High-energy 45-minute assembly programs about bullying-prevention, character education, reading, and science. Who knew LEARNING could be this much FUN?!

Hi There! I’m an Author-Illustrator of Graphic Novels, Picture Books and Recycled Art Building Books for grades K-8. You can book a Workshop, Assembly OR create an immersive “Comics" or "Steam Invention Day” for students with guided sessions and worksheets. TOPICS INCLUDE: • Creating CHARACTERS for Comics • Building STEAM Projects from Recyclables • Tips and Techniques for GRAPHIC NOVELS • My Work Process from IDEA to Story to BOOK Students will learn my journey from childhood artist to the published author and illustrator of seven books. Brian Yanish Children’s Author / Illustrator / Maker *2023 NYSCATE Student STEAM Fest KEYNOTE Speaker ————————————————— “You will not find a more talented and collaborative presenter for your next author visit or Maker Space today.“ -Tammy Pulver, SLMS, Lima Primary School, Lima, NY

Author visits are inspiring events that deepen students' enthusiasm for reading and writing. Lonni Lane Marketing works with hosts throughout the process to make author visits run seamlessly with all the details ironed out in advance of the event. Learn more about these authors and their unique programs, which can be customized for different audiences: R. W. Alley, Jonathon Auxier, Mary Casanova, Candace Fleming, Donna Gephart, Cyndi Giorgis, I.W.Gregorio, Greg Howard, Julie Leung (local author), Emma Otheguy (local author), Margi Preus, Caroline Tung Richmond, Eric Rohmann, Barb Rosenstock, Laura Shovan, Elly Swartz, Cat Winters, Dan Yaccarino

The ArtSmart Educational Theatre Series presents performances specifically designed for school groups and are open to the general public as well. Children’s picture books and classic literature, United States and world history, relevant social issues and experiences are all transformed by nationally-touring performing artists. Our ArtSmart series is designed to encourage thinking, creativity and fun while complementing school lessons. Each year, The Smith presents a series for students of all ages.

The Children’s Food Lab brings food and nutrition education to schools throughout the NYC and Mid-Hudson region. The Children’s Food Lab (CFL) offers food arts and sciences discovery labs, where curious minds of all ages can connect to the transformative power of food — food that is integral to the health of their bodies, minds, communities, and environment. CFL labs are hands-on, multi-sensory with a STEAM-based approached. They incorporate science, technology, math, nutrition, social studies, ELA, and the arts whenever possible. Students learn the incredible stories behind ingredients they eat all the time, foods like corn, wheat, milk, eggs, herbs, oats, vegetables, spices, cacao, and on. Students explore how food is grown, processed, and prepared, as well as how their food choices affect the health of their bodies and environment. The context and backstory of each ingredient creates a deeper connection between students and their food – a connection that will last a lifetime and shape the course of a child’s health and well-being.

Like a field trip that comes to you! Marine biologist and underwater videographer team, Wayne & Karen Brown bring the “ocean” to your school with their nationally-acclaimed, high-energy, fast-paced, interactive multimedia presentations. The presentations combine actual specimens, biological models, unique props, costumes, creative dramatics, storytelling techniques, high-tech SCUBA diving equipment, audience participation, breathtaking underwater photography/videography and life-size (or larger-than-life-size) inflatable animals! OUR ASSEMBLIES: OUR NEWEST SHOW! The Antarctica Penguins Expedition: (Topic: Antarctica & Penguins) Join us on our annual expeditions to visit the White Continent — Antarctica, on our search for the amazing flightless ocean birds — Penguins! Meet our life-size, 3 1/2-foot tall, King Penguin and 18-inch Adelie Penguin! The Norway Polar Bear Expedition: (Topic: Arctic & Polar Bears) Join us on our expeditions to visit the frigid home of Disney’s Frozen on our search for the largest bear on the planet — the Polar Bear! Explore the Arctic Ocean ecosystem and meet animals that are able to survive in this harsh environment. See our life-size, 10-foot male Polar Bear, Polar Bear cubs and Polar Bear skull! The Mexico Great White Shark Expedition: (Topic: Sharks) Come face-to-face with a 15 foot long, 3,000 pound great white shark! Find out the facts versus the fantasies as we study great white sharks near Guadalupe Island, Mexico. See our HUGE jaws from a 20-foot Great White Shark and our life-size, 15-foot female Great White Shark! The Australia Great Barrier Reef Expedition: (Topic: Coral Reefs) Visit the largest living organism on earth and the home of Nemo (from the hit Pixar movie Finding Nemo)…Australia’s Great Barrier Reef! Witness corals giving birth. Meet Nemo’s friends that call the Great Barrier Reef home, from the docile to the dangerous. See our life-sized, coral reef! The Belize Whale Shark Expedition: (Topic: Sharks) Learn about Dory’s best friend from the hit Disney/Pixar movie, Finding Dory, when you join us on our expedition to search for and document the largest shark on the planet — the Whale Shark! Join us along the longest coral reef in the Northern Hemisphere as we dive with whale sharks, bull sharks, manatees and dolphins! See our HUGE jaws from a 20-foot Whale Shark and our life-size, 25-foot female Whale Shark! The Crystal River Florida Manatee Expedition: (Topic: Manatees) Get nose-to-nose with a 10-foot long, 2,000 pound Flordia manatee! Learn how these animals are adapted to their environment, why they are threatened and what is being done to protect them. See our life-sized, Florida manatee skull and our life-size, 10-foot female Florida Manatee! The Silver Bank Humpback Whale Expedition: (Topic: Whales) Meet a 20-foot long, baby humpback whale! Join us on our expedition to the world’s largest humpback whale breeding grounds…the Silver Bank, near the Caribbean Sea. Meet our life-size, 20-foot long, baby Humpback Whale! The Island of the Blue Dolphins Expedition: (Topic: Kelp Forests) Visit the island from the book, The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Tour underwater around the island and meet the marine inhabitants. Learn why the kelp forests around this island are an important natural resource. Come face-to-face with stingrays, moray eels and sharks! The Caribbean Sea Expedition: (Topic: Animal Adaptations) Dive with us to investigate a colorful Caribbean reef fish community. See the humorous and interesting tricks fish use in the underwater game of survival. Come face-to-face with sharks and moray eels.

