Flat Stanley

The First and Second grade children at our school went to see The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley at the Tribecca Performing Arts Center yesterday morning. The show is based on the endearing children's book series by Jeff Brown. In the books Stanley Lambchop is flattened one evening when the large bulletin board that hangs over his bed becomes unhinged and falls on him. He is discovered in the morning by his younger brother Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop are unable to fix their son but have a refreshing 'oh, well' attitude and get on with life.

Being flat (he is only a 1/2 inch think) has its advantages. Stanley is able to mail himself to California in a large envelope to visit his friend Thomas and can fly like a kite. He even saves the day at least once in each book. The stories are imaginative, clever and just plain fun.

So when I saw that Intramusic Theatricals had included a stop on their current tour only a short bus ride away from our school, I knew we had to go. Tickets were only $5.00 per student and teachers/chaperons were granted free admission. I did have some drama trying to acquire a script to give to the sign language interpreters but eventually everything worked out wonderfully.

The great surprise was just how wonderfully. This was a great production. I was so impressed. The cast, headed by the gifted and charming John Ambrosino as Flat Stanley, were obviously enjoying themselves. I could not get over John's beautiful singing voice. I don't know what I expected exactly but I didn't expect the show to be this professional. Every detail was perfection. The students loved it. I was watching them watch the show as it unfolded. Their excitement made Lauren and I smile. If the tour comes close to your area I strongly recommend that you get tickets.

Jamieson Lindenburg, Ashley Eileen Bucknam, John Ambrosino, Nanci Zoppi and Rebecca Kutz

There is a whole Flat Stanley curriculum out there that includes links with geography, mathematics, language arts and science. It has become very popular for children to create their own drawings of Flat Stanley to mail to other classes or individual children. As Stanley travels from one class to another or one child to another, children share the adventures he had on his visit with them in letters to one another.

I can see this as being a motivating way to encourage children to write but I can't seem to get on board with this one. Maybe a class somewhere really cool like Paris or Australia would help me change my mind. Maybe then I would stick myself in an envelope and join him.

New Victory

I Love New York!

or rather...

NYC is chock full o' amazing opportunities for school children and I am of the opinion that it is my honor/duty as an educator to provide my students with the means to take advantage of as many of them as possible. If you are going to attend classes in this cultural wonderland why not partake of its majestic parks, wondrous museums and captivating theater?

In the past I have taken my students to see several shows including Peter Pan at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. We went to see The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley last December and attended a children's theater performance of The Adventures of Curious George at The Town Hall in the heart of New York's theater district.

But for each of these shows I have had to figure out a way to raise the bucks to fund the outing or jump through hoops to acquire the script to give to the sign language interpreters. This was all a hassle, to be sure, but one that seemed worth it while the children's excitement grew as the day of the show drew nearer. The troubles I went through to bring them to their seats were forgotten when the curtain rose, but when it came time to plan another outing those memories came flooding back. I'd tell myself to take a deep breath and dive into the paperwork again.

So, imagine my delight when I discovered The New Victory Theater Education Program. This is a ridiculously affordable theater experience at the gorgeously restored New Victory Theater on 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Their Education Partnership Program includes "$2 tickets to education performances, free New Vic in the classroom workshops, free New Vic SCHOOL TOOL resource guides and free seasonal teacher institutes" and each of the 15 shows in the 2008/09 season includes a sign language interpreted performance! Who could ask for anything more?

There is a $100 enrollment fee which my gracious and supportive principal Rebecca is paying. That covers the entire school for the next year. And to top it all off the contact person at the New Vic is Jonathan Shmidt - Education Associate. He has made this process extremely smooth for me. I give him a great big heartfelt "Thank You!"

The first show we are attending on September 16th is based on the children's book Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox. Jonathan was able to arrange it so that our entire kindergarten and first grade could acquire last minute tickets (yippee!).

This show is done with puppets while other titles in the season range from circus performances to comedy, variety and music/dance. It seems to be a brilliantly diverse offering of shows that reflects the colors of our exciting city. I heart New York indeed!