• Sunday, January 16 from 1pm-3pm: Family Community Service Day  in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The event, co-sponsored by Ansche Chesed and the Advent Lutheran Church, will take place at Ansche Chesed (entrance on W.100th St between Broadway and West End). Activities will include making birthday cards for nursing home residents, assembling craft kits for children in hospitals, cooking for the Ansche Chesed homeless shelter, and mural-making. The event is free. Families are asked to bring a canned food item for the Advent Lutheran Food Pantry.  Plus, the Discovery Programs Gym will be available for open play with a donation to the Ansche Chesed homeless shelter and the Advent Lutheran Food Pantry ($10 per family). If you have any questions, contact event chair, Lynne Bermont at lynnebermont@yahoo.com.
• Monday,January 17, from 10am-2pm. Organized Community Service via the JCC.  Join neighbors by participating in organized community service activities in and outside of the JCC building as we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy by turning community concerns into citizen action. Choose your project on the morning of the event. Breakfast will be served. To register contact Judy Gross at 646-505-4450 or jgross@jccmanhattan.org.  A blood drive and coat drive (newborn to child size 14) will also be taking place at the JCC on January 17.
• Monday, January 17: generationOn presents a Day of Service. This event has been run for years by the NYC non-profit ChildrenForChildren which is now a part of generationOn, a division of Points of Light.  This year the event will be held at PS 57 James Weldon Johnson School in East Harlem.  All youth volunteers under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or chaperone; teen volunteers (ages 13-18) may attend with signed parental permission.  To register your family, class, or youth group, please click here to submit your volunteer information. For more information, email Josh Collins or call 212-850-4170.
• Monday, January 17, 10am: Raising Citizens: In our Neighborhood Collage. The youngest set (4 and under) an help create a mural honoring the city’s diversity at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan at 212 West 83rd Street, New York, NY 10024. Additional activities including some for kids 5 and over, can be found on the CMOM calendar.

Contrast this approach with cause marketing, in which a percentage of sales (usually of specific items over a specific time period) are donated to a non-profit.  Dollars raised through cause marketing are no doubt welcomed and well-used by the recipient organizations.  Nothing wrong with that. Still, cause marketing is analogous to buying someone a meal while Fair Trade is more like teaching someone to fish (and providing a market to sell the fish at a fair price). In addition to providing sustainable income, Fair Trade delivers the emotional benefits of empowerment and self-reliance.  Here is what Alicia in Bolivia had to say about her experience with a Fair Trade organization:

 “I left my home with my three children because of violence.  But I was lucky because the Sisters of the Good Shepherd  – Las Hermanas del Buen Pastor – took us in.  My children were able to attend a nursery school and I went to work. I already knew how to weave and do some silver work because my mother taught me.  With the sisters I could do higher quality work because they have better knitting needles and looms than I could afford. So my work improved and they paid me for the products I make – so much better than waiting for the tourists all day in the dusty street.   I now have a little money of my own and can buy things that my children need. I feel like a real person. The sisters call our place ‘Levántate’, which means to stand up and be a person. I am doing that.” 

I feel so strongly about the power of women using economic opportunity to improve their circumstances for themselves and their children I  recently joined the Board of HandCrafting Justice to help. So, this holiday season, I ask you to shop Fair Trade vendors such as HandCrafting Justice. Simply by purchasing this really cute purse made of recycled chip bags for the teen, babysitter or friend on your list, you are directly empowering someone who needs help in standing up for herself. So stop by and shop any of the authentic handmade items at HandCrafting Justice and other Fair Trade retailers today. Happy Fair Trade Tuesday!

For the first-time ever, our Real-World Super Heroes class ventured into the world of low vision and blindness. Since this was a new topic for me as well as our students, I was thrilled to welcome Community Outreach guru Annie Presley from Visions into our class. (Thank you Visions!)

Annie explained to us that many people who we may think are blind actually possess what is called “low vision” or “partial blindness.” If their conditions worsen, then they can become totally blind.  “Legally blind” in New York is vision of 20/200, which means needing to be no more than 20 feet away from something which could be seen clearly from a distance of 200 feet by a person with average vision. Once we had our definitions down, we talked about how someone with low vision or blindness might get around and accomplish school tasks on their own. Annie shared some great tools, low vision or blind kids and adults use including a talking watch, writing templates, and a filling alarm. This last item is a small device you hang on the edge of a cup or pot to beep when the liquid you are pouring nears the top of the vessel.  NOTE to self: when shopping for seniors, there are some great Web sites out with really clever products that can help them maintain independence.

