A Boston Family

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

5 Boston-Themed Easter Basket Ideas

With limited real estate for toys in our two-bedroom condo, the holidays are a careful negotiation of participation without excess. If you are looking for Easter ideas with a limited amount of "junk" food or toys, consider one of these five locally-based and character-free ideas that we came up with for our Boston kids. Each includes a book, something to wear, one toy and a candy or snack idea. Leave it at that or buy a bigger basket and add-on. Decorate your basket with some ribbon and done. These also make fun themed birthday gift ideas for friends parties!

The T

This is perfect for children 6 months to 6 years (or even older) who are excited about riding the T.

To Read: A Wicked Good Trip $10

To Wear: Sidetrack Products T Shirts available in infant, toddler, youth and adult sizes $17

For Play: Sidetrack Products’ MBTA die cast green line trolley car $25

or go cheaper / get a different line with these wooden cars from the MBTA $12-30

To Eat: Choose your child's favorite candy or snacks if you prefer and put them in little bins and paste wheels on to make it look like train cars. ~$10

Etc: Train wallet including some old T tickets or a Charlie Card (print and laminate your own if you don't have one) $10 and/or a toy train whistle $10

Total Price Tag: $60-75

The Duckling

This works for children 0 - 5. It might be a bit of a stretch for bigger kids for whom the Ducklings have lost their novelty.

To Read: Make Way for Ducklings or Goodnight Boston $9-16

To Wear: Make Way for Ducklings tshirt or onesie from the Eric Carle Museum or for girls, this pink t-shirt from Faneuil Hall based SeaBoston $14-22

For Play: Duckling or bath towel $8-15

Candy: Yellow peeps of course and Cadbury mini eggs repackaged as duck eggs ~$10

Etc: Police hat, police whistle

Total Price Tag: $40-60

The Swan Boat

Perfect for slightly older kids 4-7, who look forward to the swan boats each season. Most kids will need help with the Swan Boat kit.

To Read: Swan Boat Season in Boston or The Swan Boat Ride or Make Way for Ducklings $11-16

To Wear: Swan Dress, like this from Gymboree $20 (or this swan t-shirt appropriate for boys too $14

For Play: Swan Boat Kit $10

To Eat: Candy eggs of your choice as "swan eggs" $3-5

Etc: Swan Boat Puzzle $19, Splurge with this Stella McCartney bag on sale $54, Streamed Pony Holder $5

Total Price Tag: $40-$100+

The Lil’ Lobstah

For children up to age 4, and particularly any little ones taking New England Aquarium Sea Squirts classes!

To Read: Lindie Lobster, A Tale of Big Claws $6

To Wear: New England Lobstah T-shirt $20

For Play: Plush lobster $6 and/or wooden toy lobster boat $24

To Eat: Lobster gummies, lobster lollipops, chocolate lobsters, and/or Cape Cod saltwater taffy ~$10

Etc: Lobster bow ties $25 or hair bows to wear on Easter Day or all summer, Magic Grow sea capsules $8

Total Price Tag: $40-80

The Fenway Fan

For children up to age 8 who are excited about baseball or who have parents excited about baseball.

To Read: F is for Fenway Park $15

To Wear: Your favorite Red Sox t-shirt even available in Easter Egg Pink starting at $17

For Play: Baseballs, bats, glove, baseball cards, or MLB shake n score dice game ~$20+

To Eat: Cracker jacks, baby ruth bars, milk chocolate baseballs, and/or gummi hot dogs $10

Etc: Baseball pencils or stickers <$5

Total Price Tag: $60-$100

Monday, November 20, 2017

Everything You Need to Know about Ice Skating in Boston

Winter in Boston is a long period of cabin-fever inducing hibernation, if you don't find a way to get outdoors. So it is no surprise that many Bostonians take an interest in winter sports. We grow up playing hockey, obsessing over the Bruins, and eagerly waiting weather cold enough for snow for skiing and freezing temperatures for the much romanticized outdoor ice skating.

Skating at Frog Pond by Sally Caldwell Fisher

Lydia Marie Child's famous Thanksgiving Day Poem published in 1844, "Over The River and Through the Wood" about visiting her grandparents house near Tufts University in Medford celebrates playing outdoors in the snow even as the wind "stings the toes and bites the nose".

And there's no more quintessentially Boston place to let the wind sting your toes and bite your nose than ice skating at Frog Pond in Boston Common. In fact, Bostonians have been skating on Frog Pond since 1848, a few years after Child's poem was published!

The oft painted idyllic scene of skaters at Frog Pond is in reality though, a daunting and chaotic place for young inexperienced skaters.

Even if your children are too young to skate, you and they can still enjoy the sport. These family-friendly spectator events all feature ice skating.

