Autism Eats - May 2 at Restaurant 45

"Going to a family restaurant should be an enjoyable experience. A time to relax, enjoy good food and spend time with your family. Let someone else do the cooking and cleaning. 

Unfortunately, for those of us who have a child with autism dining out can be anxiety provoking and stressful. As parents, we may feel that "all eyes are on us" when our kids exhibit certain behaviors, have outbursts or refuse to sit still. Other diners may be disturbed and the well intentioned wait staff doesn't really know the best way to help out. 

Many of us decide it is just not worth the effort and that is unfortunate.
We created Autism Eats to bring the fun back to eating out. 

Our dinner parties are held in private rooms of restaurants or function facilities. Food is served buffet or family style so there is no waiting. Music and lighting are adjusted to accommodate those with sensory sensitivity. These are family dinners and all attending have a loved one on the spectrum so there is no need to apologize, explain or feel uncomfortable. It is an opportunity to enjoy a night out and socialize with others who have many of the same joys and challenges in common."

From the Autism Eats webpage   http://autismeats.org/#page_about

May 2, 2016 - Medway, MA

Restaurant 45, 45 Milford St. Medway, MA 02053
6:00pm to 8:30pm

Ticket Prices: Adults: $23.00. Kids: $15.00

Click here to To Order Tickets for May 2, 2016

April is Autism Awareness Month - Autism Eats - May 2

Reminder: Family Science Night at Franklin High School

Family Science Night - Franklin High School 

From 6:00 to 8:00 PM

A community service project by the FHS Science National Honor Society

Merry Christmas Franklin!

This will be the only post today. If there is other news that is share worthy, it can wait until Saturday. 

What matters today is spending time with family and friends!

Merry Christmas Franklin!

Note: With the holidays falling on Friday, the weekly calendar will be posted on Saturday December 26, 2015 and again next week on Saturday, Jan 2, 2016.

"Start by asking Great Questions"

StoryCorps invites families across America to participate in its Great Thanksgiving Listen from Nov. 26-29. 

The goal of this project is to preserve the voices of a generation, in a single weekend. Equipment required is a smartphone or tablet and the StoryCorps App, available free for Apple and Android devices. The stories recorded can remain private or become part of the Library of Congress. The free app allows for up to 40 minutes per listening session to be recorded.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20151117/NEWS/151116642/1994/NEWS

Story Corp - recording booth

The Getting Started quick ref card
https://storycorpsme.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/10/Getting-Started.pdf

Interview tips
https://storycorpsme.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/10/Interview-Tips.pdf

Review some sample questions to ask  https://storycorps.org/great-questions/

MassBudget: FAQ - Paid Family & Medical Leave

FAQ: Paid Family & Medical Leave   To help parents balance work and family obligations, three states have enacted Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) laws in recent years. These laws, which are common in the rest of the world, allow workers to take paid time off to care for a new born child, or an ill parent, or when they have a serious illness. MassBudget's new fact sheet FAQ: Paid Family and Medical Leave describes these laws and employer policies. It explains what PFML is, how it works, how it affects families and businesses, and how it relates to other policies like Earned Paid Sick Time. To read MassBudget's report, please click HERE. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

The Walker Family Pasta Dinner Fundraiser

Please help us raise funds to support the Walker Family in a difficult time. John Walker passed away suddenly last month and this fund is to help the Walker family with any expenses until his estate is settled. 

Pasta dinner will be served from 6:30-8:30 pm. Followed by entertainment and a photo booth. 

Facebook event photo of the Walker family

This is a family friendly event and we will have raffles and a silent auction. Cash bar is also available from 6:30-10:30pm. 

Tickets are $15 per adult and children 12 and under are $12. 

Any questions or to have tickets delivered please contact Sandy Brown at JSBjakey@yahoo.com or Teresa Fernald at HomeRepairSpecialists@verizon.net or 508-265-7846 by text or phone. 

Pre purchasing tickets with free delivery is available and encouraged. Tickets are also available at the door. This is a cash only event.


Friday, November 6 at 6:30pm - 10:30pm - at the Franklin Elks

Franklin Family Movie Night - rescheduled to 8/28/15

Due to the weather forecast for Friday evening, the Family Movie Night has been rescheduled to Friday, August 28th

-----

Via Tracie's Facebook posting:

Woody and Buzz in the original Toy Story

Bring your whole family and enjoy watching Toy Story on the big screen in a classic Franklin setting - Beaver Pond! 

