Daegan’s class, for 6-8 year olds, was considerably more advanced, with a fairly long script that had the kids memorizing lines. (Gareth’s class had very short lines to learn; the bulk of the story was narrated by the teacher and the kids simply acted out the story). Here, the story was “The Principal’s New Clothes”, a take-off on “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, but set in a school. Daegan played the role of “Roger, the smartest boy in school.” I LOVED what the instructor did to work with the kids’ strengths; for example, in Daegan’s script at one point his line...

The same weekend we went to Drumheller for Daegan’s birthday, both boys had their final performances from their drama classes—Gareth on Friday, Daegan on Saturday. It was a busy time! Gareth took a class called “Lions, Tigers and Bears am I” which combined visual arts and drama. One class an art instructor took them and the kids created the sets and costumes; next class a drama instructor helped them create their play and rehearse—back and forth for the 8-10 weeks. Gareth LOVED it! In their play, the kids were different animal characters, who went on a quest through different regions...

Yesterday Daegan had his first drama class ever—an activity I thought he might enjoy given (a) you get to move around a lot, (b) you get to play games and be silly, and (c) it’s not competitive. However, Daegan very clearly stated that he did NOT want to be signed up for it, insisting that he did not like drama class because it is something he has never tried before. Sigh. I find this  to be a rather challenging aspect of parenting this child. One the one hand, Jim and I believe in listening to your kids, respecting them and...

For the past 8 weeks or so, Gareth has been taking a drama class on Friday mornings—his second go at an unparented class, and this one he has absolutely loved. His friend Danny is in the class, and he has made a new friend, Alfie, both of whom came over (with their elder brothers) to our house for a playdate after their big performance on Friday. Six boys in one wee bungalow—wow! I think we lasted about 45 minutes, enough for them all to get a snack, before we shooed them into the backyard to play. It was a lovely...

On Friday Gareth had another of his drama classes at the nearby Arts Centre, and he is simply thriving. This is his first successful go at an unparented class. Last year at this time I put both boys into an unparented yoga class, thinking that having his older brother in the room would help ease Gareth’s transition to classes sans Mom or Dad. Nope! He just wasn’t ready. This time around he is in class with his friend Daniel, and is having a wonderful time—not a single issue. What a difference a year makes! After class Daniel and his...

In this two and a half minute segment, Daegan creates a very cool grasshopper—so cool, in fact, that it appears to be channelling Barry White! My favourite bits: “Love you, red dude!” (said to Ladybug) and “Woo! You turned  into a butterfly. Yeah. Reminds me of when I was just a little nymph.” LOL!

In this 2 and a half minute segment, Daegan makes a ladybug and continues the narrative. Apologies for the rough camera work, especially at the beginning, and enjoy the kissing, burping ladybug. My favourite bit: “Oh, you gone through metamorphosis, huh?” :-)

Yesterday Daegan made a rather involved craft: a monarch butterfly (orange), inside a chrysalis/pupa (green), inside a monarch caterpillar. Here’s a pic:   Daegan also went outside to find a stick for the caterpillar to attach itself to for metamorphosis. I got out the video camera and asked him to show me how his craft worked, figuring I’d get a cute little video out of it. Somehow this morphed in almost an hour of footage, with Daegs making a variety of other insects and plants. By the end there were 5 additional insects and 5 more plants,...

Here’s Daegan’s first attempt at making a cartoon. It’s called The Life Story of a Pteranadon, and is from his (yet to be completed) Cartoon History of the Earth. He drew the pics and created a told the narrative without any help; I was just behind the camera. Enjoy!

I showed my boys a story and picture a friend’s son had posted on a blog, and Gareth immediately wanted to create his own. As he had a toy school bus, helicopter, and Wigget—his trusty T. Rex puppet who goes everywhere with him—this is what he dictated: Once upon a time the Animal Mechanicals were sleeping. They all heard their clocks go “RING!” They go to their bus and open the door. And they close the door. And Kimodo drives the bus. Then their bus turns into a time machine. Then they go to the time of T....