Clowning at ICS 6/7

I just emailed Mrs. Case to confirm that I will be clowning for her classroom on Tuesday at 1pm. I'm really excited to go back to my elementary school and hangout in my old classroom. I'm planning on baking cupcakes tomorrow evening and using my clown cupcake toppers so I can bring them in for the class. All of my clowning gear is functioning and ready to go! I will definitely bring my camera this time! Even though my project materials are being turned in on Tuesday I will be posting pictures and reflecting on my experience after I clown for Mrs. Case, so stay tuned, the journey isn't over yet!

Clowning at CHES 5/13

Friday morning I packed up all my clown stuff into my car and headed off to school. My mom had written me a note that allowed me to leave school for an important meeting regarding my WISE project. Little did the women in the attendance office know that this meeting involved juggling and balloon animals instead of me being in gym class, but what they don't know can't hurt them right?

   I changed into my clown costume in the locker room and then drove up the hill to Cayuga Heights Elementary School (I put my shoes on when I got there, it’s sort of hard to drive in clown shoes). I was clowning for my lacrosse coach's special education classroom. Of course as I walked into the school I received the usual laughter and giggles from adults I passed. I'm starting to get used to the reactions people give me when I walk by in a clown suit, at first I never knew what to say because I looked so ridiculous. Now I have learned to completely ignore any laughter and saw something like, "what a beautiful day!" or "can you show me to Heather Murphy's classroom?" I never make any reference to being dressed like a clown, instead I pretend it’s totally normal.

    I signed in at the main office and then someone showed me up Murph's classroom. Of course her room was at the farthest end of a very long hallway so I had a lot of attention all the way down. Kids would shyly wave if they were out in the hallway or shout if they saw me from their rooms. When I finally got down to the end, no one was in the classroom! One of the other aids in her room explained the group was doing an activity in another classroom and would be about ten minutes late. Since I was about ten minutes early this gave me twenty minutes to just hangout in an empty kindergarten classroom. Suddenly another teacher popped her head in the door and introduced herself as one of the Pre-K teachers.

      She asked if I had some extra time that day to come in and clown for her classroom too! She had seen me walking by on my way to Murph's room and thought I looked awesome. Since I had twenty extra minutes before Murph's class would be back I clomped down to her classroom and went right in. She had 3 and 4 year olds, about 12 of them and much like the Tots ans Teens kids, they immediately swarmed me. They touched my nose and I made sounds for them, and then I started touching their noses' and they would make their own sounds too. I juggled for them and they really liked that, especially when I dropped balls. 

     The one mistake I made was trying to make them balloon animals. I should have kept up the talking to them and saying silly things because I didn't have enough time to make them all an animal. So the teacher had to suggest they share the animals with the whole class and I could tell they were disappointed and I felt bad about that. However, I did say I would love to come back and see them and their teacher said she would love to have me back. I believe her name was Ms. Hubbard but I can't quite remember.

      After I had spent twenty minutes there I headed back down the hallway to Murph's room a few moments before all of the kids came back from their other classrooms. My coach was in a meeting during this time so she wasn't there to introduce me but one of the aids did an excellent drum roll and introduced me as Ms. Heather's special surprise! Apparently all week I had been used as motivation for the kids to be on their best behavior. These children have a lot of behavioral problems that come along with their disabilities and part of what they learn in Heather's classroom is how to behave properly and interact peacefully with other students and teachers. My coach has been telling us stories for years about their crazy behavior so I was a bit nervous that I would rile them up, just like I had with all of the other kids I clown for. 

    These kids were the most well behaved group I had clowned for thus far, and probably ever. I had nothing to worry about! They were so excited to see me and didn't want to get in trouble and not be allowed in the room so they sat in rows next to their friends with their hands in their laps. There were about 15 kids there, ages 5-8, boys and girls; some were bigger than I am, some about the size of a three year old. Because they weren't crowding around me and jumping all over me I had more time to think about things i could say to them and how to fill the time. This caught me a little off guard at first because I've never really stood up in front of a crowd and entertained them before. I started off by saying hello and then juggling for a bit and then I started asking them questions, like if they wanted to touch my nose like most kids always want to. They were a little bit hesitant but a few finally did and were delighted. Once the first brave ones started talking to me the rest of the kids loosened up a bit.