Boston Bruins, Regular season, October 4, 2017 – April 7, 2018
Boston Common Tree Lighting and Skating Spectacular, Thursday November 30^th – Skating show 5-6pm
Holiday on Ice, Kendall Square Saturday, December 9^th 2017 - Skating Show at 2pm
Disney on Ice, Multiple Dates Dec and Feb
Ice Chips, Show of Champions – April 2018, Date TBA

For Boston children who are ready to skate (recommended ages 4 and up) there are plenty of opportunities to learn before heading out to the Frog Pond rink.

Best Learn to Figure Skate Programs: Boston Common Skating School’s or The Skating Academy’s programs at the Steriti Rink are indoors, protecting you from inclement weather. Downside: These are the most expensive lessons, but for a child who just wants to be able to learn to have fun and is not aspiring to learn more complicated moves, it can be a short term investment.

Best Priced Figure Skate Program: If your little one doesn’t have their own skates, Community Ice Skating at Kendall is your best price. For $24 per 40 min lesson with rentals you can’t beat it. Downside: if the weather is bad (raining, too warm or extremely cold, the rink is outdoors!)

Best Program for Would Be Hockey Players: South Boston or Charlestown Youth Hockey League’s Learn to Skate programs are specifically for aspiring hockey players and at an avg cost of <$11 per lesson (~$16 with rentals) for a 14 week season, you can’t beat the cost either. Check out this great article about Coach Teddy Cunniff who runs the SBYHL's program.

School	Location	No. of Lessons, Days available	Duration of Lesson	Equipment Provided	Cost and Fees	Per Lesson Cost W & W/Out rentals	How to Register
Community Ice Skating	Kendall Square, Cambridge	5 wks, Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun starting Dec 7^th	40 mins	Skate and helmet rental complimentary	$120	$24 per lesson with or without rentals	Book online here
Boston Common Skating School	Steriti Rink, North End AND Sunday classes only at O’Neill Rink in Charlestown	5 wks, Tues, Sat or Sun, Session 1 of 3 starts Nov 17^th	40 min lesson + 10 min free skate	Skate rentals $5	$125 + $20 membership fee, $45 off for signing up early for 2 sessions and $10 off on each add’l kid	1^st child, $29 per lesson for 1 session, $22.50 w/ early registration for 2+ sessions, add’l children $27 for 1 session and $21 w/ early registration for 2+ sessions (+$5 per lesson for skate rentals)	Print and mail check and form found here
The Skating Club of Boston Skating Academy	Steriti Rink, North End	7 wks, Sat 10AM Session 1 of 2 starts Nov 18^th	25 min lesson + 25 min practice	Skate rentals $5	$154	$22 per lesson, +$5 per lesson with skate rentals	Register online here
The Skating Club of Boston Skating Academy	Frog Pond, Boston Common	6 wks, Sat or Sun 8:30 am	30 min lesson + 60 min practice	Skate rentals	$150	$25 per lesson, +$6 per lesson for for skate rentals	Register online here
South Boston Youth Hockey Learn to Skate for ages 5-8	Francis Murphy Rink, South Boston	14 Sundays, Nov 5^th – March 11^th at 4pm	50 mins	Must have own hockey helmet, skate rentals for $5	$150 for the season	~$11 per lesson, +$5 per lesson for skate rentals	Must download form and bring to rink
Charlestown Youth Hockey Learn to Skate, Ages 4+ BU Fitness and Recreation Center	O’Neil Rink, Charlestown Walter Brown Arena, 285 Babcock St	14 Saturdays starting Nov 7^th, 12 noon 6 Saturdays, various sessions	50 mins 50 mins	Must have own hockey helmet, skate rentals for $5 Skate rentals	$150 for the season $110/ $90 for FitRec members	~$11 per lesson, +$5 per lesson for skate rentals $18/$15 per lesson, +$5 per lesson for skate rentals	Register online here Register online here

Families outside of the downtown area have other options as well. Check out:

FMC Ice Sports with locations in: East Boston, Cambridge, Revere, etc.
Bay State Skating School locations in W. Roxbury, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Quincy, etc.
Skating Club of Boston Skating Academy in Allston/Brighton, Brookline, Somerville, etc.

Should you buy or rent skates?

Jackie Mercurio, Director at the Boston Common Skating School recommends you rent skates for your child's first session of ice skating. While the rental skates won't fit as well, it is a good idea to get a sense for whether your child enjoys skating before investing in skates.

The pros of owning skates include; no cost to rent skates, no time waiting in line for rentals, and having a pair of skates that fit/lace properly. The pros of renting skates include; no need to worry about sharpening skates, no storing sports equipment in your home or needing to carry skates to/from rink, and no concerns about outgrowing them.

