North Shore Children & Families May 2014 Issue by Julie Pierce Onos

North Shore

Children IN THIS ISSUE

&Families FREE!

The online and print forum promoting the development of children, families and the parents who care for them.

MORE Summer Camps & Programs – Pages 9-13! Mascara, Old Friends & Other Superheroes Children’s Emotions: What They Are Why They’re Important Tending to Children’s Emotions Finding Your Child’s Emotional Sweet Spot Teaching Children to Manage Emotions Community Calendar Education Feature: Shore Country Day School Enter to Win! See page 2

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MAY 2014

2 North Shore Children & Families

Family & Friends

Mascara, Old Friends & Other Superheroes by Suzanne Provencher, Publisher I didn’t wear any mascara yesterday. (And truth be told, I seldom do.) But she loves her lashes and mascara. She won’t leave home without them. But since we heard the news a few weeks ago, or perhaps it was a millennium ago, I especially don’t wear mascara when I am with her because we always cry. Good tears – because we are so grateful for our lifelong friendship. Sad tears – the kind that emanate from deep within our souls. Happy tears – when we are doubled over in laughter, as only two forever girlfriends who know everything about each other can share. Angry tears – why her? Why me? Frightened tears – which I only let in for a second as there is no time for fear. And hopeful tears. Lots and lots of hopeful tears. The hopefullyest tears ever imagined. I’m trying hard to help us both focus on the hopeful tears.

and we will laugh and laugh until we almost wet our pants. And I will make her eat lots of colorful, fresh and leafy things – fighting this war on all fronts – as I hang a crystal around her neck and place a crucifix above her bed and smudge her with sage and whatever else I can do to help my friend win this battle. She is already war-weary. Her other battle started over 20 years ago – and now this. We are in training, preparing for the fight of her life. It will take everything we have to give it. This is not the time for fear or negativity and we will push “it” out with guided imagery, something new to her. But she embraced it yesterday and I think it may have helped.

I cleaned out the cupboards, the freezer, the fridge. I got rid of all of the bad food. She applied her mascara and we went food shopping for healthy foods that would be part of our weaponry in fighting this war. We had a brief We have been forever friends since argument in aisle 5 – and I gave in. we met over 44 years ago at age 7. But I won’t back down. This is too She is and always has been the diva important for her. For me. in our group. And she never, ever For all of us who love her and leaves home without her lush stand with her, ready for battle. lashes. They are part of her You’ll know us by our blinged out disguise. You see, she is a capes. And our mascara, of course. Superhero. She may not know that just yet, but she will. Because only We laid on her bed and she asked me questions that I could not Superheroes can conquer what answer. But I did answer, like the she is facing. What we are facing. eternal optimist that I am. And I will hold her hand and dry her because I wanted to believe my tears and wipe away the mascara answers. And because she thinks I running down her cheeks. I will am so smart and can fix anything. I tell her stories about our youth

want to believe that we can overcome anything together. I DO believe and I KNOW we can! But only if we are vigilant and perfect – no chance for error. And occasionally, I may even wear mascara. Because she is a diva, after all. A cancer fighting, Superhero diva – my sister and my lifelong friend. As I write this on Easter Sunday morning, it occurs to me that this will appear in the May issue – and

North Shore Children & Families INVITES YOU TO

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her birthday is in May. She hates when I remind her that she is older than me and always will be. So before I put down my pen, I want to wish you the very happiest birthday ever, my dear friend! I celebrate you today and every day. And I plan to celebrate this and the next 50 birthdays with you. Pinky swear. Now eat that broccoli and kale and be a good Superhero. Love, Suzanne xo

ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! Our next issue is our 2-month Summer issue – which covers June AND July! So if you need to advertise in June and/or July – please reserve your ad space by noon, Wed., May 14, if you require our ad production assistance. Our Summer issue features our final Summer Camps & Programs Showcase for this season. So if you still have slots to fill, we hope you will join us! Online ads are now available. We’ve Got the North Shore Covered!

