Author: ericavo1

Camps and Classes, Theater

Beaverton Civic Theater Children’s Classes

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Chicken took her first class through Beaverton Civic Theater this week.  It was the third in a series of 3 (the first two didn’t fit in our schedule).  One two-hour class cost $15, and I believe you could take all three for $30.

Chicken’s class focused on ‘acting a scene.’  While I did not stay for the whole class, Chicken and the teacher both indicated they did acting warm ups, played games, and practiced two short skits.  The first involved the kids acting as a box of crayons that did not get along, but in the end they learned that working together can create something beautiful.  The theme of their crayon color included working together to make a drawing that was incorporated into the skit.  The second skit was Halloween themed and adorable.

I did arrive a few minutes early to watch their final practice and to watch them ‘perform.’  The teacher was positive and encouraging.  The girls (they all happened to be girls, much to Nugget’s chagrin), were clearly having fun and proud of what they did.

In speaking to the teacher and other BCT staff after the class, it appears more classes will likely be held in January.

What it is: Reasonably priced, fun intro to theater skills, developmentally appropriate, positive

What it is not: targeted to students with a lot of theater experience

Would we recommend it:  Yes!  Chicken had a great time, walked away feeling proud of herself and connected to a fun group of girls, and it is a manageable time commitment

 

Fall Activities

Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream

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We did it!  We survived Disney on Ice!  We went to Disney on Ice, the Frozen version, a few years ago and I got it in my head that it was time to go again.  And I was right!  Yay me!

So I loaded up Chicken, who refuses to look anything like a princess, and Nugget, who insisted on wearing a pilgrim hat (I mean, it’s Disney on Ice.  So clearly you go with the pilgrim hat), and off to the Moda Center we went.  Having not been there in ages, I was paranoid about parking.  That meant we arrived so early, we were literally the second car there and had our pick of spots.  Oops.  We sang in the car for a while and then made our way to get in line to actually be let in.  All the other children, who were wearing all kids of Disney costumes and had their hair styled to perfection, looked absolutely adorable and I loved seeing them all.  I’m sure people thought there was something wrong with my ragamuffins.  Oh well.

We wandered around and looked at the overpriced merchandise and bought overpriced popcorn and water.  Seriously.  It’s like highway robbery.  And then we went to our seats.  On time.  Early, even.  Take note people!  On time!  Fair warning- I am about to rant.  Please feel free to skip the remainder of this paragraph.  I would estimate that two thirds of the people arrived late.  Two thirds!  I clearly have young children.  I get that stuff happens.  But people- you can do better!  We were in the 7th row and it was so frustrating that we missed a good portion of the first quarter of the show because we couldn’t see due to people coming in late, standing in the aisles, making people get up to let them find their seats- how did they all have mid-row seats?!?  After having some sort of moment of whatever the equivalent to road rage is related to venue seating, I engaged in some radical acceptance and moved on.  And the show was great.  But seriously. Show up on time.

The show quality was even better than I remembered from last time.  The sets and costumes were beautiful.  The level of detail is exactly what you expect from Disney.  They sound quality was high- everything was crisp and clear.  The choreography was fun, everything was colorful and well paced.  The “host” was a bit annoying, but aren’t all Disney hosts?  They had skaters fly through the air on fabric ropes, they literally made fire on ice.  It was magical.  The kids were on the edge of their seats, and Nugget’s mouth was honestly hanging open at some points.  Of course he will never admit to that.

The families who were sitting in the front row, basically on this landing on the ice, got a really cool added perk.  Several of the kids got brought onto the ice to ride on props, sit next to princesses, talk to the host, things like that.  The kids that got selected looked over the moon and will probably remember those moments for years to come.

Chicken’s review:  “That was fantastic!  I definitely want to go again!”

Nugget’s review:  “But they didn’t do Hamilton.”  After clarifying that this was Disney on Ice so they only do, well, Disney things, he said “but I thought everything was Disney.”  So if your kid goes to Disney on Ice expecting to see Hamilton, they will likely be disappointed.  Nugget does not feel the need to go again, and that’s ok.

What it is:  full of Disney magic, scenes from your favorite Disney movies acted out on ice, well paced, gorgeous, colorful, musical, engaging, empowering, focused on strong female characters, family friendly, a wee bit cheesy, something you should show up on time to.