If purchasing skates, invest wisely. A cheap pair of ice skates may be ok for a beginner but they don't hold up well over time. Buying better quality used skates is a good way to save money and make sure you get a good product as well. Check Craigslist and local parent groups like GardenMoms and NEWMA for used skates. Or take a trip to a Play It Again sports store in the suburbs for a secondhand pair. Also, be sure to have new skates sharpened and for beginners once or twice per season should be fine. Fore more frequent/advanced skaters they will need to be sharpened more frequently.

Where to Skate

Once your child is comfortable skating there are tons of options for skating both indoors and outdoors. Here are some nearby options.

Downtown/Back Bay:

Frog Pond, Boston Common See website for hours. Skater under (4’10”) skate free. $6 admission for anyone taller. Skate rentals $12 for adults, $6 for kids. $4 for lockers.
Boston Winter Skating Path at Government Center See website for hours.
Boston University See website for open skate hours, $5 admission and $5 for skate rentals

South Boston:

DCR Francis Murphy Rink See website for open skate hours. Skate rentals $5.

Charlestown:

DCR O’Neil Rink See website for open skate hours. Skate rentals $5.

North End:

Steriti Rink See website for open skate hours. Skate rentals $5

Just Across the Charles River (Cambridge):

MIT Johnson’s Rink: See website for open skate hours. Temporary day pass to use recreation facilities is $15, $5 youth skate rentals, $7 adults.
Kendall Square: Admission $1 for children, $3 for students/seniors, $8 for students/adults. Skate rentals $5 for kids, $8 for adults. $1 lockers.

For more Department of Conservation and Recreation Rinks See: https://www.mass.gov/ice-skating

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Skating Season Boston Families!

Friday, April 1, 2016

Boston April Fools' Day Game

In honor of this being April Fools’ Day, we have our own version of Two Truths and a Lie or for those of you NPR aficionados, "Bluff the Listener". Below are three April Fools’ Day stories all related to Boston. Can you guess which stories are true and which is fiction?

1. One Southern State Honored the Boston Strangler

April 1, 1971: The House of Representatives of one Southern state unanimously passed a resolution honoring Albert DeSalvo, noting he had been "officially recognized by the state of Massachusetts for his noted activities and unconventional techniques involving population control and applied psychology." The politicians were embarrassed when it was later revealed to them that DeSalvo was better known as the "Boston Strangler." He had confessed to killing 13 women. The resolution had been submitted by two representatives, who said they did it to demonstrate that "No one reads these bills or resolutions." Funny, yet not funny!

2. Boston-Based Professor April Fooled the Country

April 1, 1983: A professor of history at one of Boston’s many universities provided a false account of the history of April Fools’ Day, attributing its origin to Roman Emperor Constantine, and his having made one of his jesters or fools, King for the day. His history of the day was taken seriously and published nationwide via the Associated Press. Turns out he made the whole story up though. Happy April Fools’ from Boston’s intellectual elite!

3. Local College Students Tested Archaic Boston Laws

April 1, 1998: Boston has some foolish laws still on the books, ranging from the prohibition of taking baths on Sundays to prohibition of playing the fiddle. One dated law allows anyone to graze their livestock in the Public Garden and Common except for Sundays. A group of college juniors decided to test this out for an April Fools’ prank. On the night of Tuesday, March 31, 1998, friends at the University of New Hampshire helped them borrow cattle from the school and deposited them on Boston’s Common. The joke was on them though because more recent legislation indeed renders this illegal. You’d think college kids would have been smart enough to look that one up!

Friday, March 18, 2016

BPS Assignment and the Lottery

School Assignment Letter from Boston Public Schools

It is almost spring and Boston Public School (BPS) assignments were sent out, mere days before Daylight Savings Time cruelly stole an hour of our lives, adding to the sleep deprivation we already face as parents. If you "won" the lottery - that is found your child placed in one of your top choice schools - congratulations! At least you can sleep soundly for the next few months. If not, you just lost even more sleep as you somewhat irrationally stress about your child's entire future being determined by a lottery.

We lived through this last year for Kindergarten 1, referred to as K1, which is the BPS equivalent of preschool. And now because we applied for a transfer we are going through it again. BPS assignments dominate conversations with local parents these days. Everyone with a newborn baby through kindergarten age child wants to know about our experiences. So here is what we can tell you.

Our Lottery Story: Part 1, K1

Last year, when we entered the lottery for K1, we only selected three schools. The first two were top tier schools which means that children at these schools, on average, score the highest on state exams. The third school we chose happened to be close enough to us that even though it was Tier 3 (students score, on average, in the lower 25-50% on state exams), we thought it was worth considering. Since K1 education is not mandatory, we did not enter the lottery for other schools. Akka was assigned to the Tier 3 school, which is lucky, because she could have been denied an assignment at all, particularly given our choosiness.

Still we called the BPS Welcome Center to find out her wait list numbers for the other two schools to see if there was any hope of a better assignment. She was 76th on one wait list and 81st on another. The K1 school demand report from school year 2014-2015 showed that her assigned school had roughly one student seek entry for every one available seat. At our two first choice schools several students applied for each seat and given the open number of seats, we must have been near the end on both wait lists, with no chance at all of getting in.

Pizza Art Pre-Pizza Making Field Trip Activity

Feeling hesitant about the cost of private preschool, given that we might just end up at this same public school the following year for kindergarten (K2), we decided to consider her assigned school. We spoke with parents of children at the school, attended the school's Open House, met the principal and assistant principal and decided we would give it a try. We knew we could enter the lottery again for K2, so it seemed like a time-limited trial. She started in September and immediately loved it. She spends most of her day learning through play and is lucky enough to have classes including gym, dance, music, yoga, and even STEAM (STEM + Arts) as a K1 student. She has had three field trips this year; one to the New England Aquarium, one where her class walked to a local grocery market to buy ingredients to make pizza and then actually made pizza at school, and one where the kids walked to the local library branch for a special music hour. She is excited to go to school every day and comes home talking about what she did and all of her classmates.

Still at our first choice schools, she would have a more competitive peer group, an extended learning day (her school does not have funding to provide as much in-class time which will matter more as she is older), and foreign language instruction. Additionally her friends that attend our first choice schools have impressive monthly field trips and other bonuses largely funded through parent council-run nonprofits that support those schools.

Our Lottery Story: Part 2, K2

So this year, we did what we thought was best and applied for transfer via the lottery to our two top choice schools again. Then the day before Daylight Savings Time, that envelope arrived in the mail. Although we can continue to apply for transfer each year, this was our last good chance until the sixth grade, for Akka to move into an arguably much better school. We opened the letter and this time, unlike last year, her continued assignment to her current school felt like a blow. Because it was the weekend, we had to wait until Monday to call the Welcome Center. This year her wait list numbers improved, 10th and 15th at each of our two first choice schools. Still this means roughly 20% of the assigned class would have to choose not to attend, for her to get a spot at one of these schools. This also means we will live in "BPS purgatory" waiting for a call that likely will never come, right up until December 2016 when the wait lists are erased.

More on Our Current School

Fortunately our involvement at our daughter's current school is somewhat distracting. Although we are new parents at the school, Ashley easily obtained a seat on the School Site Council - the governing body of the school that makes budgetary and hiring decisions - as she was one of the few parents to show up and participate. We are also active in the School Parent Council. The good news is that for parents like us who want to be involved there is plenty of opportunity. The bad news is being involved makes you realize how few parents are able to or want to be involved.

We are currently working with the school and other involved parents (there is indeed a group of very involved parents) to establish a 501(c)(3) fundraising body for the school via the School Parent Council. We are also working on grant applications. Although 40% of the student population at the school is from the local neighborhood, many of the local families we know send their children to private school or moved out to the suburbs before kindergarten. Much of the remaining local population that send their children to school here is disadvantaged. Additionally nearly 50% of students are bussed in from the city's most disadvantaged neighborhoods (Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester) and the remaining 10% are largely special needs students from other neighborhoods as this is a school with inclusion classrooms in each grade level. From speaking with a fifth grade teacher at the school with regard to a grant application, we learned that 4 of her 23 students have access to a computer and internet at home. This partially explains the School Parent Council's difficulty in reaching out to parents via email and also speaks volumes to how much this school needs families likes ours to stay - that is families who have the means to commit to fundraising and just participating at the school.

Our Truth

So there it all is; our thoughts about our school and about BPS and our experience with the BPS lottery. We are slightly stressed out and concerned, yet also determined to not let our worries and fears make our decisions about our children's education. We continue to remind ourselves about all the positives in our daughter's education this first year at her school and focus on what she is getting rather than dwelling on what she is missing out on from a top tier school that in many ways compares more similarly to private education than to even a wealthy suburban public education.

Our daughter's peers that have special needs, are learning English as their second language, or who do not have the stable home environment that we are able to provide - only remind us how many factors outside of education are involved in determining a child's future. We believe more than her formal education, it is what she receives at home that will guide her on her future path. Further we see the positive in her peer group; a group that can teach her compassion, a group that will help her understand what it means to struggle and overcome, and a group that will help her better understand herself and her own background.

BPS More Broadly

Of course BPS is a much larger and more complicated bear than any one school. Just this week two very interesting events pertaining to BPS occurred. First, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) generated news and conversation throughout the city when it published its report highlighting income inequality among Boston residents. A major finding of the report was the connection between education and income.