North Shore Children & Families

Letter from the Editor

The Prime Directive: Tending to Children’s Emotions by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. An infant’s first encounters with the world are social and emotional ones. Infants are most alive when they are engaged in emotionally charged, face-toface interactions with their caregivers. From the earliest ages, infants enter in social interaction as partners in richly animated face-to-face dances with their caregivers. The infant sees his mother; he smiles and coos. His mother smiles back and imitates her infant’s cooing. The pair exchanges smiles and coos until the infant begins to lose interest or become over-stimulated. At this point, a sensitive parent backs off and may begin to approach her child with more soothing than exciting tones. It is upon the foundation of these richly social and emotional interactions that all subsequent development is built. Emotions do not become less important as time goes on. Social relationships rely upon a child’s capacity to feel appreciated and secure in her social interactions with others. Researchers have shown that perseverance is more important than intelligence as predictors of achievement and success in school and the workplace. Psychologists have demonstrated that “emotional intelligence” – the capacity to understand and act upon one’s sense of the emotional life of others – is at least as important as intellectual ability in building a happy and successful life. Still further, the task of cultivating a

North Shore Children & Families

www.northshorefamilies.com P.O. Box 150 Nahant, MA 01908-0150 781.584.4569

Suzanne M. Provencher Publisher/Co-Founder/Managing Partner suzanne@northshorefamilies.com Michael F. Mascolo, PhD Editor/Co-Founder/Partner michael@northshorefamilies.com Designed by Group One Graphics Printed by Seacoast Media Group Please see our Calendar in this issue for our upcoming deadlines. Published and distributed monthly throughout the North Shore, 10x per year, and always online. All articles are written by Michael F. Mascolo, PhD unless otherwise credited. Information contained in NSC&F is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. Individual readers are responsible for their use of any information provided. NSC&F is not liable or responsible for the effects of use of information contained in NSC&F. Established 2007.

meaningful and happy life is not one that is born of cold thought. Happy people are those who adopt a particular social and emotional orientation toward life – one that embraces the virtues of gratitude, compassion, moderation and love. In this issue, we explore what emotions are and how they play a role in literally everything your child does. If this is true, then it is deeply important that parents attend to their children’s emotions. But how? Does tending to children’s emotions mean always making children feel good? Not necessarily. When it comes to emotions, it is possible for us to be both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. The key to fostering children’s emotional development is to find your child’s emotional sweet spot – that range of feeling where a child is feeling vital and optimally charged. This means not only reducing the range and intensity of children’s emotions when children are over-stimulated, but also increasing the intensity of children’s emotional experiences when children are bored, under-aroused or not attending to a situation in the way that they should. The key to fostering emotional development is to be sensitive to your child’s emotional expressions, and work to keep his or her emotions in that sweet spot that hovers on the edge of his or her comfort zone. Read on to find out how.

North Shore Children & Families

Children’s Emotions

What Emotions Are and Why They’re Important An emotion is a reaction to the fate of our concerns. Behind every emotion is some type of interest – a want, goal, desire or concern. Something has happened to something that we want. For example, we are sad when we experience a loss of something wanted and can’t get it back; behind every sadness is the loss of something valued. We are afraid when we sense danger; in fear, we are concerned about being harmed. We are angry when things aren’t the way they are supposed to be; in anger, we are concerned with something that has gone wrong. We feel guilty when we take responsibility for some wrongdoing; when we feel guilt, we are motivated to avoid being a bad person. We are embarrassed when we seem like a fool in the eyes of others; embarrassment is about not looking

foolish. We feel shame when we look at ourselves through the eyes of others and realize that we are a bad or horrible person; in shame, we are concerned with who we are in the eyes of others. When we experience an emotion, something has happened that has affected our wants, goals, standards and concerns. As a result, we experience a particular type of feeling. We reveal our feeling by the way we express it through our face, voice and body. For example, in anger, our eyebrows tend to furrow; we often tend to show our teeth, we raise our voice; our body becomes tense and so on. This all happens automatically without our being aware of it. Emotions are there for a reason. They have many functions; they do many things for us. When we experience an

emotion, the feeling part of the emotion alerts us that something important has happened to us. It makes us feel the importance of the event. When we feel anger, for example, the feeling alerts us that something is not the way it should be. It says, “Look, something is wrong – attend to it!” Our feelings do this even before we are aware of what is happening. That is why we sometimes have a feeling about something before we can figure out why we have the feeling.

