On Friday afternoon, TNCA mom Juliette Benezra-Winston brought her drum circle, Wild Bodema, to school for some West African drumming fun with the pre-K through 5th grade classes. (The middle schoolers were off on their own adventure in downtown Asheville.) Thanks, Wild Bodema, for making us smile, getting us moving, and giving us a nice tie-in with our school-wide geography unit on Africa to boot!  

We learned how different drummers add in different rhythms, so what starts as a simple beat ends up layered and complex. 

Everyone got an instrument--and a chance to practice keeping time; some students joined the circle for a bit with some makeshift drums. 

We learned how to do a traditional harvest dance--tilling the soil, sowing the seeds, and bringing rain and sunshine for a good crop.  

And we ended with a joyful free-for-all. 

All in all, it was a glorious afternoon. 

What a wonderful time we had yesterday at LEAF, as members of our 3rd-5th grade performed two original plays on the Roots Stage. The creative work began several weeks ago; after some time studying fairy tales from around the world and identifying common structures and themes, they split up into two groups and set to work crafting their own versions of the Cinderella story. With LEAF in Schools & Streets artist/teacher Kelly Hanson supervising, they wrote their own lines, staged, directed, rehearsed, workshopped each other's performances, rehearsed some more, designed the sets, created their own costumes (with help from seamstress extraordinaire/teacher Katherine Daven), and rehearsed some more. The effort, pride of ownership, teamwork, and talent were all in evidence yesterday; "The Lost Fedora" and "If the Ring Fits" were big hits!

(Click on the photos below to view larger and see captions.)

Congratulations to the cast, many thanks to Kelly and Katherine for their support and guidance, and many thanks as well to all the families and friends who came to watch!