March 26, 2002
Children laugh from pure joy.  They laugh when they play.  They laugh with amazement when they make a discovery.  They clap their hands when they learn something new.  And they laugh when we laugh, in harmony with our own enjoyment and pleasure.  A baby laughs when his Daddy acts silly and makes faces, not so much because the face is funny, but because he senses and delights in his Dad's enjoyment.

That is one reason I enjoy being around children.  I can let my inner child come out to play, and laugh, and remember to be delighted with every moment of every mystical day.

Remembering to laugh and, most folks agree, being able to laugh at oneself is highly recommended for stress relief, healing, and, well, happiness.  Last week I had a good laugh at myself.  Maybe you laughed with me.  I said that we would send a May flower to anyone who accurately guessed how many days it would rain in April.  Many of the words in my column, through some fluke, were jammedtogether likethis.  In this case, the sentence came out, "If you are right, we will send you a Mayflower."  I sure hope no one is expecting us to send a ship!  A paper flower, maybe a tulip, hand-mayed by one of the children, is much more likely!  I blame the jamming problem on the transmission by my new email site.  I willtry tobe more careful.

Counting rain days and sharing the flowers of our labor is just one way in which we invite you to share the children's joy.  For another, we need volunteers to work in the classrooms with these delightful, happy, joyful children.  Music makers of all kinds are especially needed.  Or, if you just like to hear happy sounds at a little distance, we badly need help in the office.  Translators are also badly needed.
~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~

To learn more about us, pay a visit to our website at www.princetonol.com/groups/bbcdc.  Our volunteer webmeister is Liston Abbott who has placed much material at our new network site bbdcntr.com.  Make a visit, for example, to see our archives on our Position on Abbott districting.

~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~
Jonathan Craig for Trinity Church and Doug Longenecker remembered us this week with more donations, very much appreciated.

~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~
Sadly, donations and contributions, even penny collections, are at an all time low.  On top of that, we are anxious about the United Way's announcement that a $500,000 shortfall will result in cuts to child care and after school care.  The United Way provided Better Beginnings' first funding, way back in 1967, and we have depended on them ever since.  One of the least joyful aspects of a community service like ours is the anxiety year after year about funding streams.  One of the most gratifying aspects is that our community has never failed to value us and lend support whenever needed.

~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~
"Mary Sue" is grateful that Better Beginnings was there for her.  She was determined to provide for herself and her child.  Never mind that her husband disappeared every time she caught up with him and asked for support.  At first, in order to be with her infant son, she looked for work she could do at home.  She made enough to buy food and doctor visits for her child, but soon her rent fell in arrears.  She was distraught and lay awake at night worrying.  She thought of getting a babysitter and a "real job".  But babysitters cost more than she could make.  She did NOT want to go on welfare.  Then she heard about Better Beginnings.  It was the answer to her prayers.  Soon she had a job and her son was enrolled in the program.  Now she could provide for all the necessities.  She even started taking classes once a week and soon was able to improve her employment status and income.  She even had health benefits.  Finally, she worked her way up to a position in which she could start to "give back."  Now, she is a regular contributor and volunteer.  She is grateful to everyone who was there for her when she needed a hand up, and wants it to be there for others who are striving to make a living for themselves and their children.
~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~

