Field Learning Ezine
Welcome to the first issue of the Philadelphia Area Field Learning E-zine for homeschoolers, cyberschoolers and other families with kids who love to learn.
Our region is rich in historic, cultural, and artistic opportunities. The Calendar of Events selects opportunities that are appropriate for families, not too hard on the wallet and have real educational content. The articles will pass along more information about certain venues and sites as well as hints and tips for learning all the time.
I hope you catch my enthusiasm for learning through exploration in the field!
Kathy Park, editor
Calendars
Take a look at what is going on around the Delaware Valley in August. This month there are many living history events, concerts at the Mann, and pay-what-you-can stage performances for children (even little ones!). Go to the Calendars now.
Spotlight ON: The Mann Center
The Mann Center in Fairmount Park has a wonderful FREE program called "Young People's Concert Series". This year's theme is A Journey of Discovery. Travel the world to see dance and hear music from many different countries.
My children and I were eager
for the first concert, The Return of the Monkey King by the Philadelphia
Chinese Opera Society. The concerts are well attended, so do plan to arrive
when the doors open (10:30 am) in order to get the best seat. Ignore the
area where school buses are going and head to the lot on the other side
of the entrance. We enjoyed watching the parade of colors as day camps
designated by red, yellow, blue, and purple t-shirts filed into the theater.
Another tip: sit in front of the first aisle -- the distraction will be less
when children file out to take a bathroom break during the performance.
If you do arrive a little later, see an usher. They happily direct families
to smaller groupings of seats up front that a large camp could not fill.
The program was enthusiastically introduced by the Director of Education for the Mann. Throughout the performance the stories being acted out were explained. The bright, colorful, and even fanciful costumes kept my children's attention and the humor of the Monkey King was not lost even on the 4-year-old. The program also introduced them to the Chinese violin. They watched as the violinist played on only two strings while he held the instrument on his thigh. At the end of the concert the artists came out in full regalia and were very friendly and approachable.
The second of the concerts was of equally high caliber and I believe these programs are well worth the effort to attend. As with anything, do a little homework to discern whether the content of the program will be appropriate for your family. For directions and more information, go to the Mann Music Center website; scroll towards the bottom of the home page to find the Young People's Concert Series.
Next Month...
Next month the Spotlight will be on The Battle Of Brandywine Reenactment as Holly Favino introduces us to her boys' favorite period of history.
Look Up! We will also feature resources for studying the migration of birds and butterflies in the fall -- it's field learning in your backyard!
Help the E-zine
There are at least two ways you can begin to help Field Learning. The first is to submit events. See the guidelines for submission to see what information is needed if you want to submit an event to be included in the calendar. Information on how to submit an informative article about your favorite field learning venue is also found there.
The other is to take a look at the Affiliate programs with companies like Amazon and Hearthsong. Purchases made by clicking through Field Learning will help defray the costs involved in maintaining and improving the E-zine without costing you extra money.
Questions? Comments?
We welcome your input and feedback. Send an email to let me know what is helpful and what is fluff.
