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PARENTING IN THE TORAH

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

A person should not promise to give a child something and then fail to give it, lest he teach his child dishonesty, as it is written (Jermiah 9:4), They taught their tongues to speak lies.

- Talmud, Sukkah, 46a

M A Z E L D A Y S C H O O L

June—Sivan 2011 ISSUE SEVEN

Can you believe the end of the year is here? It has gone by so quickly. This time of the year is always a mixed bag of feelings. Children are excited to be done, we are excited they are home, and it's a fun filled time of excite-ment and adventures. For about 3 days. Then sibling rivalry and the "I'm bored" syndrome kicks into high gear. We've got plenty of fun activities to help drive the boredom blues away in no time! Check out our weekend picks for fun and inexpen-sive ways to spend time with your children in New York City. Whether you are looking for a nature adventure or a free water attraction on the Hudson—we’ve got the tricks to make the time fly! This issue also features ways to celebrate the end of the school year and celebrate memories of yet another year pass-ing by! Make sure to treasure these special times with your children and enjoy them before they grow into their teenage years!

Editorial Team:

Anna Ashurov Irene Gabo Chani Okonov Alla Vasserman

IN THIS ISSUE

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mazelnew

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PAGE2: Help Keep Children Safe: Tips from a Mazel Parent

PAGE3: Irene’s June Picks Weekend Activities for the Family

PAGE3: Snapshots of the Year Year End Ideas

PAGE5: Recipes Quick and Healthy

PAGE6: Parent Interview This Month: Anna Ashurov

PAGE8: Month in Pictures; Thank You’s and Cartoon of the Month

Center Pull-out Section Siblings Without Rivalry By: Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

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T I P S F R O M A M A Z E L P A R E N T Anonymous

School is over and summer is here! I am sure we are all busy planning fun activities and getaways with our kid in the summer…whether taking them to the beach or amusement park or a museum or carnival… all these things can be great fun for families, but they all also have one common element.. they are crowded places where it is very easy for kids to get lost. Now this article is not meant to scare parents, but rather provide tools for parents to educate their children what to do in case they get lost. Getting separated from mom and dad can be scary for children of any age. Thankfully, you've taught them to find help in an emergency—but how do your children know who's help and who's not? Before you head out into a crowd with your child, here are some tips to teach your child about finding help when they're lost or separated from their parents. Be cautious when using the term "stranger danger." We do want our children to be wary of individuals they don't know. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children notes that parents should be careful about confusing chil-dren with the concept of "stranger." In this instance, if they become lost or separated from their caretaker in a crowd, they won't know what to do if they are scared of speaking to a stranger. If your child is lost, they may need to enlist the help of a stranger, and you need to help them learn where to turn. Teach children how to identify emergency personnel. While it's easy to tell children to find a policeman, does your child know what a policeman looks like? Pictures found in books don't often represent what police and po-lice cars look like today. From a young age, work with chil-dren to identify emergency personnel when you see them. Point out badges and attire you see your local law enforcement officials wearing, and have children point out police cars when driving. Teach children to wave at police and say hi—you want them to view police and law enforcement as there to help, not someone to be afraid of. Teach children to identify other families. One idea is teach children that if they don't see a police-man, they could approach another family and tell them they are lost. Rather than encourage your child to find just any adult, suggest that they look for a family with other children and a mommy (or daddy). The hope is that an-other family or parent would then help your child get the help they need in order to locate their parents. Teach your kids to never leave the establishment without you. Remind them that whatever happens, you will find them. Remind your kids to stay put once they realize that they are lost as it is more difficult to find them if they’re moving instead of just staying in one place.

Teaching your children to identify help in a crowd and who to approach should they get lost is a necessary lesson to keep your children safe. And lastly, I know many parents will read this article and think to themselves…”oh it can’t happen to me…I always look after my child”, but please, please trust me when I say this…these things do happen when you least expect it ... I speak as a parent who experienced losing my child in a crowded place and this was the scariest moment in my life. I was so blessed that a kind person helped my child find us, but after this incident I looked back and real-ized that I didn’t teach my child what to do in this situa-tion, beside to look for a policeman and in this case there was no police around. My child was very scared and did-n’t know what to do. So I urge you all please talk to your children and teach them what to do G_d forbid should they get lost or separated. And now on a brighter note have a fun and safe Summer!

A Mazel Parent

PARENT SPOTLIGHT Every month we will publish business cards of the parents or family members that wish to advertise their services. If you wish to advertise in the future issues, please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Staff at mazelnewsletter@gmail.com. This month we feature: YELENA

DIGILOVA (Eliana’s Grandma), owner of specialty medical center.