The movie itself will start at dusk, but WOODY AND BUZZ ARRIVE AT 7:00!

Kids will get an opportunity to meet and play games with both characters. 

In addition to the characters arriving early, a whole host of local small businesses will be represented at booths offering treats, fun toys, and other retail offerings! The marketplace opens at 6:30. 

 the marketplace opens at 6:30, Woody and Buzz arrive at 7:00 PM

Franklin Family Movie Night

August 28

Beaver Pond in Franklin, Massachusetts

New Hope Virtual Fund Raising

What had been scheduled for June 6th is now going to be a virtual fund raising event.

The race goes virtual! 

New Hope is an organization founded on the principles of strength and community partnership in the face of adversity.  So, we’re taking our previously-scheduled race to the online superhighway!  

Show your support for New Hope by donating to our virtual race today!  

NewHope virtual 5K and Family Fun Walk

Virtual race fund raising page:

https://www.crowdrise.com/NewHopeVirtual5K

Website:

www.new-hope.org

Infographic: Every Kid Needs a Family

Every Kid Needs a Family    Kids do best with the support of a loving family. As our child welfare system develops strategies to help our most vulnerable children, it has a number of opportunities to provide kids with supportive families.  One is to help families that are living in precarious circumstances by providing the supports they need to care for their children in a safe and stable environment.  When a child does need to be removed from her immediate family, she can be placed with a grandparent or other member of the extended family (called kinship care). Finally, the state can seek to recruit more foster parents who can provide good homes to children who would otherwise have to live in group homes or other institutional settings. Every Kid Needs a Family: Giving Children in the Child Welfare System the Best Chance for Success, released today by the national partner of MassBudget's KIDS COUNT project, explores strategies for providing more children in the foster care system with the opportunity to grow up in a family.  The progress on these issues in Massachusetts, and the continuing challenges, are described in MassBudget's recent report Family Ties: Exploring Massachusetts's use of Kinship Foster Care for Children in the Child Welfare System and a related report by KIDS COUNT Advisory Council member the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute: The Ties That Bind: Strengthening, and Reducing Racial Disparities in, Kinship Foster Care in Massachusetts. The infographic below shows that Massachusetts is below the national average in giving children who are in the child welfare system the opportunity to live with members of their extended family.  This contributes to more kids leaving the system (aging-out) without the support of a permanent family. And unfortunately, when kids age-out without this support they are less likely to finish high school and more likely to end up homeless or even in jail.   The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

New Hope 5K and Family Fun Walk - Jun 6

Event Information:

The New Hope 5K and Family Fun Walk is a community celebration of healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships and healthy communities.

When: 

Saturday, June 6^th, 2015

Where: 

Remington/Jefferson School – 628 Washington Street Franklin, MA 02038

Time:

• 7:45 am Registration opens 
• 9:00 am 5K Race Starts 
• 9:00 am Family Health Fair 
• 9:30 am Family Fun Walk Starts 
• 10:30 am Awards

new hope 5K and family fun walk

Website:

www.new-hope.org

Registration:

http://www.active.com/franklin-ma/running/distance-running-races/new-hope-5k-and-family-fun-walk-2015

New Hope 5K & Family Fun Walk - June 6

Event Information:

The New Hope 5K and Family Fun Walk is a community celebration of healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships and healthy communities.

When: 

Saturday, June 6^th, 2015

Where: 

Remington/Jefferson School – 628 Washington Street Franklin, MA 02038

Time:

• 7:45 am Registration opens 
• 9:00 am 5K Race Starts 
• 9:00 am Family Health Fair 
• 9:30 am Family Fun Walk Starts 
• 10:30 am Awards

new hope 5K and family fun walk

Website:

www.new-hope.org

Registration:

http://www.active.com/franklin-ma/running/distance-running-races/new-hope-5k-and-family-fun-walk-2015

"story prompts to help trigger memories"

Another app that can be used to capture your family history can be found at Legacy Stories. Thanks to Marjorie Turner Hollman for sharing this.

LegacyStories.org is a free living history library that provides life story learning, recording, archiving and sharing to families, professionals and groups.

