Greetings from Paul - Worlds Connect @ Your Library
Jugglers, Jesters, & Fools
Connecting Cultures through Skill Toys
Adult Workshops - Connecting to Our Inner Child!
Summer Update - It's Not Too Late
Next week is National Library Week. This year's theme is Worlds Connect @ Your Library. After some reflection, I realized that many worlds also connect through play. My first experience with play was perhaps a game of peek-a-boo. As a toddler I stacked blocks, filled pails, and moved trucks. I would play fetch with my dog, hide and seek with my brother, or climb a tree as I got older. Tween years brought me neighborhood games of kickball, capture the flag, and my first Atari. At 16, I learned to juggle.
I have come to understand that all these forms of play allowed me the opportunity to interact and better understand the world around me. More importantly though, it provided me an opportunity to explore my thoughts and ideas. My sense of self. My internal world. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to engage in and share play. Whether it's teaching an otherwise quiet child to twist a balloon for a friend, bringing kids from different walks of life together to juggle, or reminding adults the joy and satisfaction of learning a new skill, I get to see individuals discover themselves and their worlds through play.I hope you find time to play a little every day. Your inner child will thank you. Paul
Jugglers, Jesters, & Fools: Did you know that juggling has been documented on the walls of Ancient Egyptian tombs and the ceramic vases of Ancient Greece? Juggling has a rich history that reflects important global trends in the arts, trade, and cultural exchange. Sixth grade students at Voyager Academy in Durham, NC recently had the opportunity to learn first hand the skills needed to be jesters during the Middle Ages and Renaissance when we visited this winter. We love teaching juggling workshops in social studies classrooms because games and toys are a wonderful way to peak students' interest about history.
We are currently booking workshops for Spring and Fall 2009. Contact Dawn at dawn@flowcircus.com or (919) 604-3462 for more information.
Connecting Cultures through Skill Toys: 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.
Adult Workshops - Connecting to Our Inner Child! This winter we conducted several different juggling and skill toy workshops for YMCA Camp Directors and North Carolina Librarians. Adults tend to enter these workshops in a few different ways. Most come in excited and ready to play - we are talking about camp directors & librarians!! There are usually a few adults that are a little more hesitant, but as soon as they get their hands on the props the reservations disappear. Heart rates go up, smiles break out across faces, squeals of delight sound, and the group of adults are transformed into joyful kids again.
Whether using juggling, skill toys, or balloon twisting, we can customize professional development sessions to meet a wide range of objectives. Over and over we have seen that when engaged in play, barriers come down and groups become more open. More information about our professional development sessions can be found on our website.
Summer Update - It's Not Too Late: Visit our blog for our summer calendar. Juggling, Magic, and Balloon Twisting Camps - Our camps at Cary Academy Summer Quest are filling up fast. If you are planning on registering your child, visit the Summer Quest website today.
Be Creative - There are limit slots still available for summer library performances and workshops. Contact Dawn at dawn@flowcircus.com or (919) 604-3462 to book Flow Circus for your library.
Share this Newsletter: If you know of a library, school, or after school program that may benefit from a Flow Circus program, please forward this email or send them to www.FlowCircus.com
Thank you.
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