ROZALIYA

DIGILOVA (Eliana’s aunt), residential & commercial cleaning company

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I R E N E ’ S W E E K E N D P I C K S

dar and show her that school days and fun days don't have to be separate. 2. Now and Then: Spend time noticing changes and accomplishments with your child. Is he taller? Stronger? What and who does he know now that he didn't when school began? What does he pre-dict for next year? Write down his answers and make it an annual tradition. 3. Summer School Supplies: Why not replace and freshen up arts and crafts and other school supplies at the end of the year? A fresh box of crayons or

brand-new fancy notebook will do wonders to keep your little one reading and writing all summer. Plus it's a great reward for a year of hard work.

4. Best in Show: Have a party before school ends and have the children create unusual ribbons and rewards for each other (and even themselves!) like "Best smell-ing knees," "Most improved jump-roper," "King of Cart-wheels," or "#1 Kazooist." Take the focus off grades and celebrate individuality.

5. Going Places: Take your child on a fun trip to cele-brate how far she's come. You can try something un-usual like going out for high tea, something with a take-away souvenir like a paint-your-own-pottery place, or just go for pure fun with a day at an amuse-ment park.

Vacation Calendar Put together fun, easy, and educational activities for kids. Give your child a calendar for the months they will be on vacation with simple activities to do each day. For exam-ple: Count the stars that are in the sky; Find 20 words from the newspaper that begin with "B" etc.

Wrap Up the School Year With a Strong Finish As the end of the school year approaches, chil-dren and teachers are “on the countdown" to the last day of school. By June, many students are looking forward to summer and three months free of lessons and tests. And yet this may be a bitter-sweet time for children who will miss teachers and friends. The activities in this section will help your children celebrate what they’ve learned and ease any anxiety associated with the end-of-school days. Bulletin Board / Scrap Book Wrap up the school year with a bulletin board or a scrap book that reflects the year’s highlights. For preschoolers, gather all the arts and crafts your child has created during the school year and put them in the book in a chronological order, discussing child’s work with them and talking it over. For lower school students, make copies of children’s exams, homework, pictures with friends and other items they saved during the year; write a paragraph with them about their ac-complishments and experiences. 5 Ways to Celebrate the End of the School Year Make the last few weeks before school lets out a fun, fantas-tic time for you and your child with these five smile-inducing ideas. 1. Countdown Calendar: Make a big calendar to hang on

the wall for the last month of school. Have your child write down things she wants to do when school is over and then add some of those very things into the calen-

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Y E A R - E N D I D E A S Compiled by Anna Ashurov

Contributed by Irene Gabo & Anna Ashurov

Best Boat Rides for Families in NYC There's something magical about being on the water. And since much of NYC is surrounded by water, it's also an opportunity to see the city from a different perspective. There are a lot of cool ways to hit the water in this town—here are our favorite boat rides for kids and families in NYC: Best for Getting Wet Shark Speedboat Thrill Ride Departs from Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport $23 for adults, $16 for children. Must be 40 inches tall to ride. May-September. The Beast Departs from the Circle Line dock on Pier 83, 42nd & 12th Ave

$24 for adults, $18 for children. Must be 40 inches tall to ride. May-September Best European Vacation Substitute Venetian Gondola Tour Can't make it to Venice this year? Then head over to Central Park for an authentic Venetian Gondola Tour on the Lake. Doing this ride takes a bit of planning, since you must reserve your spot in advance, but it's sure to leave a lasting impression. The boats can fit up to six passengers. Call the Boathouse at 212-517-2233 to make your reservation. Departs from the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, 72nd Street and Park Drive North $30 per half hour; April-October

