• Integrated arts learning for kids ages 5 to 10
• Dedicated & experienced teaching artists
• Creative spaces to stretch minds & bodies
• Drop-off program with supervised lunch

LEARNING CIRCLES -- FALL 2008

LC1 – Monday Learning Circles
Numbers: Rhythm & Rhyme
& Young Artists in Action
On Mondays, learners are divided into age-appropriate sections for 5 to 7 year olds and 8 to 10 year olds. In Numbers: Rhythm & Rhyme taught by ej George, children use math manipulatives, multicultural games and images, and examine rhythms and patterns to learn math operations, basic geometry and more. In Young Artists in Action taught by Cathleen Banford, unique activities and materials provide opportunities to dabble or dig deep while making creative connections and exploring new ways of thinking.

Mondays, 10 am to 1 pm • Studio 10
10 classes, 9/22-12/1 (no class on 11/24)
Members: $250 • Non-members: $333

LC2 – Wednesday Learning Circles
Tell a Story, Show a Poem
& World Music & Kitchen Percussion
On Wednesdays, learners are divided into age-appropriate sections for 5 to 7 year olds and 8 to 10 year olds. Tell a Story, Show a Poem with Maggie Goldsmith will give students a chance to play theatre games, find stories, create poems, move their bodies and see what happens! In World Music and Kitchen Percussion taught by Diane Beckwith, children will create musical instruments, sing and play songs from around the world, and learn clapping games and body percussion.

Wednesdays, 10 am to 1 pm • Studio 10
10 classes, 9/24-12/3 (no class on 11/26)
Members: $250 • Non-members: $333

LC3 – Friday Learning Circles
Theatre Buffet
& Music Theory & Geometry
On Fridays, Learning Circles will be just for learners ages 8 to 10. Theatre Buffet! with Holly Adams will introduce children to a different kind of theatrical practice each week, exploring improvisation, masks, clowning, film, scene study, story theatre and more. In Music Theory and Geometry with Joseph Prusch, students will use mathematical concepts such as shapes, counting, and fractions to better understand music theory while listening to, playing, and composing music.

Fridays, 10 am to 1 pm • Studio 10
10 classes, 9/26-12/5 (no class on 11/28)
Members: $250 • Non-members: $333

Learning Circles Faculty:

Holly Adams is a long time mask maker, stage combat choreographer, performance historian, and director. She has also been a professional performer for over 25 years, with a focus on physical theatre styles. Holly also loves being a teaching artist! Whether she is giving a master class in NYC or at a college, or creating arts-at-the-core inquiry-based curricula for elementary and high schools, she loves every minute of it.

Cathleen J. Banford engages herself and people of all ages in the joyous expression of self, with a tried and tested, original approach to the art of teaching. She offers insightful encouragement and nurturing, well-grounded in her ongoing education. She provides learners with meaningful skills and thought provoking activities and ideas, inspiring emerging artists to more fully realize their inherent abilities. Cathleen has her Masters of Science in Education, has shown her works in numerous art shows, and homeschools her three children aged 13 to 4 1/2.

Diane Beckwith is the youth ministries director and director of the Junior Choirs at the First Congregational Church. She participated in the Choral Music Experience seminar at Ithaca College and has a masters degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech. She has taught many classes at Northern Light Learning Center and has homeschooled her three children for sixteen years.

ej George is an experienced educator across many topics and all ages. Whatever the subject matter, she infuses it with stories, games, and hands-on learning activities in a creative interdisciplinary approach.

Maggie Goldsmith has collected and created theatre games during her whole, long teaching career! She has used them with groups to teach alternatives to violence, to develop stage skills, to direct plays, to encourage self-expression, and to show people ways to have fun together. She taught English and theatre at the Lehman Alternative School in Ithaca for about 25 years and now teaches, on a lighter schedule, at Lansing Residential Center.

Joseph Prusch studied Viola Performance and Music Education at Ithaca College. He learned to play through the Suzuki method and teaches through Suzuki methodology and non-Western music. He has explored the mathematical basis of music with Dr. Dani Novak and other professors, teaching those findings to his students in private lessons and classes. He has taught music classes for the Northern Light Learning Center and the Community School of Music and Arts. Joseph is currently playing soprano violin for the New Violin Family Consort designed by Bob and Deena Spear, and he also plays bass for the Zydeco Trail Riders and electric fiddle for local favorite Urban Horse Thieves.

CSMA Membership

Annual membership fees are $55 for individuals; $90 for families and provide discounts to all of CSMA’s classes. Scholarships are available on a need-basis; application deadline for the fall term is September 5, 2008.

Scholarship Applications due September 5, 2008

To make CSMA as accessible as possible, we offer a limited number of scholarships, awarded on the basis of need in the form of a percentage tuition reduction. Applications are available on-line or from our office.