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Showing posts with label fun outings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun outings. Show all posts
Monday, May 27, 2013
Blue Man Group Announces Expanded Summer Schedule
Cirque Shanghai: Dragon's Thunder is on at Navy Pier
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Rosemont: MB Financial Park to Host Summer Concert Series
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WATCH US GROW: MONARCH BUTTERFLIES EXHIBIT AT KOHL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
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Thursday, April 26, 2012
What an Evening...Red Baraat Rocks!
Last week I had blogged about the band Red Baraat coming to the ECC Arts Center on April 20th. Our family had the opportunity of going for the same and what a whale of a time we had. First of all, I would like to say the band is phenomenal. It wouldn' be an exaggeration to say we had the best time in the last one year we have been here. Before I write anything further, if you are reading this, checkout if they are going to be close to you and just go and dance and have fun and enjoy!
Red Baraat melds North Indian rhythm Bhangra with a host of sounds including brass, funk, go-go, Latin, and jazz to create a wildly exciting musical experience. They are becoming increasingly popular and rightly so. They kicked off their Spring Tour this year by playing at the White House on April 2!
'Baraat' is a term used for the procession in a North Indian Wedding where the groom is made to sit on a ornamented horse as his entire extended family and friends dance to the venue of the wedding amidst lots of lights (some people move holding lanterns and chandeliers on their shoulders or heads), lots of loud music - primarily dhol - that's a double sided barrel shaped drum which is what the lead Sunny Jain plays in the band and sousaphones; and also amidst fireworks. Sounds crazy?! Well it is! But the fun is just dancing to the high energy beats with all your friends and family besides you. Its hard to be just a bystander. You dance till you sweat and you almost drop! And all this is in finery befitting a wedding :) Well, Red Baraat created the whole mood and set everyone dancing. The leader Sunny Jain called the audience to the front to dance in four easy steps. Step 1: Put your hands in the air. Step 2: Shrug your shoulders. Step 3: Twist your wrists. Step 4: Shake your hips. All were too eager to comply. And for the whole time! The group members often danced themselves adding to the fun! The boundaries between the band and the audience seemed to diminish with every passing music piece as they kept going closer and closer to stage to just revel in the funky, super fun, high energy music that played. They played typical North Indian Wedding songs like 'Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai'; dance numbers like 'Tunak, tunak' and 'Dama dam must kalandar' and fun festive numbers like 'Rang Barse'.
I leave you with a couple of videos to enjoy. The videos seem to black out for a few seconds because I tried to capture the absolutely excited dancing audience too but couldn't because of low light. Also check out Elgin Community College Arts Center website for the very interesting variety of events they offer ranging from music concerts to stand up comedy shows to kids programs.
Red Baraat melds North Indian rhythm Bhangra with a host of sounds including brass, funk, go-go, Latin, and jazz to create a wildly exciting musical experience. They are becoming increasingly popular and rightly so. They kicked off their Spring Tour this year by playing at the White House on April 2!
'Baraat' is a term used for the procession in a North Indian Wedding where the groom is made to sit on a ornamented horse as his entire extended family and friends dance to the venue of the wedding amidst lots of lights (some people move holding lanterns and chandeliers on their shoulders or heads), lots of loud music - primarily dhol - that's a double sided barrel shaped drum which is what the lead Sunny Jain plays in the band and sousaphones; and also amidst fireworks. Sounds crazy?! Well it is! But the fun is just dancing to the high energy beats with all your friends and family besides you. Its hard to be just a bystander. You dance till you sweat and you almost drop! And all this is in finery befitting a wedding :) Well, Red Baraat created the whole mood and set everyone dancing. The leader Sunny Jain called the audience to the front to dance in four easy steps. Step 1: Put your hands in the air. Step 2: Shrug your shoulders. Step 3: Twist your wrists. Step 4: Shake your hips. All were too eager to comply. And for the whole time! The group members often danced themselves adding to the fun! The boundaries between the band and the audience seemed to diminish with every passing music piece as they kept going closer and closer to stage to just revel in the funky, super fun, high energy music that played. They played typical North Indian Wedding songs like 'Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai'; dance numbers like 'Tunak, tunak' and 'Dama dam must kalandar' and fun festive numbers like 'Rang Barse'.
