Thursday, March 30, 2017

Catching Up With Girls On The Run!

An Early Season Look At GOTR

Girls On The Run is back for another season and we have 22 awesome girls signed up this year, some as seasoned GOTR veterans and others as first time runners.  We have an amazing coaching team headed by Bristol resident Melanie Lloyd.  She is backed by Ruth Beecher and Koran Cousino on Mondays and Emily Gibbs and Sue Bachand on Thursdays.  Could you ask for a better crew?  

Team GOTR will be gathering for lessons and runs every Monday and Thursday through June 5th, with a culminating 5K race on June 3rd up in Essex!  I am so impressed already that these girls are getting out there in still-winter conditions and getting after it!  

GOTR pairs run to the middle for some outdoor fun.

I got to sit in on Meditation and Mindfulness yesterday where an interesting TED talk started us off and a peaceful 5 minute meditation ended the day.  Grant has a great way with these kids and is doing an awesome job giving them new tools to help them with life's challenges. 

Grant drops some wisdom on his students.

Finally the Games Galore crew, guided by Jedi Andrea Tremols, is  absolutely crushing Settlers of Catan.  Their intricate trades and crafty building strategies have catapulted them to advanced players.  


The Settlers in action!

Sadly we have no school tomorrow, and thus no ELP, so we'll miss out on Friday workshops but check back in next week and I'll give you an update on 'em.

John

Monday, March 27, 2017

Goofy Fun At ELP



This transition into spring is always an interesting time.  Kids are raring to be outside but those wet, rainy, sleeting days keeps us trapped indoors!  Luckily we have some wonderful ELP Leaders who kept these kids entertained during a cold wet week.

Icicle awesomeness!
This week saw the Meditation and Mindfulness workshop conduct two long meditation practices, one ten minutes and the other thirty!  I have been so impressed by the participants of this workshop and their willingness to give such a hard practice a full shot. Hopefully they will take it upon themselves to teach their parents a daily practice.

I really like what's been going on in Jodi McLeod's Dive Into Art this past week.  She has the kids using the skills they already know and adding some new techniques that they can experiment with.  Check out some of the projects they worked on last week.
They made the hair by blowing through a straw at a puddle of paint!


Calvin shows us the results of his stencil.
Adrianna and Annabelle hard at work on their stencils.
Jayden gives me a sneak peak of the beginning of his latest castle creation.
That's all I've got for this week.  Check back in to see how the last week in March went down.


John

Friday, March 17, 2017

From Comics to Cinema: A Look At Two New Workshops at Robinson

It was a wild week with the Blizzard Stella keeping us home on Tuesday and Wednesday for 48 hours of snowy bliss.  We lost some good workshop time but I for one was psyched to get the first big storm of season before the spring fully hits.  Our workshops were in full swing today, our busiest day of the week with 34 kids signed up for 4 awesome workshops.  I wanted to profile two in particular that really blew me away today.

David gets real with his super hero.
The first is Matt Senecal's Comic Club that meets in Frank Spina's classroom (thanks Frank!)  Matt has a rep around town as the comics guy and he has really given these young aspiring artists a base from which to leap into their worlds of super heroes and dastardly villains.  His students have taken to creating their own characters while learning how to string continuous panels of drawing together in a way that makes sense.  I can't say enough about workshops like this one that incorporate so many different skills into one class.  We really appreciate Matt taking the time to share his passion for comics with the kids.
A circle of artists swap some ideas and techniques.
Next up we have Shawn Kimball and his Lights, Camera, Action workshop that gets kids'creative juices flowing down in the art room (thanks Eileen!)  These kids have so many ideas for their first big movie that it's tough to narrow it down to a few good plot twists.  So far there are cyborgs, vampires, clowns, werewolves, and mad scientists all in this creepy but funny thriller.  So stay tuned for the trailer at the end of this session!

Shawn keeps the movie brainstorm rolling with his crew.

Although I'd love more snow I hope we have a full week next week so all our awesome workshops have time to create more memories.  So check back in next Friday for your next ELP update and we'll see you then!

Thanks!

~John












Beeman: Snowed in but Having FUN :)

It has been another wonderful week here at Beeman! We were definitely disappointed dot see all of the snow as it will put our outdoor running plans on hold... BUT we are excited to be together and moving and bonding over jewelry and exercise indoors :) Last week we wrapped up jewelry making, the girls made customized leather bracelets and worked on some basic jewelry making know-how in relation to making both necklaces and bracelets. The girls are all now able to confidently use wire, clasps, pliers, crimp beads and jump rings to create their gorgeous pieces. One of the coolest projects we worked on was morse code bracelets, the girls followed a basic morse code guide to create secret messages using beads on their bracelets or anklets, so COOL! 

Filming continues their work, they are currently working on a film that is hilarious and filled with great humor. The boys participating in this club are often planning and discussing the film at school and creating fantastical scenes and ideas in their off hours, I cannot wait to see the final product! 

