Rhythm and Dance is a physical exploration of time, space, and motion. Movement and rhythmic explorations are intended to give form to personal feelings. Movement explorations are then guided into structured improvisations and compositions. These are performed, shared, and critiqued daily. In this way, students learn to make dances, to create rhythmic accompaniment, and to be present in the performance of their work.
Students are encouraged to create and develop their own songs in Vocal Music. The subject often revolves around the Theme for the Creating Landscapes program for that summer. It could be developed entirely within the Vocal Music environment, or the children may use writings created in one of the other Creating Landscapes areas. The children create the material, text, and melodies themselves and then learn how to become present in the performance of their work.
In the visual arts, we explore a given theme with an eye to what may be drawn. And in the spirit of play, we always find time for drawing the unforeseen. Students share their artwork with fellow students, families, and the public in an exhibit at the end of the program.
Creative Writing provides students opportunities for generating and revising verbal pieces in various genres (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction), and for sharing those pieces aloud, both in class and in the larger setting of Montgomery Auditorium. Representative student work, collected at the end of the summer program, is featured in a print journal compiled by the instructor and Allegheny interns. Ideally, certain pieces created in this setting will find counterparts in music, if not also art and dance; a poem written in Creative Writing, for instance, might serve as lyric base for a performance during Landscapes' last evening; that poem might be acted and danced and graphically rendered, as well as sung.
In the Math and Science portion of the Creating Landscapes Program, students observe the world around them, develop their own questions about their observations, and then explore ways to answer those questions. We are especially interested in the patterns that we discern--patterns that help us make general statements and predictions about how the physical world works. But we also like to imagine worlds that don't exist! We share the results of our investigations using physical and mental models, movement, writing, and song.
Started for the 2011 Summer Lansdcapes program, we are excited to offer a health-conscious breakfast and snack program, entitled “Food for Thought”. An outpouring of community support from Meadville Forging, Parkhurst Dining Services, and generous local individuals makes it possible for us to provide our students with delicious breakfast and a variety of nutritious snacks every day! Our focus is on serving wholesome, healthy items that sustain kids throughout the morning with energy and ready to explore, move and learn each day. For example, none of the items we serve include high fructose corn syrup, as this highly processed, most commonly added sugar adds additional calories with no nutritional value to many snack-type foods. We wanted to know if our hypothesis – that kids will choose healthy foods if they are offered them – was true. We asked the Novice and Players students what their favorite breakfast and snack items were, and they continued to ask us for apples, cheese sticks and grapes!
The breakfast/snack program is available for any participating child in the Summer Landscapes program. We are happy to accommodate any students with food allergies or special food needs – just let us know! Please note -- parents are still welcome to send students with their own breakfast and snack.
Intergenerational Learning Programs that foster Critical Thinking, Imaginative Expression, and Aesthetic Experience
CLLC Inc. 596 Chestnut Street, Meadville, Pennsylvania 16335
Allegheny College/Summer Landscapes Box 25, 520 North Main Street, Meadville, Pennsylvania 16335
Background artwork by D.P. Warner