Flow Circus Skill Toy Museum: 19th Century Diabolo

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latest featured item from the Flow Circus Skill Toy Museum* is a 19th Century diabolo. Many of you have played with a yo-yo. Now imagine a bigger yo-yo that can actually come off the string. Players move two hand sticks connected by a string in order to get the toy to spin. Once spinning, it can fly off the string, jump over body parts, and do other tricks. Some players even juggle two or three on one string.

From the Flow Circus Skill Toy Museum: Flores Yo-Yo

Starting this month, we are going to bring you a featured item from the Flow Circus Skill Toy Museum. The museum doesn't physically exist yet, but we have been collecting vintage skill toys over the last few years and wanted to start sharing them. The first item captures the story of a toy and an entrepreneur. The yo-yo has a long rich history dating back as far as 500 BC. Vases from Ancient Greece depict children playing with the toy and a few terra cotta yo-yos from that time still exist. The yo-yo was played on several continents throughout its history, but this story of this yo-yo starts in the Philippines.

Grounded for Good - Book Trailer Contest

In Grounded for Good, the debut book of author Dawn Daria, Derek Dawson is forced to "volunteer" at a local library as punishment for a prank he pulls on the last day of eighth grade. A colorful crew of kids and a librarian unlike any other adult Derek knows help him uncover hidden talents including juggling and performing.

Flow Circus Press wants to help readers tap into their hidden talents this summer and Own The Night! The winning entry will win juggling equipment for the creators and their public library. It's simple - create a book trailer for Grounded for Good and enter it in our contest by August 17th. If the trailer is selected, the team members will each get a signed copy of the book and a set of juggling balls. Their library wins a Flow Circus Juggling Kit which contains instructional materials, 20 sets of juggling balls, and other juggling equipment. Your library will have what it needs to start a juggling club that can meet throughout the year. For more information about the kit contents, visit our Teen Kit page.

Grounded for Good - Now Available

Grounded for Good, the debut book by Flow Circus Education Director Dawn Daria, is now available in paperback. Visit Flow Circus Press for more information on how to purchase it or download the e-book.

 

Sleeping late. Hanging with friends. Freedom.
Ah, Summer…
Derek Dawson couldn’t wait to finish middle school. Unfortunately, a heroic attempt to impress his classmates on the last bus ride home sends him right back to the principal’s office. He’s been in trouble before, but nothing like this.

Working for free. Musty books. Grounded.
Summer Ruined!
Derek’s summer leaves him stuck at home, working at the family store, and “volunteering” at a library. Torture, until he meets a colorful crew of kids in the next town that help him uncover his hidden talents. Will Derek finally be able to prove to his parents that he’s more than just a trouble-maker?

I’ve never fit in before. Football’s not my thing, video games aren’t my thing.
But now…now I’ve found my thing.

New Skill Toy Loaner Kit Available for 2012

Last spring, Flow Circus offered a Skill Toy Kit Giveaway to interested libraries looking for innovative tween/teen programming. We were amazed by the over 300 entries! We wish we could have given away kits to more people. As a result, we have decided to create a Skill Toy Kit Loaner Program for public and school libraries for 2012.

• Twelve libraries in the continental US will be selected to host the Skill Toy Kit for 1 month each.


• The only cost to host libraries will be shipping the kit to the next location on the last day of the month (approximate cost $20-50).


• Interested libraries should complete this form by December 2nd.


• The sites selected to host the loaner kit will be contacted by December 9th.

The Skill Toy Kit includes 20 skill toys, instructional materials, and a program guide to help you run skill toy sessions at your library. For more information about the Skill Toy Kit and its contents, visit www.FlowCircus.com/teenkits or contact Dawn@FlowCircus.com.

Summer Reading Program Kicks-off!

Flow Circus kicked-off Summer Reading Programs in Alabama & North Carolina with a new performance One Toy, Many Stories and the hands-on tween/teen workshop Skill Toys from Around the World.

Paul's 2011 SRP performance includes some old favorites like his 5 ball juggling routine, but also incorporates fun new routines. As always, the audience helps to create a unique show every time!

To see more pictures from our tours, visit our Photo Gallery. We look forward to bringing Flow Circus performances and workshops to libraries in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, & Connecticut throughout the summer months. Keep up with our tour schedule by becoming a fan of on our Facebook Page.

 

Flow Circus Kids - Skill Toys from Around the World

FlowCircusKids.com - A New, Free Resource: As the summer quickly approaches, we wanted to share with you a new website that illustrates the captivating stories that skill toys tell about culture, trade, natural resources, and human nature. People have been playing with skill toys for thousands of years and as different as one culture may be from another, we are all connected by the desire to play.

