 Cape Cod Mommies is thrilled to be hosting a giveaway sponsored by Dexy's Delightful Crochet run by local Cape Cod Mom Heather! Read more to learn about Heather and try to win one Hi! My name is Heather (aka Dexy) and I'm a stay at home mom with two little girls, ages 2.5 years and 13 months. It's always been my dream to stay home with my kids, but I was always doubtful that we'd be able to pull it off. We've had our ups ad downs, but with my hard-working husband and a little help from God we've been able to manage so far. While being a mommy and wife is a full-time job, I do miss working and contributing financially to our family. 
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 By: Joan Walsh
As a writer for, and former educator of children, I have noticed today’s young children need a quiet story more than ever. Their fast paced, high tech, auditory, and visual lives seem to increase a child’s inability to focus and comprehend important messages in the department of life skills. Parents and teachers speak of children appearing more overactive, more frustrated, and needier of an anger management program. Why? Lack of inner peace, security, and comfort. We adults can help by lowering our voices, lowering the volume of technical equipment, and limiting time spent watching flash videos and TV shows. Try taking extra time to organizing your child’s day in a calm manner, and avoid over scheduling your child. Add time for oral and silent reading of quiet stories that allow for discussion about people relating to people. Joan Walsh By: Corinne Cameron You would think that as much as needs to be accomplished on any given day that I would prioritize my tasks accordingly, right? Yeah that doesn't seem to happen, as evidenced by the hour and quarter I just spent meticulously figuring out the exact nutritional information for my son's oatmeal mix as if I was about to report my findings to a Weight Watchers meeting. I was actually nervous! What if it was too many points or that I was making a seemingly good meal worse with all my “additives”? Then, with a head shake in order to physically empty it out, I realized that: 1) He is two and doesn't have to watch his weight, 2) All my “additives” were healthy additions and 3) Where in the world did the Weight Watchers thought come from? I'm not in the program nor is anyone in my household. I dabbled once about 10 years ago, but when it became my own personal game of “how few points can Corinne eat today” I realized it wasn't for me, as I don't think that was the program creator's “point” (no pun intended). If you read my first post, you'll see what I wrote about digressing...well insert the same sentiment here. I digressed so much in this blog post that I had to go and change the entire subject matter! Like right now with what I was writing, I had a few paragraphs about priorities and organization, asking questions about how you, the reader, handle these things and such. I ended up realizing that I had wanted to formally introduce my little miracle, Remy. The segue into talking about him was actually quite smooth and appropriate but youʼll have to take my word on it since with a swift “Command X” it was cut out of this post and plunked into the next one, albeit needing to be re-worked a bit. So now needing a new lead into gushing about my toddler, Iʼll start with the following: In my immediate family, which comprises of: my husband, Rob; my 2 year old; and my boy/girl 15 year old twin step children, William and Samantha and myself, of course, we are passionate about all things theatre. Rob and Samantha both fully enjoy acting on the community theatre (and on the high school stage for Samantha) stages on the Cape, both enjoying their fair share of success and lead roles. William has also participated in the past but rather watch the productions than perform; however, he is turning into a nice little critic! My background involves a brief stint in the professional acting world and a resume full of acting, stage managing and directing in community theatre, here on Cape Cod. Collectively, we have learned, from both personal “hands on” experience as well as observing others' personal drama throughout many productions, that there is a delicate balance between life and theatre. Being in production has a way of sweeping you up, completely enveloping you and if you're not careful, it can overtake you and cause some questionable decision making. I offer this warning more to parents of teens because I remember being in shows back then (a looong time ago) and totally living in a fantasy world and needing to be shocked into reality when it was over. It was a tough adjustment at times, especially as you go through the pains of puberty, and it usually had heart break with some boy associated with it too. Iʼm going to take a moment to say something important here. Theatre brings so much joy and has more positives then I can even think. So I encourage people who have never been on stage or adults that haven't graced it (the stage) since high school, to go out and give it a try. HOWEVER, please do so fully knowing the time and energy commitment involved and with the support of your partner, if you have one, and even your kids. I would hate for someone to find a new passion and their family be resentful for the time away from them. That's why shows with children in them are so great! It is something you can participate in as a family, even if not everyone is on stage as there are plenty of behind the scene duties available. Also, if you're having difficulties in your relationship, getting involved in a theatre production may not be the activity you want to start, in order to take some time and space to think about things...Let's leave it at that. The reason I am writing about the commitment is to give some explanation for the following story. Some may shake their head reading some of it and question our decision-making, but I wouldn't change a thing if I could go back and do it all over again. With that…..
