Day: March 10, 2017

This summer, Montserrat College of Art is offering Youth S.T.E.A.M. week-long camps that will run July 10 through Aug. 4 at Montserrat’s downtown building, 248 Cabot St., Beverly, MA. These flexible, partial, or full-day opportunities for youth in grades 3-8 offer hands-on learning in a safe, supervised environment, led by professional faculty from educational institutions on the North Shore and beyond. Students are welcome to attend for more than one session. www.montserrat.edu/summer/

S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) classes incorporate creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and presentation. The program will be offered in lower school and upper school groupings: students in grades 3-5 will be together and students in grades 6-8 will be together. Students may choose their own courses, up to three each day. Class subjects include Cartooning, Collage, Crazy for Chemistry, Digital Photography, Drawing, Eco-Art, Geometry and Art, Horticulture, iPhoneography, Jewelry Making, Junk Box Creations, Magical Media, Nature Crafts, Painting, Sculpting with Nature, Sculpture and T-Shirt Design.

Course offerings will be: morning, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., mid-day, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m., and afternoon, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Supervised brown bag lunch and pre and after school sessions will also be offered so parents can be assured their children are in good hands all day. At the end of each session, student work will be on view in a group exhibition for families to view and celebrate. Pricing is $100 per five-day class, or $265 for a full-day, five-day per week of classes.

For more information about the offered courses, instructors or to register, visit: www.montserrat.edu/summer/ or contact Montserrat’s STEAM Director Eric Moore at steamcamp@montserrat.edu or 978.921.4242 x1717. Moore is a member of the Art Education faculty at Montserrat who has been teaching Visual Art to kids of all ages for more than 19 years.

Our home is officially for sale.

I’m not sure that making the decision to leave the house that you brought your two young children home to if ever an easy choice….and it certainly hasn’t been for us….but, it seems like it is time.

We love this little slice of paradise and it has been absolutely perfect for us for many years…sadly, we know if would be absolutely perfect for us several years from now as well…but, I’m not sure we can ride the storm for the decade or so in between.  Our boys are getting older…and bigger….and so is their stuff.

Even as I type this post, I remember carrying both boys over the threshold for the very first time and my heart breaks just a little bit.  First smiles, first words, first steps, one split forehead in the front yard and the six stitches that resulted, birthday parties, barbecues, puppies, and saying good-bye to three grown dogs….so much has happened here.  Good news, bad news, smiles, tears, laughs, fears, nerves, hopes, dreams, nightmares, little plans, big plans. Us.

Piles of sand from Old Garden Beach have been rinsed off in the yard and the quiet street has watched the boys grow from strollers, to radio flyers, to little bikes, bigger bikes, roller blades, and even an ATV.

Is it possible to not be ready at all…and to be more ready than ever….all at the same time? Because that is kind of how I feel.  If I stop and think of all of the Christmases, I may have to remove the For Sale sign from the front yard.

So, our precious little house is officially on the market and is even having an Open House tomorrow at 12:00.  If you stop by, check out the threshold to the kitchen that shows how the boys have grown over the years…it is kind of crazy.

If you know of anyone who wants a perfect little home by the beach, in the very best of neighborhoods, with great outdoor living….to begin their own history in….or to downsize and live a simple, happy life…. please share the word.

3 Smith Road, Rockport MA.  12:00 – 1:30.  Go say “hello” to Kim Jylkka Lorden from RE/MAX at the Coast and then spend the afternoon checking out the sweetest little seaside town you have ever seen.