Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
Are you caught up in too much busy-ness already, with fall just having officially begun? Try adding more connection to your life in the month of November with the Bedford Families Unplugged Together calendar. Based on a program started in Needham by Jon Mattleman and the Needham Youth Commission in March 2002, Bedford Unplugged Together hopes to remind people that life holds more than what is on the other end of a plug, be it a computer, a television screen, or a phone.
Initiated by the Bedford Community Partnership in October 2004 and supported by the Bedford Selectmen and Bedford Public Schools, Bedford Families Unplugged Together boasts a month long calendar of various activities families can do together without electricity and that emphasize person-to-person interaction.
Bedford Community Partnership’s purpose is to promote, collaborate, and partner strategies that effectively nurture the physical, sociological, and emotional health of Bedford children and families across generations. Organizations represented in the Partnership include: Bedford Selectmen ■ Bedford School Committee ■ Bedford Public Schools ■ Bedford Youth & Family Services ■ Bedford Council on Aging ■ Bedford Police Department ■ Bedford Fire Department ■ Bedford Recreation Department ■ Bedford Health Department ■ BEST Parent Teacher Organization ■ Middle School Parent Association ■ Bedford High School Parent Association ■ Bedford Clergy Association ■ Bedford Chamber of Commerce ■ Middlesex Community College ■ Bedford TV ■ Bedford Education Foundation ■ Bedford Rotary
For more information or to share ideas contact 781-275-7727 or visit www.bedfordma.gov/youth
Unplugged Night – Wednesday, November 19
The capstone of the month is Wednesday, November 19th, when Bedford Public School students will have no homework, evening sports, or required activities and the School and Town will have no required evening meetings. Parents are encouraged to be home for dinner and families can have a night off from their respective “daily grinds” for engagement and fun. The School Committee has arranged for the no homework and no sports while the Selectmen have asked all Town boards and committees to reschedule any of those meetings that might have originally occurred on that Wednesday night. “We sent a letter to all the other community groups asking them to postpone or reschedule meetings from November 19th,” reported Sue Baldauf, director of Bedford Youth and Family Services, coordinator of the Unplugged event on behalf of Bedford Community Partnership. Baldauf reported only positive responses to the request to postpone or reschedule a night meeting.
Unplugged Events – Scheduled, or DIY
Bedford Youth and Family Services has compiled a terrific list of events to celebrate Unplugged Month. Click 2014 Unplugged Events to view or print the list.
The Bedford Families Unplugged calendar for the month of November with some suggested and special activities listed can be downloaded here: Unplugged Activities 2014
New this year: An optional blank calendar with a separate list of possible activities so families can make their own. Click to view or print your own Unplugged DIY Calendar.
Unplug in the Spring!
In fact due to the success of the program another Unplugged day is scheduled again this school year for March 4, 2015 with the full support of the Selectmen and School Committee. “Providing respite from our daily, in too many instances, over-scheduled routines just once a year yields little likelihood of making a lasting impression,” according to Bedford Public School Superintendent Jon Sills. “Hopefully making Bedford Unplugged a bi-annual event will create greater opportunities for reflection or family time or face to face recreation.”
Questions?
If you have questions about the program or would like more information, contact Youth and Family Services at 781-275-7727.
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