July 2008

This issue's newsletter sponsor:
http://www.nurturecenter.com/

This Month's Special Events and Free Admission Days

Bastille Day!
Monday, July 14; 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Celebrate France's Independence Day at our annual Bastille Day event. Make and decorate your own French beret using recycled paper bags and fun fabrics. Put on a chef’s hat, read from a French menu, and "purchase" croissants, cheese, and baguettes from our very own Habitot French Café. Sample real French bread and cheese at 12 pm. There will even be a boat race down the Siene River in the Waterworks area. Listen to stories in French and English from 10:00 am - 11:00 am.

Special Thanks to Semifreddi’s and the Cheeseboard Collective for helping make this event possible.

Underwater Week
July 28 - August 2; regular hours
Help decorate our Waterworks area as a Marine Science Lab. Build giant squid and octopus sculptures using fabrics, rubber pieces, and bubble wrap and make your own underwater scuba masks with blue lenses! Create seaweed jewelry using string, beads and pieces of “sea weed.” Use nets to catch slippery underwater creatures in our Underwater World exhibit. All Events

July Early Childhood Safety Events
8th Annual Early Childhood Safety Campaign

Thanks to the generous and on-going sponsorship of State Farm Insurance Companies, a free series of safety events and workshops will be offered in the museum, May - September. Sponsored activities will inform parents and caregivers about avoiding accidental injury to young children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, preventable accidents are the #1 cause of injuries and loss of life in 0-6 year old children. All Safety Events

Earthquake Safety
TFriday, July 18; 10:30 am - 11:30 pm
Drop in to hear Lorraine Rosenblatt from Red Cross-Bay Area talk about how to plan for family safety in the event of an earthquake.

Helmet Safety
Saturday, July 19; 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
On sale today, CPSC/ASTM/ANSI approved helmets, sized especially for toddlers, only $8. "Decoration station" for helmets from 10:00 am-12:00 pm, with a toddler tricycle rodeo a 12 noon.

Car Seat Safety Check
Saturday, July 19; 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Berkeley Police will inspect and properly install your car seat on the top level of the Allston Way Garage, 2061 Allston Way between Milvia and Shattuck, downtown Berkeley
6’3” max. car height. Parking validated with a free Habitot pass.

Stranger Safety
Thursday, July 24; 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Create photo ID cards with Capture Technologies.

Water Safety
Thursday, July 25; 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Robert Smethlage of the American Red Cross and San Francisco Parks and Rec tells you practical ways to keep kids safe around swimming pools, baby pools, water buckets, and bathtubs.

July Storytimes
Enjoy storytelling every Friday from 12:00 - 1:00 pm in the Multicultural Reading Tent.

• July 11 - All About France
• July 18 - Barnyard Animals
• July 25 - Underwater World

July Singing Circles
Enjoy singing circles with Cindy every Thursday at 10:30 am and 10:50 am in the Multicultural Reading Tent.

• July 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31

Space Station Day Camp for Tots
Limited Openings Still Available
Space Station camp (July 21-25) still has a few openings. If your tot loves outer space and aliens and exploring the moon, this would be the camp for her! For 2.9 to 5 year olds; optional lunchtime care for additional fee. To register, please call 510-647-1111 x17. summer camps 2008.

Open House for Our New Neighbor
Magnes Museum Slated to Move to Downtown Berkeley
Get to know our new neighbor! The Judah L. Magnes Museum, housing a collection of ancient and contemporary art Judaica, plans to make its new home right across the street from Habitot at 2222 Harold Way (corner of Kittredge and Harold Way). On Sunday, July 13 from 11am – 3pm, the Magnes welcomes the community for a day of creative construction: arts and crafts activities for children and adults and an opportunity to see the location and learn about the Museum's future plans.

Bring this email, or mention that you heard about the event through Habitot, and receive a FREE Magnes sketchbook for each person in the family.

Their current exhibition on contemporary Israeli art, @60.art.israel.world, is on view through July 27, 2008. The Magnes is currently located at 2911 Russell Street in Berkeley. For more information about their move, see the Berkeley Daily Planet article. For more information contact: The Magnes at 510-549-6950 ext 337, www.magnes.org, agreen@magnes.org

Drop-In Parent-to-Parent Cafés
Meet other parents of young children and share challenges, creative solutions and support with one another. Habitot staff and guest experts will offer helpful parenting strategies. Hands-on art activity and floor play time for children. Refreshments included for adults and children. Free but $3 donation appreciated.

Affinity Groups:
Multiracial Families - July 2, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Stay-at-Home Moms - July 8, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Single Parents - July 15, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Dad's Group - July 22, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
More Information

The Parent-to-Parent Cafés are made possible by an Every Child Counts Grant funded by First 5 Alameda County with support from Starbucks Coffee and Casa Latina.

