Recital Night 2015

 

This semester's recital night was last night at Faith Christian Academy. We have developed strong ties with this school and they have been so gracious and allowing us to be there and literally take over the gym for three weeks for stage construction, extra practices, and performances.

 

This year Grace was involved with Girls Ensemble and Ballroom Dance. She absolutely loved both of these classes. This is really saying a lot because it took two years for her to finally make the decision to join both classes.

 

She has enjoyed so much bonding with the girls in Girls Ensemble but also singing again. Grace has a beautiful voice (of course I'm mom and biased) and over the past couple of years she had stepped away from singing in performances. A few weeks ago she even did a duet in the school's variety show.

 

Who would have ever known how much a group of teenagers would love Ballroom Dance. This class started out with only 12 members with now around 24. We normally only held the Ballroom class in the Spring to get all the students ready for the Spring Formal, but this year the kids begged to continue. I have new students waiting to get involved in this class as well. Last night the kids performed the Cha Cha and Foxtrot and they already know the Waltz. Next semester will be the Swing and another dance style.

 

I always enjoy Recital Night so much because quite frankly I love these kids and their families. It is like a big family reunion when we all get together. We have to turn off the lights to get people to leave at the end because we enjoy each others company so much. We truly love each other. That is why I put in the long hours directing this Cooperative - The KIDS and the FAMILIES!

 

Next on tap - two Peter Pan performances next week!

When Your Brain Hits That Proverbial Wall

The end of each semester is usually crazy for us. Trying to get everything with the Cooperative tied up with a pretty bow can be time consuming, mind boggling, and just plain exhausting. This year added to my plate is directing the spring musical. This is something completely new to me (in the past I have always run sound, etc) and sometimes I feel like I am failing miserably at it.

Yesterday at practice we were blocking the last 20 - 25 pages of Peter Pan. I got about halfway through it and my brain just stopped functioning. I couldn't remember what I had visualized for a certain part and hit a brick wall. That means 35 high school students standing over my shoulder waiting for me to get it together. My co-director recommended starting over and watching the flow of the scene again and it would come back to me. It did pretty much come back to me but still I felt like a failure. Trying to direct so many moving pieces at once sent me into a tail spin and my brain hit the proverbial wall. This is not something that comes naturally to me.

I am full to the brim with information in my brain and simply cannot add anything else at the moment. I have multiple plates in the air all spinning and something is bound to fall and shatter. I'm just hoping it won't be Peter Pan. In the following three weeks we have to build a stage, get lighting and sound figured out in a new location, multiple rehearsals, recital night for everything else we do at the Cooperative (art show, choirs, puppets, ballroom dance, and elementary drama), two Peter Pan performances, get the stage back down and put always until the fall semester, spring formal, parent packet information to the parents for fall class registration, continue homeschooling my own daughter, tutoring three 5th graders, review products for The Crew, and simply running a household.

Believe me when I say I am not complaining, because I love the Cooperative and everything it entails. I'm just hoping that I can keep going and finish strong. Prayers would be so much appreciated to finish the semester strong and let the students shine like they always do, not for their own glory but to show the community what God can do when he brings families together, working together to create something special.

Creativity Abounds

Mermaid's Treasure Chest

 

I just wanted to brag on some of our high school art students from the Cooperative. Each student was given a small brown paper bag with the same items in it. Their job was to create something using those items and they could add to it as well from their own stash of supplies. What they all came up with was just plain amazing.

Angel

Birthday Celebration

Tire Swing

Bird house

Water Wheel

Campfire

Dock

My husband who is the teacher of this class has taken all the entries to some artist friends to judge the most creative who will win a gift card. I will definitely post the winner when I know.

Creative Christian Cooperative Christmas Program

 

This Cooperative has been one of the best things I have ever been involved. We are finishing up our third year as an extended fine arts cooperative and last night's program could not have been better. Sixty students are involved in our cooperative with about 35 participating last night in the end of the semester Christmas Extravaganza. I really could not be prouder. They were wonderful. This was my first go at directing the drama production, with the help of my co-director since my main drama teacher had moved away. She came last night to the performance and thought it was wonderful. That is like getting the golden seal of approval. So I was a very happy camper. You may ask, "Why in the world are there tarps under the choirs that are singing"? Well, they were performing a very creative song about baking a fruitcake and every ingredient that was mentioned was thrown onto the floor.

 

This was probably my favorite skit. Santa's Pop Quiz was a young girl quizzing Santa and just giving him a hard time. You don't figure out until the end of the skit that it is his daughter getting him ready to answer other kids questions about Santa while collecting money on the street for charity.

 

I love each and every one of these kids. Most times I treat them like my own. Some of the older kids I have know for years and a few just for the last 2 years. Doesn't matter. I love them all the same and look so forward to working with them each and every Tuesday that we meet.

