Happy New Year!

clarkewoodworks

    Wishing you good health, love, peace and prosperity in the New Year!


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Our Favorite Pick for Christmas - Too Many Tamales

It's Christmas Eve and we will be reading some of our favorite Christmas stories. One favorite pick is Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.  Maria is trying so hard to be grown up by helping to prepare Christmas dinner but what happens when she thinks she has lost her mother's treasured ring in a batch of tamales.  She and her cousins learn  lesson in telling the truth and the importance of family love. 

May you have warmth and love in this season, and enjoy creating new traditions with your children. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!
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Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

Here is a wonderful project to share as a family during the holiday break. The Parent Teacher Association in Connecticut is collecting handmade snowflakes from children everywhere to help decorate the halls of the brand new school where the Sandy Hook elementary students will be returning after the holidays.

Families can brighten the day for Sandy Hook children by sending their snowflakes to :  Connecticut PTA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514 before January 12, 2013.

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Let Us Keep the Light Shinning In Sandy Hook

"The Light Shines In The Darkness and the Darkness Has Never Put It Out"

My prayers go out to all the families in Newton, Connecticut.  Words cannot express the pain, sorrow and the lost we are feeling as a community.  We may never have answers for  why this horrendous crime occurred but we can keep our candle lit. As a community there is much work to be done but for now we can be a beacon of light for our neighbors in Newton and support them in their time of mourning.

I like the idea that Karen Wolrond shared on her blog, Chookooloonks for reaching out to the families of Sandy Hook. Please share with others and let the light continue to shine:

"If anyone wants to mail sympathy cards or letters of support and solidarity to the school, the school address is: Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12 Dickenson Drive, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. Please copy/paste/share, anywhere you prefer. Prayers and sending a card may seem something small, but at least, it's something we can do."

“I think this is a stellar idea.  It's also something that our kids might enjoy doing to help process their feelings about what they hear on the news.”

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Sharing Gratitude

The Thankful Tree

Hurricane Sandy in the east and droughts in the west have made this Thanksgiving a special time to reflect on how important our community is.  Listening to the wonderful stories of  people and groups caring for each other after Sandy is a refreshing change from the usual nightly TV fare.  While watching neighbors helping neighbors, I realize that something really beautiful can come out of adversity. There are many lessons to be learned from this experience. I hope that our young people will realize the importance of building community and providing service for others.  I also hope that they will learn to honor the wisdom of the first Native Americans, and respect our natural environment.

Each Thanksgiving I try to provide a project that connects the children in the family with a deeper meaning of giving thanks.  This year I liked Daily Candy's Gratitude Jar and the Thankful tree by Simply Vintage Girl.  I liked both their ideas and I think we will probably extend them beyond the holidays.    Thanksgiving and Gratitude show be celebrated every day.


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"The Carousel That Could" Symbolizes the Spirit of New York

One year after its’ installation Jane’s Carousel was becoming the landmark for children at the Bridge Park on the Brooklyn waterfront. Then Sandy sweep through bringing fear that the three million dollar installation would not weather the storm but, fortunately, this carousel has had a history of endurance. 

The carousel was built in 1922 to bring joy and delight to children at Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. When a fire consumed the park in the 1970s,  the carousel was spared.  The historic carousel was then purchased by Jane Walenta and her husband who spent nearly three decades painstakingly restoring it and then installing it last year at the park. Now after withstanding the ravages of Sandy, the carousel has been nicknamed “The Little Carousel That Could,” symbolic of the resilience of New York.

John Seabrook in his article for The New Yorker explained the significance of the now symbolic image above:

“Few pictures of Hurricane Sandy captured both the enormity of the disaster and the unquenchable spirit buried deep in the city’s core better than the image of Jane’s Carousel, the glass-enclosed merry-go-round on the waterfront near the Brooklyn Bridge, taken at the height of the storm.  The photo shows the dark water lapping at the horses’ hooves, with the eerie blacked-out lower-Manhattan skyline in the background, and the festive riderless ponies twinkling merrily in the bright yellow light. Originally posted on Instagram and picked up by CNN, the picture was seen all around the world; at one point that night it was at the top of Twitter’s trends.”

Read more about The Carousel That Could.


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Sesame Street Hurricane Kit

Sesame Street Hurricane Kit offers children and parents an opportunity to discuss children's fears about Sandy and other disasters.  "Hurricanes, storms, and other natural disasters can be difficult for young children who may not fully understand what's going on around them. These tips, activities, and videos can help them feel safe, cope with emotions, and understand that there is hope for the future." Check out their program at http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/toolkits/hurricane


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