off to the Charles Schultz Museum at the end of the year! All month, enjoy special art activities that bring out the astronaut in everyone!

Six Weeks of Out-of-this-World Art!
May 1 - 7 Make and decorate 3-D outer space goggles!
May 8 - 14 Create a Nebula Mural with oil and watercolor painting.
May 15 - 21 Use salad spinners and glittery materials to create cosmic art.
May 22 - 28 Make and decorate your own planet! Add it onto our Solar System hanging sculpture.
May 29 - June 4 Make flying saucers from recycled materials.
June 5 - 11 Make alien masks with glow in the dark stickers.

Kodomo No Hi
Saturday, May 3; 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Celebrate Kodomo no hi, a traditional Japanese event honoring children. Decorate "koi-nobori" (carp shapes) with tissue paper, strings and shiny materials and see them twirl around in the Wind Tunnel! Make "musha-ningyo" or warrior dolls out of colorful fabrics and ribbons and enjoy storytelling about Kodomo No Hi from 11 am - 1 pm.

May Storytimes
Enjoy storytelling every Friday from 12:00 - 1:00 pm in the Multicultural Reading Tent.

May 2 - Learn about Japan's Children's Day!
May 9 - Blasting Off to Outer Space
May 16 - Things We Grow in the Garden
May 23 - Sailing on the Ocean
May 30 - Caring for our Animal Friends

8th Annual Early Childhood Safety Campaign
Thanks to the generous and continuing sponsorship of State Farm Insurance Companies, Habitot will offer a free series of safety events and workshops, May - September. These workshops will prepare parents and caregivers with the tools to help them keep their children safe. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, preventable accidents are the #1 cause of injuries and loss of life in young children.

Car Seat Safety Check
Saturday, May 17; 10 am - 12 pm
Berkeley Police will thoroughly inspect and properly install your car seat on the top level of the Allston Way Garage, 2061 Allston Way between Milvia and Shattuck, downtown Berkeley. 6’3” max. car height. Parking validated and free museum pass to the museum are included.

Toxin Free Home
Thursday, May 29; 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
The Center of the Environmental Health identifies and helps you eliminate common toxins from the home. Berkeley Public Health Department will test your pottery, toys and kids’ lunch boxes for lead. (Bring to museum.)

Baby Loves Disco Event Benefits Habitot
Saturday, May 3, 2-5 pm
Bring your little ones to the Aura Nightclub, 4825 Hopyard @ Stoneridge in Pleasanton for an afternoon of dancing! $15 tickets purchased at Habitot include $2 refund coupon for Habitot. For more Baby Loves Disco information, click here.

Drop-In Parent-to-Parent Cafés
Meet other parents of young children and share challenges, creative solutions and support with one another. Habitot staff and guest experts will offer helpful parenting strategies. Hands-on art activity and floor play time for children. Refreshments included for adults and children. Free but $3 donation appreciated.

Affinity Groups:

LGBTQ Families - Mamas & Papas East Bay with Our Family; May 4, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Multiracial Families; May 7, 10:30 - 11:30 am
Stay-at-Home Moms May 14, 10:30 - 11:30 am
Single Parents May 21, 10:30 - 11:30 am
Dads' Group May 28, 10:30 - 11:30 am

More Information
The Parent-to-Parent Cafés are made possible by an Every Child Counts Grant funded by First 5 Alameda County with support from Starbucks Coffee and Casa Latina.

FREE Caregiver Café
Friday, May 9; 9:45 am - 10:30 am
Non-parental caregivers are invited to join our informal, drop-in monthly gatherings to share challenges, creative solutions and support with one another. Habitot staff and guest experts will offer helpful parenting strategies and skill building information. Hands-on art activity and floor play time for children. Refreshments included for adults and children. $3 donation appreciated. To receive email updates about future Caregiver Cafés, please contact Susana at parented@habitot.org

The Caregiver Cafés are made possible by an Every Child Counts Grant funded by First 5 Alameda County with support from Peet's Coffee & Tea and Casa Latina in Berkeley.

Deadline for Habitot's Summer Day Camps for Tots
Register by May 31st
Each week, a different theme, from Mayan Mysteries (a Spanish immersion camp) to Cars, Boats, Planes and Trains for kids on the go. The half-day morning programs for 2.9 to 5 year olds begin in June and run through August. The last two weeks of August offer both a morning and afternoon program for a full day of summer camp! Sign up for one week or many. Enrollment is limited. Registration deadline, May 31. To register, please call 510-647-1111 x17. To view the full summer camp brochure, click here summer camps.

