Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Christmas Events @ O'Naturals Portland

In celebration of the upcoming holiday season, we have several special events for you and your family & friends, along with some special offers so you can save money AND time by leaving the cooking to us!
KIDS HOLIDAY SONGS AND STORIES Thursday, December 4th | 4:00 - 5:30 pm 83 Exchange Street, Portland Live holiday music performed by Christopher Reiling, interspersed with readings of holiday stories. FREE to attend, and there will be kid's meal specials!
RECYCLED HOLIDAY CRAFT NIGHT Thursday, December 11th | 5:30 - 7:30 pm 83 Exchange Street, Portland Produce less waste this holiday season while creating original and beautiful gifts and wrapping! Bring your gift wrap scraps, old holiday cards you received in years past, and any other leftover materials from the holiday season; and join us for an evening of Recycled Holiday Crafting! We'll be making new holiday greeting cards, gift wrap, gift tags, ornaments - whatever you'd like to make with the recycled materials. FREE to attend, and there will be light refreshments offered. Dinner specials and $1.00 off organic beer and wine all evening!
SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR LOCAL SHOPPERS Offer running from November 28th - December 24th 83 Exchange Street, Portland & 240 US Route One, Falmouth Buying locally has never been more important than now, during these tough economic times. This holiday season, we'll give you $1.00 off your total order every time you bring in a receipt for a gift you purchased from a local retailer* with a value of at least $5.00! The discount applies on the day of the gift purchase only. Bring in your receipts from downtown retailers (State St. to India St. and Cumberland Ave. to Commercial St.) to our Portland restaurant, and your receipts from retailers along Route One in Falmouth to our Falmouth restaurant, and enjoy extra savings on natural and organic food as a thank you for buying locally! *Local retailers include all businesses that are not food service or corporate chains.
CLOTHING, FOOD & CANNED FOOD DRIVE Offer running from December 1st - 19th 83 Exchange Street, Portland & 240 US Route One, Falmouth This holiday season, get 15% off your total food order from O'Naturals when you donate any items to our Clothing, Toy and Canned Good Drive! Clothing and toys should be clean and intact, and canned goods should be non-perishable. Items will be donated to Preble Street Resource Center and a local food pantry. Thank you for helping those in need this holiday season! If you have any questions about these events and offers, please contact lorawinslow@onaturals.com

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Escapists in Freeport - Dec 9th

If anyone else missed the adult Escapists performance, there is another chance - Tuesday Dec 9th at 8:00 pm Improv Bingo! Every number called is a new improv or comedy game. Freeport Cabaret, 5 Deport Road 207 865-1780 www.thefreeportcabaret.com Improv Bingo was a hit at the North Star Cafe so we taking it to Freeport! Yes, back in the day Brian Giles was a bingo caller (in addition to being a reverend, archeologist… we could go on). So now we’re combining bingo with improv! Also come and meet Tara McDonough, our newest member. Before she joined us she was doing some of that new fangled “long form” improv comedy with Unscripted Theater in San Francisco.

Come sing / come hear Ellie Sing (after the Hat Sale)

On Friday, the 12th , there are 8 members of choral arts coming to sing Christmas Carols at the assembly at 1pm -- parents and siblings are very welcome!
And then the 60-member Choral Art Society Singers (Ellie sings Alto) with organist, Dan More, director, Bob Russell, and the Portland Brass Quintet are performing 4 back-to-back concerts at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Cumberland/Congress and Franklin Art in Portland Sat and Sun, Dec 6th and 7th. Sat at 12pm and 8pm and Sun at 2:30 and 7:00pm. Youth tickets are $5 for all shows and Sunday's preview concert at noon is $10 for adults. To purchase tickets, parents can go to choralart.org or go to Starbird on Forest (cash or check only there). The noon preview concert is at the door only, no advanced purchases. It is essentially a dress rehearsal and perhaps the best one for kids.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Mari's performing in 12 Dancing Princesses

The Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine present The 12 Dancing Princesses. First produced by The Children’s Theatre of Maine in 1942, this is a classic fairy tale from The Brothers Grimm of princesses who ignore their father’s rules and dance instead of sleep. Only love and courage hand-in-hand breaks the spell! Come see our talented company of young actors tell an age old fairy-tale. Fridays December 12 & 19 at 4:00 Saturdays December 13 & 20 at 11:00, 1:00 & 4:00 Sundays December 14 & 21 at 1:00 & 4:00 By Margaret Ellen Clifford Adapted and Directed by, Reba Short With music by Colin Gulley of The Toughcats In the Dress-Up Theater of The Children's Museum of Maine 142 Free St. Tickets are $7 each. Reservations Recommended. 828-1234 ex 247 www.childrenstheatremaine.org

Quaker Parenting Workshop

WEAVING THE TESTIMONIES INTO OUR PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS: A FAMILY WEEKEND with Beth Collea, Pat Weitzman, and the NEYM Christian Education Committee March 20-22, 2009 Gather with other Quaker families for a weekend of inspiration, support and community as we reflect on raising Quaker children in an often unfriendly culture. Our time together will feature a Saturday workshop for parents, family activities in the evenings, and a children’s program on Saturday reveling in the beauty of Woolman Hill. Our special guest will be Pat Weitzman, a Wellesley Friend, developmental psychologist and parenting coach, and mother of two teens. Our parent workshop will be built around Pat's sense that if the Quaker Testimonies are woven into the core of our family relationships, our children will be in the best position possible to meet whatever culture presents. Pat gathers with us not so much as an expert but as a Quaker parent facing the same challenges. We’ll balance the search for family-by-family solutions with the broader, bolder dream of creating “a Quaker cultural alternative."

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Phyzgig for Kids

PHYZKIDZ SHOWS All Phyzkidz shows at SPACE Gallery 538 Congress St., downtown Portland PHYZKIDZ TICKETS $12 adults $10 students and seniors $8 kids twelve and under PURCHASE TICKETS WITH PAYPAL Karen Montanaro Saturday, December 27 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Jan Damm, Julie Goell, Yo-Yo People Yo-Yo People Sunday, December 28 at 2 p.m. Alex the Jester, Tim Holland, Drew the Dramatic Fool featuring pre-show entertainment by stiltwalker Donna Penoyer as Carmen Banana Monday, December 29 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Norman Ng, Jacob Sharpe, Michael Lane Trautman Jacob Sharpe Michael Lane Trautman Saturday, December 29 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tim Holland, Karen Montanaro, Two

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Friday Night Movie NIght

The movie for Friday Night Movie Night this week is Chicken Run which is rated "G". Lise is also considering bringing shorter films for younger children... preschool parents, use the comments or e-mail Lise if you have ideas or opinions!

Ideas for simplifying the holidays from Meg Cox

Meg Cox's Ritual Newsletter Special Holiday Edition for 2008 I stopped the monthly editions of this newsletter in September, but I haven't stopped thinking about tradition and celebration. It occurs to me that this holiday season brings a poignant and unusual mix of contradictory realities: great hope combined with desperate need. How do we embrace these conflicting truths and make them part of our family celebrations this year? Here's one idea: create a "Giving Tree" for your family. You're probably all familiar with the Shel Silverstein book of that name, about all the ways in which a single tree helps one human being throughout his life, providing shade, apples, and so forth. But this is more like a special Christmas tree that isn't hung with ornaments but with mementoes of all the different ways a family finds to give to others in need during the holiday season. You can make a paper Giving Tree and tape it to a wall or door. Or you might get one of those cute small, live evergreens in a pot (which you could plant in your garden next spring). Cut out paper hearts of red and white from construction paper and use pretty holiday ribbons to tie them to branches of the tree. Have a bowl of pre-cut hearts all ready to put on the tree. Add another heart every time you put some change in a Salvation Army Christmas pot, or when you buy a book or a toy for a needy child in your community. Add a heart when you collect canned goods for your church or town hall to help insure a needy family gets to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Add a heart after your choir sings carols at a nursing home or hospital. Add a heart when you volunteer at the local animal rescue shelter. Let the Giving Tree provoke family discussions about who else needs help in your town and throughout the world, and how you might respond right now. Maybe the kids would like to send a card to a soldier who won't be home for Christmas. Maybe they want to pitch in to help with a seasonal community service project at their school. Collect some money from allowances and then have a family vote to pick the charities that receive help. There are many variations on the ritual: decide whether you want to add hearts to the tree every time a family member does a good deed, or you might add hearts once a week, on Sundays after dinner. Like all of you, I'm looking at ways to make my family's holiday mean more and cost less this year. In that spirit, I want to share a few online resources that I find especially helpful: www.redefineChristmas.org I've always been a huge fan of the organization Alternatives for Simple Living (www.simpleliving.org), which got started years ago as an effort to make Christmas less commercial. Alternatives works within a religious, Christian context and produces excellent resources such as its annual Advent guide, Whose Birthday Is It Anyway? But there are a number of other excellent nonprofits that don't deal with the religious element but also provide great resources. The website above, redefineChristmas.org, is an effort to harness the internet as a way to encourage individual philanthropy and it's a great tool for finding good charities and then getting money to them. You can send e-cards to friends telling them you gave in their name and you can create a gift registry where you tell your friends that you'd prefer they donate money rather than give you another sweater. You can zero in on causes you care about deeply, whether it's global warming, poverty and hunger, helping to clear landmines or encouraging budding artists. Three other web resources I highly recommend: The Simple Living News has a good website that includes an online bi-monthly newsletter. The November-December issue has good holiday ideas. www.simpleliving.net I'm a fan of the organization Center for a New American Dream, which promotes simple living with an emphasis on environmentalism. They've also got good resources and recently updated their materials on holidays. www.newdream.org/holiday/index.php Finally, there's a Canadian Mennonite group that started a Christian inititative in that country to make the holiday less materialistic and one result is a detailed, self-explanatory website, www.buynothingChristmas.org May your holidays be full of love and presence! love, Meg

