Center for Pupptery Arts: Click Clack Moo!

Ever since Cute was born we have been collecting books for The Cutes' library. Some of our absolute favorite ones to read to the littles are by the author Doreen Cronin. All of them are fun reads with silly characters. Most notable are those in her Click Clack series. 

So when I heard that The Center for Puppetry Arts was doing a show based on Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type I instantly grabbed tickets for our little crew to see it. The kids were so excited and spent the morning of pouring over their Click Clack books.

Our summer so far has been filled with hot sports days, and cooling off in the pool, so heading to The Center for Puppetry Arts was a nice cool treat. An afternoon full of cow themed silliness was just what we needed. 

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Click, Clac,k Moo: Cows That Type show might be our favorite show we've seen yet at The Center For Puppetry Arts. And we've seen a ton of shows. Right from the minute it started we were laughing and singing with all of our favorite characters from the books.

It is an adapted rendition of the of the book told through puppeteers, a musician, and - of course - a variety of puppets.

There's singing. There's dancing. There's even a special surprise at the end. I'm not going to spoil it for any one, but all of my kids loved the ending.

The show is geared towards kids 4 and older, but my 2 1/2 year had no problem sitting and enjoying the approximately hour long performance. There's a ton of audience interaction to keep children of all ages engaged and entertained.

CLICK CLACK COW

One of our favorite parts of each show is always the puppet making class that you can attend after the performance. This workshop created a Click, Clack, Cow hand puppet. 

The kids always love this part, and thought it was so fun to create a Click Clack puppet of their very own. The supplies and directions make it so easy for even non-readers to figure out how to bring their  puppet to life. 

It's also so much fun to see their own creativity be exercised with the variety of art supplies available. This lets each child put their own touch to their puppet. In my little crew I had a princess cow, a angry cow, and a Picasso cow.

MORE MOO FOR YOU

I knew our trip wouldn't be complete without a quick visit to the puppet museum. The kids love this part too. Each time they stroll through seem to find something new to play with mixed in with some of their classic favorites.

If you are in the Atlanta area or visiting this summer I highly recommend cooling off with a little Click Clack fun. It's open until July 29th with several performances available each day. You can find out more about the show by checking out The Center for Puppetry Arts website. 

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Center for Puppetry Arts: Cat in The Hat

On Sunday I was so excited to take my own Thing 1 and Thing 2 on a special little mommy and me date. I had seen that the Cat in the Hat show was coming to The Center for Puppetry Arts and couldn't wait to bring them. They absolutely adore Dr. Seuss books, and to see one of their favorites brought to life I thought would be so fun!

Cute has been asking to go to a show since he's heard from his favorite middle sister just how many he's missed out on these last few months. All three of mine love visiting The Center for Puppetry Arts, so when I saw we had a free weekend date that coordinated with the show, I jumped at the opportunity.

We made our way to the city and to say the kids were ecstatic would be a bit of an understatement.

ABOUT THE SHOW

Who doesn't love The Cat in the Hat?! The Center for Puppetry Arts put together a show that is literally the childhood Dr. Seuss classic brought to life!

The show uses a variety of puppets to illustrate the story of that faithful rainy day where Sally, her brother Nick, and their watchful pet fish meet that mischievous cat in the striped hat.

The show is tailored towards kids 4 and up, but open to all Cat in the Hat loving ages. I think four is about right, as the show is closer to an hour in length and younger tots might get a little antsy (even with it's fast pace and quick humor). 

The show is magical in just the way you would expect. Tons of rhyming, tons of silly side kicks, and tons of FUN!

Tickets are on sale now and it runs through May 13th, with several show times available each day. It's definitely one of our favorite shows the center has put on and not one to miss! 

STAY & PLAY

The fun doesn't stop at the show though!  Once we were done viewing the performance we headed to the Create-A-Puppet workshop to make our very own Cat in the Hat shadow puppets. 

The kids love this part! They get so excited, and it's interesting to see how they put their own spin on their puppets.

The directions and supplies are always set up so nicely and everything is so easy to follow that even L.C. doesn't need any assistance from me.

I also love that the kids can instantly put their puppets to use in real life. There's always a stage set up so the kids can put on their own little puppet shows right away with their creations.

