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Finding Strength in Community

Miss Cathy’s Book Reviews

Merrimack Valley Parent Page 3

In this Issue

Columns & Departments

4 Finding Strength in Community

6 Calendar of Events

7 Miss Cathy’s Book Reviews

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11 82nd StreetNewburyport, MA 01950

(978) 427-3676

Published by Merrimack Valley Parent, LLC

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©2021 Merrimack Valley Parent, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any mistakes in advertisements or editorial. Statements/opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect or represent those of this publication or its officers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, Merrimack Valley Parent, LLC disclaims all responsibility for omission and errors.

A NEW CREATIVE EXPERIENCE!!

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Believing in the “Give To Get” philosophy WAYS OF COLOR offers to challenged youth the opportunity to develop pre-vocational skills in a safe, supportive, predictable art studio environment. By “giving” their time in glass preparations for Make-At-Home Stained Glass Kits, students “get” to enjoy a myriad of art forms for free. Purchase of kits support the expansion of this thera-peutic program!!

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Mascot Books announces the release of You Can Do It, Chickadee, written by Maria Luisa Salcines and Maelia Salcines, with illustrations by Maria Ballarin.

Chickadee usually loves to play outside, but recently, she’s been feelingdiscouraged and sad. But through the help of family and friends, Chickadeeand others who face depression can begin to overcome their mental illnesstaking one step, two steps, three steps, four!

The mother/daughter co-writing team knows firsthand how difficult dealingwith depression can be.

“My daughter’s struggle with anxiety and depression is what inspired us towrite this book,” said Maria Luisa Sal-cines. “She IS Chickadee.”

You Can Do It, Chickadee uses vivid, person-centered, age-appropriatelanguage to describe the physical and emotional challenges brought on bydepression. By going through the slow and deliberate process of putting one foot in front of the other, Chickadee models resilience, patience, and self-compassion for children who can relate to her thoughts and feelings.

“In order to get through depression, you have to take things one day at a time, one step at a time. It isn’t easy, and we wanted that to come through in the book,” said Maria Luisa.

The book is aimed at helping children and parents to understand what depres-sion is and learn how to cope with the diagnosis.

“Our hope is that the book will encour-age children struggling with depression,” said Maria Luisa. “We also want to help parents to recognize the symptoms, which is the hardest thing about anxiety or depression.”

Maelia, who competes in beauty pag-eants, and is Miss Heart of Texas USA 2020, said that speaking publicly about her mental illness became a turning point in her recovery. It made her realize

her life purpose is to advocate for those struggling with depression and anxiety, and help end the stigma associated with mental illness.

“When asked what my greatest accom-plishment was, I said it was ‘overcoming my anxiety and depression,’” said Maelia, who won Miss Rio Grande Valley USA 2019. “That night I realized my journey had made me the strong woman I am today.”

Maelia is the co-founder of Mental Monarchs Inc., a nonprofit organization and blog dedicated to spreading aware-ness and knowledge in hope to end the stigma of mental illness.

Maria Luisa Salcines is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in newspa-pers and magazines. She is the author of Little Things Remembered, a collec-tion of stories on love, parenting, and cultural identity, and co-author of Mag-gie’s Visit to the Playroom, Play Time for Molly, Matt’s in Trouble Again, and Matt Otra Vez en Problemas. These children’s books discuss play therapy, filial therapy, and school counseling. Maria Luisa is a certified parent educator and parent coach with The Academy of Parenting Education and Coaching in Redirecting Children’s Behavior and Redirecting for a Cooperative Classroom.

For information regarding You Can Do It, Chickadee, please contact [email protected].

You Can Do It, Chickadee is registered with Ingram, Baker & Taylor, the Ameri-can Wholesale Book Company, Follett Library Resources, and is available online with Barnes & Noble, Bam! Books a Million and Mascot Books

Mascot Books is a multi-genre hybrid publisher and distributor headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Cofounded in 2003 by Naren Aryal, Mascot has published more than 2,500 books in a variety of genres,including fiction, nonfiction, children’s, cookbooks, and coffee table books. Learn more at www.mascot-books.com.

New Children’s Book ‘You Can Do It, Chickadee’

Helps Shine a Light on Depression

Maria Luisa Salcines and Maelia Salcines Illustrated by Maria Ballarin

Merrimack Valley Parent Merrimack Valley Parent Page 5

Jim Loscutoff’s

Our 47th Year Providing a WonderfulCamping Experience for Boys & Girls

in a Natural Forest Setting.

www.campevergreen.com166 Jenkins Road, Andover, MA

978-475-2502This camp complies with the regulations of the M.D.P.H. & is licensed by the Andover Board of Health

2 Pools • Softball • Tennis • Archery• Boating & More!!

Door to DoorTransportation

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Summer Day CampNow Accepting Applications

Ages 4.5 to 14

Celebrating 56 Years of Providing a Wonderful Camping Experience for

Boys & Girls in a Natural Forest Setting2 Pools • Softball • Tennis • Archery • Boating

Horseback Riding • Drama • Arts & Crafts & More! Door to Door Transportation

April Vacation CampSummer Day Camp

Now Accepting Applications • Ages 4.5 to 14

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Ages 4.5 to 14




Jim Loscutoff’s









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978-475-2502

This camp complies with the regulations of the M.D.P.H. & is licensed by the Andover Board of Health

> New Merrimack Valley Hours! Our beautiful, convenient Haverhill Office has new evening hours.