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Friends School of Maine (sung to the tune of Home on the Range)

Oh give me a place where the dark forest lays and the ocean is dazzling cold where the sand meets the rock and the path meets our school and the critters are friendly and bold
chorus: Friends, Friends School of Maine where there's reading and writing and art James greets us each day with a smile and says "HEY" and the ocean is close to our heart
Oh give me a place where I will feel safe where we celebrate pinwheels for peace where Billy teaches Billy-Ball to the kids and we're sad to go home every day
repeat chorus -- Written by the 3/4 class, fall 2008

Friday, November 14, 2008

THURSDAY NIGHT CONVERSATION

We had a great conversation last night about the strategies we use to protect our kids from what we consider harmful commericialization, strategies for helping them use media and consumerism in a healthy way, the hard places we find ourselves in negotiating a consumer society with our kids, and our thoughts and visions for building community at FSP. We welcome other thoughts from the larger community if anyone has the ummph to blog or comment!

Simplicity in the Winter Holidays

Another place for conversation was about the winter holidays -- namely Christmas -- and the challenges that can arise for families that participate in a fairly mainstream way but want to be more intentional about the value of simplicity. Some ideas included : --- encouraging family members to give the gift of time through coupon exchanges -- talking with kids about peer pressure and helping them recognize that they won't get all the things other kids might -- making explicit the connection to values (a book about a Quaker girl, entitled The Hannah!, was suggested) -- creating community norms about when particular technology gets introduced to kids (some discussion about how to do this in a way that doesn't promote exclusivity) -- suggestions are needed for how to bring this value and set of ideas to a less welcoming audience, like in-laws.

Simplicity in Birthday Parties

The FSPPA conversation last night included a wish for a way to capture all the good ideas we collectively have... One topic was simplicity birthday parties -- some of the ideas were: -- No goody bags and try to make this a community norm through more conversation -- One item instead of goody bags -- a garden party with the gift of plants -- a donation party What other ideas do we have that help keep birthdays authentic for kids, special feeling, and more simple for all of us?