 

Here is Grace with two of her closest friends at Co-op. Grace was in the Two Elves skit that told a lot of short jokes. They also manned the ticket table for me. All the funds collected at last night's event will go to building us a new stage in our new location starting in January.

 

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Grace on stage in her skit, but being a director and stage hand for the whole program kind of limited me to when I could go and take a picture.

 

This was Girls Ensemble singing in between skits. I am looking most forward to Grace being a part of this group starting in January.

 

The Cooperative also had the end of the semester art shows for high school art, elementary art, and the Keepers and Contenders Class. I think it would be safe to say that we had at least 200 people in attendance last night.

 

I can't say enough about how wonderful a night it was. Also a great big thanks to my teachers, families, and students for helping us pull off this fantastic night. This program really helped to kick of the Christmas Season and hopefully bring a little joy to everyone's life. I know it sure did for me!

Cooperative Costume Party

Getting ready to play the donut game.

 

Last night our Cooperative had a costume party. Mostly I put this together for our beloved co-director Ms. Shannon who moved away back in May. She was coming for a visit and wanted to see all the kids and family while here. The timing of Halloween and the fact that most of the guys are drama students and relish in dressing up became the them of the party. We had current Cooperative attendees present as well as alumni of the program. It truly was so great to see everyone.

Spider tossing game.

 

When I discovered that close to 70 children, teens, and their families would be in attendance I knew I needed to recruit some help. My sister is a perfect party planner and game show host so she was my first choice. We planned an evening of Minute to Win It type games and she was Tacky Jack the game show host. Telling jokes and leading the games. My niece, nephew, and my sister's good friend all jumped in to help as well.

Post Its Game

I think all the families had fun. It is always great to hang out with the gang. Lots of laugh, fellowship, and love for each other.

 

 

The costumes were great. My favorites were the little Minion and Carol Burnett's version of Scarlet O'Hara.

 

So much sugar I'm sure the kids were up for hours afterward.

 

 

Love these kids!

So You Want to Start a Homeschool Cooperative

This time of the year everyone is getting organized and prepared for the new school year, unless like me you homeschool year round. If you homeschool year round you are still probably looking at new materials, etc. to start. With all the new planning going on I am also seeing many posts about families getting together and starting Cooperatives of all types. I thought after my vast experience (two year - so maybe not so vast) I could shed some light on what it takes to have a Cooperative run smoothly and what you are willing to give to make it work.

Most of my readers know the story but if you are new I will do a short recap. Two years ago me and a close friend started a fine arts Cooperative in our community, mostly for homeschoolers but we do also have a few public or private school kids that have attended. We meet August - December and January - May. Mostly we make available fine arts classes but occasionally throw in a light academic class to spice things up. For example this semester we have Keepers and Contenders of the Faith, Drama, Art, Choir, Current Events, Screenwriting, Mapping the World Through Art, Mock Trial, and Sign Language. Over the last two years I have made some mistakes and learned so much. I thought for those of you that are considering putting a Cooperative together I would give you a few pointers for things that might make it whole process easier.

• Pick a co-director. Don't try to do this all alone. Even with the help of a co-director some times you will feel like your life is being taking over by said Cooperative. I have found that it does tend to creep into all aspects of your life. Share the responsibilities with someone else, preferably a close friend that you can bounce ideas off of and is willing to tell you the truth when you need it.
• Like-minded families. Search out like-minded families that want to join a Cooperative. This might end up being two or three families or in my case 38! (Of course we didn't start with 38, but gradually reached that number for our upcoming semester)  Everyone should be interested in  working toward the same goal. Families who participate should also be willing to help out periodically when the need arises. This may be to teach a class, help with dismissals, costuming, refreshments, holiday parties, etc.
• Location. You've decided to start a Cooperative - now where are we all going to meet. If you are starting with just a few families then maybe someone's house will be just fine. If you are looking at larger numbers of children and classes then it is time to secure a good location. This may be a community center, church, or building to rent. In our case we started with renting a huge event room at a local bowling alley, which we quickly outgrew. Now we meet at my church and we our bursting at the seams turning students away.
• Raising Funds. Okay this one is tricky. In the beginning we didn't have any funds and worked with a very bare bones budget. Mostly we wanted our Cooperative to be a ministry but knew funds would still be needed for things like liability insurance, rent, and supplies. From the get go we decided to charge a small monthly fee that would include all classes that were available. Some Cooperatives may decide not to charge anything but rely on parent participation to pick up the slack. In our case we do have parent participation but funds are still needed for the above mentioned monthly needs.
• Recruiting teachers. This one is really important. If you don't have teachers, you don't have classes available. Most times these classes will be taught by parents that have children attending classes, but occasionally you will need to go outside the Cooperative to find a teacher. If this occurs usually some type of fee will be charged by that teacher to teach which brings us back up to the previous section of raising funds.