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On Stage at Kingsborough – Manhattan Beach Saturdays, July 2-23 at 8pm New Jersey's Best Summer Pick-Your-Own Farms Alstede farm (Chester, 908-879-7189) has strawberries (early June), raspberries, gooseberries (end June), blueberries, blackberries, peaches, peppers, tomatoes eggplants, and the usual fall fare. Weekends the farm of-fers extra family fun on top of the pick your own: a moon-bounce, a hay pyramid, a corn kingdom, pony rides, food stations and hay rides. 9am to 7pm daily. Stults Farm (Cranbury, 609-799-2523) This farm is the place to go if you want to pick both berries and veggies and avoid large crowds. Monday - Friday 3pm to 7pm. Satur-day & Sunday 10am to 6pm. Melicks Town Farm (Oldwick & Califon, 908-439-2318) Melicks Town Farm is a group of 3 farms offering a variety of pick your own and farm stand produce. 9am to 6pm. Terhune Orchards (Princeton, 609-924-2310) This farm has pick your own strawberries (done for the year), cherries (done for the year), blueberries, flowers, peaches, pears, and veggies such as green beans. The farm is known for their "Read and Pick program" ; You can also find pony rides, hay rides, farm animals, and more. Monday - Friday 9am to 7pm, Saturday & Sunday 9am to 6pm. 100 Things to Do in NYC with Kids Before They Grow Up Living in such a vibrant city, we should try and take advantage of all the amazing things to do in New York City with kids. To that end, Editor of the site called mommypoppins.com has created a Life List for Raising NYC Kids. The life list is a list of things that they will remem-ber as adults and cherish as part of the cool experience of growing up in New York. Please visit the following website for the complete list: http://mommypoppins.com/ny-kids/100-things-to-do-with-your-kids-in-ny-before-they-grow-up Where to Pick Your Own Apples near NYC Masker Orchards, Warwick, NY (845) 986-1058 http://www.maskers.com/ Applewood Orchards, Warwick, NY (845) 986-1684 http://www.applewoodorchards.com/ http://www.applewoodwinery.com Sun High Orchard, Randolph, NJ (973) 584-4734 www.sunhigh.com

Best for Playing Tourist 42nd Street Circle Line Departs from the Circle Line dock on Pier 83, 42nd & 12th Ave Prices vary depending on tour: $27-$36 for adults, $19-$23 for children; Year-round Downtown Circle Line Departs from Pier 16, South Street Seaport $27 for adults, $16 for children; April-December Best for Bird-watching Audubon Sunset EcoCruises Departs from Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport $35 for adults, $25 for children ages 3-12 Sundays, June 5-August 14 at 7pm Best for Do-It-Yourselfers Rowboats If you want to be the captain of your own vessels, then a rowboat's the thing. Depart from the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, 72nd Street and Park Drive North; $12 for the first hour, $3 each additional 15 minutes. $20 cash deposit required. April-October Best for Penny-pinchers Staten Island Ferry Departs from Whitehall Terminal at State and Whitehall Streets; FREE; Year-round Governors Island Ferry Departs from Battery Maritime Building, 10 South Street or Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, foot of Atlantic Avenue at Colum-bia Street; FREE; Friday, May 27-Sunday, Sept. 25 Free Outdoor Summer Music Festivals and Concerts in New York City Just because many New York City outdoor music and per-formance festivals are intended for adults doesn't mean kids can't enjoy them. At these wonderful alfresco series, most of which take place in our city's lovely parks and green spaces, families can stake out a spot, lay down a blanket and soak up some complimentary culture. Celebrate Brooklyn! – Prospect Park Band Shell Friday, June 10-Sunday, August 6 River to River Festival – Downtown Manhattan Sunday, June 19-Saturday, July 16 SummerStage – Citywide Tuesday, June 7-Friday, September 2 Free and ticketed events Lincoln Center Out of Doors – Upper West Side Wednesday, July 27-Sunday, August 14

I R E N E ’ S W E E K E N D P I C K S Contributed by Irene Gabo &

Anna Ashurov

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Compiled by Alla Vasserman Q U I C K A N D H E A L T H Y

Garlic Okroshka

Okroshka is a traditional dish of Russian na-tional cuisine. It is a cold soup which is usually served on the hot summer afternoon or... any-time. It could be vegetarian, with meat or fish. We are offering a vegetarian and not exactly trivial version. Ingredients: Kefir (or plain yogurt)- 0,5 liter Sweet pepper (green) - 2 Tomato - 1pc Cucumber - 1pc Mayonnaise - 3 tbsp. l. Garlic - 3 cloves Lemon - 1pc Egg - 2 pcs Lettuce or any kind of leafy green - 1 bunch or less Parsley Salt Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste) Recipe All the vegetables are finely chopped. Crush the garlic and mix with mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix everything, add the kefir (yogurt) and garnish with parsley. Soup will be thick, but if you like thinner, it can be diluted with mineral water.

