The Best Resource for Babysitters in Glen Rock…
Posted on | March 4, 2010 | Comments
…is what will come out of this blog post. 
Any parent (not just a Glen Rock parent) will tell you that a good babysitter is worth her weight in Lucky Charms. Babysitters are the great equalizers. They allow you, the parent, to shed that title, albeit for a fleeting set of moments and become, dare it be said? An adult!
Yes, an adult who can dress up a bit, get a drink, see a movie, watch a band, grab a late-night meal, cut a rug and generally put the (extremely rewarding) monotony of parenthood away for a bit. Babysitters make that happen. Yet finding the right one for your family is a challenge.
What is the best way to find a babysitter in Glen Rock? Ads? Word of mouth and referrals? Should we focus on high school kids for this? We all used to be high school kids. Would we trust our former selves to watch our current kids?
This is one of those resources that most parents won’t share with others. Availability has to be maximized and the more parents that have a babysitter’s number the lower the chance she will be available to help you out when you need her.
So what do you do? Who do you use? Can you make any recommendations? Tell us in the comments.
First Grade Projects
Posted on | February 22, 2010 | Comments
We’ve all had to participate in group projects over the years. Whether it was in school or at work, getting lumped together with a group of folks you barely knew and asked to lead, manage, produce and deliver some kind of output has been a bonding and potentially harrowing experience that can be mutually commiserated. There was a reason however that it was not until higher education or the corporate workplace that these projects were first introduced and assigned. The reason was capability. We were of a ripe enough age to be capable of completing such projects on our own.
As parents we’re often asked to assist our children in their learning and scholastic activities because of the enhanced bond, interaction and learning experience it creates however the projects our kids are asked to complete are typically within their capabilities. The experience becomes one of helping, teaching and bonding. Recently, however, a group project was assigned to a set of first graders. The project involved elements relating to the real and political world, choices to be made about external organizations and financial commitments. This project was outside the capabilities of 4 first graders.
Fantastic and wondrous as they are, there is no way a group of first graders can get organized, pick a topic and execute on a vision. In addition, simply creating some kind of group dynamic – leaders, doers, etc, which would come naturally in the adult world – is completely lost on these children (through no fault of their own – they’re simply too young). So where does this end up? It ends up directly in the parents’ laps. This group project for first graders now becomes a multi-weekend project for the parents of these kids. Again, reiterating how fantastic it is to spend time helping your child with their homework, this went way beyond.
The project, ultimately, was organized, conceived, planned and almost entirely executed by the adults. Why? Because the children simply are too young to have the skills to pull something like this off outside of school time. Placing these kinds of commitments, indirectly, on the parents adds to the thousands of commitments we already make for our children. Also, the benefit for the students gets lost. They’re too young to get group organization dynamics. They’re too young to conceptualize a bigger vision and are simply not capable of pulling off the full endeavor.
We are all committed to the education of our children. We will do what it takes to ensure their success but it’s critical that the work assigned to them meets their capabilities (or is a bit of stretch). Otherwise the work ends up executed by the parents and the children learn nothing.
Have your kids had group projects assigned to them? In what grade? What was your experience?
Cleared out!
Posted on | February 16, 2010 | Comments
All the credit and thanks in the world should be given to the Glen Rock municipal government snow cleanup crew for their unbelievable work over the past two weeks. The continuous snowfall had many parents in Glen Rock wondering how long kids would be out of school and how tough it would be to get them there once the schools re-opened. To most parents’ surprise, just 24 hours after the storm not only were the roads clear and clean but the parking lots were dug out, open and ready for business. Getting the kids to the schools was no different than any other day (getting out of our driveways, that was potentially a different story .
Thanks Glen Rock and nice work. You made the job of being a Glen Rock parent that much easier this winter.
Central School Kids Helping Haiti as Part of 100th Day Project
Posted on | February 7, 2010 | Comments
Central School is nearing it’s 100th day of classes this year. To commemorate this milestone the kids at the school have split into groups and are putting together efforts based around the number 100. One group has decided they would like to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. This group of 1st graders are focusing their efforts on building shelters and new homes for the residents of Haiti.
The group has chosen Habitat for Humanity as their charity to support focusing specifically on their Disaster Response arm. According to their web site, the mission of Habitat’s Disaster Response arm is:
To develop innovative housing and shelter assistance models that generate sustainable interventions for people vulnerable to or affected by disasters or conflicts. In addition, Disaster Response builds the capacity of the global Habitat community in the areas of disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery through education, training and partnerships.
To symbolize their support for the organization, the group from Central School is nailing 100 nails into 4 boards (one for each child) to kick off the building of new shelters and donating $1 per nail for a total of $100.
If you would like to help the team please consider donating to Habitat for Humanity as well.
Tags: 100th day > Central School > charity > fund raising > haiti
How about some thin mints?
Posted on | February 5, 2010 | Comments
It’s girl scout cookie time in Glen Rock. An annual ritual performed by millions of girls nationally, this rite of passage has become far more of a chore for parents then for the girl scouts themselves. How much actual selling of the cookies does your girl scout do?