Meet my two year old, Remy. He was born on 11/11/11, 4 weeks early. I know everyone says their child is a miracle, because they all are, but he was a miracle in that he beat all the odds for existence. After 8 miscarriages and 3 years of complete infertility during my first marriage, he was not only conceived but done so while I was on the Depo shot! I hadn't been with my current husband that long and we had talked about the struggles I had had and our plans to try conceiving the following year. Well he had other plans!
Despite the birth control, which was used for regulation purposes, Remy and our journey began. As each week passed with hcg levels going up and strong heart beats seen and then heard on the different ultrasounds, we were in complete awe of this incredible blessing. Now I, unfortunately had one of my miscarriages at 11 weeks, so I worked really hard not to get my hopes up until we got to that magic “Week 13”. Which is irony isnʼt it? In any other context the number 13 would be dreaded. I mean they purposely skip numbering the 13th floor in tall buildings, when all it's doing is screwing with the psyche of the people on the 14th floor. Anyway, the second trimester came and went without too much incident and then BAM, welcome the third trimester. I should mention that my past fertility issues were not the only reason my pregnancy was high risk. I was “advanced maternal age” at 35 years old (I guess the whole “35 is the new 25” doesnʼt apply in gynecology), have Lupus and also suffered disabling injuries from a bad car wreck in 2007. So the doctors were always on their guard with me and, self-fulfilling prophecy or not, I ended up with pre-eclampsia and was put on restricted activity. Oh wait!! Did I fail to mention that I was in the middle of directing a production of Guys and Dolls at the time? Yeah, it took me a bit to wrap my head around the fact that I, a director that is very hands-on, showing actors physically what I want, had to do this while restricted. And as these things go, eventually ended up on full bed-rest as my blood pressure and my belly grew. After arguing with my doctors, we came to a happy medium. I could go to rehearsals as long as I didnʼt move while there and any other time stayed on strict bed rest. Enter my incredible husband, who after securing a big comfy chair on wheels that also lounged backwards, would bring me into the building, settle me in my new chair with my legs propped up and would wheel me anywhere I needed (usually the bathroom) to go. The experience actually taught me a lot. I needed to learn how to explain things instead of physically showing them. In other words it made me think on my feet rather than being on them. Theatre tends to do that, you end up learning things that can be useful in many factions of life while also growing as a director, actor or whatever other discipline you are undertaking. My husband always says, and I fully agree with it, that if he ever stops learning and growing as an actor then it would be time to give it up. Well I made it through...almost. The show opened and had a very successful opening weekend. The reviews were quite positive and I was so proud of Rob whom I couldnʼt take my eyes off each night as he portrayed the suave, Sky Masterson. Anyway, on Thursday the 10th I had my last ultra sound appointment with my maternal fetal medicine specialist. Everything looked great, however she said “Well now we will look for reasons to take him out as when things go down-hill they go down fast”. Little did I know how the next 24hours would turn out..again with that self-fulfilling prophecy thing. After a long night with little sleep as my blood pressure was through the roof, I awoke to a great article in the CC Times talking about the show. The bulk of the article was about directing in my third trimester and she ironically summed it up saying that we all hoped that the baby would wait until the show closed to make his opening appearance. I got dressed and headed out the door to the OBʼs office, sending my husband to work and assuring him all would be all right. Ok, I knew it was the day, but I'm an actor and did a real good job at calming him, plus he needed to be on stage that night at 8pm to start off our second weekend of performances. From the office I was sent over to maternity at the hospital for some monitoring, texting my husband frequently with no news, as they kept saying “Let's wait and see”. He made it until about noon when he called saying he was going to get packed up as he wasn't being productive (he was in Woods Hole) and drive to get the twins from their mother's house in Yarmouth and await news as to what was going to happen. Well at 2:30 everything sprung into action. Nurses came in and out, poking me and asking questions. When I expressed my concern about my husband not arriving yet, they assured me not to worry as we had to wait for the surgical team which could take a bit. Two minutes later (of course) the surgical team and the anesthesiologist came popping in saying “Ready to go” and I yelled a resounding “No”! Then, after breaking many speed limits, my husband and step kids came running into the room at about 3pm. Nurses threw a surgical gown at him and at 3:24pm, Veterans Day or 11/11/11, our miracle arrived. Unfortunately, as is common with Caucasian boys in their 36th week, he had breathing complications soon after birth. Because I had a spinal for my C-section, I obviously couldnʼt move, so I was not able to be in the special care nursery