“How to help kids make the most of ArtPrize - MLive.com” plus 2 more |
- How to help kids make the most of ArtPrize - MLive.com
- Little Red Riding Hood Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids - Associated Content
- Utah Jazz: Kids benefit from C.J. Miles' working vacation - FOXSports.com
| How to help kids make the most of ArtPrize - MLive.com Posted: 21 Sep 2010 07:19 AM PDT Published: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 5:52 AM Updated: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 11:14 AMGet ready for Parcifal, the SteamPig — part floating ship, part flying machine. A 14-foot megaphone. Giant metal elephants. A 15-foot wide, two-ton owl's nest. Forty mechanical birds that soar to the rafters when you walk past. An art vending machine — drop in two quarters and get your own piece of art. Can we go? Can we go? Can we goooooooooooooooooooo?! ArtPrize is a treasure trove for kids. But the feast of works by 1,713 artists at 192 venues can be overwhelming. In the quest to see as much as you can, toting your kids along, you might end up racing past these fantastical pieces with a mere, "Oh, that's cool." Art studies show the average time a person looks at a piece of art is 3 seconds. That's no way to treat Parcifal, people. So we enlisted the help of some of the best minds around when it comes to helping kids get the most from art. Tote their tips along to boost your kids' ArtPrize action. First: Don't miss it. "It's like no place else on Earth," says Linda Thompson, director of education at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, which hosts 26 ArtPrize pieces this year. "There's so much to see, it can be pretty overwhelming," Thompson says. "But in a short period of time you can see an incredible range of art. It's a chance to get the whole family excited about looking at art." Kids are usually excited about making art, she points out. They do it all the time. "This is a chance to see that looking at it is fun," Thompson says. "Art is about more than creating art. It's about looking at it, understanding it. You're the consumer, whether you're 2 or 25 or 100." ArtPrize is a chance for kids to see styles of art they've never seen before, says Gina Bivins, public programs manager at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Bivins is a longtime art educator who won Festival's "Spirit of Festival Award" in 2009 for her spunky and tireless support of the arts. It's fitting that one of Grand Rapids' art queens is going to help kids make colorful paper carousel crowns at the museum during ArtPrize. "You don't have to have any training to know what you like," Bivins says. "And there doesn't have to be any right or wrong. Kids grow up with so many rules. So much in their life is like that. This is a chance to not think that way." • "Start with a conversation at breakfast before you go, or at dinner the night before," suggests Elizabeth Goddard, director of education and expressive arts at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, home to 28 works at its current home on Sheldon Boulevard, four more in its future home on Fulton Street. "Ask your kids, 'What kind of art do you like? Do you love to see art outside? Are you really into videos right now?' Then go to the ArtPrize website and use the search filter to find things they'll like." • "Set limits," Thompson says. "If you have young children, don't try to traipse all over town. All they'll remember is how tired and hungry they were. Decide to go to one place. Or decide you're going for an hour." (Eat first, she notes. Dress for the weather. Wear comfortable shoes.) • If you can, go ahead of time without your kids to scope out spots you know they'll enjoy, Thompson suggests. Snap photos you can use later in a scavenger hunt. "Make it a treasure hunt," she says. "Show them the photo, and they have to find it. For older kids, take a photo of just a detail of the piece, to make it harder. When you're within 20 feet, let them find it. Kids love doing that." "Slow down," Thompson urges. Talk about the art you see. She offers some conversation starters: • "Compare two pieces side by side," she says. "What's alike about them? What's different?" • "Cover up the title and give pieces your own titles." • "Who would you gift this as a gift to? Why? Get your family to use their imaginations." • How hard do you think it was to make that piece? What questions would you ask the artist if he or she were here? You can do that for real at ArtPrize Artists Talk, a Sept. 25 event at Meijer Gardens. At 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m., ArtPrize artists will tell about their work and answer questions. • Bring sketch pads so your kids — and you — can sketch favorite pieces. "That's a way to get them to really look carefully at a piece," Thompson says. "They'll see details they wouldn't see otherwise." • Raid your Monopoly game for play money to take along. "Buy art," Thompson says. "How much would you pay? Have a family auction and the art goes to the highest bidder." Then, she says, "Once you got it home, where would you put it? Your bedroom? The backyard?" Create your own art Does your kid really love