The intent here is not to ridicule the kids. They’re kids after all and likely have absolutely no desire to sell cookies! The point is to take a look at this tradition with new eyes and not just go through the motions “because you did it” or “we’ve done it every other year.”
Many folks’ experiences typically end up as follows:
Breaking and entering
Posted on | January 28, 2010 | Comments
For a lot of Glen Rock residents there was never any doubt about where they were going to raise their own families. For others though, Glen Rock is not where they grew up. Spouse job relocation, familial ties, proximity to New York city are but a few examples of the situations that draw new residents here. Once here, though, the challenge becomes engaging with the community, establishing yourself as a resident, creating your identity and ultimately acquiring new friends.
Children have no problem making friends almost instantly (teenagers are a slightly different story) – it’s actually quite amazing. Adults, however, have a harder time. After all, this isn’t high school or college anymore and, while parents may run into each other here and there, we certainly have no obligation to hang out together. The toughest part for Glen Rock transplants is making a connection with a clique of parents who have known each other since childhood. The folks have shared history and very clear ideas about who their friends are and what they bring to the friendship.
So how do you break in? How long does it take?
Feed me, Seymour!
Posted on | January 22, 2010 | Comments
It’s Friday evening. You’ve caught the early train home. The kids aren’t going to do their homework (because it’s Friday) and the last either one of you wants to do is cook. Ordering take-out is risky. Friday night is likely the busiest night of the week for pizza and chinese delivery meaning you’re likely waiting at least an hour for the order to arrive. And when it does, the “warmth” of the food is, well, questionable. This leaves one final option – the local restaurant.
Depending on the age of your kids, the decision on which local restaurant to patronize can be a tedious one. In this post, there are some suggestions for where to go locally based on the editors’ experiences. However, the surprisingly large number of places to dine in Glen Rock (and surrounding towns) means that there is always room for more reviews. Here are 5 options:
Tags: dining out > eating > family > local > restaurant
Hey, I didn’t know you lived in Glen Rock!
Posted on | January 17, 2010 | Comments
As parents in suburbia it often feels like we’re stuck out on an island while all the hip parents who live in the city have their pick of activities, get-togethers, happy hours and networking events. As it turns out, a little bit of Googling will turn up many different kinds of groups that are already meeting locally – right here in Glen Rock.
Regardless of what your profession, hobbies or interests are, there is likely a group here in town that’s meeting on that very topic. Here are just a few examples:
Glen Rock Fan Page on Facebook – connect with folks on Facebook who live here now and who used to live here.
Glen Rock Network on LinkedIn – professionals live right here in “the Rock.” Reach out and connect.
Glen Rock Triathlon Club – the premiere group for triathletes in Northern NJ.
Glen Rock Newcomers and Neighbors – new in town? want to reconnect with folks here? This is the group to join.
MOMS Club of Glen Rock – stay at home moms unite! This group helps you get to know each other and do fun things together.
There are many informal (read: without a web site) groups of folks that get together who share common interests, professions or other traits. Getting in touch with people on the networks mentioned above and asking some questions should easily lead you to those folks as well.
What have we missed? Add it in the comments.
Tags: clubs > Community > local > networking > organizations
Fundraiser Announcement: Christopher Barron Live Life Foundation
Posted on | January 10, 2010 | Comments
Christopher Barron Live Life Foundation to Host Men’s Night TEXAS HOLD’EM Fundraiser
On Friday, March 12, 2010, the Christopher Barron Live Life Foundation will host their first major fundraising event, a Men’s Night Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. The fundraiser which will be held at St. Catherine’s Church Community Hall in Glen Rock will start at 8 pm. All proceeds will benefit the Foundation’s community outreach programs, as well as further its mission.
Tickets cost $100 and include your “buy in” and unlimited food, beer and wine. Players will compete to win three top prizes which include a Flat Screen TV and four New York Giants tickets with a parking pass to a game in the upcoming season.
The Christopher Barron Live Life Foundation, a public 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established in February 2009, in honor of Christopher Barron who died in 2007 from leukemia. The Foundation’s mission is to instill Christopher’s compassion and zest for life by offering children in underserved communities unique opportunities to live life and pursue interests Christopher of which was most passionate.
With Christopher’s passion for creating comic books in mind, the Foundation has created a comic book writing program and contest which will be lead by professional comic book writers and illustrators. The Foundation will launch the comic book writing program on January 14 th with fifth graders at School 21 in Paterson, NJ.
For more information about the event or to purchase a ticket, please visit the Foundation website at www.christopherbarronlivelife.org or contact the Co-chairs of the event, Tracy Reed at 201-248-4908 or Mike O’Hagan at 201-248-3809.
Nominate a Glen Rock parent
Posted on | January 10, 2010 | Comments
We’d like to start a monthly feature where we highlight one extraordinary Glen Rock parent. Each month we’ll profile someone who you, our readers, feel should get the spotlight. They don’t have to be doing anything unusually remarkable or amazing – just being good parents (in our community). At this time we’d like to solicit nominations for the inaugural post – February’s Glen Rock Parent of the Month.
Who do you know that deserves the spotlight? You can put suggestions in the comments below or email info@glenrockparent.com to submit your nomination directly. All nominations must be in by January 31, 2010.