Mask Making for April 21, 2011

Myths come to life, as do any favorite stories when you have a mask to accompany the telling.

This week we made masks like these and learned alot about telling stories. I started off using a mask with a removable ponytail to tell the story of Stephanie’s Ponytail! by Robert Munsch. The kids loved it and participated with glee.

Masks like these are great, for the child can participate by holding the mask and you as the parent can narrate the actions. This allows the child to get accustomed to the stimulus that comes with performing with out all of the anxiety. Make a few masks and have a talent show at home to make your favorite stories come to life. It is a great gift to give your child the chance to see anyone in their home step out of their normal roles and play the part the child picked for them.

To learn how to make these great masks go to www.KateHovey.com a Greek Goddess (and scholar) or watch her You Tubes for the step-by-step directions for Making Over-sized Masks.

My girls are very much into Greek mythology and other culture’s stories immortalized in the medusa constellations. So I was not surprised when my eldest requested we make a Medusa mask with curling Snakes from green construction paper. After completing it at parkday, I narrated the story while she played the part of Medusa comfortably hidden behind her mask.

Kids joined in the story as people and animals who came into Medusa’s home had to turn to stone as they saw the face of Medusa’s mask. We called it Medusa Freeze, which was very much like the game ‘Freeze Dancing’. I also played Perseus, who with godly gifts like winged shoes, a sharp sword and a shiny shield, I took Medusa’s head from her body. At this point, a self-proclaimed expert in the art of falling to his death (J), took my daughter’s place as Medusa and fell to the ground so that we could all witnessed the birth of Pegasus from the blood that spilled from her/his body. From behind the mask of Perseus, I flew to the sea in order to use the power of Medusa’s head (which still turned creatures to stone) in order to save the life of a princess from a giant monster from the sea. The kids loved it.

I highly recommend the picture book Young Zeus (2010) by G. Brian Karas for a wonderful story about the Top Greek Gods (one you can keep straight!) and a time-honored book w/ good details but not overwhelming for young boys and girls…D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths (1962). You can find both in the children’s section of the Calabasas library as well as many LAPL branches.

The children (and parents) crafted wonderful masks. Each mask took on the personality of its maker(s) as well as the power of the mask itself. We ended our theater in the round with one last story, my childhood favorite – Ma Lien and the Magic Brush (1968) by Hisako Kimishima. A wonderful tale of Good triumphing over Evil with a lovely highlight of child philanthropy. Imaginations are great things, especially when stories and audience participation come together at the same moment!

And as these parkdays belong to the village we call MudPies and Butterflies, anything you are into is welcome. As you can see one family brought some beading supplies (great for motor skill building!)

And as it was our Third Thursday of the month, our afternoon flowed into a Potluck dinner. What a yummy feast that fostered intriguing and compassionate conversations. Thank you to everyone for making MudPies & Butterflies parkday such a lovely sanctuary for us all! See you next week!

Mudpies & Butterflies

Village Parkdays 12:00 pm – 4pm (or sundown)

Mask Making for April 21, 2011

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