Secondly, Mayor Walsh's 2017 budget with its $50 million shortfall of fully funding BPS has continued to be hotly contested before the BPS budget is finalized next week. In the face of a report linking educational attainment and income inequality among Boston residents, it seems willfully and morally wrong to under-fund BPS when there are such clear and visible inequities in the length of school day and curriculum provided between K-8 schools. Parents, students, and teachers are all advocating. It is also important that prospective parents let Mayor Walsh and their City Councilors who determine the City of Boston's budget know they are concerned too, and it is not too late. This coming Wednesday, March 23rd the Boston School Committee will need to approve a balanced budget that will be voted on by the City Council and then go to Mayor Walsh for his signature.

Resources

Considering BPS? Find out what schools you are eligible for at Discover BPS or read about all BPS schools for 2016 on the Discover BPS K-8 Flyer. Learning about and entering the lottery costs you nothing.

If you are already a parent or even just considering that you may someday be a BPS parent, consider learning more about the following ways to engage with BPS.

Learn more about School Parent and Site Councils.
Learn more about Citywide Parent Council.
Learn more about the BPS School Committee.
Learn more about the Boston City Council Education Committee.

Also check out BPS Parent Blogs (see some of them under Resources on our sidebar). Or have a question you think we can answer? Feel free to ask.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Family Friendly St. Patrick's Day?

We love holidays. Our family represents three different religions and twelve different ethnic backgrounds, so we have a lot to celebrate. Today we celebrated four Irish family members' March birthdays with an annual party including an amazing corned beef and cabbage feast, and homemade Irish soda bread. Great Grandpa Mick, who has an Irish brogue so thick that Tim does not always understand him, was sporting his shamrock suspenders.

Photo of Homemade Irish Soda Bread from Today's Celebration

Homemade Irish Soda Bread - Yum!

However, in spite of Boston's sizable population of Irish descent and the city consistently receiving publicity for its top-notch St. Patrick's Day celebration, the cultural components of the holiday are somewhat overshadowed by ludicrous drinking at the St. Patrick's Day parade and Boston-area pubs. See our post about the harmful effects of binge drinking on children and St. Patrick's Day from 2014.

This year, we were hopeful with the Boston Public Schools closed on St. Patrick's Day, (in observation of Evacuation Day, when the British high-tailed it out of the city on March 17th, 1776) and the parade on Sunday, March 20th, that there might actually be great rated-G Irish events in Boston for the kids. Surprisingly, while this past weekend had a few opportunities (e.g., Irish step-dancing at the JFK library on Saturday) and there are some events in the suburbs, Boston is still lacking a large Irish cultural festival appropriate for children. However, here is a run-down of our suggestions for making the most of this holiday week in the city.

Monday, March 14th

6:30PM Irish Folk Concert featuring local Boston group, Erin Og at the Jamaica Plain branch of the Boston Public Library. If you miss them there, they do have numerous other St. Patrick's gigs South of the city over the following days. FREE

Tuesday, March 15th

11:00AM Barnes and Nobles at The Prudential Center in the Back Bay is hosting a St. Patrick's Day story time including Happy St. Patrick's Day Curious George and The Night Before St. Patrick's Day, followed by coloring with green crayons. FREE

Wednesday, March 16th

4:00PM St. Patrick's Day story time and craft at the South Boston branch of the Boston Public Library. While in South Boston, Boston's St. Patrick's Day capital, you can shop across the street where Bringing Up Baby is decked out with St. Patrick's Day merchandise for babies and younger children. Further down West Broadway check out Southie's Own for adult St. Patrick's Day gear and MiamMiam Macaronerie for St. Patrick's Day macarons. Story time and craft are FREE

Thursday, March 17th

11:00AM The Children's Museum never fails to celebrate a holiday. Children can learn about Irish folktales and participate in arts and crafts including creating shamrocks and bracelets with Celtic designs until 1:30PM. At the same time, the museum will also be celebrating Japan's Hina-Matsuri or Girls' Day holiday creating origami dolls in the Japanese House. Two holidays for the price of one. But warning, do expect this to be very crowded with so many children off of school for the day. On the upside, Flour Bakery, around the corner usually features cupcakes and/or cookies with green frosting for the holiday. Museum Admission

10:00AM but go anytime of day. Go a different kind of green at the Boston Flower and Garden Show. Admittedly this has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day or Ireland other than greenery fitting well with the theme. Still, two years ago we went and Akka loved it. The show's gardens and plants were beautiful and she loved looking at them. In the Little Sprouts Center for kids, activities included making crepe paper flowers and decorating visors to wear outside gardening. It was very well planned and organized. The show starts on Wednesday and ends Sunday. $20 per adult, free for children under 6