Pear Soup Some time ago a special diet "Little Black Dress Diet" was developed by Dr. Michael Van Straten. The idea of it was not to mix carbs and proteins. We will not discuss the usefulness of this diet from the nutritional point of view. However, according to psychologists, the effectiveness of the program built into its very name—the image of the lit-tle black dress— reduces any appetite. Anyway, the French chefs have cre-ated masterpieces that met the requirements of the new fancy diet. Here is one of them. We are not promoting the diet but introducing an exotic recipe. Ingredients: Pear (juicy) – 1.5 lbs. Celery – 2 stems Blue cheese (moldy) - 100 g (not very diety) Broth (vegetable) - 500 ml Cream (20% fat) - 220 ml (not very diety either) Lemon juice (half a lemon) Spices (pepper, salt to taste) Pomegranate (grains, for decoration) Recipe Peel and dice all the pears. Wash and chop the celery (leave leaves for decoration). Put both in the pot. Just cover them with water and cook for 15 minutes. When done cool the mix and grind it in a blender until creamy. Grate the cheese but save few pieces for decoration and mix with the puré. Boil the broth and add the entire just—made puré with cheese. Stirring, heat the soup until the cheese is melted. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Cool the soup and add whipped cream. Decorate with the celery leaves and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

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By Alla Vasserman P A R E N T I N T E R V I E W

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Anna Ashurov immigrated to the United States in 1999 with her family. She is married and has two daughters, Eliana (3 years old) and Cayla (5 months old). Anna holds a BBA in Finance from Baruch College and currently works in a credit restructuring group at Barclays Capi-tal. She is a 3rd year part-time law student, editor of our Mazel newslet-ter and an active member in the community. She says that she has enough time for all her activities. Let’s meet this super woman!

AV: Anna, our traditional question is: why Mazel? What do you like about the school and what you do not? Are you considering the school for your younger daughter?

I grew up in a family of academics and education of our children is one of the most important things to me and my husband. Eliana started her day care experience in a typical Russian day care, and although it was just pre-nursery, I was not satisfied with the program at all. I started looking for other day cares and to my fortune, a friend of mine recommended Mazel. I had a meeting with Chani and the rest of the staff and immediately fell in love. I love everything about the school – from the educational curricu-lum to the yummy challah they prepare for shabbos. I already put Cayla on the waitlist – I’m not even joking!

AV: What are your expectations of your children’s Judaic and secular education?

I have really high expectations and so far, all of them have been met! I like the mixed approach and the fact that children are growing up knowing their traditions, but also get superb secular education.

AV: What kind of activities do you like to do with your older daughter? What activities do you think enrich her the most?

Eliana is a curious girl and she gets excited about any activity that we do together. Of course, reading books is one of our favorite, but also doing arts and crafts is some-thing that we truly enjoy. We have a book with applications that we made out of colored paper with her favorite char-acters, we collect stickers (a great way to make sure that all stickers are in one place, and not all over the house!) and we even try to knit, when I have time! Our latest project is creating a scrapbook with all of her arts and crafts from days in nursery class this year – she’s very excited about that.

AV: Tell us about most memorable moment of your school. What made you the student you have been?

I attribute all of my accomplishments to my teachers and my family, especially my grandfather, who was helping me

with homework up until my last days in high school. My teachers shaped me and made me the person I am today. The most memorable moment of my school days is the first day of school. My class was the first class in my school and we opened the door for other kids. I also rang the first bell – which made it even more special. Those that went to school in Russia may remember, as these days were the most sacred days for us as students.

AV: Please describe what is “a good teacher” means to you. Have you had such teacher in your life?

Yes, as mentioned above, all of my teachers were amaz-ing. But of course, my first teacher that taught me in the elementary school was one of the most important people in my life. A good teacher is the one that gives individual-ized attention to each child, understand each child sepa-rately and teaches children knowing their strengths and weaknesses. A good teacher is the one that cares about the progress of its students and goes beyond her call of duty to make a difference in her student’s life. I was lucky to have such teachers and professors throughout my edu-cational experience.

AV: What kind of job do you do? How do you see your career in the future?

I work as a restructuring officer in the workout group at Bar-clays Capital. In lay man terms, I work with troubled com-panies and come up with solutions on how to help the companies restructure and “get out of the mess” but at the same time manage and help to preserve the capital of the bank. I love what I do and will most likely leverage my law degree in the restructuring field in some way.

AV: Why did you decide to study law? How much time you spend studying every week? How do you plan to integrate your current profession with the jurisprudence? What is the most difficult thing for you in studying now?

I love studying (my husband is afraid I’ll go back for an MBA after I take the Bar exam, haha). But jokes aside, being busy keeps me structured and organized. I usually do not study in the evenings as I get home late from school, but try to study every weekend, usually early morning when kids (and husband) are sleeping. I’ve always wanted to go to law school and after taking the LSAT I did not want my score to go to waste and decided to go to law school part-time. The last 3 years have been the most interesting years of my life, but I do not regret it at all. I plan on using my law degree in the restructuring field, as knowing the Bankruptcy Code and the law of Secured Transactions is the most important knowledge to have when working with troubled companies that are on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. Knowing law definitely puts you a few steps ahead of your competitors and parties you negotiate with.