with my precious Remy as they gave him oxygen. Rob and the older kids took turns coming back into my room with photos and video of his first hours of life. Now is where that balance thing comes in… It was time for Rob and Samantha (who was also in the show) to leave for the theatre. The pediatrician assured them and me that Remy would be fine and to have a good show. I chuckled as, after all I went through to get the production off the ground, there wasnʼt much that would make me cancel a performance. Well, not 20 minutes after they left, the doctor came back in and gave me the horrible news that Remy needed to go to Tufts Medical Center in Boston because of his lung function. He again assured me that this was common and that he would be fine but needed extra support. I had to battle whether to tell my husband or not. Here he had to entertain a hundred plus theatre patrons, singing and dancing, but he deserved to know what was happening with our little boy. To make a long story short, he as the incredible performer that he is , got up on stage and submerged himself into the world of gambling and gangsters. Right after the show he returned to stay with me at the hospital as it would take until the following day for me to be transferred up to our son. Remy had a 25 day struggle in the NICU at Tufts and special care nursery at Jordan but came home on December 7th, his due date. Since then he has grown and flourished and is a perfectly healthy 2 year old boy. Since his birth I have directed 3 more shows and starred as an actor in one while his dad has starred in 5 shows! Remy has also made appearances in 2 shows to date! Theatre is a special part of my family's life and I hope that it will be an integral part in Remyʼs life as he grows up in it. If you have any questions about how to find a theatre or production for you or your children please donʼt hesitate to comment, find me on Face Book or email me at rnrtheatre25@gmail.com. If you enjoyed this post please “like” it on FB so I know you want to hear more!  by Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS It is the responsibility of the adult to protect children from sexual abuse. Part of that job includes educating children about what belongs to them; their body, inside and out! And that begins on day one. “Eyes” “Toe” “Belly” “Knee” “Bottom” And eventually, “Penis” “Vagina” Instead of saying “eye” we could call them your “peek-a-boos.” Nose could be your “sniffer.” So why do we need cute little names for the penis and vagina? When we give our children confidence about knowing about their body; who it belongs to, what it does, what the parts are called, our children are better equipped to recognize when a pedophile is testing how much they can get away with in trying to break the social rules they have been taught. In effect, “We disarm the pedophile.” Grooming “Grooming” in the sexual abuse context is known as the steps taken by a pedophile to form a relationship with the child, gain trust, and begin the process of “testing” to see what they can get away with before the risk of being caught gets too high. This is an entire topic of its own and every parent should seek to understand it well. Some examples include; · Being really friendly and trying to connect with the child around the child’s interests, whether it be building with blocks, playing with matchbox cars or playing video games. · Tickling could be a sign of grooming. The potential offender tickles the child, getting the expected laughing that is often an involuntary response to tickling. They watch closely to see if the child will pull away or run behind the parent, or if an adult will intervene with a “we have a no tickling rule in our family.” If they are not stopped, their next step might be to get closer to between the child’s legs for the “tickle.” Once again, they tell observe the response of the child and any onlookers. If they are “caught,” it can simply have been an accident and they move on to another potential victim. · They might tell the child an insignificant “secret” and see if the child keeps it. This is just a test. Children who can be trusted with little secrets, can be trusted with bigger secrets. · They might use a child’s lack of knowledge about their body parts by using a “silly” name for the part and joking about it or playing a “show me” game. When a child has learned a few basics about their digestive system, they know that the liquid that they drank that their body didn’t need to use for energy comes out of their penis. They don’t think that their “wee-wee” is a silly thing that gets a lot of giggles and causes “red faces” (i.e. embarrassment). They know that their penis is an important part of their body and a part that is needed by them and only them. There is no reason to show or to share. Every boy and man has one and they keep it to themselves. Resources Look Inside Your Body This book and others like it, lift-the-flap type, sometimes become favorites of young children. You can begin very early teaching your child some very simplistic facts about where food goes when they chew and then swallow; how their muscles and bones are working under their skin. A child who knows some of HOW their body works, will be much more confident when they get a stomach bug, or constipation, or a broken bone. Many parts are covered. The Care & Keeping You For girls - There are now more titles in the series. This is the American Girl Book that so many people already know about. It covers basic facts about a preteen/teenager’s