Sure to entertain on a rainy day – these dvds are releasing this spring…

Flicka Country Pride

Directed by Michael Damian.  This horse/human tale is whole family entertainment.

Glee in Concert

Your favourite pop songs by your favourite Glee cast live in concert.

The Muppets

Stand out musical sequence:  Am I a man or a muppet?

Toronto-based voice Actor, Melissa Altro stars on the PBS Kids animated hit Arthur as the voice of the spunky character “Muffy”.  Altro shares her thoughts about kids, characters and classes with Parent Club.

What brought you to the world of Arthur (did you take theatre at school to prepare for it?

I was 12 years old when I was cast as the voice of Muffy on Arthur. It was my very first voice audition and I was really excited that I got the part. I had been active in a children’s theatre group up until that point, but I hadn’t had any formal training. I didn’t know anything about the world of voice acting. Through playing the role of Muffy I learnt so much when it came to microphone technique and taking direction. I really got most of my training on the job!

What do you think cartoon voice classes can teach kids?

The class that I will be offering in the New Year for kids will focus on having fun, playing with sounds and exploring characters of all kinds. I really want kids to experiment and use their imaginations. Voice acting is so great in that it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can play all different types of roles and that’s really freeing.

What age is too young?

Children at a very young age are naturally speaking in funny voices and playing characters. The thing with voice acting is that you have to be able to read text and well. So I’d say that 8 years is probably the youngest you would want to start your child in order to ensure their reading skills are strong enough.

How many “takes” does it take to tape one cartoon episode?

In a typical recording session, you will deliver your lines at least twice. After that, it depends on what the director is thinking. If they want to hear a specific delivery of a read they will ask you to do it again until they hear what they like!

Altro will be teaching six-week cartoon voice classes for kids as of January 2012. Registration is available now at www.voiceprostudio.ca.

The bliss and bordom of school breaks.  (my kiddlets rarely go to camp so school breaks is camp Mom)

I shared 10 activities and outings for school breaks over at my Yummy Mummy Club column this week (most of them FREE activities).

Need other ideas?

• sledding
• swimming
• mall walking (ok maybe spend a few dollars at the dreaded dollar store)
• hang at the playground (wear snowpants)

Or re-purpose some of the stuff you have around the house…like the cardboard egg cartons you have in the recycling bin from all that holiday baking!  This is a great activity for kids – to re-purpose, get creative, and entertain themselves (while you read Parent Club or make dinner or whatever)

Activity Attack! Egg Carton Organizer

Ever need a place to hold your teeny tiny stuff?  Give an egg carton another life by decorating it to hold your erasers, beads, hair
ties, mini figures or whatever itsy bitsy gear you have.

You will need:

• A cardboard egg carton
• Markers
• Glue
• Scissors
• Old magazine (optional)

Directions:

Use your markers
to draw designs on the egg carton (vines, rainbows, swirls, polka dots, graffiti, whatever you like).

Use scissors to cut out letters of the magazine headlines to spell out your name.  Glue these letters onto your egg carton
organizer to show the world to whom the teeny tiny stuff belongs.

A great way to recycle a cardboard egg carton while organizing your stuff and decorating your room!

1. The Santa Clause 1, 2 or 3 (we like #3 Escape Clause)
2. Jack Frost (warning:  Dad dies and comes back to life as Jack Frost)
3. Home Alone
4. Muppet Family Christmas (which we haven’t seen – I’m looking EVERYWHERE for it)
5. Frosty the Snowman
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 version with Jim Carrey)
7. Mr. Popper’s Penguins (not Christmas-y but ice-y fun)
8. Snow Buddies (again not so Christmas-y but snow-y)
9. Little Women (because Marmie would approve)
10. Shrek the Halls