Of course, we also learned about Braille. Annie brought in some Braille books our young Heroes loved and even had made a card for each child with his or her name in Braille! For more Braille fun, your kids can try the interactive games in the Braille Bug site hosted by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Following our show and tell, we got the chance to experience classroom life as someone blind or with low vision. The Super Heroes put on goggles and masks that had been altered to simulate different vision scenarios such as tunnel vision, cloudy vision and spots. (This video shows you what we mean.) You could make these at home: just take an old pair of goggles or glasses and: (1)  stick on some paper with a hole cut out in the middle, or (2) stick on some irregular dots, or (3) brush with a layer of glue.

While simulator glasses, our Heroes walked over to the tables to color in pictures and write their names.  At least immediately bumped into a chair, and Annie had to remind everyone with low vision to please walk with a sighted helper since the experience was new to them.  So, this exercise is useful in at least two areas:

• providing an experience to help raise our level of undertanding of what it is like to function with low vision
• providing an opportunity to practice the correct way to offer to help to someone with low vision or blindness; one person can wear the simulator glasses and one can be the sighted helper and then switch roles

For a clear guide on the best way to offer and lend a hand, I suggest watching this “Top 10 Tips for Helping” video.

After our simulation experience in class this week, our Super Heroes set to work adapting Candyland games for children with low vision or blindness. They added raised foam shapes to the game’s colored squares to create a tactile aspect to the game boards and cards.  The kids dove into the project and even came up with the need for some additional tactile cues for special spots such as “Lose a Turn.”  I was impressed by our Heroes’ abilities to fashion great solutions for the issues they ran into while adapting the games.  

Well, that’s all (and a lot) for this week. Enjoy a picture-perfect weekend!

According to City Harvest, more than 25 million people across the country visit emergency feeding programs – nearly 9 million children – each year. In New York City alone, kids who rely on hunger assistance annually could fill Yankee Stadium nine times. Yet, because 95% of the time you cannot tell a person is hungry by looking at her, hunger is largely invisible to most of us.

These facts spurred active and thoughtful discussion among the third-grade students at my son’s school. This year, I’m co-chairing the third-grade’s community service project Empty Bowls to benefit hunger assistance programs in NYC.  My experienced co-chair Laurie artfully led the children through a discussion of what hunger feels like and looks in America. Even though I’ve lived with children in the city for eight years, it was eye-opening to hear the students talk about seeing and in many cases trying to help the homeless they encounter on our streets. At the same time, the bigger picture of hunger (beyond the panhandlers) really sunk in as the students shared lots of scenarios about how and why hard-working people may not make enough money or find themselves unemployed, leaving them unable to buy the food their family needs.  We shared the fact that 9 out of 10 people at risk of hunger have homes.  As the kids talked through ways we can help – such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating food to a pantry, giving money to a reputable charity, or directly donating to an individual – I felt we were empowering them to act on an issue they clearly feel emotional about.

The Empty Bowls project provides the children with a specific opportunity to raise money for a charity dedicated to hunger relief. Our Empty Bowls project is one of the variations on the theme repeated in many ways in many places. At our school, the third-graders create their own ceramic bowls which as empty vessels symbolize the meals many children are forced to skip, around the city and across the country. Our students display their beautiful creations in an art show and parents have the opportunity to “buy” them with a donation to a charity aiding hunger relief.  As with all our projects, we have no suggested donation amount and all monies collected are pooled and sent to our charity of choice as a gift from our school’s third grade.

Empty Bowls is a project you can easily do at your school or club. Or, simply pull together a group of friends and head to your own make-your-own-pottery shop such as Make in New York City. Once your creations are ready, hold your own art show at someone’s house or the local park (as an alternative to the ubiquitous Lemonade Stand) and collect donations to benefit the organization of your choice.  Visit FeedingAmerica.org for excellent information about hunger in America — try the quiz in the Hunger 101 section, to get everyone up to speed on this critical issue. As one of our art teachers told her class, the best art comes from the heart and when you use the creative process to help others, it is that much more beautiful.

I wish each of you could be there to see how this device is radically changing my student’s daily experience in the world! They are what it is all about! Thank you again!
With gratitude,
Ms. A.