Stitch Buffalo is excited to share our love of textile arts and provide instruction to learners of all ages and skill levels. When you book a class, a Stitch Buffalo instructor will come to your location and provide comprehensive instruction to your group. All supplies for the project are included. Participants will learn fundamental techniques while developing design and collaborative skills in a relaxed environment that encourages exploration and personal expression. Our rextile art projects/skills reflect traditional techniques used in many cultures from around the world. These include: 1. Hand Embroidery 2. Block Printing 3. Pom-Pom Making 4. Jump Rope Making 5. Stencil and Appliqué 6. Macrame 7. Weaving For each of the seven core disciplines, we offer three related projects that correspond to different ages and ability levels: beginner (elementary school); intermediate (middle school); and advanced (high school through adult). We also provide information on the cultural context of each project, including how people from various cultures are practicing these traditional techniques today—right here in New York.

We offer a one of a kind school mural program where the students are centered in the work and entire process from brainstorming to final painting. Our mural process involves a brainstorming session where we have the students drawing and coming up with ideas that touch on the theme that is chosen by their school. We then take those drawings and create a digital sketch using the actual drawings from the students. We involve every student from the school in the painting process so that they are able to have ownership and a hand in the creative process. Our unique approach creates a sense of joy and excitement for all participating students and staff as we are able to transform these hallways into large colorful pieces of public art that have an authentic student look and feel to them. We make sure that the final outcome looks professional and clean while still elevating student work from the paper to the wall. We have painted with over 7000 students in the past 2 years creating about 25 murals! We also offer a variety of arts based hands on workshops crafted for all age groups like mask making, printmaking, paper pulp sculptures, paper mache and much more!

The following two school programs have been designed to follow the current NYS learning standards for performing arts. Each themed assembly also follows their respective NYS learning standard(s). "Anything is Possible!" : a magical character development assembly Focus: good mental health practices, positive self image, emotional regulation Everyone has their own unique talent! It takes a special journey to each person to find what's special about them. Jeff will share his magic and the journey that he took to find his passion. Children will learn techniques that they can use to start their journey and find their own passion. We also take a look at the feelings that come with self discovery and healthy ways to manage them. "The BIG balloon STEAM show!" : a circus variety style STEAM assembly Focus: Critical Thinking, Scientific Method & Vocabulary, Deductive Reasoning Come and explore the science behind balloons! This show combines circus style stunts with educational content that follows the NYS science learning standards. We'll explore how balloons are made along with their scientific properties. We'll also test the scientific method in a LIVE balloon experiment! For the grand finale, students will learn about elastic potential energy as Jeff climbs inside of a giant 10 foot balloon!