Our intuitive technology offers a variety of options to compose and record legacy stories including multi-media story pages, oral history slideshows and the ability to record powerful Pict-Oral Memories with our Apple and Android mobile app.

Our members can also link stories to over five billion ancestor records in the official family tree of humankind. We'll show you how to discover your highest priority "legacy stories" and tell them in ways that will fascinate loved ones generations to come.

screen grab of Legacy Stories webpage

The recent post on StoryCorps
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/capture-that-family-history.html

Capture that family history

I was fortunate to capture some of my father's story and record it for the extended family to listen to. I did not get to hear all the stories before he passed away but we do have a good archive of the stories in his voice to listen to when we want.

Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover, the holiday weekend should bring families together. To help foster a good conversation between the generations and to capture the history that the elder generations still remember is made easier with the new StoryCorps app and smart phones.

Settle in, enjoy the 21 min video and download the app for your Apple or Android device and set up to record.





You can find out more about StoryCorps on their website  http://storycorps.org/


You can find more excellent videos on the TED site here  http://www.ted.com/


A sample of  my father's story can be found here. In this segment, he talks of his service in the Marines as part of the "Joint Assault Signal Company" made famous in the movie "The Whisperers"
http://jerrysherlockstory.blogspot.com/2007/09/jerry-story-joint-assault-signal.html

screen grab of StoryCorps.me webpage

Fairy/Fishing Portrait Fundraiser - Feb Vacation Week

From Jennifer Lynn Photography:

Looking for plans during Feb break with your little ones? I am hosting 2 fundraisers that week to support my 2015 Boston Marathon run for Dana Farber Cancer Institute in memory of my stepdad Bob Bossa (from Franklin).

Fairy/Fishing Portrait Fundraiser

For additional information and to reserve a time slot:
https://www.facebook.com/events/791424417614797/?pnref=story

New MassBudget factsheet: Balancing Work and Family

BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY: The Economic Effects of Earned Paid Sick Time To build a life of economic security for themselves and their families, people need to be productive at work and meet their responsibilities to their families. "Balancing Work and Family: The Economic Effects of Earned Paid Sick Time" examines how providing paid sick time affects working people, their families, and the broader economy. Most children now live in families where all parents work. The share of children with a nonworking parent declined from 64 percent in 1967 to 34 percent in 2009. Yet our employment policies often don't reflect the challenges faced by working parents. Earned paid sick time provides one useful support by allowing workers to earn paid time off to address a health issue or care for a family member in need. Most higher-paid employees already have this benefit. But one in three Massachusetts workers doesn't, including more than half of low wage workers.  Click HERE to read the factsheet. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108 The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

Summer Sizzler Family Event - July 17 - 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Summer Sizzler Family event that will be held this Thursday evening, July 17th from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Bernon Branch of the Hockomock YMCA



Register at hockymca.org (Register for Programs button/keyword search ‘Sizzler’) or sign-up at Member Service Desk.

The Hall at Patriot Place Announces 31 Days of July Program Featuring Daily Activities & Family Fun

The Hall at Patriot Place announces 31 Days of July program featuring daily activities and family fun

Program includes autograph signings, a magic show, Patriots painting lessons, games and tournaments,
caricatures and more throughout the month of July inside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Already a great destination for family fun, The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon is taking its interactive experience and activities to another level with its 31 Days of July program, beginning on Tuesday, July 1.

The program features daily activities such as autograph signings by Patriots alumni, a magic show, Patriots painting lessons, games, tournaments and sweepstakes and of course the exciting and interactive Patriots Hall of Fame and museum.

All events will take place inside The Hall and are included with admission. Tickets to The Hall are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children 5-12. Children four and younger are admitted for free. The program's schedule can be viewed below or online at www.thehallatpatriotplace.com.

On Thursday, July 31, Patriots 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Ty Law will be the featured guest for The Hall's popular Speaker Series. This is a special ticketed event. Tickets are $30 each and include access to The Hall before and after the event.

The Hall is the only sports and education experience of its kind. Through a dazzling array of interactive multimedia exhibits and artifacts, The Hall showcases the tradition of the New England Patriots, explores the history of football in New England, and promotes math and science education for thousands of schoolchildren each year.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehallatpatriotplace.com, visit "The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon" on Facebook or follow @TheHall on Twitter.

