October is "Star Wars Reads" Month!

In the past we've enjoyed spreading the word about Star Wars Reads Day, an annual event that has been happening the past few years in October that celebrates Star Wars and reading. What's not to love about that?

This year the day has grown into a MONTH! So for all of October fans around the Galaxy will be celebrating in different ways.

Star Wars Kidscast will be enjoying Star Wars Reads by spotlighting recommended Star Wars books, sharing photos and spreading the word about events on our facebook (@StarWarsKidscast) and Twitter (@SWKidscast). 

What are your favourite Star Wars books? Does your school or library have an event? Do you dress up? Feel free to share your experience! We'd love to hear about it.

Here's the link to this year's Star Wars Reads downloadable pdf activity kit!

Don't forget to use the tag #StarWarsReads in your social media messages!

For more info visit StarWars.com

Happy reading and may the Force be with you! 

Padawan Parenting: A Jedi Lives to Serve

Jay Krebs, a teacher (Rogue 7 at StarWarsInTheClassroom.com), mom and blogger for one of my favourite Star Wars podcast/blog fan-sites Coffee With Kenobi, offered to write a guest piece on how she ties together Star Wars fandom and volunteerism with her kids. I loved the idea so much it begins a new series: Padawan Parenting! Look for more articles in the future. -Chris

We all know how incredibly precious time spent together with our younglings can be, and for parents like me who have older kids (a tween and a young teen); we know those sands of time fall faster than stars streaking by in hyperspace.

One of the ways I have found to be a win-win in terms of time spent with my kids is through volunteering. More specifically, Star Wars-style volunteering!

My love for Star Wars has inspired and affected my life in so many diverse ways, but one of the most surprising ways has been by helping me teach my children about the importance of service to others.

I am the proud Mom of two boys, now 12 and 14. Needless to say, they were raised on Star Wars. My Star Wars moniker has always been MO2YP – MomOf2YoungPadawans. So, it’s pretty safe to assume that Star Wars has permeated pretty much every aspect of their lives in one way or another.

Talent Show for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - 2008

I am also a high school teacher entering into my 22nd year of teaching. As my kids grew, they were often part of the various service activities in which my students and I were involved. One year, we were part of a school-wide talent show, fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  My niece (who was a freshman at the time), and I performed “The Saga Begins” by “Weird Al” Yankovic. We were in full Jedi garb; myself as Qui-Gon and my niece as Obi-Wan. My two boys, who were then 7 and 5 at the time, were dressed as Jedi “stage hands” and helped with the performance.

There have been several other service activities in which my boys have played a part. It’s just always been something we’ve done.  

Library Star Wars Party 2014

Most recently, last weekend my 12-year-old son and I volunteered at a “Star Wars Party” that a local library was sponsoring.  I happened to see an article in our newspaper about it, and called the library to help. I was just going to do it myself, dressed as Queen Amidala, but when I told my son about it he said “can I dress as Boba Fett? I’d love to come and help!” Gee, who am I to say “no” to a kid who wants to volunteer his time, away from the TV and/or video games?!

Why volunteer? Some of the major benefits are:

• It brings you closer together as a family!  By strengthening values, time spent together and the ability to connect with each other and with the greater world.
• It helps kids’ self-esteem: By helping others, kids feel good about themselves. It creates a sense of empathy and compassion for others as well.
• It builds future skills: kids who volunteer tend to do better in school, are less likely to involve themselves in risky behavior, and build a work ethic that will help them in whatever career field they choose later in life
• It makes kids thankful: Sometimes seeing or knowing what others DON’T have is the best way to teach kids about being thankful for what they have.
• It’s a lot of FUN!!

A few ideas, depending on your Padawan's ages and abilities:

• Star Wars Reads Day at your local library: You and your kids could help out with a variety of activities, read Star Wars books to younger kids, or cosplay and get lots of pictures taken (my personal favorite – I’m a sucker for dressing up!). Like I said, just call them up. Sometimes, you (the adult) may have to fill out an official volunteer form and be approved beforehand, so be sure to plan ahead for that one.

Students making blankets

• Making fleece tie-blankets: My kids have made those double-layer tie blankets with Star Wars fleece, and have donated them to various organizations. It’s easy to do with supervision, even for young Padawans. If you can use a pair of scissors and can tie a knot, you can make a blanket!

My favorite organization is our local chapter of Project Linus. If you ask around, you might even to be able to get some fleece donated to you.

• Make Star Wars-themed cookies for an event: This one could fit for a variety of organizations…

Local Red Cross Blood Drive – set up a table and give cookies to blood donors for their after-donation treat.

Delicious, they are!

Community charity fundraising event – This could be anything from a table set up for runners at the end of a race (yes, runners do eat cookies after a race sometimes…trust me, I’m one of them!  For a resource to find races near you, try www.runningintheusa.com or www.active.com/running for a start)...to helping out with a donation drive like Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

• Donate gently-used Star Wars toys, books, Lego sets, clothing: … And hand-deliver them to places like your local Children’s Services Office, Women’s Shelters, etc. 

• Get creative! Think about your own interests, your child’s, the time you have to spend, etc. It doesn’t have to cost money, either!

Of course, Star Wars-style volunteerism doesn’t have to end just because kids grow up! The 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion immediately come to mind. These organizations do an amazing job of giving back to their communities!

Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions you may have about this blog, resources, ideas, etc.

I hope you have found some helpful and inspiring ideas for you and the children in your life! May the Force Be With You!