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By Alla Vasserman

months. When your schedule is a little bit more predictable, it makes it that much easier!

AV: When you are saying that being very busy and very organized keeps you on top of your goals, we understand the "busy" part. However, what does the "organized" part really mean? Timing yourself when working on a task? Having a reinforcement system handy? Scheduling? Fears?

Wow, great question. First of all, I am very cautious of deadlines and make sure I manage my time properly. I be-lieve it is all about time management and efficiency. To give you an example—studying in law school is very time consuming due to the tremendous amount of reading you have to do for each class (and you have to do it, because you may get called on in class). I do the week’s worth of reading on the weekends, but I also summarize my notes after each class, so that I keep up with my subject outline when the finals come around. This helps me to be pre-pared during the finals period and gives me an opportunity to study for the subject, rather than outlining and summariz-ing my notes in the last minute.

I have also worked out my own “task management” sys-tem. I am very big on making lists and crossing things off, based on deadlines and priorities. Prioritizing is also very important. And lastly, I love to delegate! Especially at work. I am a strong believer that you cannot do it all yourself—great leaders motivate people to work for them and with them. If you work on teams or have people work for you, it is always best to divvy up responsibilities, but make sure to follow up with your colleagues on the progress!

AV: How your family plans to spend the summer?

Not sure yet – we usually make last minute plans and go away for a week or two. Hopefully we can get away some-where warm and sunny!

Anna and her daughter Eliana during a “Me Bag” presentation for nursery class.

The most difficult thing in studying is managing time but also leaving enough time to spend with your children. I try to read when I have free time (during down time at work or on the train), so that I can still spend some quality time with kids. Glad I’m just a year away from getting my normal life back!

AV: How do you balance all the activities in your life? You are a very valuable member of our newsletter team. You missed only one issue due to the fact that the deadline of the newsletter overlapped with the due date of the birth of your daughter and your finals. Why do you need this extra-curricular unpaid activity as a plus to your busy schedule?

It’s all about time management. I like being busy, as it keeps me organized. I also like knowing that I’m making differ-ence. That is why I’m involved in so many different activities, including various organizations at Barclays, in the commu-nity, and of course at Mazel. Being involved at Mazel helps me stay connected to the community that my child is part of and where my daughter spends the largest part of the day. My dream is to retire young and spend my time work-ing with a non-profit organization that is close to my heart. I am hopeful that I am getting a step closer to my goal with each day that passes by!

AV: What was your hobby us a child? Do you have any now?

I love planning events and always have. I’ve always been involved, all my life. I love planning concerts, shows, work-shops, you name it. I was very active in school, at Baruch, in law school and even at Barclays.

At Barclays, I serve as a COO of the WiN (Women’s Internal Network) Development Committee and was a founder of two formal mentoring programs, for WiN and for Global Fi-nancial Risk Management department. I love mentoring women and helping them advance in their career through various networking and developmental opportunities. In 2010, I was selected as a finalist for a Women of the Year award at Barclays Capital in a Woman of Inspiration cate-gory (AV: selected out of 749 nominees in 27 countries) - and that just made me feel like I am making a difference. If you can call it a hobby—my passion is to promote gender diversity and inclusion on Wall Street.

AV. Do you have any tips to the Mazel moms who just gave birth and have to juggle everything at once like you do? What do you find the most challenging and most relaxing about having a new baby in your situation?

I love being a mom. It is of course challenging doing it all, but doing it right is even more challenging. My husband is a tremendous help and I wouldn’t have done it all without my husband and my family. I have a great support system. But as others would tell you about me, I love organization and make sure my children stick to the schedule from early

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MAZEL DAY SCHOOL 2901 - 2915 Brighton 6th St

Brooklyn, NY 11235

Phone: 718-368-4490

E-mail:

mazelnewsletter@gmail.com

We’re on the web! www.mazeldayschool.com

QUALITY RUSSIAN-JEWISH

PRIVATE SCHOOL

CARTOON OF THE MONTH A special note of appreciation to those parents who made gift donations to school over the past month… Melnikov family for donating a fun playhouse to PreNursery in honor of Gabriel's birthday... and Goloborodskiy family for contribut-ing two learning games to the Kindergarten in honor of Ariella's birthday. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Whether you want to give a gift to your child's class in honor of his/her birthday or just because... check out your class's online wish list of carefully selected items that will be greatly appreciated and used by your child's teachers.

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PICTURES

MAZEL DAY SCHOOL WALK-A-THON

Children celebrating the health month by participating in a school-wide Walk-A-Thon on the Boardwalk.