Adventuring in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, and friends has made Fridays magical! Thank you to the Northwest Children’s Theater for their generosity and open arms. Our youngsters have practiced a vignette from the theater’s script, chosen for us by John (NWCT’s Pooh Bear!) and we have shared Pooh’s endearing outlook on life through the stories of the silly old bear
and his mates. The children donned the mantels of engineers and designers, making Pooh pull-toys (using a lever system and inquiry strategies, infusing problem-solving, record-keeping, and challenge-writing!) Each child created a sock animal, one that could have similar Pooh-type adventures in our own
imaginations. They looked at books with moving parts and made pop-up pages and slides to bring favorite quotes to life. We watched the play, talked with John and watched him disrobe from his layers of a chunky bear to his dance-gear, observed spellbound as he put on his make-up and explained the entire process of physical transformation back to his cuddly character, and enjoyed his morning visits as he strolled through the class to see the projects that were unfolding. And catching a glimpse of the star in the hall sent all of us into reels of excitement and breathless proclamations of “John-sightings!” We made our own costumes, rehearsed our lines, and enjoyed our own bit of the spotlight with admiring family members and friends. Stay tuned for scenes from our first open house!
