Tuesday September 13, 2011 – Tuesday January 24, 2012

1730 Corinth

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

Advanced Intermediate Class: ages 10-14
Tuesdays: 4:00-6:00pm.
Class begins Tuesday, September 13th performs the weekend of January 28th and 29th

This class is a wonderful introduction to Musical Theater Production for young elementary school aged children. In this class children will complete the process of putting on a full scale musical, from casting, blocking, working and polishing. They will perform their masterpiece for family and friends, complete with sets, costumes, make up, stage lighting and microphones. In this remarkable program, children learn to work together as a group as well as build their individual skills as a performer.

Register

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

Wednesday September 14, 2011 – Wednesday January 25, 2012

1730 Corinth

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

Intermediate Class: ages 8-12
Wednesdays: 4:00-6:00pm.
Class begins Wednesday, September 14th, and performs the weekend of January 28th,29th.

This class is a wonderful introduction to Musical Theater Production for young elementary school aged children. In this class children will complete the process of putting on a full scale musical, from casting, blocking, working and polishing. They will perform their masterpiece for family and friends, complete with sets, costumes, make up, stage lighting and microphones. In this remarkable program, children learn to work together as a group as well as build their individual skills as a performer.

Register

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

Monday September 12, 2011 – Monday January 16, 2012

1730 Corinth ave

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

Beginner Class: Ages 5-10
Mondays: 4:00-6:00pm.
Class begins Monday September 12th performs the weekend of January 21st and 22nd.
Note: We will have class on Monday, January 16th, Martin Luther King Day.

This class is a wonderful introduction to Musical Theater Production for young elementary school aged children. In this class children will complete the process of putting on a full scale musical, from casting, blocking, working and polishing. They will perform their masterpiece for family and friends, complete with sets, costumes, make up, stage lighting and microphones. In this remarkable program, children learn to work together as a group as well as build their individual skills as a performer.

Register

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

This blog was written by my good friend Anne Josephson, who owns JAG Gymnastics in Culver City. For a direct Link to her blog, please click HERE.

Anne Josephson – Raising All Kids Up
Posted on March 22, 2011 by JAG
We all want our children to succeed. But what happens when a parent feels that there isn’t enough achievement to go around for everyone? What happens when parents become convinced that their child’s success is threatened when another child succeeds?
There is a well-known African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child,” yet I am growing increasingly concerned that in this world of hyper-competitive parenting that the members of the village are more likely to stomp down rather than raise up others’ children.
We have all seen it: The mother who groans with disgust when another child gets a higher score at a meet. Then there is the father who insists to the coach that his child should get more playing time or be the starter on a team. And, of course, there are parents who gossip about other children, demeaning their talent, their worthiness or their intelligence in the name of bolstering their positive feelings about their own kid.
Don’t worry, I am guilty of it too.
We know why we do it. We love our kids so much. We are vulnerable when we think that they might not get the best things in life. We become insane. We lose rationale and rationalize behavior that we know is ugly and just wrong.
Of course, it is understandable that we all want our own children to be the winner, to get the lead in the play or to be the one who gains admission to the prestigious school. Of course, we love our own children best. But we can never confuse our profound love for our children with the idea that the world revolves around our children. It doesn’t. Furthermore, ugly parenting moments occur when we believe that there is not enough success for everyone and their child’s opportunities and advancement is compromised when another child succeeds.
The truth is there is often plenty of success to go around. And, even when there isn’t, when there is just one gold medal, one lead in the show or one last spot in the school, it doesn’t give us an excuse to act like jerks.
After all, imagine a world where we celebrated children’s successes—even those children who are not our own. Would it be a better world or a worse world?
Think about what the results would be:
For the child who accomplished something—an increased sense of pride that there are adults in her world beyond her family who are proud of and value her contributions.
For the parents of the accomplished child—a sense of being a part of a community that is invested in the success of their child and an increased likelihood that they will pay it forward by being invested in others’ children.
For the child of the parent who is happy for another child’s success—an understanding that good sportsmanship extends beyond shaking hands at the end of the game and modeling of the valuable lesson that it is possible to be sad for your own loss but happy for another’s success.
For the parent who extends good wishes beyond their own child—the great feeling that goes with mentoring a young person and of being a good and decent person.
For our community in general—a great sense of connection and support.
I think the answer is pretty clear. It is important to remember that we are all in this world together. When we celebrate the successes of children who are not our own, we recognize the special strengths and talents that they contribute to the world.
Yes, occasionally that may come at the direct expense of our own kids. The gold medal is awarded to someone else. Another child gets the lead in the play. The final spot in Prestigious U goes to another student. Those moments do hurt, envy can and will creep in, but allowing it to ruin another person’s shining moment is simply wrong. Remember: you are entitled to your feelings, even the really ugly ones. What you are not entitled to is being mean-spirited and unkind.
Being a good person requires that we act graciously. Being a virtuous person requires us to congratulate and even celebrate the child’s success.
Which person do you want to be? Which person do you hope your child believes you are? Which person do you want your child to grow up to be? Which person do you want to be a part of your community?
I certainly hope it’s the one who raises kids up.
So, get out there and praise the accomplishments of other people’s children. Look for opportunities to tell your friends how fabulous their kids are. Go out on a limb and look for opportunities to mentor and build successes for other people’s kids. I am not suggesting you be a sycophant, rather someone grateful for the success of all children. On the flip side, stop gossiping about the children within your community. Stifle the urge to make snarky comments. Don’t let envy get the better of the good person you strive to be. And, most importantly, be grateful for who your child is and what unique talents and gifts your child brings into the world.

