FW: Animals on the Loose This Weekend at Theater for Kids, Portland Stage

ANIMALS ON THE LOOSE! PLAY ME A STORY READINGS + WORKSHOPS October 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 10:30 AM Ages 4 - 10   October 2nd at 10:30 AM Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure by Viviane Schwarz   October 9th at 10:30 AM Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen I, Crocodile by Fred Marcellino October 16th at 10:30 AM Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin Trudy by Henry Cole October 23rd at 10:30 AM Stellaluna by Janell Cannon Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Sign up for the series and save! $50 for series, or $15 each. Price includes admission for one child with an adult, additional child is 1/2 price.  Call 774-1043 x117 or email theaterforkids@portlandstage.org to reserve your spot. coming soon...  THE TALLEST TALES EVER TOLD OCT 30 & NOV 6, 13, 20    Sign up for all 4 readings + workshops, or choose your favorite -    $50 for the series or $15 per workshop. Ages 4 - 10.   Call 774-1043 x117 or email theaterforkids@portlandstage.org to reserve your spot.   Laugh - Listen - Play - Discover - Act   Experience the magic of theater at Play Me a Story readings & workshops! Saturday morning fun though November 20th at Theater for Kids!!   Ready to register?   Click here to download a registration form. ABOUT OUR PROGRAM   "Play Me a Story" is an interactive reader's theater workshop series for children between the ages of 4-10. To set the scene, our Affiliate Artists perform a staged reading of a popular children's book. Following the reading, the audience is asked to participate in a workshop relating to the story. The workshop may focus on a particular character, place or situation that the story illuminates.   Workshops will engage and inspire through vocalization and movement. Expect the unexpected! Clown work, improvisation, scene work or masks may also play a role. Join our professional actors as we explore new and classic children's stories while encouraging your child's love of theater and literature.   Click here to view the complete Play Me a Story Fall 2010 program Want to learn about special events, see videos of recent book readings or give suggestions for kid's books to include in our next program?      Find us on Facebook Theater for Kids at  Portland Stage   All Theater for Kids actors & workshop instructors are professional equity actors.   Click here to learn more about our Affiliate Artists.

Who Does She Think She Is? @ the Frontier

Hello Artist-Mother-Friends, 

I wanted to share info about this movie -- it is so powerful, and was provocative when I saw it at the women's fund --women artists who are not mothers, and mothers who are not artists all found pieces that they related to, and the overall questions and issues were compelling for all of us... Check it out if you can!  Kim 

http://www.explorefrontier.com/index.php/film-a-event-schedule

Begin forwarded message:

FILM | Who Does She Think She Is? | NR | 84min  A Film by Pamela T. Boll Showtimes: Wednesday, Nov 25 | 5pm Friday, Nov 27 | 5pm & 8:45pm Tuesday, Dec 1 | 5pm  Thursday-Friday, Dec 3-4 | 3pm Saturday, Dec 5 | 3pm Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec 8-9 | 3pm & 7pm "This film is not about being a woman or being a woman artist but rather how to be a human, how to find your true place in life." -  Jean M Murphy, Wellesley Center                                    For Women

Calling Maine Home

CALLING MAINE HOME: Immigrants' Images, Voices, and Visibility

6th floor, Glickman Family Library, USM Portland Campus
October 26, 2009 - February 26, 2010 (during regular Library hours)

OPENING RECEPTION November 19, 5:30-6:30pm

Annual Exhibition of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine
Curated by: David Carey, Jr. and Blanca Iris Santiago
Assisted by: Robert Atkinson, Reza Jalali, Victoria Chicon

In the whitest state in the nation, recent immigrants struggle between wanting to be visible and wanting to fade into the background. Whether by conscious decision or destiny, Maine is now home. This exhibition explores the triumphs and challenges of Mainers from such diverse paces as Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

For further information or to schedule a gallery talk, contact Susie Bock, bocks@usm.maine.edu, 207-780-4269.
  For directions: http://usm.maine.edu/discover/maps.html

Susie R. Bock
Head, Special Collections
Director, Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine
Library Liaison, Women and Gender Studies
University of Southern Maine Libraries
207-780-4269
207-780-4067 (fax)
314 Forest Ave.
PO Box 9301
Portland, ME 04104-9301

Cheryl Rainfield Book Reviews

I have not used "tags" well and have children's book review sites all over the place.. some day I'll clean it up.

Today I found a wonderful site by Cheryl Rainfield.  She has lots of suggestions for picture books, by themes that make a difference for me right now:

• How to Feel Better: Coping & Working With Emotion 
  
  
• Encouraging Creativity: Thinking Outside the Box 
  
  
• Finding Friends: A Sense of Belonging 
  
  
• Even Grouches Can Change: Looking Past Assumptions & Attitudes
  
  
• Pure Fun: Laughter & Joy
  
  
• Feeling Loved & Safe: Nurturance 
  
  
• Being Yourself: Accepting & Believing In You 
  
  
• Inner Strength: Strong Girls & Boys 
  
  
• Fantasy & Magic: Let Your Imagination Soar 
  
  
• Love of Words: Books Celebrating Books, Writing, & Language 
  
  
• Bedtime Soothers: Night Time Doesn't Have to Be Scary 
  
  
• Super Heroes: Feeling Strong Through Hero Identification 

She also has reviews for middle school and teen books... 




(x-posted w/Friends School blog)

Packaging Boyhood - tonight in Portland (Nov 12)

Packaging Boyhood

Paid Sick Leave NOW!

The call to keep kids home from school always makes me think about a book I read a few years ago, called Forgotten Families, by Jody Heymann. The author documented the public health threat that emerged after we created "workfare" and parents in low wage jobs are forced to be away from home for upwards of 10 hours a day without enough pay to cover childcare expenses. (She also examines the health problems facing poor children in other countries). She found that an increasing amount of caregiving -- for self, sibling, younger neighbors, cousins, and older people -- is falling to children who are too young for paid work themselves. This means kids as young as 5 are caring for toddlers, or are left home alone for significant chunks of time, or are confined to small spaces if they come with their parents to work (chained to a table kind of small spaces). The book broke my heart, and enraged me. What would it be like to build public policy on as if children really mattered?

The New York times reported that the lack of Paid Sick Days in the U.S. may worsen the H1N1 pandemic. And the U.S. lags so far behind other industrialized countries (and other countries, period) it is clear that paid sick leave is considered a reasonable benefit for working families in the larger world. (Check out this pdf)

Senate President Libby Mitchell put forward an Act to Prevent H1N1, which would provide paid sick leave to a limited number of workers in Maine, while federally the Healthy Families Act lingers.

If you'd like to work on passing a paid sick leave law, contact the

Maine Women's Lobby

They are also doing a story collection project:

Have you - or anyone you know - been affected by the H1N1 virus and had to go to work anyway? Or lost pay because you had to stay home?

Contact Charlotte at cwarren@mainewomen.org or 207.622.0851

You can also provide your story online by answering a few questions.

More about Question 1

The loss of marriage equality in Maine has triggered my deepest cynicism and frustration at our political process as well as at my fellow-Mainers. A friend offered a link to Strong Father's post, about how to help kids with gay or lesbian parents make sense of the vote.

And Greater Good offers a more general resource for thinking about how to help kids learn forgiveness...

The Family Ambassador project helps to educate people about family diversity in Maine and witness the grief and sadness that families might be experiencing right now... they are looking for new families to join!