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PB and LA: A Lesson From A Studio Teacher in Vancouver

September 21, 2009 by Erica Leave a Comment

We have some cool teachers working with us!  Was reminded of that by this Language Arts set teaching activity that Lori Yearwood, one of our Studio Teachers in Vancouver, recently did with Charlie Tahan on the set of Charlie St Cloud.

Lori wanted to stress the importance of including details in his writing. To do this, she had him write out how to make a peanut butter sandwich. She then followed his instructions to the T.  So if he wrote, ‘put jam on the bread’, she would sit the whole jar on top of the bread because he did not specify to use a knife.

Charlie is a funny kid, so at the end of his instructions he wrote that ‘it is always important to add your own flare’. Being two fun and silly soles, this then sparked Lori and Charlie to turn the lesson into a big food art competition.  Their creations:

Set Teaching Activity: PB and LA
The final entries in the mini home economics/language arts set teaching activity delivered competition style. Which plate would you vote for?

Wish I’d been there to see this!  Would have been a hoot! This is just one example of how our set teachers make learning an enjoyable experience for students who are often away from home as they work on a production.

Filed Under: Fun and Educational, News, Stories from Set Tagged With: attention to detail, charlie st cloud, Charlie Tahan, child actors, detail, food art competition, Fun and Educational, home economics, importance of including details, instructions, language arts, language arts lesson, Lori Yearwood, set school, set teaching, set tutoring, silly, studio teachers in Vancouver, writing activities

Where Are They Now?: Alex Ferris

August 26, 2009 by Erica 2 Comments

Alex Ferris
Alex Ferris (2009)

One of my favourite things about set teaching is all of the cool kids that we meet along the way, so I’ve created this category of the blog, ‘Do You Know Where Your Children Are?’ to highlight what they are up to.  One of my favourite kids and a young fellow I met early on in my set teaching days is Alex Ferris.  I think we first met on Masters of Horror, back when he was 8 years old.

Well, I was very pleased to see this article on Alex in the Vancouver Sun two weeks ago and to see that Alex had been nominated a second year running for a Young Artists Award.  Congratulations Alex!  And congrats on the opening of your latest film, The Time Traveler’s Wife!

At 12, young Vancouver actor is already a veteran

By Peter Birnie, Vancouver SunAugust 14, 2009

How does a young actor break into show business? Here’s one approach:

“Dear Agent, I am a very cute boy, I am smart, and you should hire me — Alex Ferris.”

Go ahead, laugh all you want. But that brief missive worked, and the seven-year-old lad whose mother forwarded the letter and a photo to a talent agency has had a busy career in film and television ever since.

Alex Ferris went for his first audition, and “booked” it — that means he got the part. He worked with Hollywood veteran Jon Voigt in the TV movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and has been busy ever since.

Now 12, Ferris can be seen the feature films RV, The Invisible, Runaway Vacation, Memory and X3. Or you can turn on the TV to catch him in The L Word, Terminal City, Harper’s Island, Stargate SGI, Smallville and Supernatural, among others.

Then there’s his regular job doing voiceover work at Dick & Roger’s, a Gastown sound studio, which takes Ferris away from Kerrisdale public school.

“I regularly have to miss half a day on Wednesday,” he explains, “because I do a show called Martha Speaks. It’s a cartoon on PBS.”

For his role in New Line Cinema’s feature film The Time Traveler’s Wife, which opens today, Ferris took three trips to Toronto (“We worked late nights and it was really freezing cold,” he notes) and missed a big chunk of school.

Strict rules for young actors meant that he had to make up his studies each day with tutors on set.

“It definitely limits my free time, but not so much if I work really hard at the end of the day,” he says.

“Complete focus, I can really get a lot done.”

For two years running, Ferris has been nominated for a Young Artist Award. That means a trip to Los Angeles and a chance to hang with his peers.

“It was a blast,” he enthuses. “A ton of other kids, and I got a few autographs — Emma Roberts, some people from Zoey 101, two people from Bridge to Terabithia, and Corey in the House.”

Ferris is next booked for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a movie based on the popular series of children’s books by Jeff Kinney. Although he enjoys collecting pre-teen travel points, the actor is happy to be working on that project in Vancouver.

