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 Assabet Valley Area Family Network Newsletter 
 April-June 2009
What’s Up at the Family Network…
As with the changing seasons (the reason so many of us love New England– even the cold and snow, right?) so are changes due at our Family Network.We are still anxiously awaiting to hear from the state as to what our fundingsituation will look like come the new fiscal year starting July 1st! It’s not hard toimagine that our budget will be the same and maybe even less, given the state of our state. With that in mind, the Assabet Valley Collaborative– our fiscal agent,is possibly considering moving the AVA Family Network into the building (theold Bigelow School on Orchard St) that they currently are renting from the cityof Marlboro. The move would free up most of our $20,000+ rent which couldthen be put into programming and services for families, something that we haveworked so hard to maintain. It means a lot of work to actually move and then the process of settling into a new “home”. I’ve always felt that the space/place isimportant BUT not as important as the incredible families that occupy it. YOUall make the FN such a wonderful and amazing PLACE! As soon as we getmore info from the state, we will get the word out through playgroups, work-shops, email, and the web site.This next change is one that I personally have been struggling with. I have madethe decision to leave the Family Network at the end of June. My journey of 12years here at the FN has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.My own family, over the years, has been involved here at the FN which has al-lowed my “two lives” to blend in such a special way. As my children havegrown and now have lives of their own I realize that I too have the opportunity tochange. My husband and I are looking to make some major life changes in thenext few years which will hopefully involve long term community service either here in the states or out in the greater world. Since I never do anything with-out due process, I still plan on being “around” after I leave so I can “wean”myself slowly from this heartwarming community. I will also be very com-mitted to making any and all transitions as smooth as possible. To all the manyfamilies that I have had the honor and pleasure to connect with and get toknow over all these years, you will always be with me in heart and spirit.
With love, Rosemary 
The Assabet Valley Area Family Network provides FREE family education and support to all families withchildren age pre-birth to 5 years who live in Hudson, Marlboro, Northboro, Southboro, and Westboro.
 Program sponsored by the Assabet Valley Collaborative
Funding for these programs provided by
Massachusetts Department of Early Education & Care
 
Are you interested inreceiving our newsletterelectronically??
In an effort to save money on printing costsand stay up to date in the cyber world, wewould like to offer you a chance to receive anemail with our online newsletter.If you are interested, please email us atavafamilynet@yahoo.com with ‘Email news-letter’ in the subject line and we will add youto our list. You do not need to do anything if you would prefer to receive a paper copy.Please consider saving a tree and some $$ bysending us an email!To date we have 100 members who have re-quested an emailed newsletter, which meanswe will still be mailing 300! Won’t you con-sider this option?LOTTERY REGISTRATION
Enclosed in this newsletter is the registrationform for our spring session. Please completethe form and return to AVAFN 169 PleasantSt Marlboro, MA 01752.
All registration forms must be completed infull and received no later thanFriday, April 10th at 2pm to be enteredinto the lottery.
The lottery will be held on Monday April 13that 9am. Members of the Lottery MonitoringCommittee will draw names randomly andfamilies will be placed into
one
 parent/childgroup or placed on a waitlist.
PLEASE REMEMBER what you choose foryour first choice!
Families will only receive a callif their first program choice is closed or they are placed on a waitlist.
 Noting more than one choice
will allow us to place you in another program if your first choice is closed. Please call
508-485-0085
with any questions!
Spring Cleaning??? Don’t forget about our annual
Spring Clothing Exchange- April 6 - 24th
 see back page for more info
We will need help sorting clothes and preparing for theexchange, please let us know if you can help in the after-noon on Saturday, April 4th—
yes, after the Family Fun Fair!
 
 
          
3rd Annual Family Fun Fair Saturday April 4th9:30am - 12:00pm
Kane Elementary School 520 Farm Rd. Marlboro
 F R E E  e v e n t  f o r  a l l  f a m i l i e s !
 
Free Entertainment!! 
9:30 Martial Arts Demo
Kwon’s Martial Art 
10:00 Musician
Ed Morgan
11:00 Educational Entertainers
 Animal Adventures
  All Day! Fictional Faces Face Painting
Sponsored by Cottage Children's Center 
Find out about 
 
Childcare & Preschool Programs,Community Resources, Local Volunteer Opportunities, Activities,Classes & Products for YoungChildren
Don’t miss
 