Have you noticed in your young ladies the same thing Miss Coco Flamenco has noticed – how pre-teen and teen girls shrink inside – and overcompensate outside – while the boys just… don’t? And when there’s a phone camera involved, have you noticed the stark difference between the girls’ self-conscious primping and the boys’ in-your-face pomp? Enter The Flamaze Girls – Preciosa and Danielle – played by Miss Coco Flamenco herself! Watch in flamazement as your young ladies open up to the hilarity/honesty, the grace/guts, the Flamenco moves/freedom grooves. Miss Coco brings her 30 years of stewarding young ladies into adulthood, through her time as professor, department chair, and choreographer. She has seen joyful transformations happen within the space of a single show – countless students have started watching her show with arms crossed and that “fake-bored-girl” face… only to rush to the stage afterwards for a hug and an autograph. And perhaps a blurted-out, “I used to dance, too!” Or “When are you coming back?” Or simply, “Thank you, Miss Coco.” Your young ladies will EMBRACE their betrayer bodies and UNLEASH their sensitive souls within the time-tested safe space created by the ancient, powerful, confident women of Flamenco, and under the careful guidance of Miss Coco Flamenco herself – with the dance moves and spoken word of everyone’s newest friends, Preciosa and Danielle, of course! 7th grade girls get sulky faced – clap-clip-clap-and-stomp, they erase. 8th grade girls get crossed arms – clap-clip-clap-and-stomp, they harm. Un-flamazing girls get nutsy, but! Flamaze girls? Stomp-stomp-stomp get GUTSY!

1. K-12 Storytelling Workshop 2. Professional Development for Teachers and Staff 3. Train the Teacher in Storytelling Writing on Your Feet is an exciting new storytelling course for students in grades K-12. Developed over a five-year period in partnership with Taconic Hills Elementary School, Writing on Your Feet provides students the opportunity to generate story ideas, teaches concepts such as a story arc and the skills of live storytelling. Writing on Your Feet complements most schools’ personal narrative writing curricula by introducing students to an innovative approach to storytelling that helps them identify what they want to say in their story, as well as how to say it; students first learn to speak their story and then, after doing so, are prepared to write it down. Writing on Your Feet is a highly impactful, program that uniquely scaffolds a school’s writing curriculum by introducing kids to personal narrative development through storytelling. The Ancram Center believes that this kind of creative pedagogy–one that allows for a wide range of learners to develop an essential skill–is key to supporting individual academic attainment. The course is taught over four 45-minute classes with an optional storytelling event to culminate the students’ work. The classes can be completed over two to four weeks depending on a school’s needs. The Ancram Center also offers one-time two-hour versions of this workshop. Professional development workshops and train the teacher sessions are also available.

My Daughters and Me MDAM My Sons and Me MSAM is an innovative program designed to inspire self-expression and mental wellness in youth through various forms of art, mindfulness practices, and social-emotional learning. The MDAM MSAM INC offers a diverse range of Programs and creative activities including Ready-Set-Go, The Princess in Me, Master My Mind, Mingle and Munch, visual art, clothing design, dance/stepping, STEM, pad drumming, health and wellness, creative writing workshops, drama and empowerment workshops, all while fostering a positive and safe environment for self-expression and character building. Elevate Your Students with Master My Mind (Grades 6-12) Our progressive curriculum features flexible 1-hour lessons that integrate breathwork, mindfulness, movement, and expressive creative art activities with high-quality literature to establish a supportive learning environment, empowering mentorship that helps students cultivate resilience, self-regulation, and communication skills, ultimately leading to increased self-esteem, character development, workforce readiness skills, and confidence in students, resulting in happier, more engaged learners. Art Expressions Project (grades PK-12): Our Art Expressions project program allows us to work with students across various grade levels, schools, and districts, fostering self-confidence, social cohesion, and effective communication. This program also enhances classroom, school, and community projects by incorporating creative arts, musical performances, and clothes design with simple stitching and art-filled spaces that showcase students' creativity. We offer a unique opportunity to create beautiful, elegant, and colorful spaces that students can be proud of. The Princess in Me (Grades 3-5) Unleash the Power of Princess Potential! Our program for girls focuses on building self-esteem, character development, anti bullying and vital life skills through expert guidance and engaging activities. We help young girls transform into confident, capable, and respectable individuals. Mingle and Munch Lunch Buddy Program (Grades 4-8) Introducing 'Mingle and Munch', your ultimate Lunch Buddy Program for girls that enhances the ordinary lunch break into an extraordinary experience. We understand that the lunch hour is more than just a break from classes. It's a chance for students to develop crucial life skills. Our program facilitates meaningful discussions, games, and self-expression among students, helping them grow and connect with their peers. Make the most of your midday reset with 'Mingle and Munch'!