a certain piece? Make note of the artist's name, then visit his or her website to see other stuff they've done. Bring your art enthusiasm home. "Have a found object sculpture fest," Thompson suggests. "Everybody gets two minutes to raid the house for junk. Pile it all in the middle of the living room, and you have 15 minutes to make something out of it. Or, each person gives their pile to another person and they have to create something. That might be fun." Lots of artist talks are on tap. Don't count your kids out because it's a lecture, the public museum's Bivins says. "It's a chance to hear artists talk about their work," she says. "They might love that." Sometimes, the artist does a demo. Watch ArtPrize artist Sunti Pichetchaiyakul sculpt a clay bust in just 30 minutes using a live model. The free presentation happens at 6 p.m. Friday at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Artist Stephen Duren will be creating his painting at the museum on-site. Watch his work unfold. Capture the moment. "Everybody has a camera, or at least one on their phone," Bivins says. "If your kids see something they really like, take a picture of it. then go home and let that inspire them. Use it as a jumping off point. If it's a paper collage, go home and make a paper collage." Last year's river-dwelling sea serpent, Nessie, for instance, might inspire you to carve a sea serpent from a bar of Ivory soap and float it, she says. (Popsicle sticks, the craft queen says, work fine to carve soap.) Marilyn Martin has led hundreds of youngsters through the Grand Rapids Art Museum in her 19 years as a docent there. Smart and engaging, she has a knack for captivating kids with art. "It's such an opportunity for visual enchantment," she says of ArtPrize. No child is too young "Bring even the youngest child," Martin says. "Nobody is too young." She tells of the time she brought her 3-month-old granddaughter to the art museum when she had a meeting there. "Her eyes widened and she looked and looked and looked," she says. "You don't need a baby-sitter — bring the baby in the stroller. Point, and their eyes will follow." Look from a different angle, Martin suggests. Lay down on the ground. Boost your toddler up on your shoulders. See how different a piece looks. Her conversation starters: "If this piece were in your front yard, what would the neighborhood dogs think?" "How would you change it?" "What does this piece make you want to do? Run? Cry? Sing?" Split up the family for two minutes. "Then everybody come back with one piece you found that you want to bring the rest of the family back to," Martin says. "Everybody gets to participate." If you're looking at paintings, "put yourself in the art," Martin says. "Where are you in the picture? What are you doing? Why are you there?" "Make a family notebook to commemorate the event," Martin suggests. Fill it with family sketches and observations. Let your kids weigh in for your family's vote. "What a fun way to end your day — let your kids pick their favorite, then vote," the UICA's Goddard says. Enjoy your kids' cool perspectives. "Kids have such fresh opinions," Thompson says. "They think of things adults just don't think of." Don't let your enthusiasm expire when ArtPrize is over. You can do any of these activities with art all over town, Thompson says, from the Chihuly sculptures at Meijer Gardens to the Grand Rapids Art Museum. ArtPrize is the perfect example of how art is all around us, Thompson says — a cool lesson for kids. "Art is in museums, but it's also in parks and on streets," she says. "Art is everywhere in the world, in our lives every day." E-mail Terri Hamilton: thamilton@grpress.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Little Red Riding Hood Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids - Associated Content Posted: 21 Sep 2010 08:16 AM PDT Kids' Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costumes are easy to make from clothing from thrift sales, garage sales or from your child's closet. If your child is wearing size 3 through 8, you can make the cape yourself using  Checkered Little Red Riding Hood Halloween Costume for Kids To make a checkered Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume, get a long sleeved dress or jumper dress in red and white checkered gingham fabric. If you choose a jumper dress, get a frilly white shirt to go underneath it. Attach a small white apron at the waistline of the dress. Attach decorations such as ribbons or flowers to the bodice of the dress. Get a lacy white petticoat to go under the skirt. Buy a solid red hooded cape from a costume store or make one yourself. Get white or cream-colored tights to keep your child's legs warm on Halloween. Then also get some white ankle socks and black patent leather shoes. Add a small yellow picnic basket with a red and white checkered liner to make the Little Red Riding Hood costume complete. Solid Little Red Riding Hood Halloween Costume for Kids This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Utah Jazz: Kids benefit from C.J. Miles' working vacation - FOXSports.com Posted: 20 Sep 2010 04:38 PM PDT LexisNexis Feed
