Scavenger Hunt, LEGO-Windmill Workshop Tuesday [Share]

Youth Appreciation Week continues with a full afternoon and evening of events.

Be sure to send any photos you take during Youth Appreciation Week to Livingston Patch to be posted online! Send them to the editor at mike.donofrio@patch or upload them to this page by clicking the icon "Upload Pictures and Videos." Youth Appreciation Week continues with a scavenger hunt at town center, a LEGO workshop about windmills and more on Tuesday.  A scavenger hunt for children 12 and under will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. around the Seward Johnson sculptures. The hunt will begin at town center, at 10 N. Livingston Ave., in front of Baumgart’s Cafe on the parking lot side, where participants will be handed the clues and a map of all the statues. The scavenger hunt will take children to all 12 sculptures and will challenge them to …

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10 Years Later

10 Years Later, Our Emotions Still Raw

A mother remembers asking, What do we tell our children?

Editor's Note: Today, children at Livingston Public Schools will wear red, white and blue in honor of Sept. 11. These photos are from 10 years ago, a different day, a mother's remembrance of wondering what to tell her children and how the children began the healing by making construction-paper flags at school. We all remember where we were when we first heard it.  I was in line at the Shop-Rite deli counter. I recognized the woman in front of me as a local store clerk. I'll never forget her now. She was talking on her cell with someone in NYC and shared the news of a plane hitting the World Trade Center tower.   There were no details about the accident. We believed it could have been a small plane possibly clipping the signal towers on top…

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Barbara Anderson

7:13 pm on Sunday, September 11, 2011

Thanks so much-- you made our day with your comments! I think I had more than enough material for three different articles that I had to whittle down. I still can't look at those pictures without getting a lump in my throat.   more ›

Teddy Bear Clinic Eases Kids' Fears of Hospitals

Registration ends Friday for event that helps families be comfortable at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

If being in a hospital is scary for adults, it can be terrifying for children. To lessen their anxieties about being in the hospital, Saint Barnabas Medical Center is inviting children ages 4 through 8 to bring their teddy bears or favorite stuffed animals to a Teddy Bear Clinic on July 20. (Registration ends July 15). The event will follow an open house format where children will learn about medical equipment and procedures to become comfortable with visiting a hospital. Together, children and their stuffed animal “patients” will visit a series of 16 interactive play stations so that kids will have a good time learning that they don’t have to fear a trip to the hospital.  “The Teddy Bear Clinic is designed to be similar to the experiences…

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'Not Too Scary' Folktales

Livingston Library showcases master storyteller & puppeteer.

Try successfully keeping a group of small children enthralled while they’re in the dark, hearing stories of fierce animals and ghosts at the time of day when many are sleeping, and you have a taste of the magic wrought by master puppeteer and storyteller, Ron Sopyla. The Livingston Library presented the many talents of Sopyla, who used his rich background in theatre and teaching to bring to life traditional folktales from around the world. Sopyla is a master  shadow puppeteer who make many of his own puppets using leather (which is still used in China to make puppets) as well as plastic. Using simple lights and his talent for storytelling, he brought to life what might have been “scary” tales in someone else’s hands.  His telling of “The …

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A Backyard Guide for Swinging

We offer tips on getting your playground ready for the spring swinging and sliding season.

Many homes in Livingston have backyard playgrounds where kids gather to get some much-needed exercise and just be kids. As you prepare your garden  for warmer weather, don’t forget to get your playground ready as well.  Here’s how: 1.      Make sure your playground equipment is in the best location possible.  The ground should be even and not slope so the equipment doesn’t tip.  If the ground has shifted and the equipment is just a little unsteady, Home Depot sells kits to help secure already-installed playground equipment into the ground.  Also, the earth should be free of obstacles like trees, low branches, stumps, roots, and concrete.  Watch for exposed anchors, hooks, and bolts, which can cause tripping and other injuries. There should…

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Mom's Crayon

Parents Need To Be Parents

Are we so afraid of upsetting our children that we indulge their every whim?