emotional and physical life changes. There are no, so-called “liberal” values pushed and there are no so-called “conservative” values pushed. It’s your basic pimple, bra, tampon and pad, braces, etc. information, beautifully illustrated and presented. Depending on the emotional and physical level of development the girl you are giving it to is at, it could very well be appropriate to introduce this book at 9 or 10 years old, but possibly later with some girls. When girls (and boys) know what to expect BEFORE changes occur, they are looking forward to these changes. When they come by surprise, girls and boys are often embarrassed. The Bare Naked Book I really like this book for preschool and even younger. It is a basic body part labeling book, nicely illustrated, that shows mostly just what is needed to be shown, but generally no more, (i.e. there is no need in this medium to show the genital or reproductive area of an older child or adult, and it is NOT shown). I am NOT in favor of family bathroom time, which is depicted here. I simply told my child, and children in my office, that “In our family we take turns in the bathroom and give each other privacy.” The same goes for naked swimming, even for toddlers. There is a picture of a kiddy pool where an illustrated child is naked. I use the same kind of response. The Boy's Body Book This book is on par with The Care & Keeping of You, but for boys. Again, no values pushing. It should be presented when the adult notices that the boy appears to be just about entering puberty or a little before if you can time it well. The Girl's Body Book Same as The Boy’s Body Book, only for girls. It's My Body Appropriate to introduce at the same time as other simple books around 3 or 4 years old. This book is very simple and very good, but with no special illustrations or colors; simple black and white drawings mostly of the main child. I have been using this book professionally for 20 years. A very basic, “It’s my body and I can say ‘no.’” The Trouble With Secrets Same series as It’s My Body. Very good. I’ve been using it for years. Child Safety 101 Excellent book for adults. Every household should have one and every mother AND father should read it. It covers lots of topics of child safety in a condensed, organized format. We were headed to Disney when I first read this book. Some of the hotel safety tips were really good to read right before a vacation. The following resources are ones that I once used but use no longer. A Very Touching Book This book covers good touching, bad touching and secret touching. I no longer use this book because, though the characters are all cartoon, it is very graphic. In some regards, upon first glance, it seems like it would be very good to show all ages, all body types, etc. It tries to cause a reader to get a giggle, like people getting on a bus naked, or in the public showers. The book is too graphic in my opinion. Using it with children who have been sexually abuse is very risky. The nature of the images can be very overwhelming for children. I understand that some might disagree with me. It's Perfectly Normal Big risk here, I go against lots of professionals here, including the well renowned Dr. T. Berry Brazelton (whom btw I have learned a lot from), and other very influential professionals and academies in the field of child health. It is my opinion, (shared by some very mature teenagers) that the look is NOT values neutral. There is a definite bias. I believe it is too graphic and explanatory (even though it also is in cartoon form) and can stir a lot of emotion, hormones and confusion about what young people this age are and should be doing. I believe that it is sufficient to explain to a boy that they will experience emotional and physical feelings and changes as they develop and that is “perfectly normal.” I do not believe the author needed to go on to show cartoon images of boys with erections, masturbating, sitting with their “girlfriend” and depicting these changes. I could go through it chapter by chapter, and many may disagree with me. The point with any of these books is for parents to review the material first. Talk with the other parent before exposing the child to a book, topic or other material. ASK, ASK, ASK for the curriculum in your child’s health, sex education and/or science class as early as Kindergarten and go over all material that your child is bringing home on the subjects, particularly in light of the Common Core. It is YOUR responsibility to teach your child about their body, their safety and your values. Other Considerations That Need To Be Thought Through and Consciously Decided by Parents We give our children messages about rules in life, just by living with them. Messages about privacy, self-respect and pride in what belongs to them, come from just living together. The way that some of these issues are lived out can place children at a higher risk of abuse. Family values and beliefs, developmental level of the child, age of the child, stage of sexual maturations, etc. are all things that need to be considered. · The family bed · The open door bathroom · The sibling tub  Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS
If you would like more information or a consultation, please go to www.tracylamperti.com. If you have any concerns that your child or a child you know may be being sexually abused, please consult with myself or another professional trained in this area right away. Sexual abuse has lasting and devastating effects on an individual and our community. You can help protect your own or another child. Tracy Lamperti, LMHC, BCETS Psychotherapist, Educator, Consultant My Blog My Website lamperticc@gmail.com 774-722-5919  By Michele I was recently the lucky recipient of a free photo session with Lydia Leclair Photography from Cape Cod Mommies. When I heard the news I was very excited! I've been wanting to do a photo shoot with my husband and my twin boys for a while now but haven't had the extra cash, so this was such a great prize! After confirming the date, place and time (twice, due to weather!!) we were able to coordinate schedules. We met at long pasture wildlife sanctuary in Barnstable.. Where my husband & I got married, where our boys were blessed surrounded by friends and family and a place we have had many picnics! It's our spot :) When meeting Lydia I could tell we were going to get along quite well. She was very down to earth and relaxed. We started on the beach first and worked our way up to the trees & greens. And we just played and explored with our boys while she took pictures. Of course we did some posed, which I love, but the ones where my boys are just running and smiling are the best. It was a lot of fun. After about an hour we went back to our cars, met her extremely sweet family who was exploring the sanctuary and Lydia mentioned she would be in touch with me soon about the pictures. A few days later she emailed me with a thank you note and some amazing photographs. I picked out which ones we wanted to keep (came with the contest prize) and they were sent to me in a link, a few on Facebook with my permission and a few hard copies in the mail. All in all, working with Lydia was great. My family is very lucky for this opportunity and I'm thankful for the beautiful pictures hanging on my walls. Check out Lydia's Website & Facebook Page!
By: Corinne Cameron I expected to start this blog post, my first “official” one for Cape Cod Mommies, all competent sounding. For example saying; “I recently sat down with Lisa Jo Rudy, director of the upcoming production of Alice and Wonderland at The Woods Hole Theatre Company and we had and incredible and lively conversation about the production but also children’s theatre itself. That sounds good right? Well that didn’t exactly happen. Why you ask? Well its easy and can be described in only one word! Motherhood. Heck, I didn’t even have time to do a phone interview, let alone sit down in a cozy coffee shop, not having time constraints or others cares to side track the conversation. What I was able to do was to cobble together a bunch of questions in an email in between making dinner, stepping on a lego (you would have thought I was dying it hurt so badly), texting a colleague to say that I am not going to make the meeting that started 5 minutes before I sent the text, telling my husband to relax and that its a good thing that our son is playing with his yogurt, smearing it over his belly as its a learning opportunity and easily wiped up. Of course the above list just created more things that had to be accomplished after dinner, which I still needed to finish cooking, because now a bath was in order (and its not a normal bath day), we had to clean up more toys as in my frustration I threw the lego in its bucket, grumbling and not paying attention I tripped over a different bucket spilling things everywhere and because I flaked on the Gala planning meeting, I now needed to type up all that I had gotten accomplished for it in order to email it to the other committee members so they know I actually did something. But I digress, which happens a lot. I figure if I could stay on track in general I could get a lot more accomplished during the day, but then I wouldn’t be “me”. Anyway..Back on track! Thankfully Lisa Jo Rudy is a great writer (she does it for a living) and was more than happy to answer my questions and also expanded on them giving me lots of great information to share with everyone. The following are the questions I asked and her responses. From the looks of it this is going to be an incredible experience for our youth. Corinne: What made you want to direct a children's show? Lisa: Actually, I didn't want to direct a CHILDREN'S show: my interest is in multigenerational shows that include and feature children. Why? Well, first of all, I actively enjoy working with children, particularly children who are relatively new to theater, or for whom theater is an unusual opportunity to shine. A lot of kids have a tough time in school, but are real standouts in theater -- whether onstage or backstage. I have also seen that including people of all ages in a show means that people of all ages get to know one another -- not as "so and so's kid," or "so and so's mom," but as real people with whom they share a lifelong interest in a shared community. It's also important, I think, that multigenerational shows require EVERYONE, whatever their age, to accept the SAME level of responsibility for the success of the production. This isn't a "fun little activity for the kids," but rather a community theatre production with a professional mindset. in which kids have the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else. A child who rises to the challenge of theater is rising to the SAME challenge as the teens and adults around him or her. Also: I always wanted to BE a kid onstage, so this is a chance for my younger self to finally get that opportunity! Corinne: What type of children are you looking for or what are some characteristics potential “auditioners” should have? Lisa: First, what's NOT important: kids don't necessarily need a lot of onstage experience, or a strong background in performing. They don't need high grades, and they don't need to be popular, athletic, or even good looking. They also don't need to be the BEST actor, singer, or dancer around. What they DO need are:
For Alice, we will be casting children ages 6 and up (including teens and adults). We hope to find kids with all the abilities above, as well as some kids with good skills in singing, playing instruments, and tumbling. We are also very open to kids who are interested in helping with set construction, costumes, and props -- and we are hoping to find some teens who enjoy helping younger kids get into costume and be ready to go on stage. We will not be accepting children under the age of 6 for this show. Corinne: Why do you think children's theatre is important and how do you feel theatre in general can benefit a child? Lisa: Theater is one of the world's oldest arts, and a child who gets involved with theater has a lifetime of enjoyment, friendship, learning, and excitement ahead of him or her. Community theater offers kids what I think may be a unique opportunity to take a real, responsible role in a project that includes people of all ages, that is significant to the entire community, and in which their hard work matters just as much as any adult's. That goes not only for kids on stage but also for kids backstage. Theater people are also different, in many ways, from "typical" people in the community. They tend to value different things -- imagination instead of athletic ability; artistic finesse instead of popularity; hands-on skills instead of grade scores. For many kids, theater is the one place where their greatest skills are not only valued but also nurtured -- and that experience won't end just because your child grows up. In fact, it can continue throughout their lives and on into old age! Corinne: What is unique about your production? Lisa: This will be the first family show in Woods Hole for decades! Our plan is to do some unusual things depending upon who turns out for auditions: ideally, we hope to have a group of vocalists (singers), a few instrumentalists, multiple Alice's and White Rabbits (we'll explain when we see auditioners). If we get good tumblers who are small enough, they will become live hedgehogs in the Red Queen's croquet match. We have learned that keeping kids backstage for long periods is no fun for anyone, so everyone will be helping out with moving set pieces, etc., throughout the show. We also plan to turn the Woods Hole Community Hall into Wonderland! Also, depending upon whether we are able to get the right folks involved, we'd love to run a few "Mad Tea Parties" for audiences before or after productions. Corinne: What can a potential cast member expect out of the experience and will it get in the way of school and other activities? Lisa: See above for what you'll get out of the experience! Re: getting in the way: yes, theater gets in the way. There will be evening rehearsals, and late rehearsals the week before the show. You may have to say "no" to other activities, especially toward the middle of February. BUT -- most if not all of the performances will be during Winter Break in February, so that should make things a little easier. Corinne: What can PARENTS get out of being part of a multigenerational production? Lisa: Whether onstage or backstage, parents involved with a multigenerational show can get some pretty amazing benefits. Community: some parents make very good friends through theater. A whole new passion: many dedicated theater people got interested through their kids, and kept going long after their kids got bored. Family togetherness away from the screen: working together on a theatrical production is an amazing way to bond! Better knowledge of your community: if you've never been involved with theater on the Cape, you can't do better than to get involved with and through your kids. Of course, your first experience may lead to years of late night rehearsals, cast parties, auditions in towns that are an hour away... but if you go that route, you'll never look back. Wow! Well if that didn’t make you sit up and take notice to get involved, I don’t know what would! I should mention that I did have a great follow up conversation with Lisa after I received her answers. If I could say one thing about her, it is her sheer desire to make theatre accessible to both children and adults by focusing on and using their strengths to the productions advantage. If you are interested in auditioning here are the details: When: December 12, 2013 at 5:30pm and December 14, 2013 at Noon. (If you come on the 12th be pre pared to potentially come back on the 14th for a call-back.) Where: The Woods Hole Theatre Company, housed at the Woods Hole Community Hall Who: Actors, Vocalists, Instrumentalists ages 6+, including teens and adults. Preparation: If you are interested in being a vocalist or play and instrument (not required) please prepare and bring a Christmas carol or childhood tune to perform. Also looking for persons who can do somersaults, back bends etc.., speak with a British accent and speak in silly voices, Questions? Feel free to contact the Director Lisa Jo Rudy at 508-540-7293 or lisa@lisajorudy.com Well, good bye for now… My son just dumped over the complete set of train tracks and legos for fun, so you know what Ill be doing for the next hour. 
