Family

Brattleboro, VT—Bereaved families that have experienced the death of a child now have an opportunity to meet with others on a regular basis who have endured similar tragedies.

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) of Brattleboro, a national self-help organization for families that have had a child die, will hold its next monthly meeting Sunday, November 15th, at 2:00 PM at 541 Black Mountain Road, Brattleboro, VT. Meetings will be held each month the third Sunday of the week at the same time and location.

“A bereavement organization like TCF where families could talk about their loss publicly without feeling out-of-place is invaluable to those of us whose children have died,” said new chapter leader Beverly Miller. “After your child dies, most people do not want to talk with you about your child probably because they are afraid of making you feel bad. The irony is that talking about your child helps you–no one wants their child forgotten. And studies have proven that sharing our stories and tears is an emotional release that helps us.”

Well, maybe not desperately but thought I’d throw this out there. If anyone in ibrattleboro land has any used legos that their kids have outgrown and they’d like to sell, I’d be interested in them. My grandson has just gotten into them and new sets are crazy expensive. I’d like to do a combination of some new and some used. Amazon has many “used’ legos but, as I sadly discovered- they are more often than not rip offs of actual Legos and don’t even fit with the real ones. Or they are being shipped from Malaysia or Tokyo- we’d be waiting months and who knows the quality.  I’m not looking for any rare or collectible Legos – they’re for a 6 year old- just thought someone might have a bag of them hanging around – waiting for someone in bare feet to step on them. Thanks!

Don’t miss the 34th annual Design-a-Plate workshop on Saturday October 17. Stop in any time between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to make a 10-inch melamine plate or 20-ounce melamine bowl.  Each item costs $6.00. Cash and checks made out to Brooks Memorial Library are accepted. Plates and bowls will be ready for pickup in December, just in time for holiday gift giving. Design-a-Plate is great for children of all ages and a fun measure of your child’s changes through the years. The workshop will be held in the Meeting Room. For more information, please call the Children’s Room at 802-254-5290 x110.

DATE:  SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015 (rain date will be Saturday, Sept. 5)

LOCATION: Lower park of the Canal Street School (next to the basketball court)

We need 4 – 5 Volunteers for the morning shift:  8:15 a.m.  – Noon

We need 4 – 5 Volunteers or the afternoon shift: Noon – 3 or 4 (or when complete)

Experience working with tools will be very helpful. 

The superheroes need your help.

A medallion was stolen by some villains from the libary and they need the help of the superhero crime sovlers to find out who stole it.

Come to the library on Tuesday, July 28th for either a morning session from 10:30-11:30 or an afternoon session from 2:00-3:00.

Please call (802)-254-5290 x110 or email cr@brookslibraryvt.org to pre-register for either sessions in this event.

Come to the municipal lot, behind the library, on Saturday, July 25th from 10:00-12:00 to meet some local heroes and check out their vehicles.

Look at a firetruck or an ambulance. Check-out a police car or a dump truck from public works. See how high a utility truck from Green Mountain Power can go.

Stop by on Saturday to look at all these great vehicles and thank the people who operate them. 

BRATTLEBORO, VT. – Brattleboro Savings & Loan recently took a step toward making the bank a bit more comfortable for new moms and dads on both sides of the teller window.

This June, the bank received ‘Gold Status’ from the Breastfeeding Friendly Employer Project, joining an elite set of businesses across the country that are taking a pledge to create safe, welcoming environments for breastfeeding mothers and their children.

What superhero can carry 122 times her own weight,  fly 5 million miles on a gallon of honey and see ultraviolet colors invisible to us? Yes! The Mighty Bee!

Bees can buzz along at 15 mph and beat their wings 200 times per second. What do bees do with their superpowers? They help provide the world with flowers, fruit, and even chocolate! One in three bites of food we eat is thanks to these pollinators! And don’t forget honey. To make a pound of honey, bees must fly 55,000 miles and visit around 2 million flowers.

Desperately seeking tween-sized superman and spiderman costumes.  They will be used by kids in one of NEYT’s upcoming Melodrama Summer Camps.  I am hoping to borrow, rather than buy or rent.  

These would be returned, and the generous lender would receive gracious acknowledgement for their donation.  Please contact via call, text (579-9756) or email (isewfunny@gmail.com).

Thanks!

The Brattleboro VFW Post #1034 will be hosting their annual family outing Sunday, July 26th. A $25 ticket will enter you for a chance to win money, with a grand prize of $1000. The meal will be grilled steak, baked potato, corn on the cob, and a roll. The $25 cost will also cover entry to the dance featuring the Colt 45 Band.

For $12, you get a meal and entry to the dance. A $5 charge will be offered for those wanting to enter the dance only. Burgers and hot dogs will also be for sale.