 

Flow Circus Returns to Cary Academy Summer Quest

[caption id="attachment_21" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Balloon twisting fun!"][/caption]

 

For the 9th summer in a row, Flow Circus will be returning to the Cary Academy Summer Quest program to conduct specialty camps for kids 9-14 in the Raleigh area. In addition to offering Beginner and Advanced Juggling, Magic, and Balloon Sculpting camps, we are adding a new camp this summer focusing on juggling, skill toys, and related DIY projects. Below is the schedule for Summer 2011:

 

June 20-24 (1-4pm): Juggling & Skill Toys
July 25-29 (9am-noon): Beginning Juggling, Magic, & Balloons
July 25-29 (1-4pm): Advanced Juggling, Magic, & Balloons

To register your child, visit the Summer Quest website. You can also take a look at their blog to learn more about Summer Quest offerings. If your children have taken Flow Circus camps in the past, we appreciate you letting other families know about our programs. Feel free to contact Paul at paul@flowcircus.com if you have any questions.

 

Winners Announced for the 2011 Library Giveaway

On March 1st, we announced that we would be giving away a Flow Circus Skill Toy Kit to one lucky public or school library. The kit includes a total of 20 skill toys, instructional materials, and a program guide to help organizations start and maintain a skill toy club.

The response was amazing! Over 300 libraries from 39 states entered. In addition to public libraries, librarians from elementary, middle, and high schools also submitted entries. Thank you to everyone that helped spread the word about the giveaway to your colleagues. We decided to add 2 runner-up prizes to share the fun of skill toys with a few more libraries. The runners-up will each receive a Japanese Kendama for their library.

Now without further ado (drum roll please)......we are please to announce the following winners:

Grand Prize: Peggy Grabble, Pasquotank-Camden Library (Elizabeth City, NC)

Runner-Up: Kristine Odahowski, Gadsden County Public Library System (Quincy, FL)

Runner-Up: Cathy Gilmore, Upper Moreland Free Public Library (Willow Grove, PA)

Below is a video of the drawing for those of you that want to experience the excitement!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kGOsZKtKbU[/youtube]

More information about the Skill Toy Kit can be found on the FlowCircus.com/skill toys. Thanks again for entering the contest. Check back for future giveaways.

2011 Library Giveaway - Flow Circus Skill Toy Kit

Flow Circus wanted to help support librarians as they prepare for the 2011 Summer Reading Program's themes of One World, Many Stories and You Are Here. We realized what better way for tweens and teens to understand other cultures and time periods than through the universal language of play!

We are excited to announce our 2011 Library Giveaway. One lucky library will win a Flow Circus Skill Toy Kit which includes 5 different skill toys from around the world. The kit includes a total of 20 skill toys, instructional materials, and a program guide to help you start and maintain a skill toy club at your library.

To learn more about the Skill Toy Kit and to enter your library for a chance to win, visit www.FlowCircus.com/Giveaway

Deadline for entry is March 31st. A winner will be randomly drawn and announced April Fool's Day.

Getting Creative with Fundama

This past spring, Flow Circus created Fundama. Cheap and easy DIY skill toys that can be created using basic supplies like paper cups, masking tape, and string. The Play Fundama site includes instructional videos and activity ideas for teachers, librarians, and summer camp staff to engage children, tweens, and teens in creative play. We were thrilled in October when we received the following email from Mary Alice Hudson at Cape Fear Elementary in Rocky Point, NC:

I have been doing a Fundama Club with 25 5th graders at my school.  We meet once a week for 50 minutes and we have the best time!  They absolutely LOVE making and playing with the toys.  I am so glad I found your fantastic program and website!  So far we've made the basic, freestyle, six and twist.  They are really excited about the ladder and plan to make Paul's party before making their own parties.  Our final goal is to go on our school's morning show and show off our toys and talent.   Thank you so much for this great resource. We're having a wonderful time!

Skill Toys Add Play to Community Festivals

This fall, Flow Circus had the opportunity to set up Skill Toy Play Stations at several community events to engage families in play. Kids of all ages challenged themselves with new toys or rediscovered toys from their youth.

Make a Splash/Make Waves with Fundama!

The Flow Circus 2010 Summer Reading Performance Make A Splash…Without Making a Mess focuses on how with a little skill, we can all make a positive impact in our world. Below is a brief description of the show:

As a kid, performer Paul Miller was always getting in trouble. Then one summer all that changed with the gift a Japanese kendama. That popular toy and a trip to the library led him to discover juggling and other skill toys from around the world. Instead of getting grounded, he started to get applause.

As the performance took shape, we realized that we wanted to provide librarians with the opportunity to provide the same discovery of  new toys and skills for their patrons. We know that budgets are limited, so we sat down with string, masking tape, sticks, paper cups & PlayFundama.com was born!

PlayFundama.com provides instructional videos on how to make and play with the different versions of fundama that we have created. You can also find photos of similar toys from around the world and suggested activity ideas for how fundama might be incorporated into your Summer Reading Program.

We hope to inspire kids to be creative and playful with whatever materials they might have laying around!

Skill Toy Residency at Newcomer Center

This year we returned to the Chapel Hill High School’s Newcomer Center to conduct a Skill Toy residency. The center provides 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 residency is coordinated by the Durham Arts Council.