    I told them a lot of stories about clowns. Why our feet were so big, where we got our shoes, what our favorite animals were (giraffes because they have big necks just like our big feet), all the people we like to fit in our cars, what they teach us in clown school...among many other things. I also started making balloon animals for all of them which I think they loved. They weren't really sure what to think about me at first, whether they should laugh or not, but after the balloon animals they looked they were having a great time. Most of these kids have a lot of trouble recognizing humor in social situations. They will laugh if someone else laughs, but because they think they're supposed to not because something is truly funny. 

    I made a lot of giraffes at first, and then kids started asking for snakes which was awesome because snakes are super easy to make. I made a few poodles, a deer, a lion and one caterpillar. These kids were really patient and asked politely and always said thank you to me. Really I was blown away at how well behaved they were for me. I only had to remake one balloon that Ryan unfolded and he said please and thank you and sorry about popping his first one.

     A few of them had speech impediments so it was difficult to understand what they were saying, like their own names for example but I've learned to say more generic things in those situations like "ohh cool what an awesome name!" When I had made everyone a balloon animal, my coach asked me to juggle one more time for the group, which I did, and then they all said thank you to me at once and i waved my way out of the room. I was clowning for them for about half an hour and then they had to go to lunch.

    After school that day my coach told me that her kids loved me! They brought their balloon animals around all day and told everyone that they had a clown in their room that day. Except instead of saying clown they say "they had a down in their room" because of their speech problems. I really enjoyed spending time with all of the kids on Friday. I loved seeing how much they love my coach "Miss Heather", they always want to tell her everything that they're doing and sit in her lap. It was a different type of performance for me and I enjoyed having the chance to make up goofy stories about clowns and tell kids what we're all about...making them happy.

    Heather, the Pre-K teacher and a kindergarten teacher Margret Philipson (my mom’s best friend) have all asked me to come back and clown for all of their kids one day later this year. I would definitely go back but I would have to figure out how to handle the 50 kids that would all be there at once. My mom proposed making balloon animals in advance and handing them out and then making some but I'd have to think that show through very carefully. Hopefully I'll have enough time to do it!

    My biggest regret of this show was that I forgot to bring my camera and I don't have any pictures of the event. I feel really bad about that but if I go back again there is no way I'll forget my camera.

Tots and Teens Clowning Video

Tots and Teens Clowning Reflection

I’d like to apologize to all my faithful blog readers for taking so long to give you my Tots and Teens clowning reflection; April break and a math final have been taking up a lot of time recently. Anyways, here it goes. I was scheduled to clown for the Tots and Teens Program at the High School during second period, last Tuesday. I got up a little early and started off the day watching The Big Comfy Couch to gain some inspiration from Loonette the Clown. I had all my bags ready to go and headed off to school feeling very nervous. I left first period a little bit early and went to the daycare room to let them know I’d be arriving in full clown gear in just a few moments. It was entirely chaos when I went in for the check-in and all the adults were pretty frazzled.

                I was kind of put off a bit because the first thing Mary said to me was “wait how long are you staying? We have someone coming to sing to them at 10:30 and you have to be out by then.” Great start Marigold! I brushed it off because I was planning on staying until 10:20 anyways but they had said nothing about kicking me out when I confirmed my appointment with them two days earlier. But I moved on and quickly went in to the locker room to get my whole costume together.

                I didn’t change my costume from the first time I clowned, although I did add a penguin purse to the whole outfit which worked out nicely! An unused Christmas gift from a few years ago, it was the perfect thing to store my juggling balls, balloons, stickers and pump in, and half the little girls complimented me on it. I got some giggles and delighted stares in the locker room as I clomped through the whole length in my entire clown costume, most people thought I was hilarious. I stopped by to talk to Mrs. Bryant and Ms. Maddren before I went and oops I didn’t know that Ms. Maddren is terrified of clowns! She wouldn’t look at me for two minutes until finally she turned around and admitted I looked kind of cute, especially since I don’t wear any makeup.