I leave you with a couple of videos to enjoy. The videos seem to black out for a few seconds because I tried to capture the absolutely excited dancing audience too but couldn't because of low light. Also check out Elgin Community College Arts Center website for the very interesting variety of events they offer ranging from music concerts to stand up comedy shows to kids programs.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A quick getaway to St Louis
The last weekend which marked an end to the kids' Spring Break found us visiting the aesthetically beautiful city of St Louis in Missouri. A 6 hour drive away from the NW suburbs of Chicago, glorious weather, already quite green and flowery compared to IL at this time of the year, and enough touristy things to quickly fill up 2 days, it did very well to charm. The fact that we went there with another family friends and the kids always had company made it just as much endearing for them as well.
We took one stop on our way at a rest area and a simple slide became so much fun with 4 kids going down together.
Niño had checked immediately on the map to see where St Louis is and observed there was the Mississippi river which separated IL from MO and had been worried for a few moments as to how we would cross it! I had added to his worries by saying that we might have to swim for a bit to reach the other side (I am entitled to my moments of fun too ;) ) until the light bulb moment happened and he declared emphatically, "Oh I know! There must be a bridge across the the river to take us to St Louis!" There sure was one and he was extremely pleased to finally see the board welcoming us to Missouri right on the bridge after almost 5 hours of having waited for it :)
We reached Friday late afternoon at about 4 and after freshening up left for the City Garden at 5'o clock. The weather with a slight nip in the air was perfect to enjoy a stroll and enjoy the vibrant and serene blending of lush plantings and internationally-renowned sculpture with delights of water, stone, architecture and design. The kids had a ball running around water, climbing atop the various giant sculptures and then sliding down, all while they gorged on snacks and candy.
Pinocchio finds company!
Chica was all the more chuffed because she and her best friend happened to be wearing the same t-shirt which read 'Chilling out with my BFF'. Totally apt :)
We had a long dinner that day at a local Mexican eatery in downtown St Louis whose name eludes me right now but it was a long wait. We first went there, thought that the 50 minute wait was too long, gave our name nevertheless in the waiting list and then drove around to find another place to eat, realized all of them were fairly crowded and drove back to where we had initially gone. The weather was awesome even for sitting out which is where we sat and first enjoyed tray after tray of fresh chips and salsa. Hungry from all the strolling and sight seeing, we gorged on them like crazy. Fajitas, burritos and quesadillas were relished with the same fetish among chit chat, sips of cool drinks and in general a relaxed and cheery atmosphere
The next day, the first place we visited was the one all tourists in St Louis head to - the famous Gateway Arch. We took a 630-foot ride to the top of this world-famous stainless steel monument for the finest view in the Gateway City. It is the nation's tallest man made structure and how they built it was displayed pretty fascinatingly inside a small museum inside at the base of the arch. The journey to the top itself was pretty intriguing in a capsule which kept tilting to remain horizontally aligned with the ground.
Inside the capsule for the ride up.
Fabulous birds eye views from 630 ft up!
A couple of hours we were left with after refreshing the kids with snacks, juice and more candy were spent at the St Louis Zoo. We couldn't go around a lot because it had been getting quite hot that day and the kids were also tired from the morning outing to the Arch. But other than spotting ant eaters and wondering if ants are really all they eat and how they fill their big tummies, cheetahs, elephants and some more animals, it turned out to be another 'climbing on everything climbable' outing!
Deciding where to go.
The baccha party.
Climbing galore!
We returned to the hotel early and made a meal of dal chawal (rice and lentils) in the small kitchenette and enjoyed a home made meal (are we getting old to be craving a home cooked meal after just a couple of meals outside) over 'The King's Speech' as the kids played some games and watched some cartoon!