Our inner feelings are there to help us become aware of important situations. In contrast, outer expressions are there to make other people aware of our feelings. This is how parents come to know that their children are in need. When a parent witnesses a child wince, cry and rub his arm, she knows that child is in pain. When a child averts his gaze and blushes when you ask if she stole the cookies, you know that she is feeling guilty. A child’s emotional expression is a window into her internal world. A child’s emotional expression not only reveals how she feels, it reveals the type of thing that has happened to make her feel that way. With this information, a parent can begin to attend to your child in ways that are sensitive to her needs.

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North Shore Children & Families

Children’s Emotions

Tending Responsively to Children’s Emotions Emotions are fundamental. To be attuned with your child’s emotions is to be sensitive to what is happening to her needs, goals, desires and wants. Let’s examine what it means be responsive to a child’s emotions. Six-year-old Jan and her father were picking strawberries. Jan’s father was walking her through the strawberry fields and helping her approach some of the bushes. Just as Jan was about to pick a strawberry, a black cat poked his face from beneath the bush. Jan’s body stiffened. As her eyes widened, her cheeks and eyebrows rose upward; her mouth opened. As her face retained all these signs of fear, she looked at her father with a half smile, as if to say, “I know I shouldn’t be afraid but I am”. Looking alternatively at Jan and the cat, Jan’s father said in a soft and comforting voice, “It’s just a kitty; it won’t hurt you.” Jan then turned her body away from the cat and ran towards her father. As she turned towards the cat, her face became serious as she watched the cat move slowly in her direction. Jan clung to her father’s side and, hiding slightly behind him, kept her father’s body between her and the cat. What’s going on here? This is an everyday interaction. While simple, it reveals a great deal about Jan, her relationship to her father and her emotions. Jan is afraid of the cat. Her feelings, however, are complex. When she initially saw the cat, she stiffened in fear. Through her fear, however, she was able to look at her father and produce a half smile. Her smile seemed to suggest both a plea for help as well as a sense that she knew she was not really in danger. Her

father’s soothing message seemed to give Jan just enough courage to break her “freeze” reaction and flee to her father’s protection. At this point, Jan’s father is at a choice point – what should he do? Jan’s father doesn’t want her to be afraid. If he removes Jan (or the cat) from the situation, he can assuage Jan’s fear. If he encourages Jan to approach the cat, perhaps she can conquer her fear? What should he do? The answer depends on the intensity of Jan’s emotions and her father’s sense of whether learning to approach the cat is within Jan’s learning zone. In the situation described here, Jan seems to feel protected by her father; she does not seem overwhelmed by her fear (which would require a different approach altogether). In this case, Jan’s father chose to introduce her slowly to the cat: Jan’s father crouched down between Jan and the cat, keeping his body between the two. He reached out while petting the cat and said, “What a nice kitty”. Looking back at Jan, and still petting the cat, he said, “See? She’s not going to hurt you”. After a short period, he moved his body back slightly to open some space between Jan and the cat. “Wanna pet him?” Jan shook her head “no” and remained transfixed on the cat. Her father said, “Go ahead, just give him a little pet…just touch him”. Jan hesitated, and slowly reached forward, touched the cat quickly and immediately moved away. In this situation, Jan’s father relies upon his daughter’s emotions in order to Continued on page 6