                Finally I approached the door and entered into the most blurred chaotic 25 minutes of my life. I’m having difficulty even recounting what happened because the whole affair was just a whirl-wind.  The moment I walked in, ten four and five year olds jumped me. The adults had wanted the kids to sit and eat their breakfast snacks while I entertained them from the middle of the room but that was totally a lost cause. They climbed and picked and poked, ripped off my nose, explored my penguin purse, felt my shoes, pulled my pants, held my hand, all trying to get my attention at once! In the background I could hear the adults scurrying around trying to get all the kids to sit back down and eat and telling them to wait their turn. At first I tried to echo them, I tried to keep the peace but after a few minutes I said ahh what the heck and just added to all the chaos like a proper clown.

                I walked in and looked surprised to see them and started off by introducing myself to one or two of them and immediately most of them came over. Two or three kids held back but most of them were all over me. I juggled for them for a while but I kept dropping my balls and throwing them badly because I was so nervous. Turns out the kids loved when I dropped them so it worked out well. I let some kids try to juggle my balls themselves with my help and they loved it! I didn’t even need to bring up balloon animals either; some little girls digging around in my purse discovered them on their own. I made a balloon for every kid in the class, and every kid wanted theirs first. I kneeled down so I was mostly on their level and just tried to deal with them as best as I could. It was really fun for me to see them all so excited. They’d get as close to me as possible and watch what I was doing, sometimes they’d poke my nose and I would always make a noise when they did that. There was one sticky moment where one little boy pulled my nose right off! He was so shocked and I was so shocked that I just laughed and said “whoops!” and stuck it right back on. In hindsight I’ve thought up clown stories I could make up about why my nose fell off but in the moment all I could do is stick it back on as quickly as possible.

                When kids see their friend get something they immediately want one, exactly the same way. Or one asks for a dog and the kid next to them wants a dog and so you start making them a dog but then they see a giraffe and they want that too! What I realized is that most balloon animals look pretty much the same so if I started making one and then they changed their mind I’d just keep making what I was making and they would never know the difference. The first kid asked for a giraffe so I ended up making roughly twelve giraffes in various colors, one deer, one cheetah and one walking stick. Yes, the walking stick one threw me for a loop at first, but the kid loved what I made so I guess I nailed it. Most of the kids crowded around me and begged for them and I made sure I asked them each of their names, so there was a personal connection. I tried to ask questions and make loud funny noises to keep them entertained. When the more curious ones were done getting their balloons I went over to the shyer children and asked if I could make them a balloon. One little girl looked much younger than the rest and when I went over to ask her if I could make her a dog she didn’t really know what to say. I was so touched to see another boy come up and slip his arm around her and whisper in her ear, “tell her yes.” They looked very much alike and when I asked if this was his sister the little boy nodded. Of the whole experience this interaction really struck me. I was so proud to see this little boy come to, not protect, but guide his sister when she was feeling shy and out of place. In the end I got her to talk to me about daycare, her brother, and even crack a smile.

                One little boy came up to me and said he wanted another balloon animal. He practically begged me for one but I knew I had already made him one and couldn’t make him two and not make every other kid another one. So I had to tell him “No, I’m sorry I can’t, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of your friends.” Thank god he got mad not sad, because I would have been so sad if he had cried. If I could have stayed there all day and make these kids balloon animals I would have. Instead he tried to reason with me, because “he wanted it so much more.” Thankfully I was spared having to get in a full argument with him because it was time for me to go. As I was saying good-bye to everyone, the 10:30 singers came in and were very surprised to see a clown in the room. I introduced myself as Marigold and then clomped my way out, leaving a hyped up, crazy bunch of five year olds in my wake. Hopefully the singers calmed them down a bit, but I was quite pleased with my work. I think all of the kids enjoyed themselves, and Chelsea told me later that day that the kids told her all about it!

                I’d like to thank Evan Foster and Ms. McKown who gave up their free periods to take pictures and video tape my performance; their help was invaluable and I appreciate it very much.

