News Archives - Ahimsa Kids: Set Teachers

Virtual / Remote Set Tutoring / Teaching Options

August 24, 2020 by Lori Leave a Comment

Ahimsa Kids has been providing teachers to production sets for 15 years now and we are excited to forge forward into this school year with our additional offerings of virtual set tutoring, in response to UBCP’s recommendation of remote set teaching, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our teachers have already been very active in the virtual space, long before in-person teaching came to a halt. Over the last few months we have even created our own online learning platform, the StoryToGo Classroom, and have been running camps and small group interactive courses there, including BCIT’s first online summer camps! We will be able to tailor online learning hubs for remote instruction for any productions that need that this school year.

A BCIT Summer Camp on the StoryToGo Classroom site.

Our team has designed and taught online courses through BCIT for 8-years now, in addition to delivering virtual instruction to all ages, from family yoga classes to piano lessons, story coding camps, and acting classes to corporate mindfulness sessions. We understand the importance of building connection and finding efficient, yet creative and enjoyable ways to get important academic concepts across.

Ella showing us how she coded her story.

Erica Hargreave, the founder of Ahimsa Kids, is currently working on her Master of Educational Technology and is passing on and incorporating all of the latest methods of utilizing digital technology to teach remotely to our certified teachers. We are ready and prepared to adapt to the needs of your production!

Sam walking us through an animated story that he created.

Learn more about us on the main Ahimsa Kids site, and please reach out with any questions: info[at]ahimsakids.com / 604-785-3602.

Introducing Two New BC Set Teachers to Our Team

May 28, 2015 by Lori Leave a Comment

We wanted to take a moment to welcome and introduce two new BC set teachers on board with Ahimsa Kids – Sandy McKee and Maggie Lauzon. We have really enjoyed working with them and are excited to share them with you and productions filming in BC! Sandy McKee brings years of experience having taught on sets since 2001 across Alberta and BC, and Maggie Lauzon brings her own theatrical experience to the table, along with fluency in French, which is highly sought after for our Canadian French Immersion students.

Sandy McKee

After attending the University of Calgary, Sandy taught high school English and History on Vancouver Island and raised her two children there. She has been a set teacher since 2001. Always a fan of films, it was a wonderful thrill for her to be able to combine a love of watching films with helping to make them. Early in her set teaching career she qualified for her California teaching certificate and first worked on The Santa Claus 2. Since that time, she has worked on dozens of films including four seasons on the CBC series Heartland. She loves to travel to different locations to work and treasures the friends that she makes on each production.

Maggie Lauzon

Maggie Lauzon is a lifelong learner and alumnus of UBC‘s Bachelor of Education program. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 2008 with a Combined Honours degree in English and History, Maggie spent many years honing her people skills and multitasking in the service industry, where she won multiple awards. She moved to Vancouver in 2010, and became one of the Vancouver Canadians’ biggest fans. She even sang the national anthems at several games! Maggie grew up speaking French, and as a classically trained performer has also sung in German, Italian, Spanish and even Hebrew. A veteran of the stage, Maggie puts her experience to work as a choral conductor and workshop coordinator across Vancouver, working most closely with children suffering from mental illness and addictions. She also acted as choral director for Kitsilano Secondary School’s 2014 production of Love, Actually.

Working With Minors On Set in BC: An Inspirational Quote

January 28, 2015 by Lori Leave a Comment

One of the most wonderful aspects of working with minors on set in BC is that every day has the possibility of bringing new experiences for our students and teachers. Being well prepared for your day is essential in the film industry, but being able to go with the flow and adapt to changes is equally as important. Our team of set teachers find themselves very fortunate to work with small groups, and often times individual students where they are able to assess a child’s state of mind as they move through their day together. Being in tune means knowing when it’s the right time to teach a more complicated subject and when it’s time to enjoy lighter material. It also means being open to learn new things from the students!

something to think about when working with minors on set in BC — Every day is a new adventure that, although carefully planned, lends itself to unexpected learning moments of discovery for all.

Sometimes a child actor we work with is in their very first role, so having a set tutor who is experienced with life on a set is invaluable for the guidance they provide and confidence they instill in the child. After all, we do remember what it’s like to be students ourselves! We pride ourselves on being open minded to the needs of the parents and perceptive to the needs of production. Being willing to work with, and learn from everyone has provided our team with countless memories to cherish and carry forward with us onto each new show.

Happy Holidays from Ahimsa Kids, Live From Burnaby Village Museum

December 28, 2010 by Erica Leave a Comment

The winter holidays to us at Ahimsa Kids are all about spending time having fun and laughing with folks we love. It is for this reason that Lori and I take a break from the pre-holiday craziness each year to be goofy and shoot a holiday card together. We admit, we add quite a bit of fun on a regular basis while working together at our set tutoring agency in Vancouver, but we love to step it up for special occasions!

2010 Holiday Card — A typical bit of Erica / Lori silliness, as caught by the talented Jeremy Lim.

This year’s shoot was even more delightful than usual, as we were fortunate enough to shoot at the Burnaby Village Museum, which is such a magical place. What an absolutely perfect location for two gals that have a love for hands-on learning and engaging in creative ways! If you haven’t been, you must go. Burnaby Village Museum is a living history museum, with historic interpretors dressed in period clothing there to spin tales for you of BC’s history. Having worked in such environments in my teens and twenties, I can tell you I view such sites with a discerning eye and am not easily impressed. Burnaby Village Museum impresses me. It is a place of magic.

To experience a bit of the magic yourself you can visit the Museum from noon until 8 pm each day, up until January 2nd, 2011. Who knows you may even see Rudolph. He was after all created there.

After that the Museum doesn’t reopen until May 2011, except for special event openings. Hoping they host their scavenger hunt again in February and March.

Ooey Gooey Good Animal Track Activity

December 20, 2009 by Erica Leave a Comment

At Ahimsa Kids Set Tutoring Agency, we have a tradition of sharing a yearly activity that can be enjoyed with friends and family, and you don’t have to be a kid to have fun with it. We hope you enjoy this year’s activity inspired by our own team of set tutors in BC. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy hunting for animal tracks…or eating them for that matter?!

One of our favourite winter time activities is animal tracking, especially in the snow. I love finding animal tracks, identifying them, and creating stories of the critters that left the tracks behind on their travels. And animal tracks can be found anywhere in winter, even if there is no snow. If there isn’t any snow, go hunting in the mud or on ground where the mud has hardened, for some tracks.

Here are some fun kitchen goodies that are easy for all ages to whip up and can help you to learn your animal tracks.

Peanut Butter Snack Tracks (A Tracey Temple Invention)

Recipe:

Mix ½ c peanut butter, ½ c icing sugar, 1 tbsp softened butter, and ½ c Rice Krispies together.

Activity:

With your young ones or the young at heart, take a heaping spoonful of the peanut butter mixture, flatten the peanut butter ‘dirt’ and make the imprints different animal tracks in it,using the picture of animal tracks as a guide.
Stick the peanut butter tracks in the fridge to harden.
Whilst your peanut butter tracks are hardening, enjoy a winter walk and search for animal tracks, identify them, and create stories of the travels of the animals that left the tracks behind.
Share your animal track stories and teach your family and friends some track id as you enjoy your peanut buttery snacks.

You can also find last year’s paper making activity here.

Happy Holidays!

The Gang at Ahimsa Kids