Flow Circus is currently conducting a six visit residency at the Chapel Hill High School's Newcomer Student Center. The center provides 21 high school and 15 middle school ESL students with a smaller classroom environment to help with the transition to US language and culture. The majority of the students are refugees from Burma and have spent time in Thai refugee camps before coming to the US. The English language skills of the students range, but they all understand the language of play!
So far we have introduced juggling, flower sticks, diabolo, and yo-yo. It has been wonderful to see the expression of joy and accomplishment as students get the basic flow of the prop or master new tricks. The objective of our residency which was arranged by the Durham Arts Council is to provide the students with a hands-on activity that will allow them to be creative, build self-esteem, and provide a new tool to create cross-cultural interaction with other students at the school. We are looking forward to an upcoming session when the students are going to introduce us to the Burmese game of Chinlon - a game in which a woven rattan ball must be kept off the ground at all times and hit over a net using only ones head, legs, and feet.
Skill toys provide a fun, playful way to engage all students in a discussion about history and culture. For more information about skill toys visit our website.
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