Bake Sale, Basket Raffles, FreeChild Fingerprinting, Prizes &Giveaways! 
Terrific Twins Group -
All age twins are welcome for a playgroup with planned activities, a snack, and time to socializeand connect. Renee Munch leads this group with her sons.2nd & 4thWednesday10:30-12:00Contact Renee.Munch@gmail.com if youare interested in this playgroup.
Japanese Playgroup
- All ages playgroup for Japanesespeaking families. Please contact Naoko Conway for moreinformation.1st & 3rdWednesdays9:30-11:00Contact Naokoconway@hotmail.com if youare interested in this playgroup.
ONGOING PLAYGROUPSGerman Playgroup
- All ages playgroup for German families.Please contact Tina Uzoma for more information.2nd & 4thWednesday9:15-10:30Contact tinainla@yahoo.com if you areinterested in this playgroup.
Hooray!!! It’s Time to Get OUTSIDE!!!
*Fun Activities* that you can do almost anywhere, anytime
Playing outside is naturally fun for your child. Below are a few ideas to get you started with some outdoor fun nowthat the weather is turning nice and warm.
Bugs
– Go on a bug hunt in your yard or at the park. Can you find a parade of ants? Do you see a grasshopper?Find a harmless bug and use a bug catcher to examine them up close. Talk about its color, see if it has wings,count the legs, and then let it go. Get an insect book from the library and see if you can find out what kinds of bugsyou’ve found! Why not read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider 
Running games
– Take advantage of what your child loves to do naturally, run. Take turns running behind, in frontof, and side by side one another. Run holding hands, run backwards, run from one tree to another, or run whileholding a pinwheel or a kite and watch it spin and fly. The possibilities are endless. Keep the game going by hav-ing your child hop on one foot, walk on all fours, or roll around.
Rock Collection
– Little ones love to pick things up. Let them start a rock collection. Collect rocks of differentsizes, shapes, textures, and colors. Give your child a basket or box to keep their collection in. Once they have col-lected several rocks decide what you would like to do with them. Paint and glitter them, glue them into a rock“sculpture”, toss them into a pond and make a splash, create a continuous growing rock pile in the backyard (howbig do you think you can get it?)
 
A
Special Heartfelt THANKS
to:
David Tscherne for single-handedly painting the rest of the trim inthe hall!
The Freeman, Narris, Poverman, Friedberg, Marino, Geimna &Berardino families for their generous monetary donations!
Our supply fairies - Weisenberg, Sweeney, Crouse, Fraser, Nguyen,& Lambert families and anyone else who may have donated snacks, juices & supplies!
Our 
Family Fun Fair organizers
- Mary Garner for pulling ALLthe pieces together! Julie Peterson for making up the amazing Bas-ket Raffle, Christine Smith for heading up the wonderful Bake Sale,AND to all the families that have donated raffle basket and bakesale items!
Our volunteer child care folks–Deb Clemons, Sarah Matejevic,Heidi Schwher, and Liz Hallsworth
Amy Yazdani and Kara Kendrick for our Upcoming Vehicle Fair!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS
Book order forms are on the door in thePlayroom! Browse the wonderful selection and takeadvantage of the great prices! Bring the orders back with cash or check to the FN and we’ll call you whenyour order is in.
Order Scholastic books online!
Shop the titles in the printed flyer and enjoy the samegreat selections and low prices while helping out theFN earn bonus points for free books! Use the informa-tion below to access the Scholastic Book Club website. Browse the titles and place your order with acredit card. After the order deadline, the entire order will be submitted to Scholastic. Your order will bedelivered to the FN and we’ll call you for pick up. Thesite is private and secure. To access it, go to the Webaddress below and enter the personalized User nameand the Password we have set up:
www.scholastic.com/parentorderingClass user Name: avafamilynetwork 
 
Parents Helping Parents- (PHP)
Monday’s On-GoingSupport Group Opportunity
6:30 to 8:00 at the Family Network 
Here’s a special kind of support that you can get from other par-ents in a group with a trained leader. Connecting with others whoare going through the same parenting and family issues and con-cerns can really help!Call Rosemary, 508-485-0085, for info.Limited Childcare is available.
THE PARENT EXCHANGE
A space for parents/caregivers to share!
We are always in need of car seats and pack & plays!
Please let us know if you can donate theseitems so we may pass them along tofamilies in need!Car seats must be under 6 years old andhave never been in an accident! ID labelsmust be readable.
ATTENDANCE - SICK 
 
POLICY
Please be mindful that if your child has cold or flu-like symptoms, they may be contagious. If you’re not sure, feel free to callus and we’ll help you sort out what would be best for all. Kindly respect the health of other children when deciding whether or not to have your children accompany you to the Family Network’s Play Space.
We require that your child be fever and diarrhea free for at least 24 hours before returning to groups,attending an activity, or coming for child care.
Thanks for understanding!
Give your child's communication a boostwith the following tips:
Talk 
to your child about the obvious. Point out what you aredoing and what your child is doing. For young children youmight label simple object or familiar actions. For older childrenpoint out more abstract concepts like feelings
.
Build
on what your child is saying. Repeat or acknowledgewhat your child has said and expand on it. For example if ayoung child said, "Ball," you might say, "Red ball. You want thered ball."
Be quiet
sometimes. Allow your child time to respond to whatyou have said. Also allow them quiet time to experiment withsounds and sentences.
Read and Sing
to your child. Both activities provide wonderfulopportun
ities to learn new vocabulary and experiment withlanguage.
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