Rescued Animal Ranch in Malibu Visit
March 4, 2011
Mishy holding on to a chicken.
Today, through Elsa Inc., a not for profit organization to help rescued animals, I organized a homeschool visit to a rescue animal ranch in Malibu at Big Heart Ranch. There were 80 plus people who joined us today to touch, pet, hug, and learn about animals. Here is my photo journal of our day. What the photos don’t include is the art station and the seed planting station. Mishy and I were very busy relating to the horses.
Some of the group relating to the alpacas, deer, goats, miniature horses, and horses.
All the children and adults were able to go inside the stables to have intimate contact with the animals in their own space and time. The animals at the ranch include: Captain, the grandson of Secretariat, who was bred to be a champion race horse, but had other dreams of his own, two alpacas, two goats, a deer, two miniature horses, many chickens, whose eggs a lucky few were able to take home with them, and many other horses, including Snowy, Big Red, and Brava. After the ranch visit, Mishy sat on my lap in the car and thanked me.
Chickens laying eggs. They had a need for privacy.
Some guests playing on the tractor
E and R feeding Macchiato, an alpaca
Petting Captain, Secretariat's grandson
Brushing Big Red
Mishy picking out a horse brush
Children playing in the sandbox over looking the Pacific Ocean
Picnic tables over looking the Pacific Ocean
Mishy brushing Breezy, a miniature horse
Mishy brushing Breezy's tail
Children feeding Breezy
Children, including Mishy, leading Breezy back inside the stable
Mishy saying one final good bye to Breezy, and thanking Susan
Children saying their final farewells
Details:
Susan, who heads Elsa Inc organizes a few annual events at two ranches in Malibu, as well as classes focused on healthy ways of communicating with animals and getting back to nature for children aged 5-13 years old called, Unplugged Youth Adventure. She is open to organizing events for schools and homeschoolers alike.
http://www.elsainc.org/elsainc/Welcome.html
Bonus photo:
Mishy fast asleep during the car ride home.
The Pop Ups – Pasta! A Puppet Musical Review
March 4, 2011
If you want to see a show that is well produced in a fun, child friendly way, full of energy and contains silly silly songs, The Pop Ups – Pasta! A Puppet Musical is the show to take your preschool aged children to. This Sunday, Mishy, Babba, and I
attended the morning show of The Pop Ups at The Highway Performing Arts Spaces in Santa Monica. This was our first time at The Highway Performing Arts and I hope they host more and more family theatre because it’s a charming space – with
a lovely tree covered in knitted wear near the entrance. Mishy wondered if the tree was cold.
The Pop Ups is the brain child of two Brooklyn based musicians, Jacob Stein and Jason Rabinowitz who have endurance triathletic endurance. They made a smash appearance last year locally, and they recently made an appearance in the Los Angeles area over the Thanksgiving holidays. This time, they were in town for a four performance showcase. They would love to be signed up to do a television show – hint hint. They have the makings of being incredibly successful children’s performers. Why? Because they love children and it’s so clear they love what they do.
What makes The Pop Ups special? Their energy and exuberance at being surrounded by children. They include all
audience members in their journey of finding ingredients to make the best pasta sauce in the world so they could get their chef’s hats. The story is of them journeying to various places in Brooklyn by different modes of transportation and their encounters with new friends. The plot is simple. The puppetry is fun and silly. Their songs are contagious and some songs are reminiscent of Coldplay – if Coldplay were Muppets.
If there were to be a sequel – The Pops Pasta! A Puppet Musical Two, or a title much more creative which I am sure they could come up with, I would love for them to go deeper and further with their message of fun and perhaps, add in some elements of education in a non pandering way. Of course, there is a place for just laughing and watching two grown men entertain
and win the hearts of children. Mishy loved this show. My husband did too.
Details:
The Pop Ups
For my East Coast readers, they will be performing at The Soho Playhouse from March 5th 2011 to mid April. They are performing every Saturday at 11AM.
For my Los Angeles based readers, The Pop Ups will be returning in the summer! I’ll keep everyone posted.
Natural Traveling Momma Blog 