FREE Caregiver Café
Friday, July 11; 3:30 am - 4:30 am
Non-parental caregivers are invited to join our informal, drop-in monthly gatherings to share challenges, creative solutions and support with one another. Habitot staff and guest experts will offer helpful parenting strategies and skill building information. Hands-on art activity and floor play time for children. Refreshments included for adults and children. $3 donation appreciated. To receive email updates about future Caregiver Cafés, please contact Susana at parented@habitot.org

The Caregiver Cafés are made possible by an Every Child Counts Grant funded by First 5 Alameda County with support from Peet's Coffee & Tea and Casa Latina in Berkeley.

Gift Store Discount of the Month
Through the end of July, all toys for Outdoor Exploration in our Gift Store will be on sale for 20% off regular prices — butterfly nets, birdhouse kits, magnifying glasses, sketchbooks and pencils — while supplies last.

Ask Ada

Ask Ada - Water Play Builds Healthy Brains

Q:
What's an inexpensive, educational activity I can do with my child this summer?

A:
The summer is a great time to explore indoor and outdoor water play with your child. The beach, the backyard, the bathtub or the sink provide excitement and learning experiences such as acquisition of fine motor skills, social skills, and early math, science and language concepts.

Here are some ways to have fun with your child and promote early learning at the same time:

• At the beach:
  Sand and water are great natural learning materials. Children can learn early science concepts by mixing sand and water to create beach mud. Shovels, funnels, and cups are great materials for sorting, measuring, and pouring, and lay the groundwork for future mathematical concepts. Playing with sand also promotes the development of fine motor coordination. When your child builds with their hands or moves sand around with their fingers he is making crucial connections in his brain that will set the stage for future learning.

• In the back yard:
  With a small pool or bucket in the backyard children can experiment with various materials to see if they float or sink and understand concepts such as shallow and deep. Casual discussions about what you observe about the objects can also enhance your child's vocabulary. Dramatic play such as a "toy car wash" or "baby washing" can also enhance your child's vocabulary as well as provide a base for social and emotional awareness and an understanding of "the way the world works".
  
  There are also many opportunities for gross motor, physical play in the back yard, which is crucial for helping children increase self control and decrease impulsivity. Running through the sprinklers, making an obstacle course, or even safe squirting with a hose can all provide healthy physical movement as well as an opportunity for your child to let loose and decompress. The backyard is also a great place for art experiences. Children can use paintbrushes and water to "paint" walls, fences and the ground. This is a great opportunity for children to practice early art and literacy concepts and enhance their imaginations.
  
• Bathtub or sink:
  If you have limited time to go to the beach or play outside this summer you can use bath time or kitchen time as exciting opportunities to experiment with water. Any of the above activities can be adapted to the bathtub or the sink.
  
  It is important to make sure that all water play is safe. If you have any questions about Water Safety please stop by the museum for an Early Childhood Safety Campaign event on Friday, July 25, from 10:30-12:30. Robert Smethlage of the American Red Cross and San Francisco Parks and Rec will be here to advise parents on how to make sure families are safe around water.

The following articles and books are available this month in the museum's Family Resource Center and on the "Purple Parenting Cart." Parenting education support generously funded by an Anonymous Foundation.

Articles:

• Learning Through Water Play, from National Association for the Education of Young Children read online

• Water Play and Development read online

• Ideas for Sand and Water Play read online

Books:

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Louv, Richard, (2005). Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Do you have a question for Ada?
Email AskAda.Habitot@gmail.com

Contribute to "Ada's Families Fund!"
a special Habitot fund has been established in Ada's honor to purchase children's books for our Reading Tent and parenting references for our Family Resource Library. All donors will be recognized with a permanent book plate. Click here to donate now. Donate Now.

Habitot at Home

Habitot at Home: Liquid Layering
Explore the densities of different liquids with the following science experiment.

Materials:

• 1 clear, glass jar with a lid
• 4 small clear plastic cups
• Colored water (red is a nice contrast)
• Vegetable oil
• Dishwashing soap

1. Fill 2 plastic cups with 1/4 cup of oil and 2 plastic cups with 1/4 cup of colored water.
2. Let your child pour one of each into the glass jar. Notice which liquid is on the top, and which one is on the bottom. Your child may want to draw a picture of the jar with the different colored layers.
3. Empty the jar and let your child pour one of each again, this time in the reverse order. Does that change how the liquids sort out into layers? (it doesn't)
4. Most children understand the sorting as which liquids are heaviest. In fact, it has to do with which liquid is the most dense. This concept is too hard for younger children to understand, but they will appreciate that not all liquids are the same.
5. Use a spoon to stir the liquids together. Or put the lid on and shake the jar. Let the liquids come to rest and you will see the liquids sort out into the same layers again (with a few bubbles between them).
6. Oil and water do not mix because their densities are different. If you want to go one step further, you can show your child how to mix the layers - almost like magic! You will need an emulsifier like dish soap. Add a good sized squirt and stir again. What happens? This is why people use soap to clean greasy foods off plates!

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