The next morning, for the two or so hours we had before we needed to drive back home, we went to the Forest Park. Forest Park is one of the nation's largest city parks with 1,293 acres, open to the public for golf, tennis, baseball, bicycling, boating, fishing, handball, ice skating, in-line skating, jogging, cricket, rugby and more. The park is also home to the St. Louis Science Center, the art museum, the zoo, and a history museum, all with free admission. Forest Park is really at the heart of St. Louis. We enjoyed paddle boating which was a refreshingly breezy experience on a day which was turning out to be really hot and then splashing water in the beautiful garden overlooking the World Fair's Pavilion.
Because feet tire after several minutes of paddling the boat!
It was a fun fun trip, a great break from the daily routine and a much enjoyed one at that! I think I would love to go again because there's still a lot more to do as this link here suggests :)
Niño had checked immediately on the map to see where St Louis is and observed there was the Mississippi river which separated IL from MO and had been worried for a few moments as to how we would cross it! I had added to his worries by saying that we might have to swim for a bit to reach the other side (I am entitled to my moments of fun too ;) ) until the light bulb moment happened and he declared emphatically, "Oh I know! There must be a bridge across the the river to take us to St Louis!" There sure was one and he was extremely pleased to finally see the board welcoming us to Missouri right on the bridge after almost 5 hours of having waited for it :)
Pinocchio finds company!
We had a long dinner that day at a local Mexican eatery in downtown St Louis whose name eludes me right now but it was a long wait. We first went there, thought that the 50 minute wait was too long, gave our name nevertheless in the waiting list and then drove around to find another place to eat, realized all of them were fairly crowded and drove back to where we had initially gone. The weather was awesome even for sitting out which is where we sat and first enjoyed tray after tray of fresh chips and salsa. Hungry from all the strolling and sight seeing, we gorged on them like crazy. Fajitas, burritos and quesadillas were relished with the same fetish among chit chat, sips of cool drinks and in general a relaxed and cheery atmosphere
The next day, the first place we visited was the one all tourists in St Louis head to - the famous Gateway Arch. We took a 630-foot ride to the top of this world-famous stainless steel monument for the finest view in the Gateway City. It is the nation's tallest man made structure and how they built it was displayed pretty fascinatingly inside a small museum inside at the base of the arch. The journey to the top itself was pretty intriguing in a capsule which kept tilting to remain horizontally aligned with the ground.
A couple of hours we were left with after refreshing the kids with snacks, juice and more candy were spent at the St Louis Zoo. We couldn't go around a lot because it had been getting quite hot that day and the kids were also tired from the morning outing to the Arch. But other than spotting ant eaters and wondering if ants are really all they eat and how they fill their big tummies, cheetahs, elephants and some more animals, it turned out to be another 'climbing on everything climbable' outing!
We returned to the hotel early and made a meal of dal chawal (rice and lentils) in the small kitchenette and enjoyed a home made meal (are we getting old to be craving a home cooked meal after just a couple of meals outside) over 'The King's Speech' as the kids played some games and watched some cartoon!
The next morning, for the two or so hours we had before we needed to drive back home, we went to the Forest Park. Forest Park is one of the nation's largest city parks with 1,293 acres, open to the public for golf, tennis, baseball, bicycling, boating, fishing, handball, ice skating, in-line skating, jogging, cricket, rugby and more. The park is also home to the St. Louis Science Center, the art museum, the zoo, and a history museum, all with free admission. Forest Park is really at the heart of St. Louis. We enjoyed paddle boating which was a refreshingly breezy experience on a day which was turning out to be really hot and then splashing water in the beautiful garden overlooking the World Fair's Pavilion.
