Catamount Arts

For early childhood educators

Monday, June 8, 5pm-7pm

Instructor: Susanna Olson

Location: Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium

*FREE, but advance registration required*

Imagine a circle time that fully engages preschoolers' bodies, voices, and imaginations from start to finish. Through playful and simple drama routines early childhood educators can both expand expressive range and deepen learning for children by offering them opportunities to construct and demonstrate their understanding of a wide range of content from literature to science and beyond. In this workshop, participants will experience a collection of tried-and-true exercises designed to guide young learners, each in their own unique way, to pantomime the life cycle and migratory behavior of monarch butterflies. Drama exercises will include “Echo”, “Freeze”, “Moving Through Space”, “Solo”, “Shaping” and more. Following the acting session, teachers will brainstorm together ways these same exercises can be used to support a wide range of curricular content in the classroom. A brief tour of the butterfly house at Fairbanks Museum will enrich this fun experience!  

Please Note: This workshop involves plenty of whole body kinesthetic learning so participants should wear clothing in which they feel comfortable moving. 

FREE, but advance registration is required. Those who attend will receive Documentation of Professional Development.This workshop is presented with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council. 

Susanna Olson is a dynamic theater arts integration teaching artist with over 20 years' experience providing direct service to children and professional development for teachers and teaching artists across Vermont. With extensive expertise in PreK-4th grade classrooms, she's collaborated with hundreds of classroom educators to co-create and implement residencies that both address curricular goals and strengthen children's expressive abilities. Currently practicing her teaching artistry at Robin's Nest Children's Center in Burlington, over the years she's taught for a variety of organizations including The Flynn, Champlain Valley Head Start, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Vermont Arts Council.