Spellbound Theatre
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Snowy Play! Winter Family Activities

12/1/2017

9 Comments

 
It's winter! There hasn't been much snow on the ground, so here are some fun, sensory activities to bring the winter play indoors.  And join us January 28 at the Park Slope Library for our Free Family Art Day exploring snowy stories and sensory play.

Activities

Watercolor Snowflake
Materials: Watercolor paper, watercolor paints, brushes, white crayon, salt
  • Use the white crayon to create a snowflake design on your blank paper.
  • Paint over the crayon using the watercolor. The crayon design will remain unpainted, creating an easy background for your snowflakes.
  • Sprinkle salt over the watercolor for a speckled effect.
Inspired by Lasso the Moon

Tabletop Snow Forts
Materials: Paper, water, white dissolving packing peanuts (“magic noodles”), aluminum foil, glue
  • Cut out the aluminum foil to create a frozen pond for your snowy landscape. Glue your reflective pond onto the plain paper.
  • To build a snow fort, simply dip one end of a packing peanut into water and place it on the paper, wet side-down (the dissolving peanut will attach to the dry paper). Build on additional snow-blocks by wetting one side of a peanut and placing it on top of another dry peanut.
  • What other snow creations can you build?

Sensory Snowman
Materials: Water bottle, clear glue, silver glitter, snow sequins, hot glue or Krazy Glue, paint, paint brushes, pipe cleaners
  • Empty a clear plastic water bottle (VOSS bottles work best for a simple shape).
  • Fill the bottom with clear glue. Fill almost to the top with warm water.
  • Add silver glitter and any other wintry sequins, beads, or confetti as desired.
  • Glue around the rim of the mouth of the bottle, and immediately screw the cap on tight. Shake the bottle around to see how the glitter moves in slow motion!
  • Add features to your snowman as desired: paint on eyes, buttons, a nose, a top hat...
  • Use pipe cleaners to dress up your snowman.
Inspired by Little Bins for Little Hands

Reading
Dusk ~ Uri Shulevitz
The Snowy Day ~ Ezra Jack Keats
First Snow ~ Peter McCarty
Penguin on Vacation ~ Salina Yoon
Tracks in the Snow ~ Wong Herbert Lee
No Two Alike ~ Keith Baker
Best in Snow ~ April Pulley Sayre
The Mitten ~ Jan Brett
When It Snows ~ Richard Collingridge
9 Comments

Now More Than Ever: The Importance of Stories

5/1/2017

1 Comment

 
Happy New Year from all of us at Spellbound Theatre!

As we begin 2017, I've been thinking a lot about the power of stories in our lives.  Stories are uniquely human - no other animal (that we know of) tells stories.  The act of storytelling helps us make meaning and connections with the world around us. Stories allow us to see things from another person's point of view, and imagine ourselves in a world different than the one around us.

Our audiences, ages 0-5, are still young enough that they are largely unaware of the tumultuous arguments happening in the adult world, arguments about health care, national security, climate change, and social justice. But we have seen what happens in the adult world when we are no longer able to see the world from others' points of view, when we are lack the imagination to see the world as different than our immediate experience.

At Spellbound, we believe that the young children in our audiences must be equipped so that when they enter the complex and contentious adult world, they are armed with critical thinking, creativity, and empathy.  We are more committed than ever to providing storytelling experiences that invite children to stretch their imaginations, listen to and share with one another, and provide multiple points of view on how the world might be.

Storytelling is crucial to our ability to respond to a complex world, to make sense of diverse experiences and perspectives, and to see the potential for magic, transformation, and connection all around us.  In the spirit of New Year's, I offer these three commitments for the children in our lives:
  1. Tell your children stories that are true, stories from a time your own life when you encountered an obstacle and were able to overcome it, and stories about other people who fought for justice and kindness in our world.
  2. Tell your children stories that are magical, stories that imagine our world more surprising, more adventurous, and more beautiful than the world we might see day to day.  Inspire your children to find magic all around them.
  3. Listen to your children's stories.  Ask them what they see, know, and understand, and listen attentively.  Ask questions, and give them room to construct answers. Honor the stories they love and want to tell.

May 2017 be full of stories, surprise, and discovery!  Your little ones are getting bigger and bigger each day, and it is an honor to be a part of their growth.

Happy New Year!

From Lauren
and the artists, staff, and Board of Spellbound Theatre

1 Comment

    Authors

    Lauren Jost, Director
    Spellbound Theatre

    “To stimulate creativity one must develop childlike inclination for play...” – Albert Einstein

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Spellbound Theatre
Mailing Address: 147 Prince Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
[email protected]
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Staff and Artists
    • Board of Directors
    • Commitment to Anti-Racism
    • Contact Us
    • 2024 Year in Review
    • Resources
  • Support
  • Performances
    • Pop Up Performances >
      • Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, Please
      • Grow!
      • The Naughty Penguin
      • Up & Down Again
      • Under the Tree
      • Oceansong
    • Touring Shows >
      • The World Inside Me
      • Wink
      • Shakespeare's Stars
      • Babywild
      • Ears, Nose, and Tail
    • Past Shows >
      • The Last Coin
      • A Book of Hours
      • Grump
      • SPARC: Memory
      • Aidee
      • Before We Grew
  • Free Family Art Days
  • Lullaby Land
    • Original Web-Series
    • Devising Phase One
    • Devising Phase Two
    • Lullaby Land Phase Three Digital Program
    • Support Development
  • Anywhere with Catbear
  • Schools
  • Spellbound Screen-Free
  • Spellbound en Casa
    • Spellbound Sin-Pantallas
  • Spellbound在家
    • Spellbound 无屏幕
  • #ArtsAreMySuperpower
  • News
  • Spellbound's Active Shows
  • Lullaby Land Digital Program