It was a fun fun trip, a great break from the daily routine and a much enjoyed one at that! I think I would love to go again because there's still a lot more to do as this link here suggests :)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Our Experience at Eggs to Chicks Exhibit and Elmo visits Kohl Children's Museum
While this was two weekends back but a short trip sandwiched between some illnesses of self and the kids kept me away from the blog for a while.
We went to experience the Eggs to Chicks exhibit at the Kohl Children's Museum. It was a very sweet and at the same time educating experience for kids as well as for us adults alike. The exhibit featured a special child-height egg incubator, hatchery unit and a pen for newborn chicks. The journey of a chick right from day 1 of incubation to hatching adorned the wall as placards demonstrating the changes seen with every passing day. And the most fascinating was all to watch the eggs as the first cracks appeared and it moved and the kids could take a peek to see a tiny furry creature trying to make its way out. Each day 4 eggs are marked with a date and placed in the large incubator to begin their 21 day journey to develop into a chick. This means there's an extremely strong likelihood of one hatching right when you are there at the museum. One hatched in the very first hour of when we reached and another one was cracking and moving when we were moving out after spending about 3 hours in the museum. Here are a few pictures
The exhibit runs MARCH 19 - MAY 13 at the Kohl Children's Museum. Do take your kids there to enjoy the fascinating process of birth of a chicken as also to enjoy the rest of the very fun museum.
Also if you can make it tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10th 2012, you get to meet Sesame Street's Elmo. The three-and-a-half year old red-faced monster will hang out with some of his biggest fans at Kohl in advance of his appearance on-stage at the Akoo Theatre in May. Families are invited to participate in a photo opportunity with Elmo; space is limited and tickets to the photo opportunity will be distributed on a first-come, first served basis.
We went to experience the Eggs to Chicks exhibit at the Kohl Children's Museum. It was a very sweet and at the same time educating experience for kids as well as for us adults alike. The exhibit featured a special child-height egg incubator, hatchery unit and a pen for newborn chicks. The journey of a chick right from day 1 of incubation to hatching adorned the wall as placards demonstrating the changes seen with every passing day. And the most fascinating was all to watch the eggs as the first cracks appeared and it moved and the kids could take a peek to see a tiny furry creature trying to make its way out. Each day 4 eggs are marked with a date and placed in the large incubator to begin their 21 day journey to develop into a chick. This means there's an extremely strong likelihood of one hatching right when you are there at the museum. One hatched in the very first hour of when we reached and another one was cracking and moving when we were moving out after spending about 3 hours in the museum. Here are a few pictures
The exhibit runs MARCH 19 - MAY 13 at the Kohl Children's Museum. Do take your kids there to enjoy the fascinating process of birth of a chicken as also to enjoy the rest of the very fun museum.
Also if you can make it tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10th 2012, you get to meet Sesame Street's Elmo. The three-and-a-half year old red-faced monster will hang out with some of his biggest fans at Kohl in advance of his appearance on-stage at the Akoo Theatre in May. Families are invited to participate in a photo opportunity with Elmo; space is limited and tickets to the photo opportunity will be distributed on a first-come, first served basis.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sonic Sensations and more at the Kohl Children's Museum
Chilly days, at times rainy too, one has to be a constant lookout for places to visit, especially to keep the high energy rolling balls, read the kids, entertained and to keep them for asking for TV or such every waking hour. Needless to say a Children's Museum is always a hit. That's where we headed the past Sunday. Niño had his reservations, as he usually does, when in his mind he already has a favorite, which in this case happened to be the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier. And he insisted on visiting that very favorite. Anyways after much cajoling and the fact that he still has a few years to go before he can sit on the driver's seat and actually steer the car to where he wants to go (Thank God for that!), we headed for the KCM.