“We have quite a good industry and there’s a lot of filming done here,” he says matter-of-factly. “But I’ll go wherever a job takes me.”

pbirnie@vancouversun.com

Filed Under: Do You Know Where Your Children Are?, News Tagged With: Alex ferris, diary of a wimpy kid, masters of horror, peter birnie, the time traveler's wife, vancouver sun, young artists award

North Delta Hogwart’s Traveling School of Magic Photo Album

August 17, 2009 by Erica 1 Comment

Fascinating group of young muggles and magics in last week’s Hogwart’s Traveling School of Magic.  Here are some of the pics:

 

Hogwarts, Quiddich
Enjoying a Game of Quidditch

 

Quidditch
It’s so close to the real thing!

 

Hogwarts Wizarding Hats
Creating Our Own Custom Wizarding Hats

 

Making Hogwarts Cookbooks (All that activity made us hungry!)
Making Hogwarts Cookbooks (All that activity made us hungry!)

Sorry no moving images, on order by the Ministry of Magic.  You know being as muggles are involved here and all.

Excited to be visiting the young muggles and magics this week in Ladner for one last week of the Hogwart’s Traveling School of Magic for the summer.

Filed Under: News, Teachable Moments Tagged With: Ahimsa Kids, delta, delta school district, dsd, dsd youth activities, dsdsummer, Hogwart's Travelling School of Magic, hogwarts, Hogwarts cookbook, ministry of magic, muggles, north delta, Quidditch, summer camps, summer quest 2009, witches, wizarding hats, wizards

Games to Beat the Summer Heat: Protective Padding

August 5, 2009 by Erica Leave a Comment

Sufficed to say it’s been a little hotter than we’re used to in BC this summer. Rather than let our tempers boil over, we’ve got a few games to beat the summer heat and cool down over the next couple of weeks from Erica Hargreave, the founder of Ahimsa Media (Digital, Interactive, Transmedia Storytelling Company), and Ahimsa Kids (Representing Set Teachers and Child Coordinators in BC). Take it away Erica!

I’ve set these activities up like mini-Olympic Games competitions to add a bit of friendly sport in there.

The first one:

Protective Padding

Because it’s not only the athletes that need to protect their noggins…..

child coordinators in BC ,Water Balloons, Steve Wilhelm
Our Child Coordinators in BC can attest to the importance of this! Photo by Steve Wilhelm

MATERIALS:

  • Water Balloons (filled up and ready to fire)
  • Anything in the recycling bin
  • String (an arms length / balloon)
  • Tape (a forearms length / balloon)

THE SKINNY:
Here’s the deal kids. Your building a helmet to protect your water balloon from bursting. You can build it in anyway you like as long as you don’t break the rules (I’ll get to those in a minute). Once you’ve built and fastened on your water balloon’s helmet, partner up and take turns tossing your partners water balloon gently in front of their feet. To win, you need to be the last dry kid standing (ie. your balloon has not burst).

THE RULES:  (Yes, there are rules, because without them it would be chaos people, chaos I tell yah)

  • You can only use building materials from the recycling bin.
  • No, you can’t have more tape or string, if you ruin yours, improvise.
  • No whipping balloons at people. Immediate disqualification.

About the Author:

Erica Hargreave is a writer, storyteller, teacher and scientist.  She’s been having fun doing a few summer camps for the Delta School District, including the Wild World of Science, Outdoor Ed and Hogwart’s Travelling School of Magic.  She has two up and coming Hogwart’s Camps, the week’s of August 10 – 15 in North Delta and August 17 – 22 in Ladner.

Filed Under: Fun and Educational, News Tagged With: beat the summer heat, camp games, camps, delta school district, Erica Hargreave, games, Hogwart's Travelling School of Magic, ladner, north delta, summer camps, summer heat, water balloons

Outdoor Ed Adventures

August 2, 2009 by Erica Leave a Comment

I was lucky enough to spend my afternoons two weeks ago in beautiful Boundary Bay, Tsawwassen with a great group of young people. We rambled through the forests, fields and beaches on outdoor ed adventures, team building, studying edible and medicinal plants, creating things from plants and learning survival skills. Here are a few of the pics:

 

Outdoor Ed
Rope Making

 

Outdoor Ed
Weaving Cattail

 

cattail
Accessorizing with Cattail

 

outdoor ed
Herbology 101

Filed Under: News, Teachable Moments Tagged With: camps, cattail, delta school district, dsd, dsd youth activities, Erica Hargreave, Oudoor Ed, outdoor education, summer camps, summer quest 2009, tsawwassen, weaving cattail

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