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

It really was a good year.  I turned seventeen in the fall of my senior year.  It was to be the year that I grew up in so many ways.

All these memories came flooding back to me, as I helped my daughter celebrate her seventeenth birthday this month.  It doesn’t seem possible.  On one hand, I cannot imagine the life I had before she was born.  On the other hand, it seems so easy to find myself back into the head of my seventeen year old self, negotiating relationships, romance, and leaving home.

As my daughter and I wade through the issues of her seventeenth year,  (piles of mail from recruiting colleges, and stress over SAT scores) I am reminded that I made the most important discovery of my life at seventeen.  My epiphany? Though I fancied myself as a budding Broadway performer, my true gift was in my ability to relate and connect to young children.  This realization set me on the course that would become my life’s passion.

In the thirty years since I began this journey, I have played a role in the lives of hundreds of children and their families.  From preschoolers to highschoolers, it has been a true privilege to witness the amazing transformation of children confronting and overcoming their fears, finding their identity, and stepping into a more confident and passionate version of themselves.

As my own daughter marches towards adulthood, I realize that I am filled with gratitude.  I have been able to raise her in a sea of enrichment, with a community of people who have remained life long friends.  At the same time I so proud to know that the programs we’ve created have had an impact on so many children.

Happy Birthday M.

Welcome to the blog!

Cheryl

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

It has been a magical year at the Learning Garden Preschool.  During the Fall and Winter we celebrated all kinds of holidays.  As we do each year, we’ve enjoyed having our families come into the preschool and share their favorite holiday traditions with us.

The winter months have bustled with activity.  Our “literacy” catepillar is beginning to stretch around our classroom, reminding us of the wonderful books we have read together in class, (and those which have been read at home.) The “on and off” rains have made our garden rich with earthworms to discover, and we have been working to prepare our garden for the big planting season.

This winter we grew wonderful broccoli, cauliflower, rainbow chard, and chives in our garden.  Watching the huge heads of broccoli appear was thrilling, and even more delicious when we were able to harvest them for snack and cooking projects.

Most importantly, it has been a season for making friends, and learning how to nurture those friendships.

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

It has been an exciting year as our garden has taken an entirely new shape.  We have moved our tomato garden, which is now exploding, and now we are preparing the back garden for squash, zucchini and pumpkins.  We are determined to get pumpkins one of these years, maybe in time for Halloween.  Our sweet peas are climbing up the new trellis’ we’ve built for them, and soon we’ll be eating them off the vines.  Our strawberries this year were the most delicious ever, and our fruit trees have been getting stronger and growing more fruit for us.  Our only sad garden news is that half our sunflowers are refusing to sprout- we’re not sure why, but we’ll just have to dig up the soil, add more compost and try again.  Sometimes you cannot predict what happens in the garden.

We have also been busy in the classroom, working, learning, playing, and becoming independent.  We learned about different artists this year and got to create our own “art” using their mediums and emulating their techniques- kind of…  it was great fun as we explored Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Monet’s water colors, Matisse’s paper collage and so much more.  (Jackson Pollock- definitely an outdoor activity.)

It has been a wonderful year as we prepare for yet another culmination and year end.  It is hard to believe that it is almost 3 years since we moved out of our space on Olympic Bl. Our preschool here had definitely taken a life of its own.

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

We are preparing for Preschool Graduation, which will take place in the fire station community center, just a few steps away from our school.  Afterwards, we will celebrate with a family barbecue in our garden preschool.  Garden camp is currently open and available to all students.

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -

As our garden’s “resting” period is coming to a close, we are preparing to begin our spring planting.  Digging, of course, is one of the most productive and fun activities in the garden, as it give us a chance to explore all that lives with us in our garden, as we mix the compost into our soil to prepare for our spring plants.  In the meantime, we have made good use of our winter.  In December we celebrated the holidays by honoring the traditions of all of our class members, which felt like a journey around the world.  January was literacy month, and we counted the books we read with our giant literacy caterpillar, which stretched around our room.  Many thanks to all the parents who came in to read, and to all those who donated new books to our classroom.  February is the month to explore our community, which, of course, included two visits to the Fire Station!  What a treat to have such a great field trip just a few steps away from our school, and we had such a good time!  Now, spring is on it’s way and it’s time to get busy again.

This content originates from My Creative Kids & My Creative Kids -