If you are interested in having me give a juggling workshop at your school or for your event, please feel free to contact me.
mathteacher1729 at yahoo dot com
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| At a recent hike + cookout I gave an impromptu juggling workshop. (meetup.com group) |
Here are some of my adventures from 2012.
Sat 11 Nov 2012 -- Univ. of Maryland College park's Kappa Delta sorority hosted the Girl Scouts for International Girl's Day. One of the activities emphasized physical activity and fitness and I worked with a few of the UMD Juggling club members to lead a juggling workshop.
Thurs 25 Oct 2012 and Tues 5 June 2012 -- Maryland School for the Deaf (Columbia campus).
In June I was invited to give a short juggling workshop to the 4th and 5th graders of MSD. A member of the UMD juggling club joined me and it was a great day. The students were very receptive to it all and it was surprisingly easy to demo and teach juggling without saying a word. One of the teachers acted as a translator but it was hardly needed, as juggling is very visual. The message I had was very simple
- Juggling is fun!
- The more you practice, the better you get.
- Juggling is for boys and girls.
- You can juggle on your own or you can juggle with friends.
I explained that when I started I dropped all the time (still do) and that I'm still learning new moves even though it's been about 18 years since I started.
The students were very eager to get started and there were a few who really caught on quickly! I was invited back again because it was a great physical activity with a positive message and it did not require any sound.
In October there was a large haunted house, the only one in Columbia, from what I understand due to various fire and safety restrictions. The school ends up making lots of money which goes to help the students and nearly 600 people, hearing and deaf, show up. There is no way for them all to go through the haunted house at once, so they go in small groups of 5 or 10 while everyone waits in the gym for their turn. There are lots of activities in the gym, and one of them was -- you guessed it, juggling lessons. Several students remembered me from my last visit and were eager to juggle again.
Possibly my favorite moment was a student who really got a kick out of throwing a ball up and then I would catch it while juggling. I would end the pattern by throwing the same ball back to him and he would catch it. The first time we did this he turned heel and ran to the opposite side of the gym to show his mom. One of the teachers at the school said this student was having self-confidence problems and the juggling made his evening and helped him socialize the next day with other students because he had a happy story to tell. There were several other students who spent most of their time juggling in the gym while juggling and another teacher said that they are ordinarily rambunctious and disruptive, but they seemed to be more or less under control while juggling.
16 Sept 2012 -- MD Renaissance Festival. I always bring my props with me wherever I go, and this was no exception. There was as "juggling school" set up and I asked if it was ok if I helped. The workers gladly said yes, and I gave them my card for next year then set up shop. At the Ren Fest there was an interesting mix of excited young kids who were eager to juggle and ... their slightly drunken parents. ;-p All in all it was a fun and kid-friendly event.
Pre-June 2012 -- Mostly at the Inner Harbor, Baltimore MD. During the summer I would juggle at the inner harbor on a nice weekend. People would stop and watch and I would happily show anyone interested some basics. Every now and then I would meet someone who already knew how to juggle and I would show them some more advanced moves based on what they already knew.
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