This is just but a few of the items I feel are most important to discuss and consider before starting a Cooperative. It is a process and you must be willing to spend a large part of your life working on it. I do view this as a ministry and I love our kids and families that participate. Definitely you need to go into this with your eyes wide open, but it is so worth it in the end.



What to do When an Endeavor Explodes with Interest

Many of my readers know that me and a friend started a fine arts Cooperative two years ago. We have seriously put blood, sweat, and tears into this endeavor. In the beginning this was a ministry for us and really still is. A ministry to reach the kids in the community that want to perform and meet with other kids their own age one day a week in a safe, loving environment. Our kids love performing and when there isn't anything else out there you just have to step up to the plate sometimes and make it happen. Another point about our Cooperative is we wanted to make it very affordable and not turn away anyone that couldn't pay. God has blessed this Cooperative in so many ways. Every door has been opened for us, every stumbling block that comes our way is lifted. I have met so many great kids and families that I know will be friends for a long time. We all spend so much time together that we consider each other family. We just really feel that God has his hands on this group of families that attend the Cooperative.

Each semester has found us steadily growing with new families wishing to attend and participate. So far we have been able to accommodate everyone. Fall semester may be the first time that we actually have to turn families away because of class space and actual physical space. In the past two months I have had 15 new families wanting information about fall semester. This is both astoundingly wonderful and overwhelming at the same time. It is tearing me apart to know that some won't be able to attend. Praying God creates a way for everyone that wishes to participate gets a chance. I am really looking forward to a wonderful new semester at the Cooperative in the fall and hope the families are as well.

 

 

The Cooperative's first Spring Formal

 

A Day In The Life of a Homeschool Cooperative

Games in LEGO Design class with the high school crowd

Today was our last official day of the fall semester at Creative Christian Cooperative. The next seven days will be insane with extra practices, performances, and recital night. With all the stress and exhaustion that goes along with it, I really wouldn't have it any other way. I love co-op days. I love the families that participate. I love the fellowship with the parents and students. I love seeing it all come together.

My first classes of the day to teach are Puppetry Arts and Fun With Literature. This group of kids are in both of those classes. Today it was all about practicing our puppetry skits to perform this Sunday and and next Tuesday.

A peek behind the scenes of the puppetry theatre

Currently we have 38 families participating and 64 students. We taught choir, art, puppetry, creative writing, LEGO Deign, literature, recorders, and Christmas crafts this semester. Next semester we will have even more choices with pottery, costuming, stage make up, science, medieval history, nature study, and improv.

Tonight the high school drama class stayed after to practice for our Night of Shakespeare on Saturday. We served pizza for dinner and then plunged right into three spoofs of Shakespeare with Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Then the kids worked on the shortened version of Twelfth Night. Can you say long day! For me it was 1:00 - 8:30. So worth it!

Another Year of Creative Christian Cooperative

Yesterday was a fun but exhausting day. As many of you already know, I co-direct a Fine Arts Cooperative of 36 families. We held auditions for The Aristocats for the elementary drama class. Let me tell you, we were blown away by the talent from those kids. After watching auditions all afternoon and meeting new families I came home to yet more work for the Cooperative. I am in charge of all the business end of things with the Cooperative. In less than a week we start. Now my focus is on getting all the supplies and lesson plans ready for the classes I teach: Elementary Art, Puppetry Arts, Fun with Literature, and Yearbook Staff. Me and my co-director want the children that attend our Cooperative to have fun, meet new people and make friends, learn about God through the Fine Arts, and share their talents with others in the community to show God's love. This morning me and Grace were reading our devotions from "Who Is My Neighbor and Why Does He Need Me?", I came across something that I will be sharing with all my students on the first day of class.

If you choose to keep God's gifts to yourself, then you will never complete your mission. If you hid yourself away from the world, content to live out your days quietly and uneventfully until the Master returns, then you will fail to become what God always intended you to be: a blessing to the world.

You are here to make a difference.

You are here to change lives.

You are here to change your community.

You are here to change the world.

I just loved this section of our devotions today. Our ultimate goal is to train these talented kids to go out in the community and share their gifts with others for the glory of God. 

What You Can Do With Puppets

A few months ago me and co-director of Creative Christian Cooperative started planning what classes we wanted to teach for fall semester. She is the drama teacher and would have her hands full with students in an elementary class and high school class. One semester we actually had 37 students sign up for drama. We knew we needed a way to whittle down that number to about 20 in each class. But all the kids love the drama classes. There are a few that weren't interested in being on stage and performing. So in comes a Puppetry Arts class. Two semesters ago I did teach another puppetry class but that was all about making small puppets. This class would be performing. 