Tots and Teens Pictures

I promise I'll blog full details after my math final but for now, enjoy some pictures! BIG THANK YOU to Evan Foster and Ms. Mckown who took pictures and filmed for me!

My Pre- Performance Butterflies

       For the last half hour my heart has been racing as I rummage through my room, collecting my clowning supplies in anticipation of my Tuesday Tots and Teens clowning adventure. I AM SO NERVOUS. I can research childhood humor development as much as I would like, but the real test comes on Tuesday when I walk through their daycare door. Will they think I'm funny? I will be absolutely devastated if they don't. This is the first audience I have performed for, where they don't have other things to distract them like at the carnival. All of their judging five year old eyes will be on me. I want to think of the whole show as more of an interaction with these kids, but in reality I'm supposed to be entertaining them and it's all up to me to put on a good performance.
       So I've spent the weekend thinking up all the possible scenarios and routines I could pull out for them. On Friday I confirmed my "show" with Mary, the head of the program and she and the kids are super excited that I'm coming. She said she would let me walk in while the kids were playing and slowly I can gain their attention. Personally, I'm really happy with this setup because I won't be walking in to them all staring at me. (It's amazing how the five year olds can be this intimidating.) I checked a book out of the library on called "Be a Clown" by Mark Stolzenberg  Thursday and in briefly skimming it I found some great ideas for what to do on Tuesday.
       I'm planning on utilizing my shoes to make my walk look as funny as possible and waggle my knees around. I think they would find it funny if I came in pretending I didn't know where I was, acting very lost and then started interacting with them from there. I can take on and off my hat and pretend to have a difficult time putting it back on, and of course, the classic trip and fall, or almost trip and fall in this case because I wouldn't want to crush any small children during my visit. I've also decided that balloon animals are my strongest clown trait, so for most of the time I'm hoping to entertain them with sounds each of my balloon animals make and goofy stories to go along with each one. I have more than enough balloons to make an animal for each kid in the class, with a few to spare in case I pop them.
      I packed my bags tonight so I'll have everything I need ready to go Tuesday morning. These items include: My nose, an extra nose just in case, my nose stickers, my flower hairs ties and some extras, balloons, balloon pump, juggling balls, stickers, flower shirt, clown pants, suspenders, my hat, shoes to wear in my clown shoes and lastly, my clown shoes. A new addition to my outfit is my penguin purse. Given to me by a relative a while ago, this is the perfect opportunity to use it! I'm storing all of my balls, balloons and stickers in the bag which I can conveniently sling over my shoulder and walk in.
      While I'm very nervous about this presentation, I can't call myself a clown if I'm not actually entertaining kids. This will be a big step in my project and hopefully a lot of new learning will come out of the experience. Expect quite the long blog post Tuesday night!

Clowning at Cayuga Heights Elementary School

My lacrosse coach, Heather Murphy is a special education teacher in the school district as works at Cayuga Heights Elementary School with K-2 grades. I approached her a few days ago about clowning in her classroom and she said absolutely! We haven't set a firm date but we agreed on sometime in May, after all of the AP testing is over. Today on our bus ride home from our away game we talked about what her kids find funny. She is a great resource on how humor develops in children and what they find funny, since part of her job is to teach the kids she works with  how to interact socially and understand humor and sarcasm (because apparently they don't right now) From her descriptions, these kids are probably funnier than I ever will be without even knowing it. They have a hard time understanding the flow of conversations and plays on words go completely over their heads. They laugh when they think they're supposed to, not because they understood what was funny. So basically I could get up there and start laughing and they would laugh to because they think something must have been funny so nows the time to laugh. (this will be a great confidence boost!) Coach suggested that I bring in props and use those because visual humor is easier for them to understand. Knock-knock jokes are definitely out of the picture, but any funny sounds or questions I want to ask them are good things to do. Before this event I have to figure out how to use props and what I am going to do with them! I'm excited to go in and work with the kids in her classroom though because I've been hearing hilarious stories about their antics for years and have only met one or two of them.