What it is not:  Hamilton, cheap once you walk in the door

Do we recommend it? Yep!  Absolutely!  Unless you are looking to see Hamilton.  Then you should probably sit this one out.

You can find the schedule and ticket information at: https://www.disneyonice.com/tickets

 

 

Fall Activities, Theater

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

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This past weekend we went to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Beaverton Civic Theater.  I had been hesitant to take the littles the past few years as I have always thought of this as a scary story.  But BCT has done this show for the past several years and they have consistently billed it as part of the Young Audiences theater programming.  So I thought, what the heck, it’s only $5.

As good theater patrons, we arrived early to make sure we could use the restroom, get drinks, find our seats- all the necessities.  We were pleasantly surprised to find craft projects awaiting us!  There were materials to make a mask, a ghost (out of a paper plates and crepe paper), and binoculars.  Very simple crafts, but the kids were drawn to it right away and had a lot of fun making them.

Once the show started, it was explained that the crafts the kids made would become interactive props for the show.  They were taught when to hold up which craft, what sounds to make when, things like that.  The kids were very excited.

I have to say, the show was not my favorite.  The kids in the show were cute, Ichabod was funny- I mean, who doesn’t love an Ichabod Crane who does the Floss?  The cast was clearly having fun and the kids in the audience loved the participation element.  It was just that the story didn’t make much sense.  And I still can’t figure out the ending.  I don’t think I was alone, as there was a longer than typical pause before the applause, as though people didn’t realize it was over.  The show was not scary at all and was very family friendly in its humor and content.  But while I am a fan of exposing kids to rich vocabulary, I felt the vocabulary in the show was much higher than that of a typical child who would be coming to the show.

There were opportunities to meet the cast, take pictures with them, and get your program signed.  As per usual, Nugget would only get signature from the men.  I swear I’m working on that.

Overall, Chicken and Nugget were intrigued enough with the use of their props that they had a good time.  When I asked Chicken what she thought, she said “I have no idea what they were talking about but it was a fun show.”  That kind of summed it up for me, too.

What it is: a yearly Halloween show, appropriate for young children and families, unique in its use of crafting and use of said crafts for audience participation, funny, appropriate length for young children (about an hour)

What it is not: super easy to follow, completely comprehensible to very young children

Would we recommend it? Kind of.  It’s a cute Halloween show.  I don’t know that we will need to go again or make it a yearly tradition.  But if you’re stuck inside on a rainy day and have $5 burning a hole in your pocket, it’s a creative way to spend an afternoon.

Look for future shows at http://www.beavertoncivictheatre.org/productions.html

Fall Activities

Halloweentown

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We finally got around to going to Halloweentown in St. Helens!  In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s based on the Disney Channel movie of the same name that came out in the late 1990s.  I’ll admit that I was a fan back in the day, but the kiddos are not familiar with it.  If you haven’t seen it, it is available to rent on Amazon’s movie service.  It shows up on Disney Channel a lot during this time of year as well.

Basically, a few blocks of the downtown area are shut down and are turned into a basic recreation of the movie town.  There are great photo ops and lots of businesses have themed stores and stands.  We went to Fairyland, the haunted house, the Shoestring Community Players skits for kids, the playground, and some of the stands and opportunities.

So, Fairyland.  $12 for kids, $15 for adults.  The kids really enjoyed it, but I found it overpriced for what it was.  The big hit for my kiddos were those inflatable balls you can get inside and roll around in.  Fun and unique, to be sure.  There was a sand pit with “treasure,” oversized checkers, a hammock area, a recreation of Stonehenge, and characters like Maleficent, Tinkerbell, and some Game of Thrones lady (no, I don’t know her name.  Can’t stand the show.  Bring on the shock and criticism).  My personal favorite part was receiving the s’mores kits and getting to roast them at the fire pit next to the river.  That part was pretty cool.  Re-entry was allowed, which was nice.  We took advantage and went in and out several times.  It also includes a $5 gift certificate to the official Halloweentown merchandise store, which sold shirts, hats, coffee mugs, etc.  With our $5, we were each able to get a cute reflective tag which will be perfect for trick-or-treating.

