Mucho Gusto Spanish

Hola amigos,

If you were planning on signing up for Mucho Gusto Spanish

Don’t Hesitate Classes are filling fast……Just 3 more spots. Classes start next week Wednesday October 3rd

Here is the scoop….

Mucho Gusto Spanish classes are conducted in Spanish, with minimal English used when necessary to facilitate understanding.

Classes are a combination of music and movement, stories, and circle games. While hearing the language, children make connections as they move their bodies, respond to visual aids such as puppets and pictures, and manipulate simple props. Mucho Gusto participants vary in language background, from parents with little or no prior exposure to Spanish to those who are raising their children bilingually.

Start Wednesday October 3rd and end November 21 at Childrens Art Museum in Shelburne Falls

Wednesdays 3:00pm for 4-7years, 4:00pm for 0-5 years
Cost $95, (siblings $85)

To Sign Up Please contact Laurie Davidson
lauriedavidson@peoplepc.com
413 367 9608

About the instructor:

LAURIE DAVIDSON holds a B.A. in Spanish from Tufts University and an EdM in Bilingual Education from Boston
University. She taught for five years in a two-way bilingual program in Chelsea, MA., where she taught the first grade curriculum in Spanish to an integrated group of native Spanish and native English speakers. Now the mother of three, she is experiencing first hand the importance of introducing a second language at an early age. In addition to teaching Mucho Gusto classes, she performs Spanish and English children’s music at area libraries and schools with husband Tom Carroll as the
musical duo Canto for Kids.

Fantastic, Dr Marmalade!

Puppets Teach Compassion at The Children’s Art Museum (CAM)
by Sienna Wildefield over at Hilltown Families

Last month I took my daughter to see Constant Wonder sing about life cycles and animals at the Eric Carle Museum. She loved it. This past weekend I took her to see Dr. Marmalade perform with her animal puppets at the Children’s Art Museum. She loved that too!

Whether their shows are educating the children in the audience or introducing social skills, there are a few elements that both shows shared that made the kids respond very enthusiastically: animals, audience interaction, and surprises.

DR. MARMALADE’S PERFORMANCE FORMULA

Animals : Dr. Marmalade shared several of her puppet friends with the audience. One special puppet was a gorilla with a tummy ache. With the audience giggling and helping, Dr. Marmalade was first able to retrieve a tube of toothpaste from the gorilla’s tummy. She reminds her gorilla and her audience that toothpaste is to be spat out, not swallowed. She then pulls out a crescent moon ornament. Her gorilla friend thought it was a banana. Together the audience reminds the gorilla not to put things in his mouth. And finally, with a couple of kids helping out, a long rainbow scarf is pulled out, leaving the kids in fits of giggles. Compassionate hugs by many children left her gorilla friend feeling much better.

Audience Interaction: The audience was encouraged to participate throughout the performance, including the adults. One parent was asked to come up and pretend he was a tree while a Raven danced upon his head. Children then came up and helped Dr. Marmalade with her bunny & puppy puppets while others shouted out on que.

Element of Surprise: Just like Constant Wonder’s “Wonder Trunk,” Dr. Marmalade offered an element of surprise with her traveling “Emerge-And-See” Wagon. A clever name for a doctor’s trunk. Excitement grew as children watched Dr. Marmalade pull out her puppets and props to share with and engage the audience.

Following the performance, my daughter gushed about the funny antics of Dr. Marmalade. Her performance definitely left my daughter wanting more! Dr. Marmalade does several different performances and we look forward to her return to CAM.

Interview with an artist:

Mischa Epstien Alvarado

How did you become an artist?
I actually was taking some time off to stay at home and started cutting paper and here I am. My first piece was Moon Grazing.

Did your family encourage you?
My family has always been behind me 100% between my Wife , Parents and Siblings I always have someone helping me at a show or event. It always feels like I have an entourage. It’s a great experience to be so supported.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Springfield, MA. When I was younger I spent alot of time at the Quadrangle. They had the library and a lot of museums and it was alot of fun. By the time I was 12 I was an assistant camp counselor. It was the most fun I ever had working at any camp.

Do you have any siblings?
Yes, three. I have an older Brother who is 39 named David, an older sister who is 34 named Audra and a younger brother who is 19 named Max. My older brother has two children who both commissioned Original pieces of artwork for their birthdays this year.

What is a collage?
For me a collage is a piece of artwork made of many pieces. No matter if the pieces are string or news paper clippings or bright paper.

Describe how a piece comes together for you?
For me a piece comes from many places. I did one piece that was inspired by the neon lights outside of A to Z in Northampton. It was this really cool image of a green frog catching a bug with its tongue.

Have you ever made paper?
I’m just starting to get into making paper. It’s quite a process!

What was your favorite subject in school?
To be honest I loved writing and literature. I never thought I would be a visual artist. My plan was to be a director.

Is there an artist who really inspires you?
I don’t think one artist in particular inspired me I think pieces of artwork do.

What is your favorite picture book?
My favorite picture book of all time is called On The Day You Were Born. It’s about the whole world rejoicing about new life.

What is you favorite color?
Wow! That’s a hard question. I don’t think I have one. There are combinations of colors that I really like. I love hot pink with bright orange and lime green.

Tell us about your favorite piece you have made?
My favorite piece is called When Ships Pass In The Night. It’s actually sold really well. It’s ships passing in front of mountains. It was inspired by when my wife and I both worked during Christmas and we worked completely opposite times of the day. That’s the piece that matters most to me and I think that’s why people love it so much.

“When other artists see a tube of red paint they see a fire truck,
When I see a piece of red paper, I see that same fire truck.”
Mischa Epstein Alvarado

Local artist Mischa Epstien Alvarado returns to CAM

Sat October 13 2007, 2pm-3:30pm $12 All ages

Last summer she was here “Cutting up the Sky” making collages of rocket ships, start and moons and sun! Fun was had by all who attended young and old! Now she returns for the first of a seasonally inspired series of collage workshop “Fall in New England”

You can see/purchase her work at “Wings of Light” in Shelburne Falls and a few galleries/gift shops in Northampton.

Mischa Epstein Alvarado

“When other artists see a tube of red paint they see a fire truck,
When I see a piece of red paper, I see that same fire truck.”