Over the course of six visits we introduced juggling, flower sticks, Japanese kendama, spinning plates, diabolo, yo-yo, jitter ring, and footbag. Visit the Flow Circus photo gallery to see more pictures of the students using the different skill toys.

The students also introduced us to two common games from their cultures. The first involved a wicker ball called the chelo that gets kicked. The other is a rope game that involves a variety of intricate jumps over an ever-rising rope. We always  enjoy learning about new games!

Teen Tech Week Video Contest: Learn, Create, Share

To celebrate the 2010 Teen Tech Week, Flow Circus conducted workshops and kicked off a new video contest to fit this year's theme: Learn, Create, Share.

Teen Tech Week was established in 2007 by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to encourage teens to be "competent and ethical users of technologies" especially those offered at the library. They encourage teens to use school and community libraries' nonprint resources for education and recreation. Teen Tech Week 2010 was held March 7-13.

The theme was a perfect fit for our latest video contest: Learn to juggle or use other skill toys, Create a video, and Share the video with family and friends on FlowCircus.tv. For more information about the video contest visit the Flow Circus TV Blog.

Video contests are offered throughout the year as part of the Skill Toy Program. Libraries and afterschool programs can organize Skill Toy Clubs to engage teens in a unique, playful way. For more information on Skill Toy Clubs visit our website.

To see more pictures from our Teen Tech Week workshops visit the Flow Circus Photo Gallery.

Juguetes - Exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library

When visiting New York City in October, we saw a listing for an exhibition about toys and knew we had to go! The exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library included yo-yo's, kites, and other toys made from recycled materials by children in the Dominican Republic. Along side the toys were beautiful images taken by Jaime Jimenez capturing the curiosity, determination, and joy of children at play. This project Juguetes was inspired by the creativity of traditional toys and games made by children. In the book with the same title, Jimenez writes:

Over the past decade and a half, the lives of the people in the Dominican Republic have changed drastically. This has much to do with globalization. It has transformed and will continue to transform everyday life. The creativity in the children has changed due to the fact that now there are more mass produced toys available. This is why I find it necessary to document the children as much as possible while making their creations.

Visit the Juguetes website to see images and learn more about Jimenez's project.

We were excited to see that many of the toys were variations of the skill toys that we teach as part of our programs. Toys that we selected because they do engage kids for hours yet are so simple in design. They do not need electricity or internet access, they can be used inside or out, and most importantly there is no limit to what can be done with them!

Obama Kendama Goes to the White House

Dear Mr. President,

I'm sure you have received many gifts during your campaign and presidency, but I bet this personalized kendama is unique! This toy is popular in Japan and one of the many skill toys that I teach to children. During your presidential campaign, I realized that "Obama Kendama" had a nice ring to it. I sent it to artist Christopher Bordenca to paint your face on it and thus the Obama Kendama was born. To my knowledge it is the only one like it. During your campaign it traveled to Washington, D.C. and to one of your campaign rallies in North Carolina (there are videos of its travels on YouTube).

I have decided to send the Obama Kendama to you now because playing with the kendama exercises and develops the important 21st century skills that you outlined in your September 8th Back to School speech to students. At the same time, it draws attention to an important aspect of education that should not be overlooked - the critical hours between 3-6pm.

Bringing Juggling & Skill Toys to Libraries

Flow Circus kicked off Skill Toy Programs at 3 locations in Rowan County & the North Regional Branch of Durham County Libraries this month. We were excited to introduce tweens & teens to a variety of Skill Toys such as the Japanese kendama, diabolo, spinning plates, and flower sticks. We also taught a juggling workshop to teens in Elkin, NC.  All of these props are so simple, yet provide hours & hours of entertainment (without needing to be plugged in!)

To see pictures from the workshops, visit our photo gallery.

Skill Toy Residency Wraps Up

   

We just wrapped up a 6 session residency at the Chapel Hill High School's Newcomer Center. The center provides high school and 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.

Over the six weeks we introduced juggling, flower sticks, Japanese kendama, spinning plates, diabolo, yo-yo, jitter ring, and footbag. Visit our photo gallery to see more pictures of the students using the different skill toys.

We look forward to returning again next year.

Friday Institute MEGA Conference & NCCAP Synergy Conference

 

Flow Circus recently particpated in two North Carolina conferences to share juggling and skill toys with adult and student participants. The Synergy Conference hosted by North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs was attended by staff from YMCA's, 4H's, Boys & Girls Clubs and other afterschool providers. There was a wonderful energy and the schedule offered a variety of high quality key note speakers, breakout sessions, and vendor exhibitions.

At the MEGA Conference held at NC State's Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, we highlighted the use of our Skill Toy Program video sharing site to develop 21st Century skills such as innovation, collaboration, and communication. Conference attendees tried their hand at learning new hands-on skills such as juggling and diabolo and then viewed student created videos showcasing these skills. To learn more about our Skill Toy Club or to see student videos, click here.

We look forward to participating in both of these conferences again next year.