We did the all ages haunted house.  Kids’ idea.  I should have known better.  It was labeled all ages, but I would argue that it is not.  It is the same haunted house they use to terrify the adults at night, but without the actors jumping out at you- thank heavens!  The beginning portion was actually pretty cute, but it got more and more intense as you went.  By the time Nugget was crying and Chicken was loudly and emphatically shouting “get me out of here.  Now!,” I called it a fail, turned around, and headed out the way we came.  Rules schmules.  Most of the kids under 12 who made it all the way through came out crying or looking thoroughly scared.  There were a few kiddos who loved it, of course.  Just not mine.  For the three of us it cost $37.

The Shoestring community players read poems and did short skits every 30 minutes.  The “show” lasted about 10 minutes each time.  Theater nerds that they are, Chicken and Nugget insisted on going to three in a row.  Cute and free.

A local real estate agent had a table set up in his office where kids could paint and decorate ‘haunted’ bird houses for free.  That was also a hit.

Like I mentioned, lots of cute and free photo ops.  Spiderman and friend were wandering around, which Nugget found to be very exciting.  There was live music playing (very loudly), and all performers were quite good.

If you are a fan of the movie, there were chances for pictures and autographs with the original cast, which would be cool if that’s your thing.  There are also many other activities and move tie-ins that we did not partake in.  The pumpkin lighting sounded like a lot of fun, but we took off before that happened.

As the evening progressed and it became darker, more people were coming in more “frightening” costumes.  Chicken gave the killer clown a very wide berth and crashed into numerous people and things due to constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t within 100 feet of her.

What it is: a cute community event, mostly kid friendly, a good excuse for the kids to wear their costumes an extra time, easy to spend a lot of money, a great movie tie-in, about an hour from Portland, more depending on where you are starting from, well monitored with community policing (they were everywhere!)

What is is not: cheap if you want to do all of the things

Do we recommend it?  Half-heartedly.  It probably won’t become a yearly tradition for us.  If you love the movie, you should totally go for nostalgia sake.  If you have nothing else to do on a beautiful fall day, it is a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening.  And the kids really did love Fairyland

Parking is $10, cash only, and close to the event.

http://discovercolumbiacounty.com/20180101/

Theater

School House Rock

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This weekend I took Chicken and Nugget to see School House Rock, Live! at the Beaverton Civic Theater.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children.  It ran just under 2 hours with an intermission.

The play is based on the television show that many of us watched as children (well, not me.  I was generally afraid of high quality children’s programming.  I am now ashamed to admit that I found Mr. Rogers to be incredibly creepy.  What grown up changes their shoes and sweaters that much, let alone talks to trolleys?  I now fully appreciate his contributions to society).  The show revolves around a teacher who is nervous about going to school and teaching a room full of 8-year-olds.  Reasonably so, I say.  A cast of characters show up in his dreams (spoiler alert) to help him make learning fun and interesting.

The show is non stop singing and dancing.  The set is simple, but the use of over 100 props keeps it interesting and new.  The songs are catchy and perky and I personally loved the girl power song about women getting the right to vote.  The cast member who sang “I’m Just a Bill” gave the song so much style and personality that it was another one I really enjoyed.  The characters in the show are fun, silly, smart, and relatable.

Chicken and Nugget gave it mixed reviews.  Chicken seemed to generally like it, although not one of her favorites.  She was excited when she figured out that the audience was filling in as the classroom full of students, and commented that the song about the eights times table helped her because those eights can be tricky!  Nugget was not as impressed.  He did not give a solid reason why he didn’t like it, but it was safe to say he was not a fan.  Although he did praise the use of the kangaroo puppet.

My guess is that Nugget was a bit young for the show (he’s 5).  It is very kid friendly and completely appropriate for children his age in terms of content.  However, the lyrics of the songs are sung very quickly and include content that is not familiar to kids his age, like proper use of adverbs and conjunctions, the use of the number zero in place value, etc.  I think he was looking for a cohesive story line to follow, where this show is more a connected series of educational songs.

Girl Scouts are also invited for a backstage tour after the show where they get to see and touch some of the props, stand on the stage, take pictures with cast, and see how the light and sound booth work.

What it is:  Incredibly high energy show, full of songs and minimal dialogue, interesting incorporation of technology, a group of fun and talented actors, reasonably priced, kid friendly

What it is not:  content not likely to be fully grasped by the younger child

Do we recommend it?  Chicken and I do.  I would recommend it for children 7 and up if your goal is for them to understand the content of the show, any age if you just want an afternoon out with your kids listening to some fun music and watching goofy characters on stage.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.beavertoncivictheatre.org/tickets.html.  The show ends October 13th.

