The Headless Horseman

Posted by Rachel on May 15, 2012 at 10:43 PM
After School Program

When we reached 900 Monkey Bucks, we won a celebrity visit!

Since I went to school in Sleepy Hollow, I asked my old college friend the Headless Horseman to come visit.

He graciously answered all the kids’ questions.

HOW DO YOU SEE?

Infrared.

HOW DO YOU TALK?

There is magic involved.

When I suggested that the Headless Horseman must have been very tall before he lost his head, he said, “Yes, I was very attractive.” Apparently, it’s hard to date when you don’t have a head.

Thanks for the visit, my Headless friend! And thank you for not scaring/chasing the children. You are welcome back anytime!

Loyola Park Rehearsals

Posted by Halena on March 9, 2012 at 08:27 PM
School Shows After School Program

The highlight of my week is teaching every Monday at our Loyola Park After School Program. 
Here are some rules at Loyola Park.

Imagine my excitement when it was time to start rehearsing for our winter show. Even though I’m not moving very fast these days (I’m 8 months pregnant), I decided to perform in the show anyway because I just couldn’t keep away.  The stories are awesome and my “slow moving bear” character is probably the best choice I make in the show.
Here are some favorite moments so far:
Joe in the fish windbreaker backing up smooth rap by Jenny:

Nick and Jill (the two volunteer teachers for the red group) doing a Ninja Story, holy cow:

while Jeff and Anthony voice their characters from the keyboard, it is hilarious.

The show is Monday at 4pm at Loyola Park.
You should come.
It is awesome.

Clown Visit

Posted by Rachel on March 5, 2012 at 11:08 PM
After School Program

We at Loyola Park have had some pretty sweet Monkey Bucks Rewards this year!

What is a Monkey Buck reward? Well, it’s when you follow the Monkey Agreements, and Collaborate and Commit and Imagine, and do all your Meisners . . . then you earn a Monkey Buck. When you earn a ton of Monkey Bucks, we add them to the Hula Dancing Monkey’s Hula Skirt.

And when that Hula Skirt gets long enough, you win a Monkey Buck Reward, like Anthony’s Birthday!

That’s right. Anthony was in danger of not having a birthday this year, but because of the excellent students in the Loyola Park After-School Program, he got to have his birthday after all.

Now, I know you’re wondering, “What happens when we earn 600 Monkey Bucks?”

Well, the fact is, you get a Clown Visit, from Mr. C.L.Own (aka Jeff Trainor) to be precise.

He asked Zipporah whether she would rather balance a paint brush or a chair on her chin. She chose paint brush, so Mr. C.L.Own balanced a chair. Then he took a pie (or three) in the face.

Untitled from Barrel of Monkeys on Vimeo.

Gearing Up for Loyola Park Fall Show! YEAH!

Posted by Caleb on November 15, 2011 at 11:24 PM
After School Program

I know that every time somebody blogs about rehearsing for the next show they talk about how awesome the show is going to be.  And don’t get me wrong, the shows are awesome.  But the Loyola Park Fall show…?  Oh man, it’s going to be AWESOME!!  This show will feature over 20 original stories penned by the brilliant students of the Loyola Park after-school program.  Just to give you a taste, a tidbit, a little antipasto if you will, this show will have unhinged romance, backyard menageries, train-riding zebras, and several dinosaur and zombie-filled disaster epics.  BOOM!  Not to mention a really crazy rabbit and an infomercial.  This show is not to be missed, especially if you are a kid at Loyola Park, a grown-up who belongs to a kid at Loyola Park, or a monkey.  And by monkey, I mean one of the monkeys who have been living at Loyola Park for the past four years.  True story.

This Monday.  It happens.  World saved.

There will be no quiz, but there will be A CHALLENGE!

Posted by Brennan on May 12, 2011 at 04:07 PM
School Shows After School Program

Good Night and Good Luck,

    Right!!? 

    All right now, be real everyone. 

  So.  In an effort to stay focused on the topic at hand—that being: Poetry Show Sweetness —I have made an official Poetry Show Viewer Checklist.  (ps—Was it a weird or a regular thing that throughout my boyhood schooling, I was always taught that the way to write was “Ayn Rand Style?”  Which really just meant that, in order to stay organized with your ideas, you wrote your sentences in this order: fact-opinion-opinion, fact-opinion-opinion.  Over and over again.  This brings up a couple of questions.  One, why did that teaching fail in such a large, large way?  (Please see current attempt, and immediate failure, to stay on topic.)  And two, why would that be called Ayn Rand style?  Are all one million of the pages in Atlas Shrugged fact-opinion-opinion?)  (Last note:  There is an 87% chance that I am remembering this incorrectly.  Stay in school kids.  Don’t do drugs.) 

  All right.  Welp, here’s two opinions for you, Ayn.  The Poetry Show rules.  Boom, one.  But whoops, that was also a fact.  It was both.  And two, if one were to come and see the Poetry show, this person would feel like an awesome tree had fallen on them and smashed their ribs, but they would like it, because an awesome tree is nothing like a regular tree when falling on a person.  An awesome tree fills whatever part of your body it lands on with strength and hope.  You telling me you don’t want ribs full of hope, Ayn?  Ok then.  You think about it. 

    Let’s get to it.  The following is a checklist for you to print out and bring with you to the Poetry Show this Saturday.  Then you play a game kind of like looking at license plates and shouting out what state they say on them, and kind of like being on a scavenger hunt while sitting in a chair.  The game is called: spot all of the checklist items up there on the sweet Poetry Show stage. 

  Without further nonsense: 

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