Garden Lovers Movie Morning

The Brunswick Park and Gardens would like to invite the area business community to a free showing of "A Man Named Pearl" on Tuesday, November 18th at 7:30 AM, before your work day begins. The BP&G's mission is to create a world-class garden park on land soon to be vacated by the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The film is about a man who created a topiary garden on his 3 acre property that attracts thousands of tourists each year to the small town of Bishopville, South Carolina. The business community is invited to view the film to learn ways that BP&G's proposed project can positively affect the area as part of the redevelopment of BNAS. There will be a short introduction by the Garden Project. The film will be over before 9:00 AM. Coffee, tea and muffins will be available for sale at the box office, and the doors will be open by 7:00 AM. Admission is free. A description of the film follows: A Man Named Pearl (G)(80 min) Directed by Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson's warm, big-hearted documentary opens with Pearl Fryar working on his topiary garden to the strains of Fred Story's resolutely old-school jazz score. This gives the initial impression of an elite environment, one accessible only to the few able to appreciate its rarefied pleasures. But once the man named Pearl begins to tell his tale, all that melts away. Just as jazz was once the popular music of all walks of American life, Fryar makes the case that gardening isn't solely the bastion of the wealthy. With a boundless energy that belies his age (he's now 68), this blue-collar, self-taught artist has created a three-acre topiary garden so extraordinary that its presence has put the small town of Bishopville, S.C., on the map. "Horticulture people," explains Fryar while driving his pick-up truck, "come to my garden and the first thing they say is, 'You shouldn't be able to do that.' And I would say to them, 'I didn't know that.' The one time in my life ignorance paid off." The acknowledgement that he possessed more enthusiasm than experience is punctuated by a hearty laugh that goes a long way toward explaining Fryar's accomplishments. (His wife of 40 years, Metra, shares that same easy humor and unflappable optimism.) The son of sharecroppers who passed on their work ethic and unwavering religious faith, Pearl was looking to buy his first house when the casual racism of a potential neighbor - "black people don't keep up their yards" - inspired him to transform his outdoor property into something spectacular. So began a 30-year commitment to an evergreen sanctuary where the words "Peace Love & Goodwill" welcome visitors from around the world - all in his own back yard. The ability to coax plants other gardeners have left for dead into living abstract sculpture - a live oak forms a crisp, perfect box, a Leyland cypress morphs into a massive, fishbone-topped totem ? takes patience, determination and what his friends and admirers deem Fryar's special skill: the ability to visualize future growth and act accordingly. Some biographical details that were left out of this love-fest (as a college student, Fryar participated in civil rights sit-ins, he was also a Korean War veteran and union organizer) demonstrate the tough tenacity of this soft-spoken, welcoming man. With effusive praise for Fryar's DIY aesthetic and his selfless nature, the filmmakers give a big, green thumbs up to Pearl's earthly paradise.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Little Connection between beliefs and behaviors until age 8

A study from the University of Michigan found that children do not connect their beliefs and their behaviors until they make a cognitive leap around age 8. This has implications for parenting and teaching -- apparently helping kids "know" what they should do doesn't make it any easier for them to do it until age 8. The study doesn't provide a lot of concrete suggestions for helping younger children change behavior (other than a traditional carrrot/stick approach) and I wonder if it doesn't lay the groundwork for reflection to begin practicing it even before they can effectively do it on thier own, but it is useful to remember that when a young child fails to abstract or behave as they say they will, it is more about immaturity than a character flaw... The study also pointed out the ways that magical thinking could help young children, because they can still imagine themselves as "practically perfect in every way" which is a gateway for all kinds of possibility.

StoryTelling Event

Family Tellabration Time: November 22, 2008 at 3pm Location: Breakwater School Street: 856 Brighton Avenue City/Town: Portland, Maine 04102 Website or Map: http://breakwaterschool.org Contact Info: (207) 892-9346 Event Type: Tellabration Organized By: Susan Dries The family performing storytellers will be: Jean Armstrong, Susan Dries, Jody Fein, Pat Gardiner, Desiree Marin, Deena Weinstien. For advance tickets(until Nov.14) please call 772-4295 ext 226 advance pricing:$3.00 for children, $4.00 for adults, $12.00 maximum per family $5.00 each the day of the show. breakwaterschool.org

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

THURSDAY NIGHT CONVERSATION __ PLEASE COME!

