When we first decided to go to Maryland with our kids for spring brake people told us that there was nothing to do in MD. Not only that we found plenty to do but we actually ran out of time and didn’t get to experience some of the cool places Maryland has to offer.

We arrived in Maryland (20 min) from Baltimore Thursday night so that we could start our program early in the morning. We stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites Arundel Mills BWI Hotel www.arundelmillsbaltimore.hamptoninn.com it included breakfast which was a great time saver.

Day one:

We started our day at http://www.portdiscovery.org/ it’s an unbelievable place for kids to visit with a 4 story high climbing monkey gym, which all of my family members got to experience (some by choice others out of nasality). We also got to meet Curious George Live. We spend about 4.5 hours at the Port Discovery and got lunch. Since the venue located in downtown Baltimore there was no shortage of kids approved restaurants near by.

After lunch we check out a Submarine and a Rescue Boat the boats were parked near the Aquarium and visitors could clime in and check out the inside. There were more boats to check out but it was time for nap. (If you are planning to visit the Aquarium in Baltimore buy tickets in advance on line especially for the dolphin show)

After a good nap at the Hotel we went out for dinner to http://www.medievaltimes.com/.

Day two:

B&O Railroad Museum www.borail.org was out day two adventure. Not only that the kids got to see all the miniature train models and clime the big trains, they also got to ride a real train, which for my kids what a first. The museum will be celebrating a Tomas event on April 23-25, April 30-May 2 where kids will get to meet Thomas http://www.borail.org/DOWT10.shtml (if you’ll be in the area don’t miss it).

After lunch we headed for the Ocean City MD. However we could have spent another 2 full days doing just Baltimore activities.

Ocean City MD

OC has all the usual activities of a beach town to offer: carnival parks, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! www.ripleys.com/

Our trip took a total of three days and the cost (food, hotel, gas and entertainment included) was about $1,500, interestingly enough the cost for a family of 4 (food included and all) at out family camp trip May 22 – May 24 is $500 Family weekend at Berkshire Hills-Emanuel Camps http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2344061033&gid=384231932570#!/event.php?eid=359907488955&index=1.

Places that we missed in MD:
Assateague State Park – wiled horses park
7307 Stephen Decatur Hwy
Berlin, MD 21811 (410) 641-2120 dnr.state.md.us

Frontier Town: Campground   - www.frontiertown.com
8428 Stephen Decatur Highway, Berlin - (410) 641-0880

I learned of this program on Friday when visiting a public library with my kids.
“Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is a federally-funded national program that prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to children and families who need them most.” http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/rif/

Any child (ages 0-18) that has a library card is eligible for the program.
How does it work “When you register for RIF, you will receive a free book. Whenever a library is offering a RIF program, stop by the RIF desk with your library card and two library books you are about to borrow or return. After reading and returning six books, you can choose a free gift RIF book.”

Check your local library for your RIF days, in New Utrecht 1743 86th St. at Bay 17th St. Friday is RIF day. Enjoy your reading.

Hello, Friends and Colleagues!

As many of you know, the Foundation for Jewish Camp with the generous support of the Genesis Philanthropy Group is launching a nation-wide initiative that will create opportunities for children and teenagers from Russian-speaking families to have a transformative experience at Jewish overnight camps across the United States and Canada . In order to create the best possible programs that would respond to the unique interests of the community, we would like to learn as much as we can about Russian-speaking families and their perspectives on camp, informal education and Jewish identity, as well as their specific needs.

Please help us distribute this quick online survey to as many Russian-speaking parents as possible and encourage them to respond, making their opinions really influence the programs at hundreds of Jewish camps in North America. Below please find a short message and the link to the survey.

We value your opinion and need your help in creating the most interesting and meaningful camp programs for your children! We would like you to share your unique perspective by filing out this quick online survey – upon completing the survey you can enter a raffle for a $250 gift certificate!  We also would love to hear from your friends, so please pass this on to other Russian-speaking parents (the top 5 people with most referrals get $100!!!)– the more voices we hear, the better we understand the specific needs and interests of our community. 