I’m proud of our Heroes and of Ms. A for going the extra mile to ask for help for her students. Thank you to donorschoose.org for making it easy for both of us!

As we wrapped up our decorating, we learned about some surprise treasure: my friend at donorschoose.org gave us $100 to spend on a classroom need listed on their Web site.  Our Heroes discussed two specific requests in detail: Junie B. books for a first-grade class and an iPod Touch with Speak2Me software for high-schoolers unable to talk.  The appeal of technology and the desire to help kids with special needs won out and the kids voted to support “a handheld voice.” When we noted the project still needs $180 to be completed, one of our Heroes suggested we “email friends to see if they can help.”  What a smart idea! We sent out the word to parents and of course, if you want to help close the remaining $180 gap, please go here. Donorschoose.org has great system for matching classrooms in need with individual donors, and you’ll receive thanks directly from the teachers and kids you help.

This week, our new recruits will be briefed on the super powers everyone has to make the world a better place: time, talent and treasure. Our philanthropy framework follows the one established by learningtogive.org. We are again working with donorschoose.org to provide the kids with a $100 gift certificate to show just how big (and concrete) of an impact “treasure” can have. 

We look forward to sharing some of our favorite projects with a whole new group of kids this spring, and sharing with all of you how it all goes.  Know any Upper West Side NYC non-profits that can put our kids to work on a project? We love off-sites!Have ideas for a hands-on project that can be done in the classroom?  We do those too! Share your ideas with a comment here or email me at munsellnyc@yahoo.com.

PS – To buy an adorable cape like the one in the picture, visit Cutie Pa Tutus.  Feeling crafty? Check out these DIY directions.

A bit of background: we started a twice-a-year wine dinner tradition about 2 years ago with another couple, inspired by joint birthday celebrations (my husband’s and friend’s big days are just a day apart) and the Wall Street Journal’s “open that bottle night” tradition.  Since then, we’ve continued to collaborate and invited other friends along to join in. 

This year, we delayed our winter event from December to February and then seized upon the opportunity for a leisurely Valentine’s Day at home rather than take in a rushed restaurant meal. The four of us were joined by another friend and wine guru whose vinos and presence added real sparkle to our menu. (If you need help in selecting the right wines for an upcoming occasion, just stop into Union Square Wines and see what we mean.)  Hopefully the next time around his lovely girlfriend will be able to join us as well. In the meantime, I think he plans to recreate the goat cheese ice cream recipe for her at their place. What a good guy!

So, without further ado, here is the menu. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Hors d’oeuvre:  Brie and Aunt Kathy’s pear chutney on crackers served with Champagne

Appetizer: Grilled scallop “ceviche” with avocado ice cream (from “The Ultimate Ice Cream Book.”) Served with Albarino (Cepas Vellas Do Ferreiro 2007).

Salad:  Mache and Watercress with roasted butternut squash, pistachios and ricotta salata, in a shalot vinaigrette made with pistachio oil. Served with Albarino (Cepas Vellas Do Ferreiro 2007).

Pasta Course:  Fettuccine with Wild Mushroom Sauce served with Super Tuscan (2 different of which one was Oreno 2004)

Main Course: Venison Daube with Coriander and Cumin and toasted sweet corn pudding served with Brunello.

Dessert: Goat cheese ice cream with spicy fig sauce (2 components from a more complex Charlie Trotter recipe). I used dried figs when I couldn’t find fresh; I just heard they have some in stock at Stew Leonard’s though. Served with Zinfandel (Martinelli “Giuseppe & Luisa” 2006)

Grand Finale: Individual chocolate souffles with blood orange sorbet.  Served with Zinfandel and a Texas port!

OK, I know not to have the detailed wine listings is sacrilege to some, but this recording is the best I can muster up after consuming that much alcohol and food. Besides, one of the points of the dinner is to open up the great bottles you’ve been saving for a special occasion so go ahead and see what you have in stock. Bon appetit!

Listening to the MOMA Kids Audio Tour

Mmm, wintertime in the city. Snow frosts the sidewalks, gourmet shops pour rich cocoa, and kids run wild in small apartments…where did I put the basement again? Oh yeah, our “basement playroom” is actually the Museum of Natural History. But every now and then — and especially by February – I need to get out of the neighborhood and into the great art museums the city has to offer. 