Cooking was unfortunately canceled this week due to the weather, but next week they will jump back into the swing of planning, writing recipes and talking about food waste and how to responsibly take care of it. Last week the students made hidden veggie smoothies and made chef hats to wear while whipping up their healthy snacks at home.









Saturday, March 11, 2017

Starksboro's Latest Additions to ELP

Poetry and Creative Writing, Board Games, and Mindfulness

Even though it was a short week I was lucky enough to sit in on some our latest additions to ELP.  We were able to entice some kids that have yet to sign up for a workshop this year to give it a go which is a sign that our leaders are doing something right!  That is one of the things I think is so cool about ELP, we can bring in in excited, talented people from the community to share their skills and wisdom.  I especially enjoy when we get a new leader, as we often do, who doesn't work with kids very often.  They are usually a bit intimidated at first but the curious energy of their students easily gets them on track and they light up as they begin to share their craft or passion.  

Grant gets the kids settled in for a meditation.
A couple of our new leaders are experiencing this new found joy of teaching children including Grant Jakubowksi in his Meditation and Mindfulness workshop.  Grant has a background in reiki, botany, and meditation coaching.  He has found great ways to relate to his students and on Wednesday this week led them in a 30 minute guided meditation.  We look forward to seeing how the rest of the workshop goes!

Sabrina and Tristan dissect an intriguing chapter.
We've also kept Sabrina Valdez on our team as the leader of her Writing and Poetry Club.  Sabrina was a huge help with the day to day duties during Session 3 and she's now keeping kids riveted with classic novels and playful poems.  I love seeing kids pick up right where they left off from their day and keep their creativity flowing through ELP!

An intense round robin tournament of Battleship unfolds. 



Finally we have our new Games Galore workshop led by Andrea Tremols.  Andrea is no stranger to ELP but this is the first session she's led this chilled out board game based workshop.  Andrea brings a couple of games each workshop and let's the kids go at it.  So far games have ranged from Risk to Monopoly and Battleship to Yahtzee!  I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon.



That's it for this week but tune in soon for an update on our Comics Club and Lights, Camera, Action workshops that will be back next Friday.


Monday, March 6, 2017

We will miss you Session 3!! 


Bristol says good bye to Session 3 and hello Session 4!
In Session 4 our mini recycled art makers pass their materials over to the older students. Session 4 welcomes recycled art class for older students! Stay tuned for pictures of their recycled art!

We are welcoming a new workshop for the younger students called Self Expression. This is a time for the students to express themselves through games, charades, and of course, talking! 

We welcome another new workshop for our budding scientists. Mad Science has been planting seeds, making tornados, and testing their hypothesis by making Ublick and magic sand.









Session 4 Kicks Off!



Greetings from Beeman! 

We had a great kick off to our fourth session of ELP last week. We have a crew of 18 girls in grades 3-6 who are participating in Girls on the Run this year. Our curriculum for GOTR does not start until the week of March 20th so we are spending these first three weeks together team building. Courtney Allenson is guest teaching for the first two weeks and leading us in a variety of awesome jewelry projects. Girls last week made hand painted animal pendants for silver necklaces, rubber band braided bracelets, dollar bill rings and gemstone rings. It has been so fun to bond the team through these awesome and creative projects that Courtney has shared with us.

Also debuting last week was a cooking club with Middlebury College mentor Erjzsie Nagy. Students in grades K-3 are working together to learn about healthy snacks that they can learn to prepare for themselves and their families. They made apple smiles last week and will be making hidden veggie smoothies this week. 

Shawn Kimball is joining us on Thursdays for a part two of his film club. Students were eager to see Shawn again and he has a collection of new and past students. They began work on animation last week and will be working on their own videos this week using chrome books. Stay tuned for more pictures :)







Friday, March 3, 2017

Kicking Off Session 4

Movies, Comics, and Games to name a few!

I can't believe we're into the 4th Session of ELP already!  This year has zoomed by and spring is around the corner.  We have some cool new workshops that will hopefully be utilizing the amazing outdoor spaces we have here at Robinson as the weather starts to turn towards balmy.   

We are happy to welcome Andrea Tremols back as an ELP Leader.  Andrea took Session 3 off but she's back with a vamped up Spanish workshop as well as her new Games Galore class.  This week I saw clashes of Star Wars Monopoly and a round robin tournament of Battleship!  Kids can't wait to see which games she pulls out of her sleeve next!

We are also excited to welcome Shawn Kimball back for his Lights, Camera, Action workshop.  Shawn will be guiding seven young aspiring director/actors as they devise their own plot, characters, and costumes for their first feature film.  I was able to sit in on their brainstorming session today and I think some spooky monsters and funny twists are in store.

Matt Senecal joins us this session with his awesome Comics Drawing Club.  Matt is a veteran when it comes to devising super heroes and we've got an eager crew of artists rarin' to get started on their own.  I'm excited to see the story boards they produce.  

That's it for Week 1 and stay tuned for more as our Poetry, Travels to Africa, Crazy 8's Math Club, and Chess Clubs start to heat up.

Have a great weekend!

John