Parenting For Peace : A Community Conversation about the Commercialization of Childhood Thursday November 11 5:30 -- Reception 6:00 -- 7:30 -- Program Childcare is available Feel free to bring supper with you Queries that will guide our conversation: ~ How does the value of simplicity shape our family lives? ~ What strategies can parents share about how to promote the value of simplicity in a commercial world? ~ When and how should children be protected from media and marketing, and when and how do they develop skills to critically engage? ~ What should the role of school be in all this? The Media Education Foundation has just released a film entitled Consuming Kids -- we can watch some of the film if there is interest in it, and FSP has a copy that can be loaned out. Here's the trailer A few facts from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (and more available) The United States deregulated the marketing of children in 1984, and "With deregulation, it became legal to sell toys and other products linked to specific TV programs for the first time. As a result, the toy and television industries quickly joined together to develop toy-linked TV shows. _Within one year of deregulation, 9 of the 10 best-selling toys were connected to TV shows_ (Carlsson-Paige & Levin, 1990)." *Marketing to children is a huge business *. Companies spend about $17 billion annually marketing to children, a staggering increase from the $100 million spent in 1983. . Children under 14 spend about $40 billion annually. Compare this to the $6.1 billion 4-12 year olds spent in 1989.9 10 Teens spend about $159 billion. . This generation of children is the most brand conscious ever. Teens between 13 and 17 have 145 conversations about brands per week, about twice as many as adults. . Children ages 2-11 see more than 25,000 advertisements a year on TV alone, a figure that does not include product placement. They are also targeted with advertising on the Internet, cell phones, mp3 players, video games, school buses, and in school. Resources The Center for the New American Dream (org. that pulls enviornmental concerns and strategies for lowering consumption) TRUCE -- Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment The Resource page connected to Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne's book "So Sexy So Soon" provides a great bibliography

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Multicultural Book Festival in Portland Maine

MANY VOICES: A multicultural book fair for families Saturday, November 22, 10:00 – 1:00 Breakwater School gym, 856 Brighton Ave., Portland EXPLORE BOOKS that take your child around the world. The fair features the latest children's books and classics depicting the cultures of China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as African American, Native American, Latino American, Jewish American, Muslim American and immigration books. MAKE YOUR OWN ORIGAMI BUTTERFLY just like in the book Butterflies for Kiri! We'll also offer face painting, balloon tying and other kids' activities. MEET THE AUTHOR: Cathryn Falwell, author and illustrator of Butterflies for Kiri and other children's books, will be on hand to meet the children and autograph books. COME AND SHOP! The fair will also sell bake sale treats, gently used traditional Chinese clothing for kids and adults, and our special limited-edition tote bag by Maine artist Betsy Thompson. THE BOOK FAIR IS FREE and open to the public. EDUCATOR DISCOUNT Educators receive a 20% discount on all books. FOR MORE INFORMATION email bamboo@... or visit cafamchineseschool.org. Presented by the Chinese and American Friendship Association of Maine's Chinese School. Titles selected by Curious City (www.curiouscity.net) and provided by Books Etc. (www.mainebooksetc.com) *ABOUT C.A.F.A.M. AND CHINESE SCHOOL* The Chinese American Friendship Association of Maine (C.A.F.A.M) is a non-profit cultural organization whose members include Chinese- Americans, Americans who have lived or worked in China, parents who have adopted children from China, and others with an interest in Chinese history and culture. In addition to the Chinese School, C.A.F.A.M. offers lectures, holiday celebrations, and an annual Chinese New Year celebration (slated for January 31, 2009--more later!).

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Bookcloseouts

I'm big on buying local and hope everyone will support Books Etc. during their promotion for FSP (25% of profits toward building our library when FSP is mentioned during the weekend of Nov 14 - 16!!!).... but for remainders and inexpensive books, bookcloseouts is my favorite, and they are offering free shipping this month... As our gift to you for the holidays we are offering free standard shipping on all orders of $35 or more from November 1st until December 31st 2008. This promotion includes all our products and categories including, kid's books, new arrivals, scratch and dent, fiction, non-fiction etc. Please read the promotion details carefully here. To take advantage of this limited time offer, on the checkout page, be sure to type in the following when prompted for a coupon number: Coupon Number: freeshipping Coupon Password: bookcloseouts.com Start shopping now, and let us give you the gift of FREE SHIPPING! Free Shipping Offer details: Order subtotal must be equal or above $35.00. Valid only for shipping to Canada & USA (50 states only, including Alaska and Hawaii) Free shipping promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any additional coupons. Free shipping applies to the standard shipping option only - you must select the "free shipping" option when checking out. Order must be placed between November 1st and before Midnight December 31st 2008

