Zach: The REAL DOG BLOGGER

Meet Zach the rescue dog who has travelled a long way to be with The REAL Program family.

National THANK Your Volunteers Week!

Thank you 

to the incredible volunteers 

who dedicate time, expertise, 

enthusiasm and care 

to the students and families of 

The REAL Program. 

YOU ARE GREAT!!!!!!

#Pingree School Students with Katherine Gasper (artist in residence)

#Pingree School student volunteers at #Tracy School, Lynn with big smiles after working with young students.

Weaving and Teaching in a Note from Katherine Gasper

Several months ago when I was asked by my amazing friend, Jan Plourde, to participate in the Tracy-Pingree partnership, I was excited at the prospect of working with high school and elementary students in a creative, hands on way.  The two weeks in March proved to be not only enjoyable, but also reassuring that creativity is alive and well in our youth!

As a former teacher myself, I was amazed and delighted to observe the deep level of engagement the elementary students of Tracy exhibited as they explored materials, interacted with each other and the high school students, and created individual works of art.  As an artist and weaver, I marveled at the attention to detail the young students showed in learning the techniques of weaving on a loom and the Japanese braiding method of Kumihimo..  Tracy students made choices about color, design, and purpose for their creations with enthusiasm and excitement.  It was wonderful to feel the energy they brought to these tasks, and to see the creativity and color they brought to their finished pieces of art work.

All of this was enhanced by the enthusiasm and eagerness of the Pingree students as they interacted with their teams of young artists.  It was an absolute delight to see many of the high school students working on their own Kumihimo and loom projects as they instructed, modeled, and assisted Tracy students.  Pingree students facilitated learning in a fun and relaxed way with the elementary students.  The whole experience seemed to provide both groups, Pingree and Tracy students, with opportunities to engage socially and creatively.

Working with our hands to create products that are meaningful feels good—no matter what age we are!  I often heard other adults commenting on the peacefulness of the activities, and the “theraputic”, relaxing atmosphere as they passed by our groups.  I am so grateful for this opportunity to share in such an inspiring, relevant, creative endeavor with Tracy-Pingree schools.  Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful partnership, and always remember to be creative in your life every chance you get!  Our creative pursuits add vibrancy to the world we all share!

Thank you Lynn Cultural Council! You Make A REAL Difference

 Lynn Cultural Council

Sewing REAL Puppets

The book Where the Wild Things Are is a psychological parable about a child dealing with challenges of being in a world run by adults, learning that his anger can be safely expressed and conquered.  The project “Sewing REAL Puppets” provided opportunities for participants to process this together through  weekly readings of the book and making puppets. This project benefited the afterschool REAL student participants, parents, and visitors.  

 "This program is supported in part by a grant from the Lynn Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.”

Samuel worked hard to create this fabulous monster puppet for #REAL

Like us on Facebook! We Have a Goal to Obtain 500 LIKES by July 4th!

The mission is to improve literacy. Many people say that is not possible and perhaps we should try for a more tangible mission for The REAL Program. You can help us on our more tangible mission by liking and sharing us on FACEBOOK. Our Facebook address is real_lynn as our first community to improve literacy is based in Lynn, MA where there are nearly 100,000 people and only one public library; no book stores and a majority of the public elementary schools (last count is 22) do not have school libraries as they need the room for classrooms in their elegant but dated buildings. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Transforming the Bullying Cycle through the Arts

BRIO Integrated Theatre Director Sahar Ahmed facilitating a collaborative workshop about anti bullying for children from The REAL Program of Lynn and Old North Church of Marblehead on Saturday, 3/14/2015 at the Lynn Museum. Maryam Mermey, Ph.D. from the Transformative Arts of Maine lead the workshop called Transforming the Bullying Cycle through the Arts