Penny Pincher is hopping for joy.  In every classroom, children are making bunny baskets from "throwaway" materials.  The Super Doopers have used plastic milk cartons.  The Heart Friends are using brown paper bags.  The Lollipops and Smilies are using a variety of materials, including tall cups and all of the above.  All are enjoying adding two eyes, two tall ears, a nose, a mouth and whiskers.  Some of the Smilies children, under the tutelage of Staff Member of the Month, Gloria Perez, have made a band with bunny ears to wear, and are pretending to be bunnies.

~~~ <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< <>< ~<>< ~<>< ~~
Happy Spring to everyone.  Do you think Mother Nature is having a good laugh?  Don't forget our multicultural dinner on Friday, April 12 and our Bus Trip to Atlantic City on May 23.  Call 609-448-6226 for details.  And it is not too late to get in on our "Rainy Day" countdown.  Call or email me at BeWith@Mail2Peace.com with your guess.
 

March 19, 2002
"Lighten up!"  "Don't take yourself so seriously!"  This is one response I got to my request for ideas for diverting anger, peacemaking or stress release, whichever nomenclature grabs you.  Keeping your sense of humor, in other words, or even digging for it, is a great way to handle any situation that tends towards the heavy side. Recently someone wrote something derogatory to Common Sense, calling him "unentelegent".  He got so tickled about the irony of the spelling of the word "unintelligent" that he could not sustain his anger about being maligned.  Also, he is pretty confident about his intellect.  My guess is that that self-confidence and a sense of humor make a good couple.  Common Sense knows, of course, that there are multiple intelligences and spelling is not mentioned as a requisite for any of them. Still, he was amused.  But then, he amuses easily, seldom mislaying his sense of humor.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
If you can't find yours, there are lots of places to look.  You can, for example, attend the 21st International Humor Conference and the 14th Conference of the International Society for Humor Studies, being convened by the University of Bologna on July 3-7; or the April Fool's day Workshop on Computational Humour in Trento, Italy on April 15-16.  Hmmm, I wonder if Uncle Sam would let me write those off on my income tax?
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Or, nearer and dearer, Sesame Street has an online workshop on developing children's sense of humor, believing that laughter helps children cope.  "The things that childen find funny can reveal a great deal about what they're thinking and feeling, including their deepest concerns and anxieties.  Sense of humor ... is a trait what can be learned from and nurtured by parents."
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Dr. Dean Shibata, a neurological radiologist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, has located our sense of humor.  "It's the right frontal lobe just above the right eye," he says.  That location, he said, "appears critical to our ability to recognize a joke."  "Although the purpose of humor and laughter is still largely unknown despite 2,000 years of speculation, having a sense of humor is a key part of our personalities and it can play a powerful role in balancing negative emotions, such as fear," he said.  "There have been few studies of humor's place in the brain, but understanding the basis of positive emotions will likely be as helpful as understanding the negative ones," he said.  (Source: ABC News).
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
One of the benefits of Dr. Shibata's research is the possibility of detecting depression through a physical means.  Even Mahatma Gandhi, one of my perpetual heroes, said, "If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide."
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Just in case I hadn't gotten the message, someone else sent along the following traditional Irish wisdom in honor of St. Patrick and me wee Irish grandmither:

Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
The saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folk.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><

Humor is not hard to come by.  It is all around us.  Here is one student's response to the question, "Name the four seasons." Salt, pepper, mustard, and ketchup.

Now that appeals to my funny bone (frontal lobe, right?), but other types of humor may be to your liking.  I personally find distasteful to the extreme a joke at someone else's expense, even if it's about their "entelegents".  Webster's defines humor as that quality which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous, or something that is or is designed to be comical or amusing.  Humor is believed to have physical and mental health benefits.  It breaks down barriers, and promotes creative thinking, is considered a social asset, helps us to cope.  Most of all, it gives us the ability to laugh at our selves.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
All that being said, we are planning to have some fun at Better Beginnings and we want you, as always, to join in.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
April Showers: we need 'em.  How many days do you think it will rain in April?  Send in your guess on a postcard.  If you are right, we will send you a May flower!  Send your guess to PO Box 187, Hightstown NJ 08520 or to BeWith@mail2peace.com no later than March 31.  Be sure to include your name and address.  Families, board members and Staff Members may register their guesses on a form at the center.  Rain days will be recorded on an April calendar on the front bulletin board at Better Beginnings.  Entry fee is not required, but contributions of all shapes and sizes are always as welcome as the flowers in May.

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
