Who What When Where: RiverdaleY Newsletter June 2007

Bring the family and enjoy movies outdoors this summer on the Y's back deck. We'll set up mats for the kids (who are invited to come in their PJs or favorite film-themed costumes) and parents should bring lawn chairs. We'll start with cartoons before sunset.

You can purchase tickets online with no service charge on our Online Box Office ($7 per person, including free popcorn and lemonade!) See you outside under the stars.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Sunday, July 20, 8:00 pm

School of Rock, Sunday, August 17, 7:30 pm

The Princess Bride, Thursday, August 21, 7:30 pm

At the recent JCC Association Biennial Conference, which brought together lay leaders from JCCs across North America, the Riverdale Y received two awards -- one in celebration of our 100th anniversary year and one for our innovative To Gr een and To Grow environmental program, which is being replicated across the country. Pictured here are Executive Director Simon Jaffe and Chairman of the Board January Akselrad accepting the awards in Miami.

Noted Klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals will be performing a recital on Sunday, July 13th at 2pm at the Y. The concert will feature music composed by Mozart as well as few favorites for Klezmer fans. Tickets are only $5 and are available online (with no service charge) at www.RiverdaleY.org.

Alicia Svigals, violinist/composer, a founder of the Klezmatics and of the all-women band Mikveh, is considered by many to be the world's foremost klezmer fiddler. During the past decade, she almost singlehandedly revived klezmer fiddle playing, which came close to extinction in this century; traditional klezmer violin style is now being played again by hundreds of her students, including most of today's best professional players. She taught and toured with violinist Itzhak Perlman, who recorded her compositions as duets with Ms. Svigals accompanied by the Klezmatics, and she was awarded first prize at the Safed, Israel international klezmer festival competition.

The Riverdale Y's Environmental Action Fair on Sunday, May 18 drew hundreds of Riverdale residents to the Y.

First, starting at 8 am, Riverdale homeowners lined up to be part of the city's MillionTreesNYC program and collect a free tree to plant on their property (150 new trees found homes in Riverdale). The Riverdale Y also accepted a tree, a sweet gum, to plant in the Y's front lot.

On the Y's back deck, under thankfully sunny skies (though rain later in the afternoon caused an early end to the Fair) there were booths set up by the Sierra Club, OROE (the city's Office of Recycling Outreach and Education), Riverdalians for Darfur, a composting demonstration, Shaklee green cleaning products, the Bronx River Alliance, Riverdale's CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and Youth Market, NYSERDA's $mart Communities Program, and Hazon (an environmental bike riding alliance).

Most popular, perhaps, was the Y's own recycled children's toy booth. The Y had collected more than 200 donated gently used toys and sold nearly all of them for $1 each. One mom commented that she felt so much less guilty buying plastic toys, knowing there was a place to recycle them to other children once hers had outgrown them. In addition to the Y Senior Center's ongoing Bedazzling Boutique where new and vintage items are available for purchase in the Y's lobby every Tuesday, the Y plans to hold community re-use drives for toys a number of times each year (see info on page 5).

Pratt Industries provided an industrial shredder (we shredded 2,000 pounds of paper!); Wearable Collections textile recycling filled their van with donated clothing and other textiles; Per Scholas Computer Recycling was there to collect outdated electronics, which are very difficult to recycle and therefore sites for donations are limited. The Y's Senior Center collected cellular phones and rechargeable batteries for proper recycling, the cellular phone collection is available throughout the year in the lobby and upstairs in the Senior Center in the bright green boxes. Proceeds from the collection benefit the Senior Center 's programs.

Riverdalians had heeded the advance call (thanks to a great story in The Riverdale Press) and turned up at the Y with cars full of papers for shredding, big bags of clothing and old computers and printers galore. It was a hands-on day, showing how much of what is usually waste can be re-used productively.

The Fair concluded with a children's concert by Billy Jonas, who weaves his magic on recycled instruments, including tubs and plastic buckets. The children had the opportunity to make their own instruments at booth set up in the Y's lobby by its Nursery School teachers. The kids banged and stomped and shook their instruments and were dancing in the aisles - a joyous conclusion to a very "productive" day!

Teaching Young Children Through Work and Play

With summer upon us, families spend lots of time together, and it is a wonderful learning opportunity for young children to participate in meaningful activities around the house.

The following article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children gives some great ideas of how your children can be a real part of the "work" of the family.

Young children flourish when allowed to enter the world of real work that surrounds them: from picking up toys or feeding the cat to grating carrots for salad. In the company of family or other adults, children eagerly engage in work. They want to "help" with the pursuits of adults, and this work can be a crucial part of their early learning. If we shield young children from a whole category of activity simply because it is called "work" and not "play", we may be limiting their developmental opportunities.

On the other hand, if we invite children to participate in work and play, we give them many more ways to grow and learn. Through work that is meaningful and a real contribution, even young children can gain a sense of purpose and come to feel more a part of the family. With proper adult supervision, there are many types of chores that families can consider for young children, which can help them begin learning about responsibility, independence and caring for themselves. Here are a few examples:

- Gathering, preparing, and cooking food - Even when they are too young to help with lunch or dinner, children can play a role in preparing snacks. And by taking your children to the grocery or market, you can help them better understand where food comes from and how we buy it.

- Running errands - Letting young children run errands conveys your trust in them. When you need something (another family member or the phone or a sponge), tell one of your children you need help.

- Caring for younger children - Even simple tasks like reading or singing to younger family members, help older children learn about responsibility and sharing.

- Housekeeping - Children can help set the table and serve themselves at meals. If you are vacuuming the carpet, you can empower your children by letting them run this "most adult of all" housekeeping tool.

- Caring for animals - pets need water, food, and clean environments. Young children can learn valuable lessons by caring for animals.

- Gardening - Nurturing plants helps children learn about the wonders of nature. If you don't have space for a garden, a small window planter can bring opportunities to explore.

In all these activities, it's important to remember these points:

- Keep in mind what your child can accomplish, and how much you need to supervise to make sure the activity is safe.

- Even young children can tell the difference between busy-work and real work: make it meaningful.

- Also, remember that many chores actually take longer with the help of young children, but a little patience and a few extra minutes lets them reap real benefits from assisting the family.

Joan Tananbaum, Assistant Director

Early Childhood Department

Who What When Where

End of Summer Camps

Camp Session II starts on July 24

Senior Center Calendar: