movie night :: Being Elmo

photo from here

A few weeks ago, my kids and I watched the documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey and BOOM another thread was added to the loom (that I seem to keep talking about) of our creative explorations. I think it is important to note that my kids are not naturally Elmo fans. They did not grow up watching that much Sesame Street, so their interest in this film was all about the puppetry and the story of Kevin Clash's life. 

Clash's story of dreaming big, working hard and not being swayed by detractors led him to become one of the most successful puppeteers working today. His friendships with Kermit Love, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz helped him gain invaluable experience from a young age. It is hard to image a kid watching this and not getting inspired and fired up to follow their passion - no matter what it is.

As soon as the credits were rolling, my kids immediately started sewing puppets. In fact, if you are going to watch this with your children, go ahead and have some supplies ready!

My daughter sewed a muppet, making the eyes from polymer clay and adding a rod for the tail.

One son used a glove (stock up at Target - they are only a dollar!) to make a plant that comes alive and bites you. 

Another son made an "Animal" inspired, drum playing creature. 

Spoon and styrofoam puppets followed, each with names and back stories. We are looking forward to getting some craft foam next time we are at the fabric store to see what we can do with that.

Beyond just making puppets and writing some simple stories, we were connecting all sorts of other interesting cultural bits. We read about Jim Henson and Frank Oz and loved learning the fact that Oz does the voice for both Miss Piggy and Yoda. 

We have seen several Muppet movies and Fraggle Rock, but are now interested in checking out Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. 

And we would love to make one of these Muppets at FAO Swartz.!

This video of Jim Henson making puppets from things one can find around the house was funny and inspiring. 

Looking back, it seems like we have always been making puppets and little puppet theaters. Shadow and hand puppets, paper bag puppets, cereal box puppet theaters and marionettes - all seem to offer great methods for children to explore character, emotions, story telling and bravado.  As my kids get older, I hope they continue to explore this form of expression as it seems like such a fertile medium for creativity.

Have you made puppets and puppet shows with your kids?

real role models for kids :: Gertrude Ederle

In this series, real role models for kids, I will feature some of the amazing people we have gotten to know better through our reading explorations. These people, to me, offer great examples to kids and adults. Examples that can be drawn on during challenges and dissapointment. 

While no one is perfect, I do think role models share at least these five characteristcs.

1. They are hard working.

2. They embrace failure and know that much is to be learned in it.

3. The are innovative and big thinkers.

4. They are driven by their personal passion.

5. In some way, they make the world a better place.  

________________________________________________________________________________

"When someone tells me I cannot do something, that's when I do it."

Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle's story quickly drew us in and astounded us! An early 20th century swimmer, Ederle won gold medals and broke many records, but she is most known for being the first woman to swim across the English Channel. When she accomplished this, only 5 men had done it (some attempting it up to 20 times) and she shattered their records! This was at a time when womens' roles and identities in society were changing drastically. She is like the Bille Jean King of the Roaring 20's. 

The actual story of the swim had my children on the edge of their seats. She attempted the feat the year before, only to be pulled out of the water by her trainer when she was just a few miles from the finish line. She found a new trainer and returned the following year to swim 35 miles in 14.5 hours. Her sister designed her bathing suit and goggles and she layered her body in 3 layers of grease to help retain body heat in the frigid Atlantic water and protect against stinging jelly fish. During the swim she would eat floating on her back, listen to the music being sang by the press boat and sing herself. At one point she was having trouble using one of her legs, and refused to be pulled out. She proclaimed that would finish or drown trying.

She accomplished this amazing feat and was the world's hero. After her triumphant ticker tape parade in NYC, she continued to swim, designed dresses and taught swimming to deaf children. She died at 98 years old in 2003. 

Read

We read, America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, written by David Adler and illustrated by Terry Widener. This is an engaging, beautifully illustrated book that captures the excitement and daring of the swim.

Watch
With the wonder of the internet, you can instantly look up footage of Ederle preparing for her famous swim, the actual swim and her parade. Here is a great silent video showing all the above. Check out how rough the water is when she is swimming near the boat!




Extension activities

1. Design sports gear. If your child plays a sport or has a physical hobby, ask them to design new gear that would make their sport easier.


2. Try the grease experiment. Prepare a bowl of icy cold water. Dip one hand in for as long as you can. Then fill a large ziploc bag with shortening, wrap you hand with another bag and put in to the shortening bag and then dip the whole thing into the cold water. How much longer can your hand stay in the water when it is insulated with the grease?


3. Find the English Channel on the map. Talk about the various ways people have crossed it. (One of my kids is really into the Chunnel).


4. Mark the time of swim. Start in the morning at 7 am and say, "she is in the water now." As the day goes on, you can casually mention, "she is still swimming." At the end of the day you can note when she finishes at 9:40pm. This will make the length of the swim more real than the abstract idea of 14.5 hours. 

Mister Rogers

image from http://weloveyouso.com/2009/06/neighbors/

I am having a little love affair. With Mister Rogers. I am sure I watched his program when I was a kid, but since I have had children, it has not been broadcast in our area and there are very few episodes available on DVD. So, the show just sorta slid by our radar. Until now. We are able to watch nearly all the episodes on our Amazon Prime account and are rediscovering the good that was that show and man.

This program offers children a safe space to explore their emotions. Mister Rogers offers suggestions and reflections on being scared, being different and even death. His gentle manner reassures children that they are loved and will be ok. His mantra that it is much more important what you are on the inside than the outside seems eerliy absent today. This show might seem sappy and sentimental - but I see my kids' (who are 5, 7 and 9) engaged and repsonding to the message. It speaks to a place inside of them that is not represented in most mainstream kids' media.

Beyond the emotional intelligence of the show, I really appreciate that Mister Rogers is always interested and curious in things. He and other adults are shown playing and experimenting with toys, props and many musical instruments. He is not portarayed as an authoriative adult who is teaching  children, rather he shares things, wonders out loud and encourages the viewer to do so as well.

The show also serves as a reminder to adults to be the best version of themselves. He is kind, considerate, helpful and patient. It is a good day when I can be all that. His consistant message of it being ok "to be just the way you are" is a really important one for parents to keep at the surface. How many times during the day do I find myself not accepting a child's (or my own) intrinsic traits? More often than I care to mention.

Much of television is so mean and low. (Have you read in NutureShock about educational shows and the connection to bullying?). While I do not exactly censor what my children see, or ask to see, I do think it is important to monitor the type of media diet they are fed. Just like I try to feed them organic, whole foods, I want their minds to have mostly the good stuff too. When we are on vacation, there is usually a lot of Sponge Bob watching going on, and we laugh and enjoy the bathroom humor - but it is not something that we feel like we need to see daily. Just like we don't need to eat hot dogs or cotton candy regularly.


Do you monitor the type of shows your family watches? Would you (do you) watch Mister Rogers with your kids?

"All we're ever asked to do in this life is to treat our neighbor-espeically our neighbor who is in need-exactly as we would hope to be treated ourselves. That is our ultimate responsibility." 

Mr. Rogers