6 North Shore Children & Families Tending Responsively Continued from page 5

make decisions about how best to guide Jan. As a result of this simple interaction, what has happened? 1. Jan has learned that her father is emotionally available to her when she is feeling anxious or when she is feeling afraid or emotionally challenged in some way. 2. Jan has learned that her father is concerned about her; she feels protected and cared for. 3. Jan has learned how to approach the cat and even touch it despite her fear. She has learned that she can touch the cat without being hurt. 4. Jan’s father has helped moderate the intensity of Jan’s emotions. Jan’s father has helped to regulate Jan’s emotions. This is how children learn to regulate their emotions. Over time, Jan will gain the ability to regulate her own emotions in ways that are similar to how her father helped to calm her emotions. She may say to herself, “It’s a nice kitty; it’s not going to hurt me”, or, more important, “I’ve pet the kitty before, I can do it again.” 5. Jan has begun to develop a sense of being confident in approaching the cat. She has learned that she can begin to overcome her fear by persevering. In situations that are similar to this one, she will feel more secure in her ability to move beyond her comfort zone. As children grow older, this type of exchange between children and their parents will recur many times – although in different forms. A younger child

may seek the emotional reassurance of her mother when she is visiting the home of a friend; feeling secure, she can enjoy success in playing with new toys and meeting new people. An older child, aware that his parents are emotionally available, may seek assistance when his homework becomes difficult; when he is having difficulty with a friend or with a teacher at school. Being responsive to a child’s emotions and needs helps children learn to trust that parents will be “there” for them. This provides the emotional foundation of a secure and responsive parent-child relationship. It is within such trusting and guiding relationships that children learn to be competent in the world. Children are not naturally autonomous; they learn to control their actions and emotions through their relationships with others.

Not too High and Not too Low: Finding Your Child’s Emotional Sweet Spot In the situation described prior, Jan was afraid of a new and unfamiliar cat. Jan’s father became aware of Jan’s fear and was able to respond sensitively to it. This is what it means to be emotionally responsive. However, in being responsive to Jan’s fear, Jan’s father did not eliminate Jan’s discomfort. Instead, he modulated Jan’s emotions and helped her to keep them at a level that was optimal for learning. As described before, our emotions are there for a reason. Our goal as parents should not be to reduce the intensity of a child’s emotions to zero. A certain degree of engagement and emotional arousal is necessary for effective learning to take place. If social relationships are built on emotion, we do not want to eliminate children’s emotions. Instead, we should always seek to bring them into an optimal range of functioning. We all know what Goldilocks was looking for as she sampled the three

bowls of porridge: Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. Like anything, when helping our children adjust to emotional situations, getting it “just right” is easier said than done. Happily, however, we don’t have to get it “just right” all the time. Instead, we simply need to get it “just right” most of the time. Happier still, giving “just the right” emotional guidance is more a matter of getting to the “right range” than finding any single fixed point. Let’s examine another situation: Eight-year-old Carmen is doing her math homework. It’s hard. In frustration, she repeats, “I can’t do it! This is stupid! I can’t do it.” She throws her pencil down. “I’m never gonna be able to do this! Why do I need to know this?” Carmen is in a vulnerable state. What is at stake is her developing sense of Continued on page 8

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North Shore Children & Families

Education Feature

Boston Children’s Theatre and Shore Country Day School Announce Partnership Collaboration between award-winning children’s theatre and Beverly school to bring summer studios to the North Shore Boston Children’s Theatre (BCT) and Shore Country Day School in Beverly have announced a creative and collaborative partnership. Beginning the summer of 2014, BCT will bring its respected pre-professional summer studios program to the campus of Shore Country Day School. “As a theatrical organization, we are thrilled to partner with a school that has made such a substantial commitment to the arts in this area,” said BCT Executive Director Toby Schine. “Together we can make a significant contribution to the community.” Shore completed construction of its $15 million Center for Creativity in 2013. The impressive facility includes a 375-seat theater with a state-of-the-art sound system and professional catwalks for lighting. It also houses two music classrooms equipped for recording, a soundproof digital recording studio, and the Innovation Lab – a workshop for hands-on activities, brainstorming, and problem solving. The Center for Creativity was conceived as part of Shore’s vision of educating students for the 21st century. The school’s board of trustees and administration knew that, as the greatest asset in a changing world, creativity would give their students the flexibility to adapt regardless of what the future holds. “In line with this goal, we wanted to give the arts the space and importance they deserve at Shore,” said Head of School Larry Griffin. BCT students will have access to these resources and more for intensive courses in acting, dance, musical theater performance, production, and technical theater. At the end of the program, students will perform in and handle all aspects of several full-scale musical productions. Both Schine and Griffin expressed enthusiasm for the relationship’s potential to further strengthen the role of the arts in the North Shore community. Griffin added, “Shore is excited about sharing these incredible arts facilities with aspiring actors and audiences from throughout the North Shore region through our partnership with BCT.” While BCT will maintain a presence in Boston with classes and performances, Schine says the location of Shore Country Day School is a definite advantage as BCT’s programs continue to grow. “Many of our students live north of Boston and having a home at Shore Country Day School provides a wonderful