Looking forward to learning what you think! Please click here to fill out the survey http://deploy.ztelligence.com/start/index.jsp?PIN=15TTHGL5QXVB6

Alina Bitel, Program Director, Genesis Camp Initiative
Foundation for Jewish Camp
t 646-278-4533 f 646-278-4501 www.jewishcamp.org

Today I finally had enough. My son was supposed to do his homework, which usually takes him 15 minutes, but today it was taking forever. Hours rolled by as he slowly wrote and rewrote every number, over thinking every step. But what made me so angry was that my son knows the material but just didn’t feel like doing it; he was taking his time just to irritate me. I tried everything to convince him: threatening, bribing, taking away privileges, even yelling, but nothing seemed to work. He finally finished his 15 minute homework in 2.5 hours.

After I put him down for the night I decided to do some research. This was not the first episode of laziness that we’ve had, and in the past these episodes did not only pertain to homework. What I was trying to figure out through my research is where this laziness is coming from and how to fight it. I came across an interesting article, which, although originally published in 1916, totally applied to my current situation.

The article suggests that children need to understand what is “in it” for them.  “It is the children who have been driven to do the unpleasant things that have no meaning for them who resort to ‘laziness’ as the only escape from the disagreeable tasks.” After reading this, things began to look a lot clearer to me: I need to stop giving my son things when he asks for them and instead make him earn the things he wants.

The article concluded with an interesting thought: “Finally, there are a few children who naturally take to the contemplative life—they are dreamers, poets, philosophers. They have their uses even if they do not do ‘useful work.’” As much as I found the idea that my son might fall into this category and become the world’s next great philosopher reassuring, I don’t really want to test this theory to find out that it may not be true. So instead, I will try to act now and make my son’s homework more rewarding; we’ll see where that gets us.

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/children-21.shtml

I recently took my 3 year old son shopping with me to Jersey Garden mall. I was a little hesitant on it because usually I go on my own and he stays home with the sitter. I said to my self I will give it a try. We arrived at the mall a little bit earlier then opening time and had time to walk around and look at the windows because all the stores were still closed. He was really happy to be there with me and was asking a ton of questions and looking around. I felt like I was dealing with a child who grew up right before my eyes. I decided to write this post because of something he did in one of the stores that really surprised me. We went into daffys and I am thinking to my self wow the tantrum is about to start, he will never be able to handle sitting in the stroller and me walking around and looking at things. I thought from experience with my older son that he will want to come out and run around the store like a nut and touch everything in his way. I was so wrong he sat in his stroller the entire time and spoke to me and looked around. Then we came to a section with toys. I was like oh god this is it. He saw two of his favorite cartoon characters toys. Dora and Boots from Dora the Explorer.He asked me if I can give it to him. I said sure thinking to my self I will probobly buy one for him if he plays with it the entire time I am spending in this store and really wants one that has a hard time letting go. I gathered all the things I needed and as I am heading for the register “I say to him lets say bye bye to dora and boots” and he says to me “ok mama here you go”. My eyes almost popped out I could not believe this was really him. What I am trying to say here is that it is totaly possible to take a 3 year old shopping and come home only with stuff you intended to purchase. I did have to plan my morning around him. I knew that we have to be done by 12 so he can nap. Otherwise it is getting much easier to be with him and do things that I need to get done.

If you recently started potty training, then you’re in the same situation as I am. Everything goes well while you’re at home, but as soon as you get into the car…somebody always has to go.  And not only do they need to go, but they “have to go NOW!!!!”

So you look for the nearest rest area, pull over and, march into the public bathroom where the fun is only about to begin. First, your child doesn’t have to go any more, then he/she decides to give it a try, then he/she touches every nasty piece of whatever happens to be laying in that bathroom. Fifteen minutes into this quest and you feel that you should go too.  However, the minute you sit/squat over the toilet your kid decides to:

1. Open the door and expose you to the entire bathroom line
2. Check out the neighbor in the next stall because he thinks bathrooms are fun
3. Crawls from under the bathroom door, leaving you frantically trying to finish your business and chase after him/her.

All those scenarios have happened to me, and I’m sure to you too. I would like to know how you handled those situations. Please enter your response in the  “bathroom quest” forum for a chance to win a prize.

