Little Mouse Makes New Friends: Social Skills Through Creative Drama
Practice friendship and social skills and emotional awareness as you work together to help Little Mouse solve problems. In this class students learn and reflect as they move, draw and bring a sweet story to life each week.
Meredith J. Berlin
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(433)
What's included
6 live meetings
4 in-class hoursClass Experience
In this class students have fun working together to become characters, move and act out our adventure each week with Little Mouse. We collaborate to come up with and try ideas to help Little Mouse make new friends. In addition to acting and storytelling, we will draw and share our ideas and do some simple art projects. Each time I teach this class the story will be a bit different, so learners are welcome to take the class multiple times and learn something new and feel that it is a fresh experience each time. The structure and social emotional learning themes will remain the same, but a new storyline and new characters will be introduced. A typical day in class: -Creative warm-ups for the voice, body and imagination related to the animal Little Mouse will meet that day. -Read a letter with information from Little Mouse about the situation or problem of the day. -Step into role and begin our adventure! This is where we move through imaginary environments, transform ourselves into characters, and learn about ourselves, our emotions and friendship as we help Little Mouse. As part of this time we talk and reflect as we work on our drawings or art projects. We take some sort of suggestion from everyone as we make a plan about how to move forward in our story. -We say goodbye to Little Mouse and transition out of our imaginary world, and spend our last few minutes taking turns sharing a memory from the day. Themes by week: 1. Sharing and using kind words. 2. Recognizing our strengths and being patient with ourselves as we learn and grow. 3. Naming our own feelings and recognizing feelings in others. 4. Being open to new experiences, and also setting boundaries. 5. Being aware of our bodies and voices in space and in relation to others, being aware of and expressing our individual sensory needs. 6. Playing with more than one person at a time and missing friends when they are far away.
Learning Goals
Students will develop arts skills, social skills and confidence through dramatic play. Arts skills include using their bodies and faces to transform into a character, expressing original ideas through storytelling, drawing, acting, singing and dancing.
Our weekly stories will touch upon several core competencies of social emotional learning: Self-Awareness, Self-Management,
Social Awareness and Relationship Skills. More information can be found in the weekly breakdown in the "Description" section.
Other Details
Supply List
Supplies for writing and drawing (ex: notebook or paper, pencils, crayons, markers) Occasionally we may need scissors, tape or glue but we will not need them for our first session.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
433reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Hello! My name is Meredith. My favorite thing to do is CREATE in community, and that includes collaborating with my community of learners here on Outschool. I love providing students with tools to communicate effectively and tell stories through writing, acting, movement, improvisation, drawing and design. I feel inspired as I watch their skills grow during our work together. I enjoy using my imagination and 30 years of teaching experience to plan each new class and customize the curriculum to match my students' interests and learning goals. Working in partnership with families and students is important to me, because as a parent I know how much it means to have a teacher take the time to really get to know my child and help them get the most out of an educational experience.
I am currently teaching 1:1 sessions on Tuesdays only, and limited group classes.
When I'm not teaching you can find me acting, directing, dancing or writing plays and books.
Some of my favorite acting roles include a monster, a fairy, a movie star and a queen.
I also like to play with my cat, draw, dance and take long walks by the lake near my home in Seattle, Washington, USA.
I grew up in New York City and received my BA at Yale College. I have performed and taught in many towns and cities in the United States. Some of my most inspiring experiences have been my years with Living Stage in Washington, DC and at Seattle Children's Theatre. I have also written a chapter book: "The Ghostlight Kids Get Hooked," an adventure that takes place backstage in a theater.
I would say the skill that most defines me as a teacher is listening carefully to what each student has to offer and weaving that into the direction a class is taking, whether that means centering a story on students' suggestions or recalibrating a lesson plan on the spot. My oldest child (now an adult) is neurodivergent, and I find that my experiences with my child and other ND students has made me a good partner for learners with a wide range of learning styles.
In addition to teaching creative drama, acting and Improv I have taught Math, Language Arts, Health Ed concepts and Science concepts to small groups of learners. I have training in trauma informed practices as well as techniques for teaching Social Emotional Learning through the Arts. I have experience leading friendship groups and community service projects.
I have been teaching for over 30 years and every day is a new, exciting adventure. I learn as much as I teach!Reviews
Live Group Class
$56
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
40 min
Completed by 85 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 4-8
2-6 learners per class