By Meghan B
In the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought that I would reflect back on the last couple months with Thirty-One and list what I’m grateful for this season. · I’m grateful for my Director, she’s great, very encouraging, incredibly supportive, and she’s a good leader. She doesn’t just tell me what to do, she shows me how through her actions and advice. I can only hope that when I become director I will be as good as she is. · I’m grateful for my friends. I have great friends who support me in this venture very much. Never once have I heard them tell me I’m crazy, that this was a bad idea, that this dream will fade, they encourage me. They let me know I’m doing a good job, they attend my parties, and book parties too, inviting new people that I haven’t met yet. · I’m grateful for the upcoming vendor fairs that I have. I have been able to come across some opportunities to spread my name in the community and tell people about my business. I’m so excited to have these vendor events, the more people that I talk to then the faster I can develop a team, donate money back to my community, and help people achieve their goals in life. · I am grateful that I work as a consultant for Thirty-One. They are an amazing company who really do celebrate, encourage, and reward women. I have had my Director celebrate my successes with me, I’ve had the company send me gifts and prizes for meeting sales goals, the training that I have received from Thirty-One is amazing. The company provides so many learning tools that it can be overwhelming, but I really feel like I’m part of an amazing company that is leading me on an amazing journey. · I’m grateful for my family. They have stood behind me and supported me in all of this. My older daughter pitches in and helps with the little kids when we need her to. My husband has never once doubted me in any of this and has been nothing but supportive, not everyone is as lucky as me, and I am so happy for the family that I have. Until next month :) Meghan  By: Suzanne Golden, M.S., CCC-SLP With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s time to break out the mixing bowls and preheat the oven! Baking can be a fun, kid-friendly activity and it can also be a great way to work on language skills too. Here are some ideas to promote language skills while baking up some of your favorite holiday treats. I’ve also highlighted some key words that may be new to your child so you can take a minute to explain what the word means when you use it while baking. Before you begin, put on your aprons to keep your clothes clean. Then read over the recipe and have your child help you take out all of the ingredients. Make sure you take out any measuring cups or spoons that you will need and take this opportunity to talk about what it means to measure. Once you have all your ingredients ready, read the recipe to find out what temperature you need to preheat your oven to. Have your child help you read the recipe and work on following directions while you follow the recipe. Break the directions down into first-then steps to make it easier for your child. For example, “first pour in the sugar, then pour in the flour”. When all of your ingredients are mixed and your dish is ready to bake, put it in the oven and set the timer! While you are waiting, ask your child to recall the ingredients you used and the different steps to the recipe. When the timer goes off take out your goodies, let them cool and then devour them! Use some describing words to talk about what your dessert looks like, smells like, tastes like and feels like. I hope you enjoy these language activities almost as much as you enjoy any sweet treats you bake this holiday season! If you are concerned about your child’s language development call Golden Speech Therapy and schedule a free screening! By: Melinda Lancaster When writing for young children, rhyme is the name of the game. Rhyming exposes children to one very big lesson- words that sound the same share the same letters at the end (most of the time, there’s always exceptions). Children equipped with this knowledge are more likely to “get” that adding letters to the beginning of “at” can make “cat”, “mat”, “rat” etc. 