opportunity for us to provide a more convenient location for both our current students and for students interested in trying our program for the first time.” BCT Summer Studios for students ages 9 – 19 will be held at Shore Country Day School between June and August. Summer Studios for ages 4 – 9 will be held at BCT’s Boston location. For more information, visit www.bostonchildrenstheatre.org. With its emphasis on conceptual, integrated, and creative learning within a strong, liberal arts tradition, Shore Country Day School serves 440, pre-K through Grade 9, students from 40 communities across the North Shore. Located on a 17-acre campus in Beverly, MA, Shore’s programs and state-of-the art facilities offer families academic challenge, innovative teaching, and a balance of scholastic, artistic, physical, and personal growth. Students graduate with exceptional breadth, independence, and preparation for future learning. Visit www.ShoreSchool.org to learn more, or call our Admissions Office at (978) 927-1700, ext. 204. The information contained in this education feature was submitted by Shore Country Day School, and published in partnership with North Shore Children & Families; www.northshorefamilies.com.

8 North Shore Children & Families Continued from page 6

self. How do we respond to her? Just like Goldilocks, we want to avoid the extremes of pushing too much or not pushing enough. We want to get it just right. But how do we know what’s just right? This can be very difficult. A good place to start, however, is with your child’s emotions. If we want children to be able to manage their own emotions, we have to start by modulating and managing their emotions for them, and then gradually, as they become more emotionally competent, turning the task of emotional management over to the children themselves. Supporting Children through Moderate Levels of Challenge Like all of us, children cannot learn well under conditions of intense, strong or overwhelming emotion. However, the opposite is also true – children cannot learn if they are not emotionally aroused enough. Children

learn best – including learning how to cope with their own emotions – under contexts in which adults provide and support children through moderate levels of challenge. This idea is shown in the figure on the right, which shows what happens to children’s capacity to learn under conditions of increasing levels of emotional challenge. As shown in the figure, if the level of challenge provided to a child is too high, they will experience a range of negative emotions, such as frustration, anger, sadness, embarrassment, shame and so forth. If the child’s emotion is genuine, this is a signal to reduce the level of challenge and stimulation provided to the child. However, under such circumstances, it is not helpful to reduce the level of challenge to zero! In order to learn, children must be emotionally aroused and engaged. If we reduce the level of challenge and stimulation too much, the child will become bored, apathetic, disinterested or perhaps

VERITAS UNITAS CARITAS

Child’s Capacity to Learn

Not Too High…

Optimal Challenge teach motivation & effortful engagement

acknowledge emotion teach courage & mental toughness

increase stimulation

decrease stimulation

Level of Emotional Stress boredom apathy disinterest

interest curiosity engagement

even disrespectful or nonchalant! This is not a formula for learning or for emotional development. If the child’s level of emotional engagement in a task is too low, it may become necessary to increase the challenge and level of stimulation given to the child. The key is to find a moderate level of challenge and stimulation – not too much, not too little, but just right for the task at hand in the situation at hand. When children are provided

fear anxiety overwhelmed

with moderate challenge, they become more alert, engaged, interested and curious. When you are able to consistently provide children with moderate levels of challenge, children learn that you will be sensitive to their emotional needs. However, they will also learn that you mean business: When something is difficult, we don’t just crawl in a corner and pout. We face it – initially with support, and thereafter increasingly on our own – in an attempt to learn from the situation.