*A Multicultural dinner, sponsored by HOPE, Better Beginnings' parent/staff group, whose President is Sherry Watkins, is being planned as a fundraiser.  Here is the menu: are not hungry, you will be when you hear this menu: Choice of fried chicken or Pernil (baked pork roast), and one of three of the following: potato salad, string beans, tossed salad, arroz con habichuelos (rice and beans), plus corn bread for everyone.  Dinners will be sold on Friday, April 12, from 3:30 - 5:30.  Affordable cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children.  Yes, Gloria Perez, Althea Lewis, and Nancy Kennedy Green will be cooking.  And yes, again, calling in advance to reserve dinners is a very, very good idea.  Call 609-448-6226.  See you there! (I promise not to cook.)
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
*Mix and Match Day on April 1: this is a great favorite with our young students.  Inside out, upside down, left shoe, right foot, turn around!

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
A bus trip to Atlantic City is being planned by Board member Mercedes Vargas-Colon.  Date is Saturday, May 23; tickets are $25 with a $9 return from a casino.  Save the date!

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Every Tuesday is Paper Goods Day at Better Beginnings, for donations of paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, tissue, construction paper, copy paper, even paper money.  The Pincher loves this, because it helps stretch pennies.  Surprise us with a visit!

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Mr. Jonathan Craig, a long time East Windsor resident, surprised us.  He is a member of Trinity Church, and dropped off a box of computer keyboards and accessories (cop out because I don't know whether to say mice or mouses for the point and click devices) plus 8 bags of other useful items including designer clothing.  As I am writing this, he pops in with even more, including children's books and a promise of computers and playyard equipment to follow.  These were left from their rummage sale, and we are so happy they shared with us, and to become acquainted with this fine gentleman who with others has devoted three hours a day, five days a week since the first of the year to this project.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Copper Coin Collection has reached 1,415,830 thanks to Sunny Young Deli.  Keep those coins coming; it makes Penny Pincher so happy.
~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Penny Pincher also loves the windsocks the Heart Friends after-Kindergarten group made.  They took a piece of heavy paper, about 14" by 12" and rolled it to form a tube which they fastened.  They attached 12" lengths of crepe paper in various colors around the bottom of the tube.  At the top, they attached an 18" of string with which to hang it.  Not only is this a pretty, inexpensive decoration, but now everyone can tell which way the wind is blowing.

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><

It is fun to be around children any time. Miss Janice Jones, Co-Director of Education, found the following so humorous that she just stopped by the office to share it.  In the classroom, she had taken out the record player.  Since we have been using tapes instead of records for quite a long time, the children had not seen the record player before.  None of the children knew what it was.  Then she took out a record. "Oh," said one of the children, "That's a big CD, and that's a big CD player."  "Must be," his friend responded.

~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <>< ~ <><
Sixty-four families in our area have booster seats for their childen, are in compliance with the new law, and are well-informed on the subject.  Thanks goes to our own Iris Rodriquez and other volunteers from the Better Beginnings staff, to the United Way, the Boost America Project of Ford Motor Company Fund, and to Highway Specialist Ed O'Connor, of the N. J. Division of Highway Traffic Safety, Officer Christopher Jackson of the East Windsor Police, Patrol Sergeant William P. Bastedoof the West Windsor Police, and Officer Sam Dyson of the West Windsor Township Police Department.
 

March 12, 2002
March is such an undecided month, vacillating between its gentle lambicity and its capricious lionosity. Sometimes we feel like the month of March.  Some things make us so darn angry, we feel like creating a gale.  What a kick it would be to let it whip full force around the corner, catching the source of our annoyance by surprise, and blowing them right away.  Fortunately, most times, we stop to think, and our kinder and wiser nature gains control, averting the possibility of a windstorm feeding on itself, as anger does, causing unforeseen and grievous harm to all in its path and, inevitably, turning back on us.  In the end, unleashed anger hurts everyone.  Best let our lamb and our lion come to terms with each other.

Best not to dwell much on our perceived hurt or source of anger either, as it wastes our psychic energy and uses time that we could be spending on something much more constructive.

Here is what Carl Sandburg said about time: "TIME is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have ...and only YOU can determine how it will be spent. BE CAREFUL, lest you let other people spend it for you."

When we spend our valuable time licking our wounds and feeding our anger, we are hurting ourselves and wasting our precious coin.  What a gift to our children and to our future if we can help them learn this much earlier than most do.

What methods do you use when you are trying to bring your anger under control?  Recognizing that anger repressed can also be a danger, how do you express your feelings?  Have you any good techniques to use with children? I would love to hear from you.  I will need your name and address and permission to publish the idea.  Drop me a postcard at PO Box 187, Hightstown, NJ 08520, or email me at BeWith@mail2peace.com.  Please note that Altavista is ceasing email services soon, so I have a new "addy". Better Beginnings' new email address is betterbeginnings@bbdcntr.org.