Gift Store Discount of the Month
Through the end of May, all Space Gear — Glowing Stars, Space Wind-Ups, Cosmic Rocket, UFO Bubble Launchers and more — will be on sale for 20% off regular prices, while supplies last.

Ask Ada

Ask Ada - Be Playful with Your Child

Q:
I've read how important it is for children to play, and besides buying toys, I'm wondering how I can best support my children's play.

A:
Someone once said, 'Play is what kids do when grownups aren't around.' The truth of this nugget is that adults often get in the way of children's play, yet appropriately participating in child's play can also be incredibly bonding and meaningful for your child. If grownups respect certain boundaries, and play with children as equals, they can provide important facilitation for children's play. In fact, the level of child's play rises when parents join in but do not control the play experience. Children gain confidence and find pure joy in telling adults what to do and in "teaching" adults new things. This confidence sets the stage for social and emotional competence and building friendships as children get older.

Here are some ways to enrich your child's play:

• Provide lots of 'loose parts': boxes, sheets, tape, webbing, rope, wood scraps, old tires, PVC pipe, cardboard, and for older children, small hammers, nails and other tools. Allow creativity in how they are used unless safety is an issue.

• Provide advice and help when asked, but only up to a point. Let your child figure out as much as they can, and even make some mistakes that have to be 'fixed'. Maybe that tower won't stay up without more support...that is how children learn!

• When your child asks you a question, resist giving the quick answer, even if you know. Respond by saying, 'that's a good question' or 'let's find out'... even, 'let's do an experiment!" Then let your child plan the activity to answer the question. Planning together not only empowers the child, but also encourages vocabulary and conceptual understanding in math and science.

• Become a part of their imaginary world! If your child is imagining that she is a dragon, ask her to act out how dragons hunt, and eat and sleep. Ask how they move and what sounds they make. You can also ask your child what kind of animal or monster they would like you to be and what you should do together. Make up a story together about magical characters and monsters. Imagination and fantasy play may also give your child an opportunity to act out emotions that they do not have the language or ability to share.

• Let go physically! Children love to see adults throw their bodies around and act silly. Children also enjoy manipulating adults' bodies and telling adults how to move. Simply laying on the ground inspires your child to be a doctor or climb over you like a rock. Physical play not only helps children with gross motor skills but also encourages parent-child bonding.

• Allow yourself to have fun. Dedicate time for play with your child and honor it even if the phone rings -- don't allow yourself to become distracted by other tasks. You will be putting gold in the bank of your child's memories.

The following articles and books are available this month in the museum's Family Resource Center and on the "Purple Parenting Cart." Parenting education support generously funded by an Anonymous Foundation.

Articles:

• The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent Child Bonds, to read online click here

• The Ages and Stages of Play. By Hagar Scher, to read online click here

• Creative Parenting: Engaging Children In Fun Activities, to read online click here

• Creativity and Play. PBS "The Whole Child", to read online click here

Books

Becoming the Parent You Want to Be; Davis, Laura and Keyser, Janis (1997). Broadway Books, New York

Einstein Never Used Flashcards-How Our Children Really Learn-And Why They Need To Play More and Memorize Less; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy and Michnick Golinkoff, Roberta (2003). Rodale, New York

Contribute to "Ada's Families Fund!"
A special Habitot fund has been established in Ada's honor to purchase children's books for our Reading Tent and parenting references for our Family Resource Library. All donors will be recognized with a permanent book plate. Donate Now.

Do you have a question for Ada?
Email AskAda.Habitot@gmail.com

Habitot at Home

Habitot at Home: Crayon Cookies

Materials:

• Pieces of broken or short crayons, paper removed
• Foil cupcake liners
• Muffin tin
• Ziploc bag
• Meat tenderizer or wooden mallet
• Oven

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place crayon pieces into a Ziploc bag. Break the crayons into smaller pieces with the meat tenderizer or mallet.
3. Line with muffin tin with foil liners and fill each about 1/4 of the way full with broken crayon pieces.
4. Place the muffin tin in the oven and heat until the pieces have almost melted together. You should be able to see some individual colors and some blended colors.
5. Remove from oven and let cool. Show your child how the colors have melted and mixed. Talk about how two colors can be mixed together can make a new color.
6. When cool, help your child peel off the liner and have fun with your new cookie crayons. When used for drawing, your child may see different colors in one stroke.

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