I may live in THE BEST neighborhood in town, where we have a ton of kids around and they all come out to play.  For the last week or so, weather permitting, I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming various neighborhood kids to my house, all of them looking to play with my son, daughter, cat, and even me (well, they come to talk with me – I love that).  Junior has been foregoing his winter diet of video to go outside and shoot hoops with the neighbors’ kids. Diva has been visiting some of the girls in the hood. Most of the children who visit are gracious. They say “please” and “thank you.”  One or two, unfortunately, have the manners of monkeys. A little girl who was playing with my then 4-year old once demanded, “Got any FOOD!”  It was not a …

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Pretty in Pink AND Kickin' Cancer's Butt

Livingston rallies around Sydney Becker in her fight against cancer.

Many families crumble when a member is diagnosed with cancer.  Not the Becker family.  When 12-year old Sydney, a 7th grader at Heritage Middle School, received news that she had osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in her left leg, the family rallied.  They formed “Team Sydney,” had T-shirts printed up and Sydney herself designed the logo (a pink high-top since that’s what she usually wears) with the phrase “Kickin’ Cancer’s Butt” on the back because that’s what she’s determined to do.  Then they looked outside of their own situation and decided to sell the shirts and donate the profits to Make Some Noise: Cure Kids’ Cancer Foundation, which raises funds for research into pediatric cancer, as well as promoting awareness of the disease.  …

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Marilyn Joyce Lehren

5:58 pm on Monday, March 21, 2011

The National Youth Sports Web site is also running a feature on Sydney. Read more @ http://www.youth1.com/softball-latest-features/twelve-year-old-sydney-becker-an-inspiration-to-all.html   more ›

Parent Talk Q&A

No Ifs, Ands or Butts

Is spanking ever OK? From this viewpoint, hands are never for hitting.

There are some parenting conversations that are almost too hot button to even approach. One of the hottest has got to be “to spank or not to spank.” Many parents will say this is a “very personal decision.” I don’t agree. I think that hitting a child — even in the name of, let’s say, teaching him the danger of running into the middle of the street — is more of a release of frustration or anger for the parent, as opposed to a long-term effective means of discipline. Unlike choosing between public or private school or carefully deciding when to take away the pacifier, I don’t think spanking is a personal parenting decision; I just think it’s wrong. I know there are some parents who will vehemently disagree with me, but my position on …

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Seeing Our Reflection on School Pressures in 'Race to Nowhere'

Livingston screens the stark documentary to a full house at LHS.

For Livingston parents watching the film “Race to Nowhere,” the stark portrayal of the pressure on kids to perform, was like peering through the looking glass. Livingston is "reflected in that film,” observed Livingston High School Principal Pamela Clause McGroarty, leading a discussion after the screening. “A lot of children are driven by fear and of not being good enough.”    In Livingston, “A means Excellent, B means Good, and a C means a child is performing at expected levels,” McGroarty said. "Unfortunately, in our town, a C carries a stigma of not being ‘as good.'" “Race To Nowhere,” was shown Tuesday night to a near-capacity crowd at Livingston High School. Parents, teens, teachers, and administrators watched as students in the film…

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Pamela Chirls

2:22 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mrs. McGroarty pointed out that C indicates performance at a proficient level, but she actually said that, to many of our parents, C = failure. For me, one of the most meaningful moments in the film came from a teen, who said "If you don't know yourself, you will lose yourself." Although the film grew out of one person's agenda, it is a wonderful way to start a community dialogue about our …   more ›

Patch Picks

Our Most Romantic Places

Looking for some heart to heart? We found special places in Livingston to reconnect with your sweetheart.

When you think of romance, you might think of Paris, Tahiti, Hawaii, but Livingston? Don’t laugh. Livingston has some very romantic places where a couple can reconnect ... with or without kids.  Here are just a few: ♥          Il Ripasso. Chances are you’ve noticed the lights in the charming greenhouse windows of this cozy, pleasant little restaurant. Dress is casual and it’s BYOB. Lest you think it’s too fancy for kids, I brought my little one there and, even though they didn’t have a kids’ menu per se, she was able to get a lush plate of buttered noodles that had her giggling with delight. The staff is also quite willing to work with your child to find something he/she will eat (chicken fingers and French fries, spaghetti and meatballs…

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