Among the several fantastic activities and exhibits that had the kids have an absolutely great time, what I liked personally about the museum was the optimum use of space. I have mentioned this before that as a parent of two young children, my mind is at much peace if I know that I won't have a big area to search in crowded places, in case one of my children is not in immediate sight. The good thing is that its all at one level and even though at first sight, it doesn't look very big but it offers lots to explore from pretty young children to older ones. Also the staff was ample and pretty vigilant which meant the getting back things in their proper place in exhibits like the Grocery Store and the Food Joint was prompt and also they kept an eye on children who seemed to be away from their adult guardians and were prompt to re-unite them. Another great thing was the well planned seats for adults close to almost every activity. So as the kids spent their time in exploring the properties of magnets or being a vet to some animal friends or filling the shopping carts to their heart's content, the parents always had a place to sit and relax in sight.
Apart from their permanent exhibits, the museum also has an ongoing temporary exhibit by the name of Sonic Sensations which helps children learn through play about the human ear and listening. The exhibit which started on Jan 17th runs through May 10, 2012. Chica especially loved playing for a long time on the Invisible Orchestra where she moved her hands and feet on a motion sensing carpet and a tune played on the monitor in front. The kids also loved to play the guessing game to identify low pitches from high as they hit colored bells mounted on a rotating turntable. Several other interesting activities like hiding a cat/cricket in one of the many closets and then listening to the sound to find out which one it is in or Creating your own Soundtrack as a scene plays out in front of you - a farm setting or a train passing by keeps the children entertained as older kids learn about the anatomy of the human ear and how we actually hear. Well worth a visit.
I leave you with some of our most interesting pictures.
Weighing their worth in milk jugs
The Balancing act
One of the biggest hits - making patterns with their body parts
on a giant pegboard and watching them from the other side
Low pitch or high?
The crazy family photo op
With a tune on her fingers!
Monday, December 12, 2011
"The Nutcracker"
We enjoyed a very beautiful performance of The Nutcracker at the Elgin Community College (ECC) Arts Center this past Saturday.
The holiday classic was divided into two acts, the first where the celebrations are on at the Stahlbaum's on Christmas eve as adults and children dance to merry tunes, run around and wait eagerly for the Stahlbaum kids' Godfather and the talented toymaker Drosselmeyer. Among other things what striked us was the simple yet elegant setting of a 19th century household on the eve of the grand holiday. The set seemed to come alive with the vibrant Christmas tree in the background as also the people in lovely costumes who surrounded it. The children were immensely talented, as one being a mom of two young kids is bound to notice :) They acted so well, danced in perfect rhythm and co-ordination and seemed to be enjoying themselves so much. It all looked like one big happy family. The expressions were so real and natural, I almost felt like a part of the party myself.
I and my 4 year old daughter waited for the second act with a lot of anticipation to look at all the different dances we had only read about in the kids' books and looked at pictures. What we didn't know was that the act is going to be all dance without a single word being spoken. If you are familiar with the story, in the second act, in honor of the young heroine Clara who has saved the Nutcracker from the Mouse King and helped him turn back into a prince, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, and tea from China all dance for their amusement; candy canes from Russia perform a Trepak; Danish marzipan shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Ginger has her children emerge from under her enormous skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a Pas de Deux. Each one of the dances was more fascinating than the other. Even my 6 year old son who is not easy to impress sat mesmerized. My daughter can't wait to learn ballet herself. It was the first time we saw ballet live on stage and to say that we were in awe is an understatement.
The ECC Arts Center had secured the services of the ECC Culinary Arts and Hospitality program to prepare a delightful selection of gourmet treats for a pre-show Clara's Christmas Tea Party in the Spartan Terrace dining room, just down the hall from the theater. Fare included delicious hot chocolate and festive pomegranate cranberry "mimosas;" a mouth watering selection of tea sandwiches including peanut butter and jelly, turkey and cranberry, smoked salmon and chive cream, roast beef and horseradish cream and sundried tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil pesto; plus assorted scones and Christmas cookies.
The ECC Arts Center has a diverse line up of events, both touring artists as well as their own college/in-residence ensembles. You can check out the interesting 2011-12 season here.
