Fairy Tales

Check out what we have been up to this week...

Introductions and Warm-Ups with Ellen


Creating Images from Fairy Tales (Peter Pan)


Goldilocks and the Three Bears


Little Red Riding Hood (Final Scene)

Summertime

Beach, vacation, swimming, friends, Six Flags, Disney World, traveling, sunshine, camp, no school. When brainstorming our theme on Monday these were some of the responses. Once up on their feet, the children created frozen and moving images of the beach. This developed into a story. I will not reveal the story yet because I don't want to spoil Friday's sharing. I will say this...imaginations are running wild! It has been really interesting working with two groups this week. We have children in K/1st in one group and 2nd through 4th in another group. Quite naturally both groups have blended together seamlessly and are working collaboratively to create one performance piece. It is a very passionate group with lots of creative energy. Ellen and I have been working with them to create an ensemble. They are learning how to listen and share. They are being supportive and learning to understand each other in rehearsals and in free play.
Each week it is amazing to see the group coming together. Wednesday is usually a magical day. Things start to happen. Trust builds. Friendships form. Disagreements occur too. People reveal emotion more freely. Excitement about the sharing begins to brew. That magic happened today. It culminated in a tie dye and sprinkler extravaganza in the park. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Flying Carpet

If you had a flying carpet and could go anywhere, where would you go?
Treasure Island
Monster Land
France for Kids Only
India
Over the Rainbow
A Place Where There Was No Money and No Homework
The Caribbean

This week we have been playing with visiting and exploring these places with our 5 senses and our imagination.

Yesterday, Murat Ozcan, came in and shared the art of Shadow Theater with the children. It was magical. The children learned about how to make their shadows larger and smaller and how their gestures and movements could tell magnificent stories with shadows.

Community

We followed up our week on Friendship with a week of Community. At the Friendship Parade, children gave gifts to the Tree. They presented the Tree with flowers and plants which we then planted during our Community week. Carolynn came by on Tuesday morning and the children worked hard to prepare the tree bed for the planting. The soil was very hard and had lots of trash in it. We cut the weeds, cleaned the bed, and tilled the soil. It was tough work but it was done with great hope and enthusiasm. We even sang as we worked. We sang Friendship and Together Wherever We Go of course! Our Tree loves show tunes. And then we planted... petunias, thyme, a ba-da-bing rose (yes, that is its REAL name), and black-eyed Susans. We put down compost and mulch to give these young flowers and herbs healthy soil to grow in. Each day the children water the tree bed. When asked how planting around the tree bed builds community the responses were:
"It makes people happy because it is beautiful."
"Our garden inspired other people to go home and plant their own gardens."
"It reminds people to take care of trees and not litter or let dogs pee on them."
That's community!

Friendship

This week our theme has been Friendship. When asked what friendship is the children responded that it was a celebration, sharing, playing, love, and being kind to each other. On Friday at 2 PM we will be having a Friendship parade to celebrate!

Guest Artists

This has been a rich and lively week. The children have immersed themselves in the world of jazz. They are humming a tisket-a-tasket, talking about Charlie Parker and the Cotton Club, and "skatting" like pros. They are true improvisors. We had some wonderful guests come in to share their music with us. Pyeng Threadgill is a professional jazz artist and voice teacher. She was instrumental in bringing this week to life. She shared her passion and understanding of jazz with all of us. Carolynn Murphy also joined us this week. Carolynn is multi-faceted. She is an environmental educator and a jazz artist. She brings all of her talents to share with YPT this summer. Celia Caro is the visual teaching artist who has worked with the children this week. Chances are you have heard about Celia. The children adore her. She brings our performance work to another level by giving the children interesting materials to create art with that deepen their exploration of the theme. All of us work collaboratively and discuss the needs of the individual children and the ensemble as a whole. Our mission is the same. We want to provide the children the tools to explore, connect, discover, express, and create.

Summer Arts Program Week 3: JAZZ AND POETRY

Teaching Artist Pyeng Threadgill conducts the A-train. Children put on their fancy threads and pack a picnic lunch and head down south to Mississippi and Louisiana to listen and feel the jazz of the early 20th century. Then they make their way back to Harlem, New York City and sizzle to Charlie "Bird" Parker on his sax.





Celia, our visual artist came in and talked to us about Kandinsky and how listening to Jazz inspired him to paint. He was an improvisor. The children created art in Kandinsky's style and listened to Jazz an made art. They used crayons, creamy crayons, water to create a wash with the creamy crayons, and finally water color. It was magnificent watching them work together and create discover new way to use the materials. They listed to Thelonious Monk, Tito Puente, Herbie Hancock, and Duke Ellington. Some expressed how their moods, feelings, and rhythms changed with the different music and how this affected how they drew or painted.