About six months ago I was debated if I want my then two year old son to start preschool. I thought maybe to keep him home until the summer and wait till he turns 3. I was afraid that maybe it was too early. Then I started to see that he was in desperate need to go and communicate with other children. Being at home all day didn’t really do him any good. I was doing a lot with him in terms of learning but it still was not the same. He needed to learn how to interact with others and also what worried me that he was not really talking.

I searched a lot of schools on Staten Island that really did not appeal to me and was ready to completely give up and wait till he is old enough to enter public school pre k program. I then came across a website for CBI academy and thought to my self I will give it one more try and go check it. It was very convenient location for me in terms of  commute. When I came to the school I was pleasantly surprised. I was greeted by a very friendly director. She showed me the school, explained to me what the goals are and how they run the program. The facility was extremely clean and safe. I decided to try it part time with my son. What a surprise it was for me. The minute he opened his eyes, right away he wanted to go to school. His speech improved tremendously, he became even more social, and everyday that he comes home from the school he brings something new that  he has learned, a song, the alphabet,new words and expressions. I can honestly say it was a great choice of school. The staff is amazing, the atmosphere is great each child is greeted in the morning by the teacher with a look of excitement on her face and the same for saying when the child goes home. My son has this enormous smile and looks forward to come back the following day.

For more information take a look a the following links.

 http://www.cbiacademy.com/

 http://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/kid/1259915624.html

I was on the train last night, when I overheard a conversation between two parents. The father was suggesting that they put a GPS devise into their daughter’s car so that they would be able to know where she is at all times. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My first thought was “Wow, thank G… I’m not their kid”. My second thought was that the girl in question must drive, making her at least 18 years old, in which case why are her parents still monitoring her so intently and violating her privacy.

I will agree that I do not know the whole story of those people, and they may have a good reason for doing this, however, I was 18 once too and in my opinion, if you still feel the need to monitor your child at 18, then you, as a parent, screwed up somewhere beforehand. I can’t speak from experience as a parent yet, since my kids are still very young, but I can speak from experience as an ex-18 year old. Teens are looking for freedom and independence as they grow; I feel they should receive it, coupled with the additional responsibility.  For example, when I got my first “emergency” credit card, I knew there would be a bill at the end of the month which I would have to pay or else I would lose the card.

When my brother got his driver’s license and wanted to buy a new car (instead of using one of my parents’ cars for free) he was given that opportunity, as long as he paid for car himself (my parents would still cover his insurance). Once he had three speeding tickets, the privilege of “free insurance” was taken away and he had to pay for it himself.

I feel that it is our responsibility as parents to teach our kids these types of lessons so that they can make their own decisions. I found some support in the following articles http://life.familyeducation.com/teen/discipline/41515.html

 http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/any-advice-for-jaime/

I know I will probably be somewhat of a “helicopter” parent [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent] (even though I’m trying very hard not to turn into one) but the one thing I can promise my kids is that I will never say no without giving them a reason why and I will never invade their privacy by spying on them.

My son loves wearing sneakers. It is the easiest thing for him to wear and looks like the most comfortable for him. I always purchased sneakers for him with Velcro so that it will make his life easier and i guess easier for me. I now realized this will not always be the case and I have to teach him to tie his shoe laces. I can tell you now its not a very easy task. We have been working on it for two days and progress is very limited. I decided to post here how to teach your child to tie his shoe laces incase anyone else was having the same issue.

  http://kidsfashion.about.com/od/doityourselfstyles/tp/kidstieshoes.htm

I just came across this today and will try it on him when he gets home from camp. I will keep you updated on this milestone

I had to share an excellent resource provided by our sons kindergarten teacher. She created a sort list of helpful hints to help prepare kids for the first grade

• Practice reading, especially short vowel words, number, and color words
• Practice writing on regular lined paper
• Start writing letters and numbers from top to bottom
• Practice writing numbers from 0-20 or higher (go up to 1000)
• Practice telling time to the hour and half hour
• Practice adding and subtracting with cons – start with pennies, nickels and dimes (1c+1c=2c, 5c+1c=6c, 10c+2c=12c, 10c-5c=5c, 5c-3c=2c)
• Keep a journal over the summer. Begin with the date, write a sentence or more sentences and illustrate it. This may be done once a day or a 4x’s a week. This can be used to record special events or happenings your child partakes in over the vacation