Circle Camp Finale

After two weeks of our peace talk-themed summer camp, the kids put on an amazing performance complete with drumming, dancing, singing, and skits. Lots was learned in terms of talking with others compassionately and getting to feelings and needs instead of blame and hurt.

Original Composition

P wrote and performed his first "original song" today, entitled "Frog and Toad". He sang it in front of about 35 people.

Ft. Clinch Camping

Enjoyed group camping for first time. Explored Ft. Clinch park. Cold water!!

Performing in Shalom

P performed today in the Shalom Chorus at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Christmas Eve

P sang in the Shalom Chorus for the Universal Unitarian Christmas Eve service. They sand three songs in the service, including 'Somewhere a Child', which they sang with the adult choir.

Christmas Carol Pageant

P took part in a production of the Christmas Carol at fellowship. He also sung with the Shalom Chorus before and after the play.

In the afternoon, P and K watched animations on how CD players worked. We looked a record album and discussed how the laser replaced the needle for reading grooves. We also talked about how DVDs and CDs differ from VHS tapes.

Hayride

P practiced his part in the Christmas Carol pageant for the Unitarian Universalist service. We spent the afternoon on a hay ride in Micanopy. P and K saw various trees and a pond, and we looked at a grasshopper up close. After leaving the hayride, we spent some time at Paynes Prairie and discussed how the prairie changes with the seasons and with rainfall.

Shalom Chorus

P and K have decided to join the Shalom Chorus at the UU Fellowship. They practice weekly for about 30 minutes and perform about once every 6 weeks.

P is really enjoying it, and has shown great concern over his ability, including going up and talking to Ms. Ruth about not being able to match pitch exactly.

K feels shy, but loves being up on stage. We'll see how it goes for her.

Still Drumming

P is still involved in drumming at Studio Percussion each Tuesday afternoon, and is often practicing his songs for us.

Peace Camp: Day Three

P's activities today were: Kickball (a new favorite), Silly Camp Songs (including "Alice the camel"), and Drum Circle (guess drumming is still a passion!!).

Today's theme: "It Matters What You Do!"

Japanese Spring Festival

Power Tools, Music, and Outdoor Fun

Learning Coop Activity Day
There was a lot of focus and intensity on the drilling/decoration activity of creating Stick Men and/or Spring Trees.



Both P and K waited their turns to use the drill to make a hole and select an appropriately sized stick for their selected activity of a Spring Tree. P even let a few other kids in front of him, most notably his sister.

After drilling the hole and placing the main stick, everyone worked diligently to create the Spring Tree of their vision.



The final art trees:



Afterwards, the kids went outside to explore the yard, using shovels to dig into the dirt, finding worms and beetles. P held an earthworm for the fastest count-of-5 ever, and all of the kids enjoyed fresh air and dirt, with a healthy game of "catch me".


The end of the day, P got the chance to "jam" a bit musically on the guitar with a local musician who was a guest of the host's boarder. They had a great time!

First Percussion Concert

The Junior Drummers' performance of Frosty of the Snowman starts at 2:27 in the video below.

Tuesday, February 5

P practices drums in the early morning, and takes part in as ensemble drum class int he afternoon at Studio Percussion.

Tuesday, January 29

P practices drums in the early morning, and takes part in as ensemble drum class int he afternoon at Studio Percussion.

Tuesday, January 22

P practices drums in the early morning, and takes part in as ensemble drum class (Junior Drummers) in the afternoon at Studio Percussion.

Nutcracker - Man in the Box

We watched several Nutcracker Suite ballet performances, specifically the male performers to see how ballet, traditionally thought of as a "feminine" artform, is extremely athletic and graceful for male performers as well. In particular, we watched the video "Man in the Box" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGZu7mji7B4) which has Kevin Terry of the 2006 North Atlanta Dance Theatre's production of The Nutcracker as The Nutcracker Prince. In that video, it shows the progression from practice to dress rehearsal to performance for Kevin Terry.

Several days after watching the video, P showed us his rendition of being a "toy soldier", a la the Man in the Box video:

ICU Drumming

P, not wanting to miss a beat while recovering from an asthma attack, practices his rhythms from the drum lessons he'd just started.