ART CLASS
This month was all about exploring new mediums! We created works of collage, pottery, and even melted wax crayon art! We made an abstract Matisse-inspired painting using colourful cut out paper and paint, a winter landscape with newspaper trees, beautiful ceramic animals we painted by hand, and a joyful Hanukkah menorah made by using a blowdryer to melt colourful crayons onto canvas. There's no one way to make art, and it's always fun to explore materials in surprising ways!
IMPROV + FILMMAKING CLASS
During the month of December, we explored lots of fun ways to express ourselves through filmmaking and acting. We created hand-drawn stop-motion paper figures and made them move by using classic stop motion animation techniques. We dove into drama, dressing up in costumes and choosing an emotion to express on camera in a drama skit. We finished the month with "Friendship's Got Talent", an awesome variety show where each participant got to show off their incredible talent in front of the green screen. Then we edited this video into a cool TV show and had a screening party with popcorn and an awards ceremony. It's been wonderful to watch confidence grow, and it's been fun to let loose and be silly, while also learning about film and acting.
Cooking
The Cooking Class which I conduct every Weds night has proven to be extremely gratifying for the group and especially for me.
I am doing this program for about 10 years and all the participants have improved tremendously since the start.
We have grown together to the point that they know the next step in the recipe before I even have the opportunity to illustrate.
Together we prepare a 3 or 4-course meal and they have the satisfaction of enjoying the fruits of their labour.
We always have a great time together, cooking, baking and laughing a lot.
- Chef Molly .
Karate
Visiting the FC is always a fun and fulfilling experience for me.
This month with my ladies we reviewed some of our techniques like punches, kicks, blocks, and all while in a strong stance. One of my goals for the ladies is to help build their muscle tone and balance...as well as their confidence. Empowerment comes from feeling Strong, Inside and Out.
With the children, we worked on strength and reaction time. The kids really look forward to some of our "games", which are really an education in disguise. We practice punching a target with all of our strength (the kids find it amusing when they can punch the pad so hard that they knock my sunglasses off of my head) and we do a timing drill where the kids have to strike a target before it moves away. And we always work on the kids' balance as well, practicing our kicks without holding onto a support. And the kids always make sure that we cap off our karate class with our favorite game, called broccoli.
Looking forward to a brand new year at the FC! Always one of my favorite places to teach
Yoga
Yoga this month has been a more intimate group with wonderful yogis including the amazing volunteers. We did some fun poses and even had a whole class with chairs. The chairs helped us do some supportive poses and we all seemed to enjoy it. We did our downward dog with the chairs and plank. We also used the chair for support for a twist and warrior poses. We ended with our legs resting on the chair. This week we will do some Chanukah poses like dreidel and menorah and Maccabees (which is the 3 warrior poses).
Looking forward to more fun classes in the future. hope everyone has a good winter break
The Lounge
This month at The Lounge, we began exploring a new project called ‘Our City Life’. Using a large printout of a map and our imaginations, we navigate to different city locations, which connects with a bigger theme. Our first location was a gas station, where we experienced the quick pace of every day actions. This served as a bridge into the topic of kindness, and how important it is to be quick to do a good deed. Next, we went to an assisted living facility where we learnt about respect and accepting individual differences. Towards the end of the month, everyone became excited about the upcoming holiday of Chanukah and so we spent time learning about the meaning of the holiday and different customs.
Music
For the past couple months, I have had the privilege of conducting the music program at the Friendship Circle. Suffice it to say it has been and continues to be a thrill. I look forward to Tuesdays 5pm to reunite with all my buddies and friends.
We begin our sessions with exuberant greetings followed by the introduction of our new arrivals (which keeps on growing from week to week B”H) and then we finally get down to business – SINGING! Our sound and repertoire is eclectic. We bounce from English to Hebrew to Spanish. We jump from classics to contemporary and songs in between. Our selections goes something like this; Lean On Me, With A Little Help From My Friends, Ocho Kandalikas, When You Believe, Leonard Cohen’s Halleluyah, Halleluyah (Eurovision), You’ve Got A Friend and the list goes on..
We are a little program with a BIG heart!
Our mission is to have fun and share our love of music. Our aim is to give each and everyone of our friends their time in the spotlight. Our intention is to take that enthusiasm and talent and bring it center stage. Our objective is to enable our friends and buddies to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment every time they step out of our singing session.
We look forward with great anticipation to resuming our sessions in the New Year.