My next hurdle would be deciding what puppets and materials to use. Guys, puppets are EXPENSIVE!!! There was a Biblical set I was looking at for $300.00 that included 8-10 puppets plus scripts on cd. That never seemed to materialize because every time I visited the website this particular set was out of stock. Everywhere I looked there was nothing comparable to that one set. I will have 11 kids in this class and knew I needed one puppet for each child to work with. It was starting to get down to the nitty gritty - Co-op starts in less than three weeks. Our choir teacher for the cooperative goes to a small church that is will be leasing out there building because they have outgrown their current church. In the process of moving to a temporary place to worship they needed to clean everything out and low and behold they had puppets and training discs they would give me for a donation to the church. 

So now I have puppets galore at a fraction of the price. Also in the bag was two great Puppet Ministry training discs that have been invaluable to me at this point. I am truly excited about teaching this class and getting the kids excited about working with puppets. God has worked in so many amazing ways through our work with the cooperative. Meeting new families and forming strong bonds is the first and biggest advantage to this co-op. Teaching kids how to use there talents inn the community to glorify God is the obvious one. I hope to continue with puppetry classes and learn more and more to teach the kids.

Puppet Ministry is an awesome way to teach God's love to all walks of life, not just kids. This could go in so many directions, such as: retirement homes, daycare facilities, juvenile detention centers, community gatherings and festivals, and even traveling around to other churches. 

This past weekend has found me watching training dvds, planning the lessons, and picking which scripts to preform. The kids involved in this class will range in age from 8-12 years old. We will start with pre-recorded scripts to perform and as they progress in subsequent semesters we will try our hand at speaking dialogue while moving the puppets. Next semester may also find us with the high school kids taking on a puppetry class and learning to write their own scripts. Looking forward to an excellent semester at Co-op.

I'm linking up with the The Ultimate Homeschool Link Up.

It's the Final Countdown to Performing Aladdin

We are one week away from performing Aladdin on three nights. Today was dress rehearsal. In the above picture Grace is in the gold and blue, front row on the end. This is only about half of our cast. Today was exhausting. Almost 4 hours of rehearsing. For anyone who has worked in theatre you can imagine all the last minute details that are being ironed out. The last two weeks are always the hardest and most stressful. Looking forward to performing and moving on to another semester in the Fall but will miss all these kids like crazy. They are a great group of kids.

F is for Fellowship

Last night was Creative Christian Cooperative's Recital Night. The elementary drama class performed four skits, high school and elementary choirs each sang three songs, and we held an art show. 

Myself and a close friend co-direct this cooperative and it is a true labor of love. Each Tuesday for four hours we get to hang out with these wonderful kids and meet their families in the process. Last night after all the performances we invited the families to the fellowship hall for the art show and to partake in the refreshments. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I am linking up with Ben and Me for Blogging Through the Alphabet.

This Week In Co-op

Drama

They just kept coming. First drama class with almost 40 kids involved. We are accustomed to working with 15 - 24. What a blessing. If everyone decides to stay for next semester the group will be divided in to two groups. Possibly elementary and high school.

Art 3rd - 6th

This was my art journaling class. I was so impressed with how well behaved everyone was in class. My class has 16 students. Most of the kids I know from drama, home school group or church, with a few newbies.

Art 7th - 12th

This is Grace's art class. The older kids totaled almost 30 so we definitely had to split them up and add another class. This semester will be a mixed media class and art history.

Me, My Partner, and Dance Teacher

My partner in crime is the woman in the middle and on the left is our dance instructor. The kids just love her, she is so much fun.

Dance 7th - 12th

This photo is of the older dance group from yesterday. If you can believe we ended up with close to 20 teens in this class with at least 9 of them being boys. They had a blast, until they had to partner up to start learning the waltz. lol. But everyone is taking it in stride like a professional.

It's Official

On August 14th 2012 a close friend and myself will begin an adventure of running a fine arts cooperative "Creative Christian Cooperative". For the past 3-4 years we have worked together running a theatre group of mostly homeschoolers and some public school kids. Over the past few months God has really opened some doors for us to expand this program. We will be moving to a new location and offering more classes. To be specific art, drama, dance, tone chimes and show choir. Obviously we are very excited. This program will take place two afternoon a week at a very low cost. All the teachers at this point are volunteering their time but in the next 1-2 years we hope to have our own facility and broaden the scope even more. We are very excited to help youth find their strengths and gifts then go out and share God's blessings with the community. If you think about it please pray for this new organization, that it will take off and we will get many students to sign up and be excited about sharing God's word with the world through fine arts.