Recently, I planned a date with my 7-year-old son for the MOMA. He had yet another random day off from school and I cleared my schedule for a much-needed art fix. We’d been to the MOMA before but for some reason had never tried the  audio tours, so our plan for this trip was to try the Kids Audio tour.

We arrived in midtown a bit before the museum opened so we took time to wander through the fabulous MOMA store. The clever housewares and toys make browsing fun for visitors of any age. I ended up buying my son  a small car that, when pushed, brushes up eraser shrapnel, crumbs and other light debris.  Why? Just because.

We headed into the museum and were happy to learn the audio tours are free with admission. Cool. You can pick them up on first and sixth floors.  I selected the Kids Audio tour too so we could go on the same “tour.” As it turns out, because the audio guide is not a tour per se — it doesn’t send you around in a particular order, but rather allows you to hear about each work which displays the Kids Audio symbol whenever you want in whatever order you want — I later realized I could have chosen an adult Audio program. (The Kids Audio program sticks to the Painting Galleries and many of the works on those two floors are also supported by adult audio guides.)  No matter, though, because it was  fun for us to listen to the same thing and then discuss what we heard.

My son liked that the audio guide player displayed pictures of the artwork.  He mentioned he likes it better when an audio tour “says a “go here, then go there like the one at the Statue of Liberty.”  But, that clearly was a minor complaint because he insisted we view every piece of artwork shown on the Kids Audio guide map. He kept us soaking up culture for a whole two-and-a-half hours. Whew.

Since that trip was such a hit, we are now talking about hitting the Design: USA at Cooper Hewitt museum. I like to visit Cooper Hewitt in the summer because they have great activities in their (my?) grassy backyard but Design:USA’s incorporation of on-site iTouches loaded up with an interactive tour make it our new winter destination.

As a grande finale, I think we should visit the Tino Sehgal exhibit in the rotunda of the Guggenheim. Apparently this installation involves interacting with trained participants, some of whom are kids. I think it could be a healthy reminder that the best interactive experiences don’t require electronic devices.

Blue Horse welcomes Andersonville visitors

And here I digress…I want to go a bit off-topic today and talk about the great time my 4-year-old daughter and I had visiting the Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago. I’ve been there several times before with my son and, if you live in or are visiting the Chicago area, I recommend spending half a day in this family-friendly neighborhood.  

My daughter was totally enamored with the small but well-done Swedish Children’s Immigration Museum. Consisting of a model “olden days” Swedish home, a ship, and a farm in America, children are encouraged to live life in the old country and then immigrate to America (where they learn, life is still full of chores).  My daughter loved “sailing” to America — I think the idea of walking through a pretend boat to instantly arrive at a new destination was particularly appealing after enduring real-world travel from LGA to O’Hare. I love the fact that on a Friday afternoon, we were one of three (!) families visiting.  Just try to find that scenario at the fantastic but frantic Chicago Children’s Museum.

After an hour of playtime at the museum, we headed to the fantastic Women & Children First bookstore where my daughter enjoyed the funny photos in Cat and I picked up the first book in the Sisters Grimm series, recommended by the store staff, for my son back home. Next, it was onto Geroge’s for an early dinner and let’s face it, the real reason for stopping in, dessert. I am a total ice cream addict and trust me, this place alone is worth a trip to Andersonville. My sister and I devoured our sundaes, but nothing beat watching my daughter morph into a picture of true bliss upon meeting a cone of Blue Moon topped with rainbow sprinkles. When I tell you that the bright blue ice cream is “fruit loops”-flavored then you’ll understand when I say they have a flavor for everyone at George’s. 

On Saturday, we only had time to grab a quick bit before heading to see “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs” by the Emerald City Children’s Theatre at the Apollo Theatre. It wasn’t in Andersonville, but worth the trip as my daughter loved the show and, thanks to her aunt who works there, she is now planning to attend one of their amazing summer camp weeks this June.

On Sunday, my little traveller was a bit under the weather so we laid low. However, if she had been up for it, we would have revisited our favorite Swedish pancake spot Svea, or the better known and bigger (but not necessarily bette) Ann Sather. Then we would have strolled along N. Clark where she would have enjoyed a toy store and kids’ clothing store stops while I ogled the furniture and housewares in the home shops that seem to be opening on the street daily. Oh well, if we didn’t get to everything on our list, that’s ok because my daughter is already planning our next trip back to Chicago!