> New Patients! Now accepting new patients. Call 978-373-6557 today for your new patient consultation.

> New Services! Lactation consultation now available.

> Meet our two newest doctors! Celeste Dunn, MD attended Georgetown University Medical School and completed her residency at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children.

Alta Tusini, MD attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency in Salt Lake City.

> Check out our blog for information important to your child’s health and wellbeing.

www.chcmass.com facebook.com/chcmass

Haverhill (978) 373-6557 600 Primrose St, Suite 200, Haverhill, MA 01830

Newburyport (978) 465-7121 257 Low Street, Newburyport, MA 01950

We’re here for you.

Visit our website and enroll today: andover.edu/summeradvantage

IS YOUR CHILD RUSTY FROM A YEAR OF HYBRID OR REMOTE LEARNING? Phillips Academy’s new two-week in-person refresher courses

are designed to bridge the gap and set your child up for

academic success this fall. Day classes for rising 7th- through

12th-graders will be held August 2–13. Enrollment is now open.

SSad 4.675x10.8 (MVP) 21v6.indd 1 3/24/21 2:26 PM

When Dr. Scott Peck wrote The Road Less Traveled, he believed we should live honestly, spiritually, and with integrity. Two decades after the release of his book, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond, he still felt strongly about these things, but where he once saw

that there were two sides to a ques-tion, he could now see that there were five or six.

Where he used to praise indepen-dence he now realized the importance of community, and he now stressed interdependence.

At work, in our marriage and while we are raising our children, we are all involved in each other’s lives.

This is why it is important to raise our children to be decent, hardworking, honest members of a community.

Peck believes that, “True communica-tion, like the charity it requires, begins at home.” Unless we are taught the ba-sic principal of community in our own homes, we won’t know what interact-ing and cooperating in a community feels like.

“In America,” Peck said, “we have always prized independence, because we fear dependency. We’re afraid to feel that we can’t be whole or happy without the attention or involvement of others.”

Yet he believes that in a very funda-mental way we are interdependent. There are certain times when we need each other to provide the things we lack. “When thinking with integrity, we must accept that we are connected to the fabric of family, society and cre-ation. Our lives are a collaboration—a laboring together.”

It’s impossible to be married, to work and live in a community without accepting that we exist in relation to others.

Whenever I give a parenting work-shop, regardless of the economic circumstances of the participants, their race, or their educational backgrounds everyone has the same doubts and fears about raising their children.

When we read about youth in our community being abused, involved with gangs or drugs, we should be asking ourselves why this is happening and what we can do to help.

When we live our lives believing that things that occur outside our home do not affect our family, we are kidding ourselves.

Everything that happens in our world, not just in the city we live in, affects our lives.

Everyone has individual goals and dreams. There will be times that, in order to reach them, we must journey alone, but once we reach our goals, if we find ourselves alone without the nurturing of a society. Our journey will not mean the same.

Dr. Peck believes, “It is the return of the individual to the nurturing society from the peaks he or she has traveled along which serves to elevate that society to new heights.”

A community is a group of people from different races, political, and religious backgrounds that come to-gether to share their fears, talents and strengths.

“Out of the strength of community, we are all called to be individuals of in-tegrity.” Dr. Peck wrote in The Different Drum. If we raised our children with this in mind what a different society we would live in.

Maria Luisa Salcines is a freelance writer, author, and certified parent coach with The Academy of Parenting Education and Coaching in Redirecting Children’s Behavior and Redirecting for a Coopera-tive Classroom. Follow her on Instagram @mlsalcinespoweroffamily, @youcan-doitchickadee or contact her on her blog FamilyLifeAndFindingHappy.com.

Finding Strength in CommunityBy Maria Luisa Salcines

Miss Cathy’s

Children’s Books Reviews By Cathy A. Morrow

I LOVE BOOKS

These books were generously provided by Jabberwocky Bookshop , Newburyport

Jabberwockybookshop.com

Page 6 Merrimack Valley Parent Merrimack Valley Parent Page 7

Spring is finally here! Just as the seasons change throughout our lives, so too do other things. Among the things that change are the feelings that we have and share with others. Whether our hearts are happy or sad, excited or upset, just like the seasons, our hearts and our moods change. This month I am sharing two books that demon-

strate all those changes we experience, regardless of our age.JABBERWOCKY BOOKSHOP is now OPEN! Entrance is only through the front door. However, if there is a book you

would like, you may still order it from the Jabberwocky Bookshop and have it mailed directly to you.

