Performances for the wee ones!

Most of you know I have a passion for drama.  I use drama and music every day in my classroom.   I also like to expose my students and my own kids to live performances of any kind.  I wanted to take today's entry to devote to different performances,theatre, music and dance, that are geared for kids 3-10.  So often we take the children to sports events and parks.  I hope that you get the opportunity to take your child to at least one live performance a year.  You never know what they will fall in love with.
Let me know if you go to any.  I would love to hear about the experience. 

Aladdin:
AlphaBet Soup Productions
Greater Chicago Area
Various 60148
(630) 932-1555
Witness how a poor boy named Aladdin wins the heart of Princess Jasmine, with the aid of his pet monkey Yahzoo, and a wacky Genie with a brother complex. All singing! All sword-swinging! And a happy ending to boot!

Time: 10:30 AM

Cost: $7-$9

Ages: Pre K-5th Grade

Little Red Riding Hood

Stahl Family Theater at St. Patrick's High School
5900 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago 60634
(773) 205-9600
Chicago Kids Company- Theatre for Children (CKC) presents Little Red Riding Hood, a one-hour musical adaptation! Meet Little Red and her friends as she travels through the woods to Grandma’s house. Will she listen to her Mama’s warning not to stray from the path? And why is the wacky Wolf so eager to help her out? The show runs one hour with no intermission and is targeted for kids aged 2 to 12.

Time: 10:30 am to 11:30 am

Cost: Single Tickets: $12.00 each Group Tickets: $6.00 - $9.00 each

Ages: Ages 2-12

The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley

Northbrook Musical Theatre for Young Audiences
3323 Walters Avenue
Northbrook 60062
(847) 291-2367
Flat Stanley is an ordinary boy with a normal life. But Stanley wants to travel the world and see new things. In this adaptation of a beloved children's book we will see Stanley get an amazing opportunity to pursue his dreams of adventure!

Time: 10am and 1pm

Cost: $12

The Very Hungry Catepillar

Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 North Dearborn St.
Chicago 60610
(872) 222-9555
Paying April 29 - June 1, 2014.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” follows the adventures of a very tiny and very hungry caterpillar that eats his way through and amazing variety of foods towards his eventual metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. Children will likewise delight in the antics of “Little Cloud.” High up in a beautiful sky, Little Cloud slips away from the rest and transforms itself into various shapes of things it sees – a sheep, an airplane, a shark and more. In “The Mixed-Up Chameleon,” a little chameleon is bored with its life – sitting about predictably changing color all day. So it decides to embark on an adventurous trip to the zoo. Upon seeing the beautiful animals there, the little chameleon tries changing to look like each one of them.

Time: See web site for schedule

Cost: Call for pricing

Ages: Ages 2 and up

Seussical The Musical

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
800 E. Grand Avenue
Chicago
(312) 595-5600
Chicago Shakespeare Theater brings the humor and magic of Dr. Seuss to life onstage this summer in the Broadway musical comedy Seussical for young audiences and their families. Playful, energetic and full of whimsy, Seussical engages the imagination with clever lyrics and melodies, unforgettable characters and the vibrant rainbow of Dr. Seuss’ colorful world. Seussical is written by the Tony Award winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, whose works include Ragtime and Once on This Island, and was co-conceived with Eric Idle of Monty Python and Spamalot fame. Directed by Scott Weinstein with musical direction by Michael Mahler, Seussical will be performed July 5 through August 17 in CST's Courtyard Theater. Each performance features special opportunities for audiences to interact with the actors in the Lobby for one-on-one conversations and photo opportunities.

Time: See web site for schedule

Cost: $18 children (12 & under) | $28 adults

Ages: Ages 4 and up

Dodgeball Dungeon

 ComedySportz
929 West Belmont
Chicago 60657
(773) 549-8080
The ComedySportz Theatre in Chicago is proud to present the premiere of a new kind of improv show for all ages. Every Saturday at 12pm from April 12th through May 17, ComedySportz will present an entirely new and completely original interactive fantasy adventure! Volunteer players from the audience are sent to aid the heroes of a fantasy kingdom by completing challenges and fighting monsters using the world’s most powerful weaponry – the mighty dodgeball.
THE SHOW
The Kingdom of Gwendaloth is in trouble! Always. It seems like every week there’s another kidnapped Prince who needs rescuing, or a rampaging dragon, or an evil sorcerer trying to take over the world. So it’s up to the Heroes of the Realm (that’s you) to pick up their dodgeballs and descend into the dungeon to save the day. Audience members young and old will save the day using magic, running obstacle courses, and earning enchanted artifacts like the Orb of Darkness, the Vampire Cloak, or the powerful (but annoying) Talking Armor!
Join the cast of DODGEBALL DUNGEON every Saturday afternoon in this highly interactive, highly physical, and highly hilarious improvised choose-your-own-adventure.

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Cost: $10.00

Ages: 6 and up

You can also look up Chicago Symphony Hall for a huge variety of performances.  Ravinia festival has dance and music performances as well.   

 

 

 

Fun Messes to Make....

Here are some recipes to keep you busy over your Spring/Easter break. 

Kool Aid Play Dough

2 1/2 cups - flour
1 cup - salt
3 tablespoons - vegetable oil
2 cups - boiling water
2 packages - unsweetened Kool-Aid (Any colour you want!)
Gloves - Optional

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the oil and water. Knead for the mixture for 10 minutes, and done!

* Don't forget to put the homemade play dough in a air tight container, or zip lock bag when your done using it so it doesn't dry up.

Moon Dough (my favorite)

Ingredients

• 8 cups flour
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• Essential oil such as lavender or grapefruit (optional)

Instructions

1. Scoop and pour the flour into the center of a large tub.
2. Create a crater in the middle of the flour.
3. Pour the oil into the crater.
4. Gently mix it all together.
5. Enjoy mixing and learning about the properties of the dough as it is, or add small silicone bowls, spoons, or measuring cups to make small structures, hills, or pretend cupcakes.     

The original recipe is an 8:1 ratio and 

 

Edible Chocolate/PB Clay (soooo fun and yummy)

Ingredients: 1 tub (16 oz) chocolate frosting, 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural), 2.5 cup powdered sugar.

Your kids will have trouble deciding whether they’d rather play with it or eat it! You can substitute other flavors of frosting for the chocolate, if you desire. You can also roll it into balls and serve it plain, dip it in chocolate, or roll it in crushed nuts. 

 Fluffy Stuff

(2 boxes cornstarch and 1 can shaving cream; color if desired) -- moldable with cups, hands, utensils, you name it!

shaving cream and green food coloring in a ziplock bag. After I got all the air out of the bag, I duct taped the ziplock part to prevent leaks. Then I let little B squeeze and smoosh the bag to his hearts content!  - See more at: http://www.playcreateexplore.org/2013/03/color-of-week-green.html#sthash.dPfOBn6i.dpufFluffy Stuff