8:00AM onwards. Want to make a traditional Irish meal with your kids? The Boston Public Market has corned beef, cabbage and anything else you may need and several promotions in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Cost of your purchases

9:00AM Like the Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium is likely to be packed because of the school holiday, but it is near The Boston Public Market if you wanted to combine activities. While the aquarium doesn't have a specific St. Patrick's Day event, they do have a cute idea for a "green scavenger hunt" in honor of the holiday. It is also close enough to Faneuil Hall to swing by Kilvert and Forbes for their St Patrick's Day cupcakes and the Irish Eyes pushcart for merchandise. Aquarium Admission

7:00PM The Community Music Center of Boston is having a family-friendly St. Patrick's Day concert. This show is a bit too late for our little ones during the school week but for anyone who is interested, the details are here. FREE

ALL DAY Another option is to head to Legoland or just shopping at Assembly Row in Somerville. Just by visiting you can enter in their St. Patrick's Day raffle. While there check out JPLicks for an Irish themed treat like the Mint Irish Chipwich or Irish Lace Frappe.

ALL DAY Many other local businesses will market kitschy but fun or yummy St. Patrick's Day specials such as green bagels at Bruegger's and Irish cream and Guinness flavored cupcakes at Sweet.

Friday, March 18th

10:00AM If you happen to live in one of South Boston's zip codes and you are a South Boston MOMS Club member or join before Friday, you can attend the club's St. Patrick's Day Party which includes a play date with snacks, activities and St. Patrick's Day goody bags. Join here. FREE FOR MEMBERS

SOLD OUT The Curious George Store in Cambridge is hosting a reading of Happy St. Patrick's Day Curious George and scavenger hunt but registration is required and it is already fully booked.

If you are determined to go to the parade with children this weekend, given the binge drinking of many attendees, please consider watching from one for the family friendly zones. Once information is available I will update it here and on social media. UPDATE: Seems there are no designated family friendly zones this year. However Boston.com recommends some areas for family watching the parade if you are determined to go even with the crazy snow forecast!

Friday, March 11, 2016

Review: Sea Squirts Classes

photo of a page in Eric Carle's book Mr Seahorse of a fish mouth breeding

Mouth Brooding in Mr. Seahorse

Like other classes for preschoolers, Sea Squirts at the New England Aquarium helps children work on motor and verbal skills, as well as important social skills such as taking turns and playing with other children in a classroom environment. However Sea Squirts is a unique opportunity as it also provides an introduction to aquatic life and fundamental science skills including observation and exploration; STEM!

The current Sea Squirts session is called "Ocean Babies." The four classes in this session focus on the following topics; mouth brooding, egg cases, plankton, and reptile eggs. There are 9 children in the class (classes are capped at 10) and although the classes are for children 2-4 years, most of the children in this class seem to be 3 years or younger. Note: the aquarium also offers Sea Squirts Preview classes for children 12-24 months. The instructors Miss Chelsea and Miss Ali are good with children, but knowledgeable enough to answer adult questions as well.

For the first class - mouth brooding - children arrived and played with fish puzzles, sea blue homemade play dough and other toys. Parents were provided a handout with facts about mouth brooding:

Mouth brooding is when one parent, usually the father, incubates the eggs with his mouth
During this time father fish are not eating and must be careful not to swallow
Some father fish will even shelter the young, known as fry, after they hatch, within their mouth until they grow too large to fit.

In addition to the story read during the class, the handout suggested Love You Dad: A Book of Thanks and Hug a Bull: An Ode to Animal Dads.

Picture of a craft fish mouth brooding from Sea Squirts class at the New England Aquarium

Mouth Brooding Fish Craft

After five minutes of playtime, the instructors guided the children in cleaning up toys. Circle time began and the children were each given maracas or bells to play while singing the Sea Squirts Anthem - a simple song to the familiar tune of "You Are My Sunshine". Before being asked to put the instruments away the children shook their instruments for a count of 5, practicing counting.

The instructors then explained mouth brooding and showed photographs of male "Daddy" fish with eggs in their mouths. Since the children would be seeing a Daddy cardinal fish mouth brooding when visiting an exhibit at the aquarium, they were called up one at a time by name (i.e., to practice waiting and taking turns) to place cardinal fish on a felt board.

Children were then guided in a paper plate craft decorating their own Daddy fish. Once the children made the fish with huge pocket mouths from the plates, they were given toy baby fish to hold in the mouths. The children then danced and tried not to spill any of the baby fish out. When the music ended, the children were asked to have the "Daddy fish" spit the baby fish out as they were ready to go out on their own.

