Pretty Much the Best Thing I've Ever Seen

This weekend, inspiration hit me like a popped weather balloon hits the ground. I came upon a video of a father working with his child, to send the son's favorite toy train into space on a weather balloon.

The duo connected the train and a video camera to the weather balloon, released it, and tracked the balloon with a GPS. In addition to this amazing parent, child play experience, there's a great deal of science curriculum built in. I'll let the brilliant experience speak for itself in this bit of documentation created by the dad...

I hope you're feeling the same sense of joy that I felt after watching. What an awesome bonding experience for the family!

This experiment probably did not cost much. Surely, the materials are within the budget of a classroom teacher. Are you catching my drift? It's this kind of experience that we can create with and for students. In addition to the engineering aspects of connected the toy and attaching the camera and GPS, the math components of calculating travel, the science of the conditions in which the balloon and toy travelled, the technology involved in documenting the adventure, a teacher could build classroom discussion around what toy would be sent up. There might be voting involved, perhaps the decision to send up multiple toys, predictions of where it would travel and where it would land, parent involvement on the special day of the launch, observations of the travel, and creation of the documentation. This would be an experience a student could not forget. 

I'd love to hear your immediate reaction to the video. Please share below!

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A Very Merry Children's Media Wish List

Inspired by Design Sponge's ode to Charlie Brown which I shared last December, I've decided to compile a list of 2011's greatest gifts for children's media lovers!

1. Rainbow Brite Pint Glasses

2. Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media charm for Altruette

3. Mister Rogers Madame Alexander doll

4. Pee Wee Herman complete series plus Christmas Special

5. Miss Piggy Pook-A-Looz doll

6. Miss Piggy for MAC makeup

7. I Love My Hair tee shirt

8. Kermit sneakers by Adidas

What would you add to the list?

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If you give a kid a scooter...

You might have heard about the protests happening in downtown New York. Some people are afraid of civil disobedience, and they should be. Just a few blocks north of Occupy Wall Street, a gang of middle to upper class children zip through the streets and take no prisoners.

I thought Razor scooters had gone to the wayside with Saved by the Bell: the New Class, but a new generation has reclaimed the movement in a big way. TriBeCa padestrians: BEWARE.

via
Scooters are the new thing. Despite my worry for safety each evening on my way home from work, I can't say I'm not impressed. We judge this generation for being lazy and overweight, and yet here's something active that they love and can be done in an urban environment. It promotes balance, focus and safety.

When we talk about investing in the future, perhaps scooters and the necessary safety equipment are some items we should consider. If you give a kid a scooter...it just might change the world.

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American Girl Debuts New African American Doll

I know way more than I need to about colonial American textiles, furniture, undergarments, food, and livestock. Why? Felicity. She will always remain my favorite birthday gift! I immersed myself in historical dramatic play with my Felicity doll and was the richest 8 year old in the Bronx until my next AG purchase was made. Felicity taught me to save my money for things I wanted; a lesson I’ve carried with me through adolescence and into adulthood. She still has a special place in my home.

I’m excited to announce that the company, now owned by Mattel, has recently launched a brand new doll! Cecile Rey is an African American girl from the 1850’s. You can learn more about her on the AG website here. I was very disappointed with the Huffington Post headline, “American Girl Moves Past Slavery, Introduces New African-American Doll,” however. It’s true, until Cecile’s launch, Addy Walker remained the sole African American historical doll available.

I remember when Addy was introduced. My best friend gushed. She couldn’t wait! The Civil War was her favorite period in American history. She and I consumed the books and learned much more about slavery and the war than was being taught in our third grade classrooms. Addy taught me about the atrocities of slavery. I love the character and doll for that reason. She was real to me and far more interesting than Samantha’s “poor little rich girl” routine.

As we celebrate Cecile, I think it important to acknowledge Addy and Pleasant Company for their efforts in educating young girls across America about the controversial nature of and personal stories from the Civil War. I hope Addy continues to be a mainstay doll and book series.

Welcome, Cecile! I'm excited to learn more about your story and your time period.

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Branch Innovation

While teaching in Massachusetts, I constantly had to remind my students that we needed to play non-violent games. This often included asking them to put down sticks or baseball bats that were guns or lightsabers. Scary fighting. Gone are the days of pirate fights and play-acting Peter Pan.

A friend recently introduced me to the thoughtful design of Naama Agassi. Agassi's website displays the work in beautiful fashion. My favorite product design is the branch holder. GENIUS!

Though pricey, this beautiful piece of plastic slips right onto a branch taking your outside games up a notch (or ten). Why stop at branches? A dowel would work too and might be a really great prop for your high school or community theater Shakespeare performances.