GOODBYE WINTER, HELLO SPRING

Written and Illustrated by Kenard Pak

Goodwin Book, Henry Holt ad Company, Publishers

Best for Ages 3 and up

A young boy and his dog travel together. They witness all the wonders around them with awe. As they journey they greet each presence they encounter. “Hello, snow.” ... The snow answers him: “Hello. From high up in the sky.” “Good morn-ing, orange-soaked hills.” ... “Good morning! We glow at dawn.” The season gradually changes from winter to spring with it’s rebirth. “Hello, bud-

ding flowers.” ... The new flow-ers answer: “Hello! Our petals blossom.”

This is a simple story that helps make us aware of so many things around us that happen in nature. Illustrations are gentle watercolor and pencil that de-pict the whimsical feeling of the boy’s excursion.

Terry Teddy and I give this book -- -- three paws up

IN MY HEART~A BOOK ABOUT FEELINGS

Written by Jo Witek Illustrations by Christine RousseyAbrams Appleseed, an Imprint of

Abrams, Publishers[Originally published by de La Mar-tiniere, A Division of La Martiniere

Groups, Paris]Best for Ages 2 and up

A sweet little girl talks about all of the different characteristics of her heart. She experiences so many distinctive feelings and compares them to familiar objects. She states that her heart is like a house with so many feelings living inside of it. Sometimes her heart is like a bright shining star, this is when she is happy. When she is angry, it feels

like her heart is going to explode. There are times when her heart is like a big elephant, it feels heavy. This is when she feels sad. Fortu-nate-ly, there are other times when her heart is full of giggles, when she is silly.

This is a charming book, filled with adorable and funny illustrations. This book is also a useful book for children. It just might help them to understand and express how their heart is feeling to other children and adults in their lives

Terry Teddy and I give this book -- -- four paws up.

Merrimack Valley Calendar of Events

AprilFriday, April 2

TEEN TAKE & CREATEApril 2, 2021 | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Teen Take & Create craft kits will be given out the first Friday of every month. Stay tuned for a new, fun craft every month!

It’s the first Friday of the month. That means a new Teen Take & Create craft kit!Grades: 6-12 only. Spring is here! Whether it is sunny and (somewhat) warm, or rainy

(and hopefully no more snow), we are going to celebrate the new season with fairy light mason jars! Using mason jars and some glow-in-the-dark paint, you’ll

have a fun piece of decoration to enjoy all spring and summer long! Materials will be included in the kit. All you need is about

30-60 minutes to complete your fairy light mason jar! When can I pick up a teen Take & Create Kit? The fairy light mason jar kits will be available while supplies last at the Patio Pickup Area, located on the Harris

Street side of the library, from 9:30am-4:30pm. Pickups will be contact free, one

person at a time.Please respect social distancing guidelines

and wear a mask when approaching the patio pickup window.

Newburyport Public Library

Saturday, April 10WIRE ORGANIzER CRAFT (AGES 10-18)Teens and tweens, if you’re tired of your

wires getting tangled, this craft is for you. Learn how to make a wire organizer out of clothespins and glue. Clothespins and

instructions will be available at the Nevins Memorial Library while supplies last. Find

the video that shows how to make this wire organizer on the Nevins Memorial

Library YouTube channel, the Nevins Teens Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Discord, and the Nevins Children’s Facebook page.

Date: Saturday Apr 10, 2021 Contact:Alison Cochrane acochrane@nevinsli-

brary.org Nevings Library, Methuen

thursday, April 15ONLINE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FOR

TEENSPlay D&D with us online via Roll20 and Dis-cord. No RPG (role-playing game) experi-

ence is necessary. Open for teens in grades 6 - 12.Please note the new time!

Email Anna to get information on how to join the game.

Date: Thursday Apr 15, 2021Time: 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM Contact:

Anna Tschetter [email protected] Hall Library, Andover

thursday, April 29POEM IN MY POCKET DAY

(MAKE AND TAKE)Celebrate Poem in My Pocket Day by mak-

ing a pocket sized book! Pick up a folder from the front of the library which will

contain a poem and some supplies and in-structions to create a illustrated mini-book of the poem. Not all kits will have the same

poem and you can use your imagination of how you want to illustrate it! Recom-

mended for K - 6th grade, but all ages are welcome! No registration required, but

day may change due to weather!Date: Thursday Apr 29, 2021Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Contact:Clare Dombrowski (978) 388-8148 x 4

[email protected]:

Amesbury Public Library: In front of the library

Please send any events you would like considered for the Calendar of Events to

[email protected]

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