Field Trip to Cirque de Vol

We went on a fabulous field trip to a local Cirque de Vol to learn more about the arts of a traditional cirque theatre.  You can find out more about them here.  It was more than just watching them perform though.  They also told us their stories which made the time really special.  

Like this man who finished high school but didn't really know what he wanted to do.  He spent several years traveling around the country and eventually becoming a part of a circus group.  He became good at juggling and was fascinated by juggling as it is all math.  He is now working on a PhD in some field of math that was really impressive - but I don't remember exactly what it was.  (Clearly not my field, right!)  

We were able to see a variety of performers who each shared their skills, told their story of how they came to be involved in this art and also took questions from the group.  They did this performance just for our group!  

The aerial silks are fascinating!

We saw a hooping demonstration too.  This is similar to a hula hoop but of a heavier weigh so that they can do much more with it.

Another story we heard was from this gal who was in a prestigious business position which she left to do something she loves.  She also shared that this jobs gives her the flexibility to help care for a loved one that she would not have had with a traditional job.

My little sassy one loved the poses that were struck when the performers were on the silks.  One of my friends caught this pose.

More hooping.  She was able to twirl this hoop around the bun on her head!  Truly amazing skills these performers have!

Here are 4 of the performers that we saw.

And a picture of our group at the end of the show.

If anyone is local, this group offers a lot of classes for both adults and children.

We loved this morning outing where we were able to experience an old world, European circus type of performance.  What a treat that there are so many great things to do in our area!

I hope you are enjoying your week!

Blessings
Leslie

Before FIAR co-op: Goodnight Moon

This is a catch-up post, but its still really appropriate for any time of the year, right?  Our co-op group met to have fun with the classic children's book Goodnight Moon.  What a delight to walk into a room remade ... into the "great green room".  Look at the pictures on the wall.

 And the red balloon!

 So many fun details from the story captured in the decorations!  It was so much fun.

 We started with a devotional and reading of the story.  Then it was time for some games.  One of the first ones involved a big pile of mittens and gloves.  Each child took a turn looking through the pile to find a matching pair.

 My youngest silly one found a pair of mittens and then put them on ... her feet!  LOL

One of the pictures on the wall is of a cow jumping over the moon.  We took time to read the entire poem that this came from and then had the children act out some of the fun parts of the rhyme - like the cow jumping over the moon.  

We also played a memory game using pictures from the story.

The children all do a wonderful job waiting and taking turns.  Some of them were really good at remembering where the cards were too!

Then it was snack time.  Yum!

The "moon cheese" were the round balls (you can see them on the table below).

 The "mush" was rice pudding.

 Next, they learned more about the moon.  Daniel came with me this day and was a great helper.  Below they are talking about the different phases/shapes of the moon and what causes this.

 For craft time, they made their own moons.  They could cut the round plate into any of the moon shapes/phases that they wanted and glue it on the paper.  Then they painted it with glow in the dark paint!!!  Isn't that a fabulous idea!!!

 They also added stars to their pictures.  They turned out really cute!

 Our sweet hostess invited us all to stay for a delicious lunch and play time which was fun for everyone!

This is such a fun group and a precious group of moms and children.  I'm thankful to be a part of it and my heart is happy to see Eliana participating with them too!

Our next co-op will be on the ABC Bunny and I'll post more on that after we've met.  

Blessings,

Leslie

Shakespeare co-op 4, 5 and 6

I combined the pictures from our last three co-op meetings while we were studying Shakespeare - A Comedy of Errors.  During this meeting we had two topics - apothecaries and Greek myths.    

The students learned about various characters and the myths surrounding them.

They matched the pictures with the stories.

This was a film online about apothecaries of the renaissance.

Smelling various herbs which are used to treat a variety of sicknesses and maladies.

The students each made their own sore throat soothers with lemon, honey and ginger.

Hoping we won't have need of these this year (a girl can hope, right?), but will be thankful to have them if the need arises.

Then they played a game to find out how much they knew about various herbs.

Each card had a question with a small description of what that herb could do.  They then tried to match it up with the list that they had on a piece of paper.  They could look inside to see the answer.

There were 2 stations set up and the girls and boys rotated through both of them.

After our lesson, we enjoyed a delightful lunch of comfort foods - chicken lemon rosemary soup with cheese and garlic bread.  

Next up is our 5th meeting of the Shakespeare co-op.  We were fortunate to have an artist in residence from a local theatre, David McClutchey.  He taught the children about stage combat.    Oct 31:  Playmaker's artist in residence, David McClutchey: stage combat and staging Comedy of Errors  (S. Regional Library)

Nov 14:  Performance day!  Location TBA.

They learned how to make fighting look more realistic without actually hurting!

Things like a slap, hair pulling and a punch.  He also told stories from some of the performances that he had been a part of which was quite entertaining.

And weapons!  Lots of different weapons are used in plays.  The students were able to learn about some of them and hold them too.  (But not practice with them!  LOL)

It was a fabulous morning with a wonderful teacher!  So thankful for this opportunity!

He also helped with staging on some of the scenes from A Comedy of Errors.

For out last meeting, it was time to perform.  We did not do the entire play, but rather some key scenes from the different acts.

We had a great time watching and participating.

This is quite a funny play and some of the students really got into their parts!

They ALL did a super job and it was a really great learning experience.

Rebecca even stepped in to play a part for one of our missing students.

Um, and Eliana adding some comic relief in there too.

Great job to everyone!  To the two moms that spearheaded all of the teaching and lessons and to the delightful group of students!

This was a really fun semester studying Shakespeare.  It has opened my eyes to new things and made me want to learn more!  I love that I'm learning along with my children.  God is good.

I hope you are having fun and learning new things too!  We are never too old to stop learning and appreciating new things.

Blessings
Leslie