Had my students thought of such a clever addition to their props, I might have different ideas about redirecting their play. Maybe not. They would have definitely gotten major respect, though!

Sword fight, anyone?

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Guest Blogger: Xavier Raphael Vanegas

It has been a fascinating journey as I have been developing a children’s television show called
Fink Forest Friends, which received the Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship. It seems many cable networks aren’t interested though in accolades, but two things: a fully developed show and ancillary possibilities - merchandise, video games, toys, and digital products. The brand started through its potential in the ancillary side with an eco-friendly plush toy line, now featured in a few boutiques around Los Angeles.

Now comes the bigger challenge - developing the show. Not just so that it stands out from the rest of programming on television, but how will it fare against the best kids' shows? Our show has to fit in a space between classics like Winnie the Pooh and hit shows like The Wonder Pets. My collaborator, Cathleen Cimino, and I love Josh Selig’s work at Little Airplane, which has been a huge inspiration for the development process.

Such work represents the kind of finesse and attention to storytelling we want for our program. At the same time we realize that the process cannot be rushed as we seek to uphold the integrity and original vision of the Fink world and its characters. Look at Pixar, they spend up to 8 years developing their brands for a film release. They’re the best studio brand right now and I think it has to do with development - allowing oneself to travel down one possible story path for a few weeks then say, "You know what, that isn’t working." So instead of forcing the charge forward, you can back pedal to a place where the infinite possibilities for the show are reset and the brand richly developed.

We are closer to developing our vision of the show. What started years ago as absurdist anti-plot mini comics where everything in the Fink Forest was just simple and cheery all of the time, has now evolved into developed characters and plots that follow 4 friends - Skunk, Lily the Red Panda, Moose and Bird as they learn lessons through their adventures and mishaps growing up in the forest.

Photo: Original Bird and Moose comic with simple, no plot or story line

The initial simple, plot-less concept for the Fink Forest Friends was a sort of backlash against Joseph Campbell from my days at the Film Studies program at Columbia University. However, in molding the substance of the show and making it more accessible to an audience, we’ve been conscious of keeping the original quirkiness intact. Now the characters are in the process of transformation from simple 2D drawing concepts to 3D models toward a new hybrid style of animation. There’s a long way to go, but it’s been an exciting process and we are hoping to release our first animation piece soon.

Part of developing the series involves having a clear consciousness of the world and the brand beyond the show itself, with cross-platform considerations like social networks and new learning-technologies and devices. It opens up an exciting realm of possibility because even the most inane detail in the story world can then lend itself for exploration in greater depth. I’ve seen this as an opportunity to make the world as rich as possible so as to encourage fans and participants to look deeper into it.

Photo: Developing the world of the Fink Forest

If I were to give one piece of advice to someone pursuing their own idea or show, I would probably say the most important part is the world building. Take time to bring depth to the characters and be open to creative dynamism brought on by writers and other collaborators. “Fink Forest Friends” continues to be enriched by this process, all towards the end of the final pitching of the show. We’ve been lucky to be able to work with incredibly talented writers who have taken the original Fink characters and breathed new life into them and shaped them into robust multi-dimensional beings.

The Fink Forest Friends are more complex and rich than ever before. I can’t wait to share the characters with the world. They are starting to become like actual people as to the level of depth woven into them. Now, I can anticipate how a given character will react in a given situation and as the plots unfold we learn more about each character, their habits, traits, fears, hopes, and desires. With great characters we’ll be able to deliver incredible stories. It’s been a pleasure working with our creative team and I think I have in turn become a better artist and storyteller in the process.

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Another Pair of Eyes

One day Josh Selig had an idea. I'm pretty sure this happens a lot. Selig is the President of one of my favorite production companies, Little Airplane Productions, with a bundle of Emmy-awards for his writing on Sesame Street. In addition, he's created a bunch of children's programs including The Wonder Pets and 3rd and Bird.

In 2004, Selig's show Oobi debuted on Noggin (Nick Jr.). The show's characters are all bare-hand puppets. The origin of these puppets is the set of practice eyes that Muppeteers use to rehearse scenes. Those darn Muppets are way too heavy to practice with for hours on end, so simple eyes were created to be placed on one's hand. I can almost see Selig come up with the idea for Oobi as he watched performers rehearse scenes on Sesame Street.

