Whale of a Good Time!

We have a new hula hooping image in our store! 

Original art by Shaw Draw, Inc.

A whale tail-hoops and his friend Monsieur le Crabe claw-hoops. They're having a whale of a good time hooping for their fishy audience!

This image is available on a variety of products including t-shirts, posters, and mugs...among other items. 

"Love Reminders" community outreach project

Last Sunday I had the great privilege of assisting with the StoneBridge Children's Ministry's Community Outreach project for February. Called "Love Reminders," the craft was designed by Michelle Chestnutt (one of my favorite people, y'all!). 

Take some basic office supplies, add some carefully chosen uplifting text (bible passages or favorite quotes), then give children free rein to decorate as their heart desires and you end up with day-brightening packets to distribute amongst friends and acquaintances.

"Love Reminders" community outreach project

Michelle and Jennifer Dew have been volunteering as the StoneBridge Church Children's Ministry's Community Outreach project coordinators for the past two years. They lead outreach projects 3 times a year for various groups---retirement home residents, StoneBridge missionaries, the U.S. troops abroad, and local emergency personnel. Together they come up with a project's focus, the accompanying lesson and a craft; Penny Harrison (StoneBridge's AWESOME and dedicated Children's Pastor) gives them her blessing and guidance, and lovingly allows them "free reign" to teach the lovely young hearts who visit the StoneBridge Children's Ministry.

For this particular project (centered around Valentine’s Day), Michelle and Jennifer wanted to remind retirement home/assisted living residents that they are loved and are not alone. They chose the verse 1 John 4:11 to teach the children "we are to love God and love others." And that when we help others, we not only show God’s love, we serve God. They  wanted to do a daily devotional of sorts, and chose verses and sayings to serve as the daily “love reminders.”   

When designing projects for the StoneBridge Children's Ministry, a challenge is not only the time limit, but the age difference and sheer quantity of children. So they generally choose small scale projects, but with the hope that the impact on both the recipients AND the children is big. This project definitely more than lived up to those objectives! (Honestly, I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this project!)

PROJECT NOTES and HOW-TOs

In preparation for the craft, we created stacks of the following supplies: 

• Blank book marks
• Open ended envelopes (Michelle found these and the book marks at a SchoolBox store; I couldn't find them online)
• Ribbon cut into 9" lengths
• Index cards (stacks of 10)
• Uplifting text (stacks of 10 different passages)
• Glue sticks

At craft time, the kids lined up and two parent volunteers handed out the required supplies to each child. Then stickers and buckets of markers were distributed amongst the children and everyone set to work. In an hour and a half, the StoneBridge team was able to welcome the children, explain how to create the project, teach a lesson, make the project, clean up, present a followup to reinforce the lesson, and still had some playtime at the end! It was a truly admirable and effective effort!

My heartfelt thanks to Michelle Chestnutt for supplying content for this write-up! Here is the lovely lady herself giving direction to the kids as they work on their Love Reminders project.

Hooping and osteoporosis

Pam Theobold started hula hooping at age 57 to help heal her osteoporosis. In the attached (short) video, she describes how she discovered hooping and the health benefits she gained from her chosen form of exercise.



There are so many health benefits to hula hooping. My favorite part? It's exercise disguised as FUN. Regular exercise is a key component to leading a healthy and happy life. If you can find an activity that you truly enjoy, you will be more likely to keep doing it. Hula hooping fits the bill for me...and perhaps you, too?

Jammers

I made jam biscuits for breakfast today. They were yummy and super EASY to make. I highly recommend the recipe...and plan to serve them on a fairly regular basis...they're just biscuits, after all!

Visit here for the recipe and pictures: http://www.outlikebandits.com/miracle-jammers/Made these for breakfast today. They were yummy and super easy to make. http://www.outlikebandits.com/miracle-jammers/

Announcing PRIVATE CLASSES!

UPDATE May 13, 2013: Miss Laura is returning to Boulder, Colorado and is no longer available for private classes in Marietta, Georgia. :-(

Are you new to hoop dancing? Are you struggling to get started and want some one-on-one instruction? Or perhaps, you've attended the Alphabet Hoops basic hoop dance classes and are ready to learn some intermediate and advanced skills. Marietta, Georgia locals are lucky to have two (2!) hoop dance instructional options --- Lorene Shaw and Laura Roinestad!

*** Lorene Shaw ***

Lorene Shaw is a hooping enthusiast who discovered the joys of hula hooping in 2009. She teaches introductory hula hooping to both adults and children at Fusion Fitness and MMA and to City of Marietta elementary students (and grown ups!) via Marietta Community School.

You can contact her via:

Email (best way!): 

Lorene@AlphabetHoops.com

Mobile Phone: 

(404) 271-7429

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/AlphabetHoops 

*** Laura Roinestad ***

Laura is a Hoopnotica-certified dance instructor who works full-time as a massage therapist at Integrated Health Solutions. She is available for all levels of private adult hoop dance and fire hooping lessons. 

(She occasionally offers a hoop dance skills series via Alphabet Hoops, so definitely "like" Alphabet Hoops on Facebook to keep current on class announcements!)

In addition to her hoop dancing skills, Laura has a background in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, pilates and yoga...all of which she leverages to the great benefit of her hoop dancing students!

You can contact Laura via Facebook under her company name, "Baila Hoops," or her personal Facebook page. 

Hoop dance to "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore

Photo credit: Sara Janssen // The Happy Hoop

December 9, 2012: Next Playing a Round classes

The next Playing a Round---introduction to basic hula hooping---is scheduled for Sunday, December 09, 2012. The series is split into two sessions:

Hooping Basics 1

Sunday, December 09, 2012

2-3:30 p.m.

Hooping Basics 2

Prerequisite: Hooping Basics 1

Sunday, December 09, 2012

4-5:30 p.m.

You can sign up for one or both sessions. If 3 hours of hooping seems a bit much for you, consider signing up for Hooping Basics 1 now, and then Hooping Basics 2 the next time it's offered!

Hooping Basics 2 revisits the skills you learn in Basics 1 and builds on them. If you've taken Basics 1, you know that many seemingly complicated hoop moves are often just a series of simple ones. 

Click here for cost, location, and registration information.

November 11: Next Playing a Round classes

The next Playing a Round---introduction to basic hula hooping---is scheduled for Sunday, November 11. The series is split into two sessions:

Hooping Basics 1
Sunday, November 11
2-3:30 p.m.

Hooping Basics 2
Prerequisite: Hooping Basics 1.
Sunday, November 11
4-5:30 p.m.

You can sign up for one or both sessions. If 3 hours of hooping seems a bit much for you, consider signing up for Hooping Basics 1 now, and then Hooping Basics 2 the next time it's offered!

Hooping Basics 2 revisits the skills you learn in Basics 1 and builds on them. If you've taken  Basics 1, you know that many seemingly complicated hoop moves are often just a series of simple ones. 

Click here for cost, location, and registration information.