Guiding Good Choices Parenting Series

for parents/caregivers of children ages 9-19  offered in Bellows Falls

Bellows Falls- Are you a parent or caregiver of an older youth or teen? You are invited to upcoming parenting classes – Guiding Good Choices (4th to 8th grade) for parents and caregivers FREE of cost. 

Camp Waubanong is undergoing significant changes, and as a result it will not be operating this summer. Camp Waubanong is currently working with the Vermont Wilderness School (VWS) to craft a newer and better administrative structure, ensuring that the camp will thrive for many years into the future. The plan is to transfer stewardship of the camp and its facilities to VWS by the end of 2016.

The Vermont Wilderness School (VWS), based in West Brattleboro, has been providing nature-based mentoring programs for children and adults for fifteen years.

VWS’s approach is a natural fit with Camp Waubanong’s mission, and they share a dedication to keeping the camp’s tuition affordable.

Guiding Good Choices Course for Parents and Caregivers Throughout Windham County in March

Windham County- Guiding Good Choices is a free, interactive, five-session course for parents and caregivers of 4th to 9th grade children. The series provides the tools and strategies to meet the challenges of guiding your child through adolescence. The course covers setting clear guidelines with both positive and negative consequences, controlling and expressing anger constructively, promoting family bonds, and preparing kids with “refusal” skills for the time down the road when trouble may tempt them.

 Are you a parent or caregiver of an older youth or teen? You are invited to visit a new website for free upcoming parenting classes being provided in Windham County through the school year. While visiting the website, don’t forget to sign up for email updates to stay informed of future class dates and locations.

Currently the classes being offered are Guiding Good Choices (children in 4th to 8th grade) and Parenting Teens Wisely (children ages 10 to 19) for parents and caregivers FREE of cost. 

Saturday, September 6, at the Brattleboro Farmers’ Market, outdoors on Rte 9 in West Brattleboro, is KIDS’ DAY! Kids are vendors, too! Young artists and entrepreneurs are invited to come as vendors and sell their handmade and homegrown items (no cookies from mixes or craft kit items, please).

Might you be able to help a 15-year old boy from Nigeria who has been accepted at BUHS for the coming school year? Oche is the recipient of a prestigious Kennedy-Lugar YES scholarship from the U.S. State Department for future leaders of countries with significant Muslim populations and will be attending BUHS this fall.

We are looking for a family who could welcome Oche for about 6 weeks, from August 8 to September 20 or so. Host families provide room and board for the student, as well as support and guidance as he adjusts to life in Vermont. He does not need a separate bedroom, as long as you can provide a bed in a room with a host brother and a place to study. As a YES student, Oche will have a monthly stipend for personal expenses and school lunches, as well as medical insurance.

Community members are invited to come to Brattleboro Area Hospice, 191 Canal St. in Brattleboro on Thursday July 24th from 4-6 p.m. to make a remembrance flag in honor of a loved one who has died. All materials will be provided. Everyone is welcome. These flags are fun and easy to make–no special artistic talent needed! All flags will hang at the Hospice Memorial Garden on Guilford Street during the coming year.

Judy Van Wageningen and Connie Baxter will be your hosts. Refreshments will be on hand to fuel your creativity. Drop-ins are welcomed, but we would appreciate an RSVP call to Joyce at 257-0775 x105 so we can be sure to have enough materials. There is no charge for this event.

Recently I was hiking with my wife and boy, up Wantastiquet. We made this hike despite knowing that rattlesnakes have been seen on the trail suning themselves.  The chance to hike in nature, despite such risks, is one of the reasons we live here, and not some nature deprived metropolis. 

During this hike, I had a mission; to get up as far as we could in a certain amount of time.

Morgen, my boy, saw water coursing over the trail and down the hillside, in a little stream filled with rocks. “WOW !”, he said. Can we explore that stream? Can you come with me?” My instantaneous reply was, ” I think you know that we arem’t going to do that right now”. I had my mission, and it was to hike, and I marched farther up the trail.

I taught my child, who is 7, how to take pictures of UFOs, or UFAUXs. Get them started early, and they will have a craft that can support them for a lifetime.

Anyways, I did teach him this week, and he took this photo today. What more can I say ?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/88361661@N00/14016111666/

Do you want to learn how to problem-solve with your teen, encourage cooperation, how to listen and be heard, and to develop fair and effective discipline skills? On Monday, May 5th from 6 to 9 PM the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition (BAPC) is offering the FREE Parenting Teens Wisely workshop held at the Marlboro College Graduate Center at 28 Vernon Street in Brattleboro. This free three hour workshop teaches parents skills and techniques to help them better understand and deal with children ages 10-19. Participants will learn how to problem-solve and encourage cooperation with their teen and learn to develop fair and effective discipline skills.