Mad Science at the St. Lawrence

Mad Science at The Saturday Show! November 8, 2008 11am Tickets $8 Adults, $5 kids (look for coupon below) Fire and Ice program: Children will be dazzled and entertained as they interact with our Mad Scientist! This spectacular show will thrill audiences with impressive science experiments dealing with the wonders of dry ice and the dynamics of air pressure (with a little help from Eggbert the egg). The event includes foggy dry ice storms and demonstrates how giant beach balls can float in the air. Volunteers from the audience can taste a special Mad Science "burp" potion and measure their "hot air". We'll search the audience for children and invite them up to be our special "Lil' Mad Scientist' helpers. This event will excite every child's scientific curiosity. ****************************************************************************************************** This coupon good for one half-price admission to The Saturday Show! Limit one coupon per family, please. Coupon may be used for the adult ticket price (only $4!!! Wow!) *****************************************************************************************************

Recipes from the 3-4 Harvest Lunch - continued

Pasta Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes from Daniel 1 med onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped 4 med tomatoes, peeled and pureed 1/2 tsp dry basil 1/2 tsp dry oregano pinch of salt saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 1/2 hour Add garlic during cooking. When onion is soft, add remaining ingredients. Cook until thick.

Recipes from the 3-4 Harvest Lunch - continued

Creamy Coleslaw from Miranda 7 Cups shredded green cabbage 1 Carrot, peeled and grated 3 tbsp minced onion 1/2 Cup mayonnaise 1/4 C sugar 1/4 C cider vinegar 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp salt In a large bowl toss together the cabbage, carrot and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and stir well to combine. Refrigerate 2-8 hours. Before serving, por off excess liquid and stir well.

Recipes from the 3-4 Harvest Lunch

  1. Pear and Raisin Crumble from Yacob.
  2. Salsa from Elena.
  3. Indian Sunflower Cookies from Nathaniel.
  4. Sweet Corn Cakes from Grace
  5. Gingered Beets with Raisins, from Darrah.
1 can sliced beets 3 T sugar 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/2 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/4 c raisins 2 Tblsp butter drain beets, reserve 3/4 c liquid. In saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, ginger and salt. Blend in reserved 3/4 c liquid from beets and lemon juice. Add raisins. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thick and bubbly. Add butter and sliced beets. Simmer through util heated, about 5 - 10 minutes

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Planetarium Trip - -Nov 11th!

We’re going out of this world! The FSPA is sponsoring a trip to the Southworth Planetarium on our next school in-service day(Tuesday, November 11th). The show starts at 10:30 am and costs $4.00 per child. We will gather for lunch (bring your own or buy) at the Student Union afterwards. The show will be RUSTY ROCKET'S LAST BLAST: Join Rusty Rocket and his band of _rocket rookies as they explore the wonder worlds of the Solar System. Directions: I-295 NORTH OR SOUTH: Take Exit 6B. Go west (straight) on Forest Avenue to the second light. Turn left onto Falmouth Street. The Planetarium is on the left in the Science Building on the USM campus. Parking: There is on-street parking on Falmouth Street Please rsvp to Maureen @ erkmpq@aol.com if you know that you're coming, but feel free to just show up as well.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Tree School

Lindy Shapiro has opened a preschool and enrichment center in the old Ballard House building on Spring Street. She has some great after school offerings (art and movement) for Friends-aged kids and some free morning programs for younger siblings... check it out -- she's also offering an open Hootenanny this Friday night. Happy November Everyone! And BRAND NEW November/December Tree School classes have sprouted, as well! Tree Yogi's for children of all ages Kripalu yoga for adults on Tuesdays at 6:00 and Thursdays at 12:30 (Tree House Enrichment is open for child care during the Thursday class) Tree Art on Mondays at 4:00 and Thursdays at 10:00 AND Kids' NIA on Saturdays at 10:00 FINALLY...don't miss Tree School's First HOOTENANNY this Friday, November 7th at 5:00pm!!! The band is great and the only thing we need to make the event even GREATER is YOU! So please check out our website www.mytreeschool.org for details and to find out about our FREE Bookies groups throughout the week. Hope to see you all soon! Peace, Lindy Shapiro Director/Founder, Tree School 131 Spring Street Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 730-1230

Saturday, November 1, 2008

School House Rock in Portsmouth

If anyone needs something fun and different to do... School House Rock Live http://www.seacoastrep.org/ Nov. 1 – 9, 2008 Saturdays 11am, 2pm and 5pm Sundays 2pm & 5pm