Cobwebs, Giggles, and Shadowlight Theater

An afternoon of reading with my daughter is the highlight of my day. It's a special time for us to snuggle, unwind and travel to new towns or far off lands. We love to meet new friends and I enjoy introducing her to some of my old, favorite ones all within the pages of a book. My Omi and I finished E.B. White's Charlotte's Web (again) and it was so much fun to read together now that she is old enough to engage with the story. We did not want the adventure to end! As a parent, I want to encourage her excitement for reading….so I felt compelled to create something educational for her while keeping it eco-friendly and  crafty. What could we do?  I immediately thought of our family trip to Colonial Williamsburg, located in Virginia, and how much she loved watching the Victorian Shadowlight Theatre performance. Perfect! We could continue our adventure with Charlotte and Wilbur by learning more about the history of Shadowlight Theatre and creating our very own shadowlight show about Charlotte’s Web!

Shadowlight Theater DIY: Before you get started make sure you have the following supplies.

• pencils
• Old cereal boxes cut apart and flattened
• Scissors 
• X-Acto knife 
• Tape and glue
• Bag of lollipop sticks
• Stencils or pictures of animals
• Clip lamp for light source
• White sheet 

Tips on how to decide the characters to make: Try to focus on a few of the characters/ animals that make your children/audience laugh or the ones that invoke the most questions. If this is a project for home and not storytelling then let your child(ren) choose how the characters should stand or what expressions they should have. Once you have your characters decided then practice sketching out the animals freehand or using stencils. If you are not gifted in drawing you can trace a picture or use a stencil to get the perfect puppet.  Then if the child is old enough to use scissors begin to cut out the puppet character being mindful that you need nice clean edges for a good shadow. Below I given you a glimpse at our own puppets that we created. 

Mr. Zuckerman's Barn & Charlotte's Web

The Gander

The Goose

Wilbur

Wilbur with a sad/scared expression

Charlotte

Templeton

Fern Arable

 Once  you have all the puppets designed and cut to your liking have the children set up the "stage" using chairs or anything sturdy to hang the white sheet. Then place the clip lamp/light source behind the white sheet so that it can create the shadows needed for the Shadowlight Theatre. The children will be excited and after some practice they will be ready to perform their first interpretation of the book for family and friends. Remember to let the children have this opportunity for fun, imaginative play as well as learning how to retell a story that they learned. Giving this gift of imaginative play as well as a chance to practice reading comprehension is a beautiful gift that will spark a greater love for learning.


Don't forget to bring out the camera and document this fun adventure!

KtMaude

The Perspective of Gratitude

It was 7:47 am and I was holding my hands under the water at the kitchen sink and quickly turned to run my damp hands through my daughters curls. Rushing...look at the clock...fix a curl...grab backpack...snack... and all of the sudden my husband's voice says with a smile "Mothers and daughters."  I stopped suddenly looked at my daughters big brown eyes, rustled her curls and smiled. "I love you and I would do this everyday for the rest of my life if I could."  I was so grateful for that moment and the wise short words of my husband that truly gave me perspective for the day. It was for that moment that I didn't dwell on my downfalls of not being a early riser or not being able to pack Naomi's lunch the night before type of Mommy. Instead, I was able to enjoy the moment and find perspective for my day.

The perspective of gratitude...so simple but yet so difficult to keep in the flow of life. I am so thankful for my husband who is my daily reminder that I need to come to a position of gratitude daily or my heart's posture will surely stink of entitlement, ungratefulness, and selfishness. When I mentor younger women here on Princeton's campus or encourage friends I find it easy to see the things to be grateful for. Yet, in my alone time when my children have said "Mommy" a zillion times and my dishes are piled high with expected guests in an hour...I tend to lose perspective. Therefore to help keep perspective (with a nudge from my handsome husband) I started a gratitude journal at the beginning of this year. It has been such a blessing as well as a reality check for me to have documented moments in time for which I can return to and remember how good I really do have it. This sweet journal, my Gratitude Journal has been such a blessing for me that I wanted to share it with you.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  -Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for." Henry Lewis Mencken (1880-1956)

May you enter today with gratitude and joy!