August 24, 2022
Amanda Crowe from the Canton Museum of Art was back for another class of artistic creations - Watercolors in Nature.
She began with everyone stretching by making a motion to the sun and warming up their fingers to paint their project.
The children and grandmas and grandpas continued by tracing a rock, tracing their hand, using circles, drawing on foil, and playing "Simon Says" by adding shapes .
The colors of the rainbow began appearing everywhere as everyone used their creativity as the children and the grandmas and grandpas helped each other create their masterpiece. Some groups were evening singing to each other as they painted..
Many great abstract designs were the result as seem below.
August 17, 2022
The Storyteller, Lindsay Bonilla was in rare form today with a story from the Marshall Islands - "The War Between the Whale and the Sandpiper".
She started by bringing out her backpack from around the world.
She continued to add to her cast of animals by placing hats on their heads of the children and the grandmas and grandpas.
First the Sandpiper and then the Whale.
Next the Dolphin, Shark, Eagle, and Parrot.
So many wonderful actors made up of children and grandmas and grandpas) repeating the story as the Storyteller engaged the group in actions, motions, and sounds.
The story ended with a lesson that both the Sandpiper and Whale needed each other to survive and realized they could co-exist.
August 10, 2022
Today was Yoga Day at JRC with the children and Grandmas and Grandpas in the Intergenerational Connections Program!
We had a substitute instructor, Sarah Donnelly who works with children and adults at her farm.
She started out with stretches - with both groups making connections.
She guided the session with bell ringing which allowed actions to begin and end either in a quiet mode or a more robust mode.
First when the bell rang the children had to go to connect to a Grandma and Grandpa.
Motions of exercise - example - rubbing hands over eyes,
Using an animals guessing game with motions and sounds to get everyone active and involved - owls, frogs, coyotes to name a few.
Tree pose was fun for the children standing -then her version of the sitting tree pose for the grandmas and grandpas.
Animals that are asleep during the day and come active at night. Alexander (child) shouted out "nocturnal" to everyone's surprise.
She brought a basket filled with instruments to simulate rain with music. First the Grandmas and Grandpas did it then the children. First softly then louder and louder. What fun while everyone was moving with motion.
What a day of storytelling with incorporating yoga motions for everyone!
The session ended with a healthy snack for everyone. The children served the Grandmas and Grandpas first before they served themselves - LESSON LEARNED!
August 3, 2022
JRC was pleased to have a guest artist that was originally from Canton, Ohio but now is living in Mexico and teaching Art Classes in English. She is also the sister of our wonderful Yoga Instructor for the JRC IG Program Rhoda Kuster - her name is Theresa Moreno.
She engaged the children and the Grandpas and Grandmas in a sort of Puppet Show.
She began with a song with animals waking up for the day with motions and music with animal sounds.
She continue with a mouse story and instructed everyone to help each other create their version of a mouse with clay and rockwool.
The story continued with her pumpkin on her table as the mouse emerged.
A mousey song ended the morning as the children and grandpas and grandmas played with each other with their new little mice.
A lot of great interaction and fun from both groups....
July 27. 2022
Amanda Crowe was with us today from the Canton Museum of Art to help the seniors (Grandmas and Grandpas) and children create a Garden Theme with clay and plants and critters found in a garden.
After the usual welcome train where the children greet the grandmas and grandpas and then the pledge of allegiance is recited to the American Flag, she began the day with a song - "Happy and You Know It".
The garden began as they formed a bottom piece with clay. She proceeded with a poem - "This is my Garden".
They all added flowers, plants, and other garden items. They even added another clay figure as she asked them - what animal do you find in a garden? Some created a bunny, others bugs, snails, etc. Creativity was the Garden Theme as they made what they see in a garden.
The children and grandmas and grandpas really enjoyed helping each other create their garden and were pleased when they added the cup to complete the project!
July 20, 2022
This was yoga day as Rhonda Kuster and Kedric Wolfe were their creative selves while beginning with breathing and srretching exercises.
They have the children and adult/seniors imagine reaching in the trees for apples, oranges pears and stretch to the tree pose.
They added an interaction with balls as the group tossed balls back and forth from child to grandma and grandpa while exercising and having fun.
The class winded down with some cool down movements and then a healthy snack of a banana and milk. Each child served their grandmas and grandpas before themselves to learn "serving others first".
July 13, 2022
Beacon Academy was our special program today with a Salt Water Craft - Jellyfish. Temeah Ross and her team were the instructors from the school who really had fun with the children and adult/seniors as they helped them interact together while each creating their masterpiece.
The craft was so colorful for both the children and the adult/seniors with painting, ribbons, sparkles, googley eyes to create the jellyfish that their imagination wanted it to be.
July 6, 2022
Our Storyteller, Lindsay Bonilla was proud to present one of her published children's books: "I Love You With All of My Hearts"
Following the welcome and the pledge of allegiance, she began with describing how she got her ideas for her book - from her own children.
She then preceded to describe all the animals in the story while choosing children and seniors to play the part of the animals with sounds and motions. She also talked about each animal and their habits, etc.
Everyone had fun learning and making sounds and motions of Elephants, Lions, Dolphins, Birds, Zebras, Kangaroos, and even Octopuses.
Other animals: foxes, monkeys, aardvarks, birds, spiders and crocodiles.
Sometimes they all had to find the heart hidden in the story's pages...