The children sat down for a second circle time. The instructors played a video on an iPad of a Daddy fish mouth brooding and then read Eric Carle's, Mr. Seahorse. Once again they sang the Sea Squirts Anthem with instruments.

The class then walked over to the aquarium's main building to see the exhibits and specifically the mouth brooding Daddy cardinal fish. Unlike the other cardinal fish in the tank, the mouth brooding Daddy fish did not swim about but stayed roughly in one spot. When other fish came near he pulled back away from them, clearly protective of his babies. His cheeks were also puffy and full. Once in awhile his mouth opened slightly and you could see pink fish roe, as compared to the inner mouths of the other fish which were black. Class ended but we stayed at the aquarium and enjoyed seeing blue penguins, fish in the giant tank eating a head of lettuce, and sea dragons. Just before leaving we stopped to touch stingrays and then went and said goodbye to the Daddy fish and headed home in time for lunch.

Mouth Brooding Cardinal Fish

At a cost of $55 per session ($13.75 per class) for aquarium members this is well worth it. Signing up for one session at a time makes this a relatively small financial and time commitment. For Malli the social skills component of being with other children is great. While many of the activities were things we could do on our own, we probably would not. Additionally, we never would have noticed the cardinal fish that was mouth brooding at the aquarium. Best of all perhaps, the class was educational for the adults as well, which is very different than a MyGym or Groovy Babies type class.

Another benefit of the class is that it helps us to take advantage of our aquarium membership. While we love going to the aquarium, we are hesitant to go too often so as not to wear the experience out. These classes help draw a focus to each aquarium visit. While at the aquarium afterwards we did not feel like we needed to try and see all the exhibits. We had already been there long enough with the class that we could just focus on a few exhibits.

Bottom Line: Sea Squirts is a different and science-based way to engage toddlers/preschoolers in a class environment. It is exactly the type of opportunity that is unique and wonderful about living in Boston.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Binge Drinking & St. Patrick's Day

What do the Whiskey Priest, Lucky Mint Coolattas from Dunkin' Donuts and copious amounts of vomit have in common? Answer: St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, for families a disappointing rated-R experience. St. Patrick’s Day in the city potentially exposes children to dangerous levels of intoxication and resulting questionable behavior (i.e., public urination, fights, swearing, etc.). We love Boston. We like shamrocks. (A fun fact is that rumors suggest the shamrock was used by St. Patrick to represent the holy trinity.) And who doesn't want a pot of gold? Amongst our combined 12 ethnic backgrounds, our family is part Irish, so please do not think we are being St. Patrick's Day Scrooges. We are not trying to rain in anyone’s Lucky Charms but suggest if your goal is cultural entertainment, beware the Boston St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

Of course some unadulterated, culturally-based St. Patrick's Day celebrations do occur in Boston, such as the St.Patrick’s Day festivities at the Children’s Museum. Mostly, however, the holiday is an excuse to binge drink, so much so that it is nearly impossible to travel in the city without witnessing inappropriate behavior. The MBTA and streets alike swarm with highly intoxicated party-goers, their spilled beer, antics that include such traditions as "Erin Go Bra-less" and eventually their vomit. Thus even if drinking is not on your agenda, it is hard to avoid the thousands of people who are badly intoxicated.

Looking at the Shamrock Another Way

The literature is rife regarding the impacts of adolescent binge drinking amongst high school and college students, as well as the impacts on infants of maternal binge drinking. However, less noted is the impact on young children of witnessing binge drinking. Still we are able to document at least a triad (or shamrock) of concerns in regards to binge drinking on St. Patrick's Day.

In 2010 the BBC conducted a study and reported 30% of children are scared of adults drinking.[1] A personal anecdote about an early memory of inappropriate adult drinking is from seven years of age witnessing a man pass out on the beach in Florida. More than two decades later, the scene and feeling of fright are vivid. The incident was an anomaly on an otherwise benign public beach that could not have predicted and subsequently avoided. St. Patrick's Day in Boston on the other hand is predictably troublesome. The Boston Police Department reported in 2013 at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston alone (which by the way, if you live under the Blarney Stone, is under scrutiny for its anti-gay stance) they handed out 336 citations for drinking in public, made 26 arrests for disorderly conduct and there was one account of assault for “throat-kicking.”[2,3] This year, officers assigned to the parade issued 293 citations for public drinking and made five arrests, two for disorderly conduct and three for public drinking. One subject was placed in protective custody.[4] This leads to the second area of concern - the normalization of binge drinking.

