Today's story is about a very special project that emerged from Joleen Hanlund and Rithika Sesh's Kindergarten classroom - we are not singling it out because of its uniqueness. We are showing it as only one of countless examples of how learning and creativity happen in our classrooms on a daily basis.
We hope you enjoy the story of the making of the play, "Making Friends"!
"I learned all the things you do to put on a play - like writing a script, making sets, and practicing a lot. I learned from the play that you should never give up and always keep trying. The princess wanted to make friends with Sally Bob, the dinosaur, but she had to try again and again because at first it didn't work."
- Virginia (A Dolphin Who Picks Fruit for the King)It all began with Logan's idea to build a cardboard underwater dinosaur. Many friends helped him to add bumps, teeth, paint and collage. This process lasted a couple of weeks.
Then Jade-Alexis and Virginia thought the dinosaur should be a king and they designed and built him a castle!
Once they had a character and a
setting, Ms. Hanlund and Ms. Sesh proposed the idea of turning this into a play. Everyone agreed and the writing process began.
The class spent several weeks developing new characters, a plot with a problem and a solution, and worked on sequencing so that the story made sense. It was challenging to build upon one another's ideas and work collaboratively as co-writers, but all the writers were pleased with the final script.
The script was read daily, and the children began reading their lines with expression. They took turns role-playing since parts were not chosen until the very end of the writing process.
Mrs. Rush (their music teacher) helped them develop the celebratory song for Friendship Mountain Day by using a list of phrases generated by the children.
Costume Design: The actors decorated 
their costumes using fabric, glue, paint, gems and sequins. The fins and hats were borrowed from the middle school's production of Little Mermaid.
Set Design: When Jade-Alexis and Virginia decided to build a castle for the dinosaur, they each drew a sketch and then combined their ideas into one design. They learned how to collaborate and compromise.
Many of the other children worked on the set pieces, also using collaboration and problem-solving skills.
Confidence increased with each practice and they learned that each person had an important role in the storytelling process.
Showtime! The children proudly presented their production on April 16 and 17, to very appreciative audiences - enjoy the
photos from the production and the video!
In their own words:
"My favorite part of the play was the feast. I like how everyone got together to have the feast and everyone became friends."
- Sanaa (A Mermaid Who Teaches Swimming)
"I learned that you should not give up!"
- Cole (A Crab Who is a Chef)
"It was hard work making the play but I loved working with all my friends and performing for the older kids!"
- Natalie (The King)
"I wanted to compliment my friends: you did a very great job and you did a hard work!"
- Delaney (A Mermaid Who Teaches Swimming)
"(I learned) how to make friends and that it's not so scary to be up in front of people."
- Logan (Sally Bob)
Rehearsals:
