Today was a relaxing day. After the Mall of America we needed a day to just decompress and relax a bit.
We went to the Bead Monkey and met the owner Tina Lilja. She took us on back and we started two classes. One half of the room learned how to bead using a circular pattern (which is unusual for our students) and the other half of the room learned how to make a leather bracelet. The majority of the beading side was girls and the majority of the leather side was boys.
The girls beading side got pretty frustrated with the process. It was pretty different from what they're used to. They did one row and that seemed to go OK but the second row required a few more steps. Half got frustrated and said no more and the other half battled through it.
The leather side (populated by the boys mainly) did alright with the leather and beading. It was a struggle getting the beads on the leather sometimes but they got the pattern down pretty quickly and they were surprised by how much fun they were having.
Everyone's pieces turned out really well! Tina was around the whole time, helping out and telling stories. It was a great morning of beading and learning. Bernie and Cassius also participated in making the jewelry, Cassius was on the leather side and Bernie was on the beading side. She helped out with the girls that were struggling with the beading aspect so that was nice to have another helper. Tina also had another worker from the Bead Monkey help out and it was nice to have many hands helping and keeping them entertained. I'm a disaster with most things artsy so I helped manage and answer questions and of course take pictures :D
We had a lunch break at the DQ next door, always a favorite (who doesn't like ice cream?) and then headed back to the Bead Monkey for our afternoon classes. This time it went opposite. The 'boys' side ended up doing more beading and they all learned how to bead and make a circle, while the 'girls' side learned about metal wrapping. Frustration levels rose quite a bit for the boys, learning how to bead with the tiny beads and a tiny needle. Let me tell you, they all appreciate their aunties, grandmas and sisters A LOT more after having to bead like they do. It's not nearly as easy as they make it look. The girls LOVED the metal wrapping and made very unique necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Some made a few pair, getting really creative. Tina showed them how to make a special necklace that had a birds nest looking pendant on it. A few of the girls tried and did very well.
Overall, it was a lot of fun and all of the students were really surprised by how much fun they had. Cassius and Bernie also had fun and made some fun jewelry for their kids, etc.
When everyone said their thank yous to Tina and her staff we headed back to the hotel for nap time. Students were getting crabby and they just needed some major quiet time.
Dinner tonight was at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I love taking students here because the restaurant is so funky and it's in a great part of the city. They can see the dome pretty easily from there. I also like taking them there because all of the food is new! They have to try something different, though I have to say with this group they are WAY more open to new food than the other. If I ask them to try something they will all at least try.
We got there and some of the students ordered Italian sodas. This was a leap for some of them but I didn't hear any complaints...I think they liked them :D Next, as a special treat, I ordered a few side orders of calamari. They had all been wondering what it was so I surprised them with it. Everyone had a few bites BEFORE I told them what calamari really was. Most just shrugged and said, 'Huh' some twitched their faces a bit. I reminded them that they liked it just fine before I told them what it was and they all went, 'oh yeah' and life was good.
It was a great dinner. Everyone had something new that they really enjoyed. There was lots of laughing and joking. Some even dived in and had a little dessert.
That night we went back to the hotel and had a meeting about what we were going to do the next day. All the students had to vote on a movie to see. We were going to the Riverview Theater and they had four choices: The Sapphires, Oblivion, Oz the Great and Powerful and The Croods. We watched all of the trailers for the movies, so they knew what they movies were about, and then held a vote. This was important mainly because all of the movies were at different times so depending on when the movie was would depend on dinner and other activities.
Tomorrow is Science Museum, Como Zoo, and a movie! Stay Tuned!
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