After we finished up the performances, the kids wanted to head to visit the museum. 

There is so much to do in this part of the center and the kids could stay for hours. A large part of it is interactive and they always mix in new finds with some old favorites. 

My little hams always go for the movie set portion of the museum where they can see themselves performing on TV. 

This time around L.C. discovered these masks that you can try on. She was cracking everyone up. 

There was also a special exhibit on site. The kids were curious, so we decided to pop in quickly to check out Indian Puppets: The Great Stories and Dancing Dolls. 

We had the whole room to ourselves so the kids were able to slowly take it all in. It's a similar set up to the museum's puppets of the world exhibit that is always on display.

It mixes in costumes, varieties of puppets popular to the regions, colorful facts, and video examples to showcase the art of Indian puppetry.

Everything is so beautiful and detailed! Definitely a fun little addition to our visit! 

It was such a fun afternoon, and the kids are already asking when we can go back. The upcoming shows look so much fun too, but the Cat in the Hat will be hard to beat. Definitely pop in to check it out if you are in the Atlanta area while its on stage. If not, check in the future to see it's a recurring show that you can make your next visit. I know some of them are!

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss story? Which one would you want to see brought to life? 

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**Thank you to the Center for Puppetry Arts and Brave PR for providing tickets to the show. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

Rainforest Adventures

This has been a full first week back after the holiday break and a ton of snow days. We've been running around like crazy trying to catch up on things, but we still managed to sneak in some fun. On Tuesday, the girls and I snuck off for a little girls date to see the latest show from The Center for Puppetry Arts. My kids absolutely love the puppet shows the Center puts on and the newest one, Rainforest Adventures, is no exception. 

THE RAINFOREST ADVENTURE SHOW

Rainforest Adventures is a little different from the previous shows we have seen. The story line is less story and more educational.  The kids embark on a rainforest adventure and learn about the ecosystem and animals that inhabit the Amazonian rainforest.

Over the course of about an hour, we were given the opportunity to learn about 30 exotic animals and plant species through puppetry theater, while listening to Brazilian style music.

The show was amazing and surprisingly both girls loved it. I was a little nervous it might be over their heads, but they but the way the Center puts on the show it's highly entertaining and filled with enough humor to engage and get tons of laughs while the little ones are learning.

Note: The show is geared towards ages 4 and up. Baby Cute made it about 45 minutes into the show before she decided she needed some wiggle time. I just snuck us to the back balcony where there weren't any other patrons, and let her run around along the aisle. If you have a little one who might not sit still this section in the back of the theater is so good because one end is attached to a wall. It's kind of like sitting in a large booth - containment! 

If you are in the Atlanta area between now and March 4th, I would definitely put the show on your itinerary and make a date to see it soon! They also have several fun other shows coming up too - The Wizard of Oz and The Cat in the Hat. Both shows look adorable, and I can't wait to take the kids!

MAKE YOUR OWN PUPPET

After the show we headed upstairs to do make our very own puppet. The kids always love this part. This time it was a marionette puppet of the Pink River Dolphin.

L.C. was so excited because this and the Howler Monkey were her favorite characters in the production.

As always the craft is beautifully laid out with all the materials and decorations you might need. Staff is always there to help with instructions, but it is usually pretty easy for even younger children to follow and make on their own.

This time unfortunately I was having a hard time containing B.C. and her gluing and a few of our other table mates were a little OCD about their crafting experience. So I decided to give everyone a break and asked the girls if they wanted to check out the museum instead.

THE PUPPET MUSEUM

My kids always love checking out the puppet museum on site. Each time they discover something new, and the museum is so hands on and interactive that it is perfect for kids of all ages. 

My two little ones loved checking out the Sesame Street reading nook set up on the Jim Henson side of the museum. They parked themselves in the bean bag chairs and read for about half an hour. I love that they make their museum geared towards the little ones. 

We made our way around all the exhibits with plenty of playtime in about an hour. The kids would have stayed and played longer, but I knew we will be back again soon and we needed to be home in time to grab Cute off the bus. 

I'm pretty sure our little adventure did it's job though...

Have you been to the Center for Puppetry Arts? What has been your favorite show? A reader shared with us that she saw the Pete the Cat show last year. We are so sad to have missed that one!

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