The holiday classic was divided into two acts, the first where the celebrations are on at the Stahlbaum's on Christmas eve as adults and children dance to merry tunes, run around and wait eagerly for the Stahlbaum kids' Godfather and the talented toymaker Drosselmeyer. Among other things what striked us was the simple yet elegant setting of a 19th century household on the eve of the grand holiday. The set seemed to come alive with the vibrant Christmas tree in the background as also the people in lovely costumes who surrounded it. The children were immensely talented, as one being a mom of two young kids is bound to notice :) They acted so well, danced in perfect rhythm and co-ordination and seemed to be enjoying themselves so much. It all looked like one big happy family. The expressions were so real and natural, I almost felt like a part of the party myself.
I and my 4 year old daughter waited for the second act with a lot of anticipation to look at all the different dances we had only read about in the kids' books and looked at pictures. What we didn't know was that the act is going to be all dance without a single word being spoken. If you are familiar with the story, in the second act, in honor of the young heroine Clara who has saved the Nutcracker from the Mouse King and helped him turn back into a prince, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, and tea from China all dance for their amusement; candy canes from Russia perform a Trepak; Danish marzipan shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Ginger has her children emerge from under her enormous skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a Pas de Deux. Each one of the dances was more fascinating than the other. Even my 6 year old son who is not easy to impress sat mesmerized. My daughter can't wait to learn ballet herself. It was the first time we saw ballet live on stage and to say that we were in awe is an understatement.
The ECC Arts Center has a diverse line up of events, both touring artists as well as their own college/in-residence ensembles. You can check out the interesting 2011-12 season here.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Holiday Lights Tour Experience
So we took the Holiday Lights Tour past Saturday. Needless to say the city looked magnificent in all those dazzling lights, smelt exquisite in those smells of cinnamon and coffee wafting through the air and just felt so 'tugging on your heart strings' kind of magical with the festivities and the cheer and the happiness on people's faces, the Christmas carols playing in the background as the trolley meandered its way through busy with the holiday crowd streets. We were treated to the festive lights and enchanting sights of wintertime in Chicago, including the twinkling lights of the Magnificent Mile, the posh Gold Coast Neighborhood, Macy's Holiday Windows, Daley Plaza's 40-foot tree, the John Hancock Plaza tree, Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest, Buckingham Fountain and the Christkindlmarket.
The lightly narrated tour which was supposed to be 2 hours long ran for an extra half an hour owing to rush traffic and also earned us a parking ticket as a result :( Apart from that there was nothing to not like about it. With stops at two brilliantly illuminated holiday attractions, we had time to hop off at both the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo and the Christkindlmarket, a traditional German American Holiday Market with distinctive crafts, artistic glass ornaments, delicious sweets, holiday food and drinks. Both the stops were so much fun by themselves that we are planning to return to just those to spend more time at each of those.
The tour is great for especially families with young kids or older people who get to see much of the city without having to walk in the cold. Both our kids had an awesome time riding the trolley as well as at both the stops. Just a word of caution to park for close to 3 hours. We parked at Pearson St 2 blocks from Michigan Ave where the parking was available for a maximum of 2 hours and we thought we would make it in an additional 5 minutes or so but we returned a half hour late and had a ticket by then.
The "Holiday Lights Tour" runs on Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 25 - Dec. 23, 2011, with four departure times at 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The tour departs from Chicago Water Works Pumping Station located at Michigan Avenue and Pearson Streets across from Water Tower Place. Tours hold 32 passengers each and tickets must be purchased in advance online at www.chicagotrolley.com.
The lightly narrated tour which was supposed to be 2 hours long ran for an extra half an hour owing to rush traffic and also earned us a parking ticket as a result :( Apart from that there was nothing to not like about it. With stops at two brilliantly illuminated holiday attractions, we had time to hop off at both the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo and the Christkindlmarket, a traditional German American Holiday Market with distinctive crafts, artistic glass ornaments, delicious sweets, holiday food and drinks. Both the stops were so much fun by themselves that we are planning to return to just those to spend more time at each of those.