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and $ave 10% off all 3 display ads! Summer issue ad space deadline is Fri., May 16 (or by May 14 if you require our ad production assistance!); completed ads are due by Tues., May 20. Our Summer issue covers 2 months – June AND July.

To secure your space and $ave – contact Suzanne by May 14: 781.584.4569 or suzanne@northshorefamilies.com.

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North Shore Children & Families

Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series Part 3 of 4

Series concludes in our 2-month Summer (June/July) issue.

Sports and Enrichment Camps NEW THIS SUMMER AT SHORE! BOSTON CHILDREN’S THEATRE

A creative and collaborative partnership begins this summer when BCT brings its respected pre-professional summer studios program to Shore Country Day School for ages 9 - 19. BCT Summer Studios will be held from June through August. For more information, visit: www.bostonchildrenstheatre.org

BOSTON RED SOX BASEBALL SUMMER CAMPS BOSTON SOCCER ACADEMY PRIMETIME LACROSSE • Girls’ Lacrosse • Girls’ Field Hockey • Art and Nature • Glowing Fairy House Lanterns • Marimba Band • Book Making • Costume Designer’s Insight • Marvelous Masquerades • Ceramics and Clay Fun • Whimsical Wire Sculptures • The Lunch Bunch For more information, to view our brochure, and to register, visit us online at www.ShoreSchool.org/SummerShore.

SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 545 Cabot Street, Beverly (978) 927-1700 www.shoreschool.org

North Shore Children & Families

Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series Part 3 of 4

Series concludes in our 2-month Summer (June/July) issue.

North Shore Children & Families

Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series Part 3 of 4

Series concludes in our 2-month Summer (June/July) issue.

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North Shore Children & Families

Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series Part 3 of 4

Series concludes in our 2-month Summer (June/July) issue.

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Does Your Camp or Summer Program Still Have Slots to Fill? Join us in our final Camp Showcase for this season in our 2-month Summer issue, which covers June and July! Contact suzanne@northshorefamilies.com by noon, Wed., May 14, to secure your space – and your summer!

We’ve Got the North Shore Covered!

North Shore Children & Families

Children’s Emotions

Teaching Children to Manage their Own Emotions If Carmen is experiencing difficulty with her math, she will be frustrated, angry and perhaps demoralized. In this situation, she is not going to be able to learn. Again, the goal of the adult in such a situation is to modulate the level of challenge in the situation to make it more intellectually and emotionally manageable for the child. Once Carmen’s emotions have been brought to a more manageable state, it is time to start teaching – not just the math, but also about emotional management. We learn what we do – not simply what we are told – and particularly what we do under the guidance of others. Thus, when you break down the math problem for the child; hold the child to attainable standards of perseverance; manage the child’s frustration en route to success and so forth, you are teaching not only the practical skill in question (e.g., math), but also the essential skill of managing emotions. If the child’s level of motivation and emotional engagement begin to wane, the adult has to make a judgment. Is the child getting too tired? If so, it may be time to stop and revisit the issue later on. If not, it may be time to provide guidance and instruction on the need to increase one’s level of

alertness, attention and effort in the task. Is the child getting overwhelmed? If so, perhaps it’s time to take a break. But what if the adult makes the judgment that the child is capable of more, but simply has not yet built skills to manage frustration or difficult emotion? If that is so, it might be necessary to set the bar a bit higher. An adult might choose to offer guidance and instruction about the need for “mental toughness” or even “courage” in the process of working through difficult tasks. After all, to encourage is to foster “courage” (i.e., “en-courage”) as one deals with difficult tasks and events. It is not always easy to make judgments about a child’s emotional capacity. Such judgments are more art than science, and are heavily dependent on how well an adult knows a child, their relationship history and the adult’s values. What’s more, a child’s capacity to manage emotion in difficult situations will change not only as he or she develops, but will also be different in different tasks and situations, even at different times of the day! However, we do not have to get it right every time. As long as we make consistent, good faith efforts to strike the delicate balance between emotional nurturance and emotional challenge, we almost cannot help but to get it “just right” more often than not.

Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series Part 3 of 4

Series concludes in our 2-month Summer (June/July) issue.

14 North Shore Children & Families

Community Calendar

Summer Camps & Programs: See page 12 and join us in our 7th Annual Summer Camps & Programs Showcase Series, which continues in this issue! Contact suzanne@northshorefamilies.com by May 14 to advertise in our FINAL, Summer issue (June/July) showcase and boost your summer enrollments!

To Submit to our Community Calendar: Please visit us at www.northshorefamilies.com and submit your listings directly through our website. From our Home Page – click on Calendar – then click on Submit and our form will open for you to complete and submit your listings. ALL calendar listings must be submitted directly via our website. While we will make every attempt to post all appropriate listings in our online Community Calendar, space is limited in print – and priority will be given to those events that are free and family-friendly – and those submitted by our advertising partners & sponsors. Calendar listings received online by the 20th of each month will be considered to also appear in our upcoming print calendar. If you need to guarantee that your listing will be posted in print – please contact Suzanne to advertise. To advertise, please contact Suzanne at suzanne@northshorefamilies.com or 781.584.4569.

For complete listing accuracy, we recommend that you call ahead or check the websites listed. Featured listings do not constitute an endorsement from this Publisher and we encourage our readers to always do their own research. MAY IS THE MONTH FOR: Dating Your Mate; Foster Care; Barbecues; Bikes; Blood Pressure; Hamburgers; Photographs; Recommitments; Salads; Older Americans

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Family-Friendly Writers!

Would you like to share your story or expertise with local families? We are looking for experts, mothers, fathers, and others who would like to join our mission of helping local families throughout the North Shore. We cover all ages and stages of development – for individuals and for family units.

Week One: Nurses’ Week Week Three: National Bike Week; National Police Week Week Four: Emergency Medical Services Week SEEKING WRITERS & AD SALES HELP: If you would like to share your words and wisdom with us and our readers, please see page 14. If you would like to sell ads for us, several prime territories are still available; please see page 14.

If you would like to be considered to have your words published in North Shore Children & Families, please send a writing sample, along with your resume and/or letter of interest, to suzanne@northshorefamilies.com. No phone calls, please.

Open your home to an international student this summer! See Education First ad on page 6; www.ef.com/host/beverly. Gordon College Children’s Choir – fall 2014 enrollment is now underway! Visit www.gordon.edu/childrenschoir for more information. NEW ADVERTISER SPECIALS:

HELP WANTED

Join us this Summer – and $ave! See page 8 to learn more. GET TICKETS NOW:

Earn commissions by helping us sell ads! Many territories available. Work from home.

Areas of interest include:

Education Special Needs Behavior Nutrition Development Safety Health & Wellness Family Fun Medical Parenting Stories & More!

Parents Who Need Summer Camps & Programs for their Kids: See pages 9 – 13 in this issue for lots of great ideas for your kids this summer! Check back in our Summer (June/July) issue for MORE summer camps & programs!

Please email letter of interest & resume. Contact Suzanne Provencher, Publisher, at suzanne@northshorefamilies.com No phone calls, please.

Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre presents: Disney’s The Little Mermaid (July 8-27); Little Red Riding Hood (July 18); Jack and the Beanstalk (July 25); Pocahontas (Aug. 1); Cinderella (Aug. 22). See ad on back cover; www.nsmt.org. 2014 Musicals: Anything Goes, Grease, Chicago, Les Miserables, concerts and more! Big Apple Circus returns to Boston with Luminosity – through May 11; at City Hall Plaza! This all new show is fun for the whole family! www.bigapplecircus.org MAY 2: Brothers’ & Sisters’ Day MAY 3 + 4: 51st Annual New England Gem & Mineral Show, presented by the North Shore Rock & Mineral Club, May 3: 9am-5pm; May 4: 10am-4pm. At

Topsfield Fairgrounds. Fun for the entire family! www.nahant.com/nsrmc MAY 6: National Nurses’ Day Open House at Tower School, Marblehead, 9-11am. www.towerschool.org MAY 7: School Nurses’ Day MAY 10: Birth Mothers’ Day Open House at Tower School, Marblehead, 9-11am. www.towerschool.org MAY 11: Happy Mother’s Day! MAY 13: Open House at Next Generation Children’s Centers, 4-7pm, with locations in Andover and Beverly! See ad on page 5. www.ngccenters.com MAY 14 (NOON): AD DEADLINE: If you need to advertise in our 2-month Summer issue, which covers June AND July, and if you need our ad production assistance, please confirm your ad size and submit your ad materials by NOON TODAY! You can see our display ad rates, sizes, available discounts & more at www.northshorefamilies.com/advertise or contact suzanne@northshorefamilies.com. Camps & Summer Programs – contact suzanne@northshorefamilies.com by noon, today, for our 2014 camp showcase ad rates & sizes, to secure your Summer issue (June/July) camp showcase ad space and to get started on your ad if you need production assistance. MAY 16 (NOON): AD DEADLINE: FINAL Advertising Space Reservation DEADLINE at NOON for ALL COMPLETED ADS (that do NOT require ad production assistance) for our 2-month Summer issue, which covers June AND July! To advertise, contact suzanne@northshorefamilies.com!

If you need our ad production assistance, please confirm your ad size and submit your ad materials by noon, Wed., May 14! You can see our regular display ad rates, sizes, available discounts & more at www.northshorefamilies.com/advertise.

Music Theatre, Beverly! See page 2! To buy tickets, please see the back cover. National Missing Children’s Day

Happy Birthday,Tyla! MAY 19:

MAY 26:

Thinking of Madison

Memorial Day

MAY 20 (NOON):

MAY 27:

Community Calendar listings’ DEADLINE at NOON for our 2-month Summer issue print calendar, which covers June AND July! Please submit all listings for June AND July events directly through our website (see beg. of this Calendar for details).

Happy Birthday, David!

MAY 17:

MAY 25: Deadline to enter for a chance to win a pass, good for 2 tickets to any musical, at North Shore

Personalized Poems & Prose by Suzanne The perfect gift to enhance any special occasion. Clever verses for your invitations and thank you notes. Speeches, toasts and roasts.

MAY 28: Amnesty International Day MAY 30:

Birthdays • Graduations • Showers Weddings • Anniversaries • Births • Retirements • Holidays All Special Occasions

Happy Birthday, Aunt Dolores! Please visit us online at www.northshorefamilies.com/events for more calendar listings for North Shore parents, children & families!

Life Celebrations specializing in poignant, personalized eulogies – available in prose and in verse. Celebrate your loved one's life and share their story. Your guests will leave with smiles, fond memories and lots to talk about.

781.584.4569

or suzanne@northshorefamilies.com Samples available.

From Our North Shore Family to Yours, We Wish All North Shore Moms a Very

Happy Mother’s Day!

Wish you could give the person who has everything something they don't have?

MAY 25 + 26: Newburyport Spring Festival, 10am-5pm; free for all ages at Market Square in downtown Newburyport. Enjoy great live music, art, fine crafts, food & more.

Wear Purple for Peace Day

North Shore Children & Families

North Shore Children & Families is available for free each month at over 450 familyfrequented locations throughout the North Shore!

Attention Advertisers: Ask us about our … … “Try Us!” program for new advertisers … Annual advertising frequency programs … The Annual Planner for Schools program … Annual Summer Camps & Programs Showcase series Target your message to North Shore parents. We’ve got the North Shore covered!

2014 PUBLISHING SCHEDULE Issue

Ad Space Deadline*

Ad Space Deadline

(for ads that need production help)

(for completed ads**)

Summer (June/July) noon, 5/14 August noon, 7/16 September noon, 8/20

noon, 5/16 noon, 7/18 noon, 8/22

*Also the due date for ad materials/ad copy changes for ads that we produce or revise. ** Completed ads are due the Tuesday following the final, Friday, ad space deadline.

To explore your advertising options or to secure your space, please contact Suzanne at 781.584.4569 or suzanne@northshorefamilies.com. To learn more, please visit www.northshorefamilies.com.