31 Days of July Schedule of Events

Tuesday, July 1: Scavenger Hunt – Find out who can be first in your group to answer all the questions and find all the artifacts that are part of The Hall's impressive exhibit galleries.

Wednesday, July 2: Game Day – Are you any good at cornhole or finger football? Stop by for Game Day at The Hall and have some fun while you enjoy The Hall's interactive exhibits and tour the modern museum.

Thursday, July 3: Madden Video Game Tournament – Test your Madden skills on Xbox 360 and have some fun playing against friends or strangers in The Hall's classroom. Tournament will take place every Thursday and The Hall will keep track of the winners. On the last Thursday of the month (July 31), The Hall will hold the "finale" and invite all winners from previous tournaments to compete against each other for a great prize.

Friday, July 4: Show Your Patriotism for Discounted Admission – Celebrate America's birthday by wearing your Patriots gear to The Hall and receive a 30 percent discount off your adult admission (discount applies only to person wearing Patriots gear).

Saturday, July 5: Show Your Patriotism for Discounted Admission – Celebrate America's birthday by wearing your Patriots gear to The Hall and receive a 30 percent discount off your adult admission (discount applies only to person wearing Patriots gear).

Sunday, July 6: Show Your Patriotism for Discounted Admission – Celebrate America's birthday by wearing your Patriots gear to The Hall and receive a 30 percent discount off your adult admission (discount applies only to person wearing Patriots gear).

Monday, July 7: Win VIP Seats to Ty Law's Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Ty Law will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 1, in the NRG Plaza adjacent to The Hall. The event is free and open to the public, but The Hall is giving away seats inside the ropes where the Patriots alumni and VIPs sit. You will be sitting only a few rows behind Patriots Hall of Famers, VIPs and members of the Kraft family. Enter to win when you visit The Hall on Monday, July 7.

Tuesday, July 8: Trivia Day – Are you a Patriots trivia wizard? Come to The Hall and find out. This is a fun chance to win a great prize during your visit to The Hall's interactive exhibits. The Hall will supply the wizard hat for you to wear while staff asks you Patriots trivia questions. As long as you answer correctly, The Hall's staff will keep asking questions. When you answer incorrectly, the questions stop and the staff tallies the number of correct answers you gave. The person with the most correct answers will be The Hall's trivia wizard.

Wednesday, July 9: "Crazy Train" Lip Dub – The Hall is boarding the "Crazy Train" on Wednesday, July 9, and you are invited! Patriots fans know the team runs onto the Gillette Stadium field prior to each home game to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" and The Hall is giving fans an opportunity to be part of an exciting lip dub video featuring the song. The Hall will distribute lyrics to "Crazy Train" in the morning and plan the lip dub video with guests of The Hall. Then the cameras will start rolling as fans – both individually and in groups – will lip sync the lyrics to "Crazy Train" in a fun and energetic way. The Hall will post the video on its website and to its social media pages (Facebook, Twitter).

Thursday, July 10: Madden Video Game Tournament – Test your Madden skills on Xbox 360 and have some fun playing against friends or strangers in The Hall's classroom. Tournament will take place every Thursday and The Hall will keep track of the winners. On the last Thursday of the month (July 31), The Hall will hold the "finale" and invite all winners from previous tournaments to compete against each other for a great prize.

Friday, July 11: Beach Party – Visit the Grand Hall and receive a lei while dancing and playing limbo games to beach-themed music.

Saturday, July 12: Steve Nelson Autograph Signing – Stop by The Hall from 12:30 to 2 p.m. to meet, and get an autograph from, Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Steve Nelson.

Sunday, July 13: Win Patriots Tickets to Preseason Game – Visit The Hall on July 13 and enter to win tickets to the New England Patriots' preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium.  

Monday, July 14: Meet the Curator – The Hall's curator, Chris Meiman, will greet guests at The Hall's Building Blocks exhibit. He will show Patriots artifacts from the 1960s and relate them to Patriots history. If you are a Patriots fan interested in the team's beginnings, this is the event for you to come ask questions and see artifacts dating back to the Patriots founding in 1959.

Tuesday, July 15: Combine Day: Test Your Skills – Find out how you stack up against NFL players by taking some of the athleticism tests used at the NFL Combine. The Hall will provide you with your own score sheet to track your results as well as average results from NFL players by position. You can test your time in the three-cone drill and the shuttle run.