Here is what one Mom does when her two sons engage in their constant "fighting".  She puts them at a designated "peace table" and gives them a piece of crumbled up paper.  They must take deep breaths and blow the paper across the table until they are ready to peacefully negotiate.  She finds that they soon are out of breath, out of anger, and usually laughing.  They must then find a "win-win" solution to their problem before leaving the table.

********************************************
At the book-signing event on Friday, March 1, Dr. David Abalos shared many valuable insights with us.  He encourages us to prize, develop and value all human potential, including every facet of our own nature.  He shares his own journey and inspires us with his personal transformation.  While the book is called "The Latino Male, a Radical Redefinition", his concepts apply to and affect all of us.  Although it is very intellectual in its scope, it is easy reading.  In spite of wanting to keep my autographed copy clean, I have relented to my own nature, and highlighted passages throughout.

****************************************************
Dr. David and his wife, Celia, have been  wonderful additions to our community.  We met them because of their interest in Better Beginnings.  One of the joys of working or being associated with the center is the very fact that it attracts caring people, and seems to bring out the best in everyone's nature.  In a way it creates a little community that values the children and each other, a tiny cosmos of diversity, joy, caring and tolerance.  Here we can practice what the world could be like if we all did, indeed, prize and value each other.  Here we can discover what the world could be like if the lamb and the lion in us and around us did come to terms with each other, and could lie down together, comfortably and trustingly.

****************************************************
And, yes, I did make up the words, "lambicity" and "lionosity".  Now help me think up a word that means lion and lamb lying down together.  Oh, that's right, we already have one. It is called "peace." ****************************************************
Pretty Penny is happy to see the coin collection grow, now at 1,414,880 cents or equivalent, with a jolt from Sunny Young Deli and Helping Hands who have begun to save dimes as well as pennies for the center.  Also contributing are the young daughters of Board Member, Susan Lloyd, who save and share a portion of their allowance with others.  The Lloyds are teaching their children to be as caring and conscientious as they are.
****************************************************

A wonderful young woman, employed by Minute Maid as a scientist, has joined Better Beginnings' corps of volunteers.  Celia Boxhill has so much to offer the Heart Friends, where her cheerful demeanor, good character and understanding made her an instant hit as a caring adult and wonderful role model.  She is, herself, a great success story, who exemplifies who determination and excellent attitude can accomplish.  She is working a late shift now, so can spend a part of her day at the center.
****************************************************
Better Beginnings depends on volunteers to assure that a high quality, safe and caring learning environment continues to be available for the children. Presently there is a need for computer mentors, nurturing assistants, music makers, as well as office assistants.  Members of Better Beginnings Board of Directors are volunteers, too, and persons with varying expertise are needed, including fundraising, financial management, special event participation, public relations, computerization, and more.  Also needed is assistance in translating curriculum from English into Spanish.
****************************************************
Emergent Liiteracy got another boost from the Junior Friday Club.  Deborah Wilmer delivered a collection of books for the children.  Joel & Judy Larsen remembered, as always, their monthly contribution to the center, and what a help that is.  Jimmy Jackson was faithfully remembered in the form of a regular monthly contribution to Better Beginnings' fledgling endowment fund by his loving sister and niece, Minnie Bell and Frances Rios.  Al Werner casts bread upon our waters every week, which goes a long way in assuring that no child is hungry.
**********************************************

If you are not hungry, you will be when you hear this menu:  Choice of fried chicken or Pernil (baked pork roast), and one of three of the following: potato salad, string beans, tossed salad, arroz con habichuelos (rice and beans), plus corn bread for everyone.  HOPE, Better Beginnings' Parent/Staff group will be selling dinners on Friday, April 12, from 3:30 - 5:30.  Affordable cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children.  Yes, Gloria Perez, Althea Lewis, and Nancy Kennedy Green will be cooking.  And yes, again, calling in advance to reserve dinners is a very, very good idea.  Call 609-448-6226. See you there!

*********************************************
Every Tuesday is Paper Goods Day at Better Beginnings, with donations of paper towels, toilet paper, and napkins.  The Pincher loves this, because it helps to make pennies go further.
*********************
Penny Pincher also loves the windsocks the Heart Friends after-Kindergarten group made.  They took a piece of heavy paper, about 14" by 12" and rolled it form a tube which they fastened.  They attached 12" lengths of crepe paper in various colors around the bottom of the tube.  At the top, they attached an 18" of string with which to hang it.  Not only is this a pretty, inexpensive decoration, but now everyone can tell which way the wind is blowing.
 

Top of Page

Previous

Next

Patter Index

Home Page