Updated Sep 20, 2010 7:40 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY ? Despite having wide-open summers and oodles of cash, C.J. Miles isn't one to spend his millions or his spare time going on cruises, safaris or soaking up the sun on pristine beaches. Vacations just aren't his thing. Most of the Utah Jazz player's offseason, in fact, is spent in two places ? Dallas, to visit friends and family in his hometown, and New York City, where he works out and hangs out with buddy and NFL star Ray Rice. Miles is glad he made an exception this summer. Dozens of underprivileged kids in Puerto Rico were also thrilled he mixed in some business with his pleasure in this part of paradise. They literally benefited from their heads to their toes from his visit. It took him out of his typical routine, but Miles visited the Caribbean island this summer on his own dime to help put on some low-key sports camps with Rice in the projects of Puerto Rico. The trip was good for Miles on two fronts. He got to visit a new corner of the world ("the beach was cool," he said) and had the chance to show kids living in a low-income area how to hoop it up and "that the work pays off." Miles called it "an all-around great experience." The non-Spanish speaker even got a kick out of working through a language barrier ? something he and his group overcame with the help of translators and a snazzy English-to-Spanish app on his iPhone. "It was cool, though. I had fun," Miles said over the phone in English without the help of any apps. "I had no idea what anybody was saying, none spoke English. ... We still got it done." Rice was originally the only one invited to give a camp by the Catano (County) American Football Club. Not only did the Baltimore Ravens' running back accept, but he also persuaded Miles to tag along with him (though not much arm-twisting was involved). The organizers then thought it would be all the more beneficial for the Puerto Rican boys to have football and basketball camps, and the two professional athletes agreed and played along with their specialized sport. "We did our own thing," Miles said. "I haven't touched a football since I was like 6, 7 years old, and Ray can't do anything on a basketball court but dunk." Frank Quiles, the local leader of the nonprofit sports organization, described Miles as a big hit at the free hoops clinic. Forty-three kids between the ages of 7 and 16 showed up at the covered outdoor court in the middle of the complex's two- and three-story-high project apartments. Miles taught participants skills and drills to help improve their fundamentals, ball-handling, shooting and "a little bit of everything." They also played some games and just had fun. Puerto Ricans are no strangers to basketball and the NBA, thanks in part to a couple of former Utah Jazz players, Jose Ortiz and Carlos Arroyo. Carmelo Anthony's father is also from the island, so the star visits on occasion. "They just love basketball," Miles said. "They lit up when I got there, and I'm pretty sure a lot of them didn't even know who I was." The Puerto Rican campers were even more impressed by how Miles treated them than by his top-level talent. The Jazz swingman made a point of signing autographs and getting his picture taken with everybody in attendance. "That was real nice," Quiles said. "The kids were crazy. The kids went wild. They were not expecting that at all." That wasn't the only surprise Miles had in store. He took down every kid's name and shoe size and worked through his Nike representative to buy basketball sneakers for his new friends. Miles' agent said he bought about 70 pairs of shoes for the kids. "I think he was just touched by the kids who showed up," Quiles said. Miles had a ball playing ball with the young boys, who gestured back and forth to communicate. "It was an experience seeing them wanting to play basketball," Miles said. He also felt bad that some of the kids didn't have basketball shoes and others had pretty worn footwear, so he decided to cap the trip with a charitable donation. "It felt right to do. ... I felt like I could help them," Miles said, "(and) I had the chance to, and that's what I did." Quiles raved about Miles' personality and generosity. Miles and Rice paid for their plane tickets, their food and lodging and didn't require an appearance fee. "C.J. is a real good kid," Quiles said. "He surprised me a lot. He's got a real good heart and he's really grounded ? totally different than other guys (athletes)." Now Quiles is trying to make it an annual event if possible. The kids "loved it" and have asked him, "Hey, when's the guy coming back?" Miles, who stayed for 31/2 days, hopes to return in 2011. "It was fun," he said. "I got to relax a little bit. I never really go on vacation. I chill when the season's over for a couple of weeks and I always just get right back (to work) and never really go anywhere." One thing's for certain: If Miles does go back, he'll have some Nike-sporting amigos who'll know who he is. "It's not big in the news," Quiles said, "but it really means a lot to us in Puerto Rico. It's huge." e-mail: jody@desnews.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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