May 2, 2012

We had a fantastic time today at one of our favorite places to go - the Waterville Opera House.

Every year they put on four "educational" shows for school aged children and the admission is extremely affordable ($3/a child). All we have seen have been extremely well done.

Today we saw an adaptation of the book Skippyjon Jones. I wasn't familiar with book so neither were any of my boys. I made my sixteen year old come with us. What I loved about the play though, was 1) it was made into a musical and 2) they threw in some jokes that only the adults in the audience would get. I exchanged many a glance and a laugh with my oldest as we caught things that the other boys missed.

It was definitely an enjoy outing. We look forward to each play. 

Day #147/175 Days

September 26, 2011 - "The Three Little Pigs" Play

The boys and I love going to see plays. Thankfully we have a couple of theaters that do plays for children. This year we were able to attend one for the first time at Lakewood Theater. 

The play was a take on the classic "Three Little Pigs" story. In the play the three little pigs were rather naughty and did not obey the Farmer's Wife. The smallest pig was called "Hamlet" and spoke with a definite "Shakespeare" tone. Most of the adults caught the funny spots even if the kids missed them. 

There was singing throughout.  

One of the "villains" 

The "big bad wolf" was a bit "tender-hearted" even though the

vulture kept trying to get him to catch the pigs.

The wolf attempting to grab the pigs.

I found the play hilarious and even the boys loved it. In fact, while I was loading photos for this post, my youngest saw them and again commented on how much he liked the play! We'll definitely continue to try to see more as we can.

Day #24/175 Days

Day #98/175 Days - Field Trip

Today we headed to the local opera house to see a play. They typically host four a year (two in the fall and two in the spring). Although, this year I think they only did two and the one this fall was geared more towards high school age.

A brief synopsis of the play:
Young Astra grows up with the woodland fairies. She loves to watch the the fascinating humans that live in the nearby castle. She soon learns that she is not a fairy, but rather a human as well. Her fairy parents send her to learn of her birth from the midwife that saved her life. Her mother had died during childbirth and her grandfather blamed Astra (Perdita is the name she was given by the midwife) for this tragedy and wanted her killed. The midwife instead gave her to the fairies as she had also been brought up by the fairies.

The young prince of the castle must find a wife. His parents continue to host balls and festivals in hopes he will find a suitable bride. He fondly remembers dancing with the fairies in the forest and feels more at home there.

One day he meets Astra/Perdita in the forest after being robbed by brigands. She is taken away by her fairy friends, however, and the prince cannot find her.

In a Cinderella-like moment, she arrives at the ball in human clothes rather than the "tattercoat" dress she wore in the fairy-land. The prince and Perdita live happily ever after.

It was a great play with lots of humor tossed in. I know all of my boys enjoyed it. Here are some photos from the day (I was sitting in the balcony):

Meeting "Tattercoats" aka Astra aka Perdita 

The guy on the left is the servant. He was a riot! Great slapstick!

Astra learning of her birth. 

The midwife was great. Her hat fell off and she never stopped.

The midwife when she was "younger" holding "baby" Perdita. 

Off to the side was the older midwife and Perdiate "watching" past

events unfold. This young "midwife" and the older "midwife" spoke their lines in unison.

It was a really great scene!

The fairy family meeting baby Astra/Perdita.

The prince being rebellious. 

The brigands. Lego-Man loved these two.

Perdita meeting the prince.

Some of the royals. 

Perdita arriving at the ball.

Perdita meeting her grandfather. I loved how much hair they put on this guy!

The final "dance." The young girl off to the left is a scorned princess. 

We have started listening to The Story of the World Volume 1 in our vehicle while driving. The two hour round trip today gave us lots of time to listen. Jim Weiss is so nice to listen to! 

The boys also ended their day at AWANA. Happy earned his Wing Runner Rank patch! It took him 1-1/2 years to finish his first Spark book, so he was been in the second book about four months at this point. 

Day #127/175 Days - Co-Op/Field Trip

At co-op today we had a Registered Maine Guide come in to class. He taught the kids about how to use a compass - how to read it, how to find direction, and how to use it to travel. He discussed this quite a bit inside the classroom and then we headed outside. He showed the kids what a "pace" was and each was handed a nickel with a different year printed on it. Each child placed it on the ground and then proceeded to walk ten paces south, west, east, and then north. They were to end up back by their nickel. Most did. Some didn't, but it was a lot of fun. The Guide was a retired military man and it showed when he taught the kids how to "fall in" and line up. 

Conductor: My favorite part was using the compasses to track our steps walking back and forth between the clumps of grass. (I think he's referring to when the Guide showed them how to figure out their pace. They had to walk between to two clumps of grass and count how many steps they took.)

After this we had snack. Since today is Cinco de Mayo we had chips and salsa. The older kids went in to their science class to find out what their assignment for this week would be. The younger kids gathered and heard a bit about what Cinco de Mayo is and why it is celebrated. Then they made maracas out of plastic cups and also made tissue paper flowers.

We were short on time today since we were heading to see a play immediately after class. The play was held at the Waterville Opera House. They do school productions four times a year. Today it was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." It was put on by a troop of actors who also sign the plays. There were at least two actors who were deaf. All the voices were pre-recorded (I think) & sent over the loud speaker system as the actors mouthed them and signed. It was an excellent production and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lego-Man: My favorite thing about the play was when the actors started saying "chocolate! chocolate!"

Happy: I loved it! My favorite part was when the guy went in to the river and said "I can't swim!" (I have such bloodthirsty kids!)