The Hall's Paint the Patriots activity held over spring vacation (courtesy of The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon)

Wednesday, July 16: Paint the Patriots – Paint the Patriots with The Hall from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Artists Laura Zanghetti and Jerry Aissis will teach you how to paint the Patriots logo and you will leave The Hall with your own painting on canvas.

Thursday, July 17: Madden Video Game Tournament – Test your Madden skills on Xbox 360 and have some fun playing against friends or strangers in The Hall's classroom. Tournament will take place every Thursday and The Hall will keep track of the winners. On the last Thursday of the month (July 31), The Hall will hold the "finale" and invite all winners from previous tournaments to compete against each other for a great prize.

Friday, July 18: Face Painting – Get in the spirit of the 2014 Patriots season by getting your face painted in Patriots' red, white and blue – or almost anything you want - by artist Jennifer Rand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, July 19:  Gino Cappelletti Autograph Signing – Stop by The Hall from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to meet, and get an autograph from, Patriots Hall of Fame wide receiver and placekicker Gino Cappelletti.

Sunday, July 20: Win Patriots Tickets to Preseason Game – Visit The Hall on July 20 and enter to win tickets to the New England Patriots' preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.  

Monday, July 21: Joe Andruzzi Autograph Signing – Stop by The Hall from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to meet, and get an autograph from, former Patriots offensive lineman and three-time Super Bowl champion Joe Andruzzi.

Tuesday, July 22: Game Day – Are you any good at cornhole or finger football? Stop by for Game Day at The Hall and have some fun while you enjoy The Hall's interactive exhibits and tour the modern museum.

Wednesday, July 23: Free Hot Dog Day – Enjoy a free Kayem hot dog on National Hot Dog Day after you visit The Hall.

Thursday, July 24: Magic Show – Magician David Hall will be performing a 45-minute magic show in The Hall's Raytheon Theatre beginning at 1 p.m.

Thursday, July 24: Madden Video Game Tournament – Test your Madden skills on Xbox 360 and have some fun playing against friends or strangers in The Hall's classroom. Tournament will take place every Thursday and The Hall will keep track of the winners. On the last Thursday of the month (July 31), The Hall will hold the "finale" and invite all winners from previous tournaments to compete against each other for a great prize.

Friday, July 25: Tom Brady Jersey Giveaway – Stop by The Hall from July 25 to Aug. 17 and enter to win an authentic Patriots jersey signed by quarterback Tom Brady.

Saturday, July 26: Mascot Day – The Hall will have a few special guests for fans to hang out with, including Pat Patriot from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other mascots, including Slyde, the official mascot of the New England Revolution, will be in attendance throughout the day.

Sunday, July 27: Combine Day: Test Your Skills – Find out how you stack up against NFL players by taking some of the athleticism tests used at the NFL Combine. The Hall will provide you with your own score sheet to track your results as well as average results from NFL players by position. You can test your time in the three-cone drill and the shuttle run.

Monday, July 28: 1960s Patriots film viewing – Fans can view The Hall's collection of Patriots game film from the 1960s in the Grand Hall. The films will be played on a projector.

Tuesday, July 29: Caricature Artist – Visit The Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and have a caricature of you created!

Wednesday, July 30: Scavenger Hunt – Find out who can be first in your group to answer all the questions and find all the artifacts that are part of The Hall's impressive exhibit galleries.

Thursday, July 31: Madden Video Game Tournament Finals – All winners from previous Madden tournaments at The Hall will square off for a great prize.

Thursday, July 31: Ty Law Speaker Series – Patriots 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Ty Law will be the featured guest at The Hall's popular Speaker Series. Tickets are $30 each and include access to The Hall before and after the event as well as one autograph from Law. For more information, visit http://www.thehallatpatriotplace.com.

About The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon

The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon is the crown jewel of Patriot Place and the only sports and education experience of its kind. Through a dazzling array of interactive multimedia exhibits and artifacts never before viewable by the public, The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon showcases the tradition of the New England Patriots, explores the history of football in New England, and promotes math and science education for the thousands of schoolchildren expected to visit each year. For more information, please visit www.thehallatpatriotplace.com.

--www.TheHallatPatriotPlace.com—