I've seen these eyes created in three different ways:
1- Two ping pong balls with holes punched through for a piece of elastic to slide through and be wrapped around the palm. Eye pupils are drawn on with marker. I've been told this is the authentic Muppeteer way of doing it.
2- Two small styrofoam balls held together with a toothpick, which has a rubber band on either end so you can slide your hand through. Eye pupils for these are dark dot stickers. These are a Spica Wobbe classic!
3- Plastic eyes just like the ones on Oobi. These are worn like a ring on your middle finger.

Pupil placement is super important because it can impact the rehearsal of puppet focus in the camera. You have to make sure the placement is just right or intentionally off!

I was introduced to the plastic Oobi eyes by one of my favorite people, Sabrina. Through her I discovered OobieEyes.com where you can purchase many different eyes and accessories. I have spent hours practicing with the eyes and keep them on my desk as inspiration and to fill "in-between" moments. I have several pairs and love giving them as gifts!

There's something so simplistically beautiful about Oobi as a television show and the process of using the eyes to practice and play. I encourage you to look up clips of the program if you're not familiar with it!

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Bubbles!

While prepping for this week's summer camp, I was reminded of how much I love bubbles. Did you see the picture? I am serious about making bubbles!

We created a batch of our own bubble solution on Friday and stored it over the weekend. The longer it sits, the better! On Monday morning, we poured some of our solution into the outdoor sensory table and brought out the gigantic bubble wands. I have NEVER seen such huge bubble wands. Childhood has definitely improved since 1991.

Here's the recipe we use:
2/3 cup dishwashing soap (Joy or Dawn seem to have magical powers)
1 gallon water

Glycerine kicks it up a notch. Some recipes recommend 2 to 3 tablespoons.

Enjoy!

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Curious George Learns About Business

The Curious George Bookshop is one of those special places that defines a neighborhood. It's unique corner storefront pull you in as soon as you exit the T station. Unfortunately, it's hard to define a neighborhood when that neighborhood is Harvard Square. Much to my dismay, I recently learned that the local shop will be closing this month. CBS Boston provided some great coverage that can be found here.


In addition to the most full and varied collection of Curious George goodies I've ever seen, the store provided an amazing assortment of picture books upstairs and young adult titles downstairs. My favorite memory of the shop was when I had a full conversation with the salesperson about Moomins after spotting a rare collection of Moomin and Pippi Longstocking tea towels downstairs. Sincerely, this store was a treasure trove and will be missed!

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Plan Toys

I was introduced to PlanToys last week while meeting with my head teacher. I was intrigued and decided to do some investigating. They seem very committed to being "green," safety, and child development. Below is the description I found on their website:
"PlanToys® is proving that it is possible to maintain superior quality and safety standards in addition to following a path of environmental and social responsibility. We are committed to maintaining the highest standard of ethics while creating innovative educational toys for every developmental stage of childhood. These toys inspire children's imagination as well as promoting their physical and intellectual development. PlanToys® are made from non-toxic, natural materials such as organic rubberwood. Our toys enable children to play, learn and become closer to nature."

My head teacher picked a few of these toys up for next year's classroom at this month's NAEYC professional development institute.

This one is my favorite! I can imagine using it during a meeting and singing a song about monkeys hanging on a tree, then putting it out as a choice!

What happens when you start stacking and matching shapes?

You make a clown!

I got to test one of the toys. The mallet can make a pretty loud noise, which might bother some children. A hard push with one's hand will get you the same result!

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Portlandia East

Early Monday morning, Joe and I jumped on an Amtrak Downeaster to Portland, Maine. We ordered our tickets on TraintoMain.com and got a fantastic deal; we only had to pay for one round-trip ticket!

Joe is a huge fan of train travel, as I've mentioned in older posts. He had a full agenda for our visit, making sure we had a good balance of tourist must-sees and local stops. Included on this list was a trip to a shop called Treehouse Toys. The description stated that they sold unique toys from the United States and abroad. He thought it was something I would really enjoy, and he was certainly right!

Treehouse Toys is nestled in between boutique shops on Exchange Street in Portland's Old Town district. We scoped out the whole store, pointing out items that really got our attention. While looking at their stash of dramatic play clothes, I found these amazing French shadow puppet sets made by Moulin Roty.

While admiring a lovely grouping of different Madeline dolls, I was so happy to see Lola (of Charlie and Lola) tucked into one of the shelves as well. This was completely unique to me! I haven't seen any products from the British television show before. I was also very happy to see a whole bunch of my Fraggle Rock friends including Uncle Traveling Matt, Red, Gobo, and a Doozer!

Our trip was very quick but wonderful! In addition to the fun toys at Treehouse and the delicious food, I also fell in love with local design companies, Sea Bags and Angela Adams. I encourage you to get up or over to Portland soon!

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