Fall Activities

Pumpkin Patch Season!!

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Pumpkin patch season officially started for our family yesterday!  Our favorite time of year!  So I packed up Chicken and Nugget, along with a slightly resistant husband, and off we headed to Scio.  Yes, Scio.  Yes, we drove over an hour to go to a pumpkin patch, and yes we do have perfectly good patches much closer to home.  That actually have pumpkins (more on this later).  And it was totally worth it!

This is our third year going to Sweet Briar Train and RV Park.  Doesn’t that just scream pumpkins?  This family run business has a yearly event they are now referring to as a fall festival.  And it’s fantastic.

After making the drive, you park your car in a grassy field.  If you bring a donation of canned food, entry is $6 per person, slightly more without a food donation.  After a short walk through a wooded area and over a bridge, you arrive at the main event.  Scio is a small, rather rural town, at least compared to the Portland area, and this is an amazing small town event.  Almost everything is included in the price of entry, with the exception of food, face painting, and souvenirs.

So what is everything?  There is a train ride through the woods that passes by several little scenes, like Winnie the Pooh and his friends, a gingerbread man cottage, a tiny cemetery with silly rhymes on the headstones, and train station managed by some seriously sketchy looking (decorative) dudes.  I think Nugget rode the train five times and was still excited to find new things.   Once enough people arrive, groups of kids can put on cowboy hats and/or and “rob” the train for candy.  It’s the one time it’s adorable to see your children commit a crime.  Each year we have gone, they have made slight changes or improvements.  Each have been received well by our family.

Kids can pan for gold, and this activity is seriously stacked for kiddo success.  About the time kiddos would start to lose interest, a very sly teenager would encourage one of them to try a specific pan, and what do you know- gold would be found in that very pan!  Nugget walked away with five bits of gold and Chicken found six.  Nugget got a grin from above mentioned teen when he shouted “this is just like the stuff in a treasure chest!”

There are several small toy houses for the kids to play in, a simple mini golf course (maybe 4 or 5 “holes”), and rubber ducky races powered by water pumps (you do the pumping).  There is a photo booth with a small selection of props.  Photos are taken on an iPad and you can text yourself the photos free of charge.  Bigfoot wanders the event, posing for pictures, sneaking up on parents, taking snack breaks, and even riding the train. The family that runs the event is very present, and go out of their way to make sure everyone is having a good time.

As the park itself does not raise pumpkins, in the past they brought pumpkins in and kiddos could choose one from a large field.  This year, the family decided to take the money they typically spend on the pumpkins and purchased a 20 foot bouncy slide and a human whack-a- mole.  Let me tell you, the pumpkins were not missed one bit.  And parents- not to worry.  The human whack-a-mole “whacker” was a teen girl who was very gentle.  And honestly, most of the kids were too short to actually get their heads through the hole.

Food is reasonably priced and has been different each year we have gone.  This year, the lunch option was a corn dog with tater tots and a drink for $5.  There were many, many, snack options, as well as roasted corn for $2 an ear, and kettle corn made on site.  Two bags of kettle corn will run you $2.

I had to drag Chicken and Nugget out of there after 3. 5 hours and they happily would have stayed all day if soccer lessons hadn’t been awaiting us.

Chicken’s review:  “this one is my favorite because it is so fun and there is more stuff to do.  I don’t mind the drive.”

Nugget’s review:  “I don’t know.  Can we come back tomorrow?”

What it is: small town family fun, reasonably priced, borderline cheesy in the best possible way, located in a beautiful setting, quite muddy when it rains, a long-ish drive from the Portland area

What it is not: an actual pumpkin patch, fancy, a nutritionist’s dream menu (but isn’t eating unhealthy favorites part of the charm of an activity like this?)

Do we recommend it:  Absolutely!

Fall Activities, Spring and Summer Activities, Theater, Winter Activities

Northwest Children’s Theater

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Like I said, we go to A LOT of theater.  Like, A LOT.  Sometimes twice in a weekend.  And we love every moment of it.  Of course, each of us has our favorite plays and our not so favorite plays.  Chicken and Nugget particularly love musicals.  They have been known to come home singing the parts of songs they can remember, make related costumes out of computer paper, post hand made posters about the play all over the house, and reenact their favorite scenes.  That’s some of the many reasons I love taking them to theater.  We not only have a great time together, but they learn from the plays and engage in creative activity related to it long after the play itself is over.

