Successful Go Greene St. Paddy's Day Fundraiser!

THANK YOU to everyone who put on their party clothes and made their way over to the Go Greene St. Paddy's Day Fundraiser for Greene's Field! We were very excited to be involved in such a wonderful community event and it was great to see so many Parent Talk members and faces dancing, bidding and having a wonderful night out! 

 

The event was a huge success for the Greene's Field team and ultimately for all local families! Not only did the event raise a great amount of money (over $20,000!!) for Greene's but everyone seemed to have a wonderful time dancing to old and new school songs, toasting friends with green beer and angling to win the most desired auction items.

 

If you haven't had the chance yet and wish to, you can make a donation before April 1st to the Greene's Field project at http://www.greenesfield.org/. 

 

With the weather turning slowly to spring we look forward to seeing everyone out and about around town...and eventually at the new and improved Greene's Field!

 

All the best, 

Mary & Kate

Kidville Wellesley opens!

YOU’RE INVITED TO THE FREE KIDVILLE GRAND OPENING!
WHAT: Kidville, a play and learning space for families with young children, offers a wide range of developmental enrichment classes in art, music, dance, and gym for babies, toddlers and kids newborn through 6-years old. With a preschool alternative program (Kidville University - KVU) and summer camps it promises to be a great solution for families looking for new activities to enjoy with their little ones.
WHEN: FREE activities will begin on March 23 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:00am followed by a Rockin’ Railroad Concert at 10:30am.
Opening Details:
· Open gym, arts & crafts, refreshments, music and more!
· Saturday March 23 and Sunday March 24 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
· Special Rockin’ Railroad Concert at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm on both days
WHERE: 34 Central St. in Wellesley Square

Toy Decisions: Thomas Toys

Raise your hand if you would love to have someone break down which is the right type of toy to buy, instead of slowly collecting the wrong ones. Take trains for example. There are hundreds of choices and how do you make the choice of what to buy. Parent Talk member Joanna Noon shares her take on Thomas the Train toys, including which tracks work with which trains. Here is an excerpt of her post, perfect for anyone trying to weed through the maze of train options available. 

Eighteen months ago, drowning in a basement flooded with trains and trying to keep my toddler boys entertained, I wrote an email to a close friend and fellow mom asking for HELP with all things Thomas the Tank Engine. Her response was thorough and useful and became the jumping-off point for me to figure out how to manage this phenomenon in my own household. Here’s are the highlights of what I’ve learned:

1. If you want to build an expansive train and track collection, go WOODEN ONLY! (You'll see our rationale in a minute.)

Tracks:
All the wooden train tracks from different brands fit together--some better than others, but they are all at least sufficiently compatible! This makes it so easy to add to your collection relatively cheaply, and as long as grandparents and other present-givers know to seek out wooden tracks, they don't have to worry about finding specific brands. Wooden train tracks are easy to spot, of course, but here are some images to give you a picture of what to look for:

To read the rest of the article, click here, to visit Toy Savvy, Joanna's new blog about all things toy related.