Now, lots and lots of books rhyme, even my book “Tyler and the Spider”, but the undisputed master of rhyme, is Ted Giesel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. And, some of his best known works are the best apps that we have on Katie’s iPad. One of the HUGE advantages to these apps is that the physical copy is easily available and reinforces the whole process of reading. Katie finds it very hard to swipe, so she cannot “turn” the app pages, but she can turn a book page, and is learning how to follow along that way 
Just a few of the Dr. Seuss books available!
It also reinforces that the same thing can be in different formats. I feel this is an important lesson as well. One day it may help her understand that a picture card can mean an actual item or event and help her communicate this way. Another cool feature of the Dr. Seuss apps is that many come with the capability of recording different voices, instead of a stranger’s voice, mom and dad, grandparents, siblings etc. can all record themselves reading the story. This will definitely make your child more attentive. It also presents the ability for YOUR inflection, the emphasis you want to put on one word over another to be heard, and you can add things like, “turn the page,” or “can you find…. These books for the most part are straight up books, the characters don’t jump around if you touch them, which I like (an app can sometimes be too busy and overwhelming with different noises and constant activity) BUT you have options for “Auto play”, “read along”, or “read myself” and words highlight on Auto play and read along as the story is being narrated and if you touch a picture the word jumps out in large letters and is spoken, all very important tools in learning to read. Some people put the “closed caption” option on the TV to help reinforce reading as well, and this is much the same principle.
The only downside to these apps, is that they’re on the pricier side, usually $3.99 apiece. But the App Store now offers a group of five books for $14.99, a decent savings. The other set of books I’d like to mention are the “Miss Spider” books. These were free when I got them, but are now $2.99, totally worth the price. There are two, Miss Spider Bedtime Story and Miss Spider Tea Party. Each comes with two narrated options, “Read” and “Watch” and three games, “Match”, “Paint”, and “Puzzle.” The “Read” is the narrated book; you’ll have to turn the sound off if you want to read it yourself. The downside here, the words don’t highlight. The “Watch” is a video, the graphics are great and it expands upon the story, but there are no words to look at; kids will really enjoy it, though. And the games are fun and will keep children entertained. What I like is the comprehensiveness of this app. There are several activities that reinforce each other, giving the child and caregiver opportunities to talk about what they read or watched.
Unlike the Dr. Seuss books, though, the physical books are not as readily available, though I’ve seen Miss Spider’s Tea Party at the local library. There is also an iPhone app in Spanish for Miss Spider Tea Party, unfortunately it no longer comes on the iPad. Beyond apps, teaching rhyming can be fun and easy and is a BIG step in reading. One way Katelin and I study rhyming words is on her chalkboard easel. I’ll write a list of “at’s” or “it’s” and add a letter to the beginning of each, starting with the second one down. I also use blocks as a manipulative way, finding the “a” and “t” and then handing her other letters and helping her put them in front of the “at” to spell different things. There are a myriad of ways to introduce rhyme, and a library full of rhyming books nearby. In the words of Dr. Seuss……”the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go!” Happy Reading! Melinda Lancaster Melinda Lancaster is a children's author and a poet. Her books ("Tyler and the Spider" and "Grandma, Tell me If You Can) are published through Wiggles Press and her poem "Echoes" hangs in the Hyannis JFK Museum. After studying  By: Melissa A few weeks ago we went cranberry picking and came home with two beach pails full of plump berries. We also had a bucket of not-so-pretty apples that we picked while taking a walk with my dad that needed to be cooked up in some fashion because the girls refused to eat them in their gnarly state. We are big fans of homemade applesauce and eat it all the time during the fall and winter. I was inspired by the cranberries and decided to mix it up a bit.  Here's a rough "recipe" for apple cranberry sauce that I served not only for dinner, but warm on top of some french vanilla ice cream with a sprinkling of pistachios (YES!). Apples (about a dozen small apples, or however many you have laying around) 1 cup fresh cranberries 1/4 cup water sugar, cinnamon to taste  Peel and slice the apples into a sauce pan with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Stir occasionally until apples begin to soften then add cranberries, continue to cook until berries start to break down. Use a potato masher to mash mixture to desired consistency. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste.
You can substitute honey for sugar, and sometimes I add a splash of orange juice if I've got it handy. |
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