Northwest Children’s Theater is a great way to introduce your kiddos to the performing arts.  While I will post about individual plays we go to, the theater itself deserves a nod.

Located in Portland near Providence Park, prices are reasonable (and discounted if you buy a season subscription), and sometimes Gold Star offers even deeper discounts for specific performances.  Full price single tickets range between $16 and $25.  If you purchase a full subscription by the designated date- usually sometime in the spring or summer- an actor dressed as a character from the upcoming season will hand deliver your tickets.  They come in full costume, bring the tickets, balloons, and posters, talk with the kiddos and take pictures.  We have met the characters at the park and the kiddos have always loved it.  Well, except the time we got Cinderella.  Nugget is afraid of princesses.  I have no idea why.

They offer a wide variety of plays that are all family friendly.  Each season they offer a play specifically for the younger toddler crowd.   This year it is Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play.  We saw it when they did it a couple of years ago and it is adorable.  These plays are generally 45 to 60 minutes with simple dialogue, silliness, and fun.  The remainder of the plays generally run 90-120 minutes plus an intermission.  Adults are often cast in some of the main roles, but there are always children in the supporting roles, and sometimes in the main as well.

The plays they chose are engaging for kids, and often fun for the adults.  Sets are colorful, costumes are tasteful, and it’s just a fun time.  Heads up for the nervous kiddos, it’s not uncommon for actors to come down the aisle.  It took me a full theater season to convince Nugget the characters would not eat him.

After the plays, families are invited to stay and have their programs signed by the cast and take pictures with the cast if they so desire.  Chicken and Nugget LOVE this part (although Nugget refuses to be photographed with a girl) and often give me the honor of signing a program they design themselves when we get home.

In addition to plays, they offer camps and classes.  Each of my kiddos has done a camp- Chicken did My Little Pony and Nugget did Elephant and Piggie.  They each had a great time and made new friends.  Camps vary from exploratory to skill based to putting on an actual play.  They also do school based programs and even have Girl Scout workshops.  Chicken did the Peter Pan Girl Scout workshop and really enjoyed it.  She definitely recommends it.

In summary, we love Northwest Children’s Theater.  We think you might, too.

What it is: fun take on children’s theater, affordable, creative, varied in what they offer, appropriate for many age ranges, a great opportunity to photograph your kid with some of their favorite characters without going all the way to Disney Land, a great way to introduce your family to theater without having to worry your kid will be the only kid there and will somehow ruin the experience for everyone else (come on.  You know you thought it as soon as I mentioned taking a young child to a play).

What it’s not: particularly comfy in terms of seating (seating is on old church pews, but they do have cushions available), a fancy pants venue

Do we recommend it?  1000% yes

You can get more information on their website:  https://nwcts.org/

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Welcome and About

Welcome!

ericavo1

Thank you for visiting!  I am new to the world of blogging, so we shall see how this goes!  I am excited about learning and sharing some of the adventures I have with Chicken and Nugget.

Chicken is my 12-year-old daughter and Nugget is my 10-year-old son.  Although if asked, they will both say they are Nugget.  While I would love to say that we go out and about on a regular basis due to my amazing organization and creativity, it’s really just a survival strategy.  We all do better when we are out doing something, learning together, and kept busy (that’s mom code for the kids fight less if we have something to do).  I started taking them places when they were pretty young, and I am lucky that they are now pros at going out and about, and know the behavior drill for the fun things we do.  They also know I will not hesitate to end the activity and head home if they don’t hold up their end of the deal.

Because I am a huge fan of survival, over the years we have found some favorite places and activities, and continue to seek out new adventures.  I often get asked “how do you find all these things?”  Since I don’t have a good or coherent answer, I thought I would start to share the places we go and opinions of them so that maybe you will be inspired to try something new with your kids.

My goal is to provide you with the basic info- where is it, how much does it cost, etc., as well as our perspective.  The good, the not great, if we recommend it.  As we get started, I will share things we are currently doing as well as fun activities from the past.  And yes, we go to a lot of theater.  Like, A LOT of theater. We all love a good musical!

We are doing this completely independently and do not receive any money or perks for our reviews.

All that said, thank you again for taking the time to look at our blog!  We hope hope you find inspiration for things to do with your own chickens and nuggets!

Find us on Facebook at @adventureswithchickenandnugget

-Erica