Sign of the Season on Seaport Blvd

Exposure to alcohol abuse, in addition to being scary, normalizes the behavior. Children who see this type of behavior are more likely to emanate it when they are older, and according to the Boston Public Health Commission, binge drinking is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States.[5,6] In Boston, St. Patrick’s Day coincides with a sharp spike in alcohol-related emergency department visits. Rates have steadily increased in recent years with nearly 120 alcohol-related emergency department visits on March 17-18, 2012.[6] Even though an experience seeing adults binge drink on St. Patrick's Day may be an isolated experience, in reflection later in life, a child will know their parents brought them to an event that was predictably toxic in this regard and that sends a message that the behavior is accepted on some level.

Furthermore, while an isolated experience viewing heavy intoxication presumably will not cause lasting damage to a child, poor behavior resulting from intoxication could be more traumatic. Obviously any child who witnessed the near-winner of the Darwin awards for natural selection who was injured falling off a rooftop along the parade route in 2012 may be particularly upset.[7] It is not implausible to think a child may see such a traumatic alcohol-related incident on St. Patrick's Day in Boston. The incident could be discomforting, such as a show of a stranger's private parts, or violent like a fight.

We know our own children will have experiences where they, witness heavy intoxication despite our best intentions. Still, certain days and places in Boston (in addition to St. Patrick's Day, many sports games and win celebrations) are as mentioned before predictably troublesome and avoidable.

The Southie St. Patrick's Day Parade for Children?

St. Patrick's Parade 2011, the first and last time I went

Nevertheless we understand why taking children to the parade seems like a fun idea. South Boston CAN, an organization committed to decreasing substance abuse in the neighborhood, established Family Friendly Zones along the parade route “to ensure there are safe and sober venues to watch the proceedings.” For anyone planning on attending a future parade, the Family Friendly Zones are located at The Action Center at 424 West Broadway, Old Colony at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Rev. Burke Street and The Laboure Center at 275 West Broadway and feature face-painting and snacks.[8] Despite good intentions, we remain unconvinced these zones are able to shelter children from behavior that may be dangerous or frightening. In 2012 the Boston Police Department reported the following:

"At about 1:10pm . . .

officers assigned to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade . . . heard an individual cursing and swearing at them in a loud voice as they passed by . . . Given the fact that there were a large number of young children in the immediate area who were well within ear shot of the individual who displayed negligible levels of discomfort with his decision to loudly curse and swear at police officers, the decision was made to arrest the individual. Officers arrested . . . and charged him with Drinking in Public."[9]

Unfortunately, as this example demonstrates, violators of public drinking laws may be arrested for inappropriate behavior near children, but only after they have caused a problem in front of those children. It is certainly not an isolated incident either. The Rush/Doherty family who attended this year (2014) with young children was quoted in a Boston Globe article expressing concern about the level of intoxication and behavior they witnessed.[10]

St. Patrick's Day Tips for Boston Families

For anyone determined to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the city as a family the following are thoughts for how to avoid exposing children to the binge drinking behavior that abounds.

Areas to avoid include South Boston, Faneuil Hall/Government Center/Downtown, and the Back Bay, which are chock full of Irish pubs and bars. Any other area in (or outside of the city) near an Irish pub, bar or parade and of course the MBTA should also be considered rated-R on March 17th.

Even if driving, children may be better off enjoying the forbidden entertainment of an electronic device such as a tablet, smartphone, or gaming device, lest they look out the windows at the sights.

Do not try to walk anywhere before noon on both March 17th and parade day (if they are not the same) and 6pm the following day as you will surely have to dodge vomit.

Oh wait those tips were not helpful? They basically told you to just avoid the city. Oops! Our family usually goes green for the holiday with a trip to the greenery of the suburbs. All we can say is if you are reading these tips and laughing at what you believe is exaggeration, you have never been in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day!

[1] “Third of children 'scared' by adult drinking,” BBC News, July 5, 2010.

[2] “Boston Police Arrest Numbers,” BostInno, March 18, 2013.

[3] MBTA Transit Police, “He’s No St. Patrick,” tpdnews blog, March 18, 2013.

[4] "St. Patrick's Day Parade Update," bpdnews.com, March 16, 2014.
[5] "Overview of Factors that Impact Binge Drinking, by Context/Domain," SAMHSA.
[6] "Have a Safe St. Patrick's Day: Avoid Binge Drinking," Boston Public Health Commission, March 14, 2014.

[7] “Man Falls From Roof During St. Pat's Parade,” wcvb.com, March 19, 2012.

[8] “St. Patrick’s Day Parade by the Numbers,” Boston Business Journal, March 14, 2013. See also South Boston CAN.

[9] “If You Got Arrested at this Year's St. Patrick’s Day Parade – You Probably Did Something to Deserve It,” Boston Police Department Official Facebook Page, March 19, 2012.
[10] Fox, Jeremy C. "Controversy Fails to Take Fun out of St. Patrick's Day Parade," The Boston Globe, March 17 2014.

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