The tour is great for especially families with young kids or older people who get to see much of the city without having to walk in the cold. Both our kids had an awesome time riding the trolley as well as at both the stops. Just a word of caution to park for close to 3 hours. We parked at Pearson St 2 blocks from Michigan Ave where the parking was available for a maximum of 2 hours and we thought we would make it in an additional 5 minutes or so but we returned a half hour late and had a ticket by then.
The "Holiday Lights Tour" runs on Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 25 - Dec. 23, 2011, with four departure times at 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The tour departs from Chicago Water Works Pumping Station located at Michigan Avenue and Pearson Streets across from Water Tower Place. Tours hold 32 passengers each and tickets must be purchased in advance online at www.chicagotrolley.com.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Lillstreet Art Center Clay Workshop
A couple of weeks back I had written about the workshop on making ceramic ornaments to decorate our tree or give as stocking stuffers, we were to attend at the Lillstreet Art Center. We went for the same this past Sunday and it was such a hit with kids and extremely relaxing and fun for me and my husband as well. I'll first walk you through some pictures and then tell you a little more about the place.
First we pounded the clay and threw it and pounded and threw to make a slab big and thin. This in itself was such a fascinating process for both the kids.
Then we used several cookie cutters to cut out interesting shapes - stars, leaves, snowmen, hearts, gingerbread man. The kids found it hard to stop at a three dozen cut outs at this step.
Then we painted the ornaments we had cut out, made some textures with pointed sticks or blocks and made a hole on top to string through later.
These are now ready to be bisque fired and the Lillstreet people will call us back to pick them up when they are ready.
It was a great experience and two hours passed by so fast. Chica, my 4 year old wanted to stay there longer and keep doing more. Fortunately, I was able to whisk her out of the room to show her the other interesting things happening in other parts of the art center. This was the first one we went to - it looked, smelled and felt very different from any other place we have been to. There were so many pots, paints, sculptures, bowls, plates and the likes lying around on many many shelves. All the people there, mostly artists working on different things seemed very relaxed and very friendly stopping by in the room that we were working in, when they came there to pick something they needed, and encouraging the children at the great job they were doing. And all the children in the workshop - 2 of mine and 2 more worked so neatly and with such rapt attention, it was lovely to watch them. The kids on their way out watched in such fascination a lady working on a potter's wheel. My son remarked, "Oh! So that's how a pot gets made!" I love remarks like these when kids realize something they had used regularly but never lent a thought to, now know where it comes from :)
I had linked to the various workshops that the Lillstreet people offer for kids as well as adults. Some of them are scheduled on Saturdays and are just $10 a person. The center is well worth a visit for an experience which is not easily available at home.
We now can't wait to collect them from the Art Center in a couple of weeks!
It was a great experience and two hours passed by so fast. Chica, my 4 year old wanted to stay there longer and keep doing more. Fortunately, I was able to whisk her out of the room to show her the other interesting things happening in other parts of the art center. This was the first one we went to - it looked, smelled and felt very different from any other place we have been to. There were so many pots, paints, sculptures, bowls, plates and the likes lying around on many many shelves. All the people there, mostly artists working on different things seemed very relaxed and very friendly stopping by in the room that we were working in, when they came there to pick something they needed, and encouraging the children at the great job they were doing. And all the children in the workshop - 2 of mine and 2 more worked so neatly and with such rapt attention, it was lovely to watch them. The kids on their way out watched in such fascination a lady working on a potter's wheel. My son remarked, "Oh! So that's how a pot gets made!" I love remarks like these when kids realize something they had used regularly but never lent a thought to, now know where it comes from :)
I had linked to the various workshops that the Lillstreet people offer for kids as well as adults. Some of them are scheduled on Saturdays and are just $10 a person. The center is well worth a visit for an experience which is not easily available at home.
We now can't wait to collect them from the Art Center in a couple of weeks!
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