Jay (MO2YP)
e-mail: jayk@coffeewithkenobi.com 
Follow me on Twitter: @JoyceKrebs

Some great ideas for Star Wars baking and crafts...

Star Wars Day 2014: Fun in Photos!

May the 4th, 2014 was a lot of fun in Surrey, BC. This year we had to CHOOSE between the many events happening! It was so cool to see so many fans young and (ahem) not-so-young celebrating Star Wars.

Our first stop was the local Disney Store.

Jedi Training in progress. Some Jedi came in robes!

We were one of the last few "first 100" customers so we manage received a free Star Wars pin commemorating the day. 

Disney Store hosted Jedi Training which entailed a cast member (Disney doesn't have "staff") interacting with a Star Wars video to walk kids through various training exercises. The kids all received inflatable mini-lightsabers, paper medals of honor (just like at the end of Episode IV: A New Hope) and also a pack of trading cards afterward.

Junior Jedi Knight

Training is now complete. Naptime next!

The cast members were great, the kids had fun and Disney Store truly got into the Star Wars spirit!

"Aren't you a little short for a Sith Lord....sir?"

Next stop was Indigo Books which had Stormtroopers interacting with the customers, some trivia challenges for the kids and a few fun giveaways too courtesy of DK Publishing and LEGO. 

More kids were there in costume for this event including some Clone Troopers and a little Darth Vader. Some of the staff were even dressed up or sporting Princess Leia's infamous hair buns!

These kids knew their Star Wars trivia!

What was so great about May the 4th/Star Wars Day was even though both events were aimed at kids the parents seemed to be having just as much fun. Both events had many parents in various Star Wars T-shirts too. Star Wars had its Dark Side of course, but May the 4th was a positive celebration of the Galaxy loved by all ages. 

May the 4th be with you....always!

Did you celebrate May the 4th? How did you celebrate? Comment below : )

FAN EXPO Vancouver: Part II MORE Star Wars fan fun!!

Our 2nd day at FAN EXPO Vancouver was a blast and chock full of Star Wars fun! (To read about the first day click here).

Without the makeup she didn't recognize Ray Park (Darth Maul)!

For starters we had a brief chat with actor/stuntman/martial arts expert Ray Park aka. Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace! Yesterday was just a handshake but today we got a picture and chatted a little bit about martial arts and child development.

Did you know this Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious was once an instructor for parent & tot martial arts classes? I sure didn't!

Then we made our way to the LEGO booth to see the mural in all it's finished glory! Yesterday it looked like this but today it was completed. A close inspection was in order...

The highlight of the day though was Star Wars Kids Hour put on by volunteers from the 501st Legion & Rebel Legion. Basically the kids did various Star Wars-themed games (mostly bean-bag tosses) and then were entered in a draw for great prizes including toys and DK Star Wars books.

Plenty of costumed kids were there to play.

Receiving her orders from the Empire!

"Great shot, Kid! That's one in a million!"

Stretching to pin the tail on the very cute Tauntaun!

Dangerous for the Empire to encourage this, don't you think?

Some of the hard-working volunteers that made the event great!

Young Clone trooper claiming his prize.

Thank you to all the fun Star Wars fan families we met over the weekend, thanks to the 501st & Rebel Legions for making the day extra fun for kids and thanks to FAN EXPO Vancouver for a wonderful weekend. See you next year!

FAN EXPO Vancouver: Star Wars fan fun!

I'm so confused!

FAN EXPO is a celebration of everything from science-fiction to horror to fantasy along with bringing together creators of movies, television, anime, comics, games and more! If you're into your favourite series or style there's plenty of like-minded people there among the expected 25,000 attendees! You'll also likely encounter many fans in costumes of your favourite characters.

This couple were a lot of fun!

Among the cyborgs, zombies & superheroes we encountered plenty of like-minded Star Wars fans. It's not specifically a kids' event but they do try to make it a family-friendly one and we saw plenty of children there. Many in costumes!

A Sith, a Jedi & a Solo!

Celebrities in attendance include Ray Park, the actor best known as DARTH MAUL from Episode 1! He was very nice and not at all scary like his famous Sith apprentice character!





I also had a moment to chat with Steven Blum, well-known voice-actor in animation and one of the stars of the upcoming Star Wars Rebels series. He'll be the new character Zeb! He was also very friendly and will probably join Star Wars Kidscast podcast for a chat in the Fall!

At the LEGO display there was an almost life-size LEGO Darth Maul along with Superman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

There was also a mural in-progress that visitors could add pieces too. See if you can recognize who will be in the picture when it's done:

I think I see a certain green Jedi Master in there...

Other highlights included talking with Star Wars artist Ken Steacy and meeting the 501st Legion & Rebel Legion Star Wars costuming groups. They were helping raise funds for Variety the Children's Charity which was fantastic to see! We got a few pictures:

She really wanted to see Boba Fett!

Unfortunately we missed "Star Wars Kids Hour". Getting around the huge space was at times challenging so plan to be there a while & plan your moves in advance! The plan is to head straight for that today! Hopefully see you there!

She had a good time, weird as it must have been to her!

Did your family attend Fan Expo Vancouver? If you have pictures we'd love to see them! Email StarWarsKidscast@gmail.com

Star Wars Kidscast Episode 8: Teaching with Star Wars

Star Wars Kidscast is back with a BIG episode! So big in fact that there’s TWICE as many guests as we’ve ever had! OK, that just means two guests, but that’s still pretty exciting.

First we chat briefly with Terry Chui from the 501st Legion about Star Wars costuming, “bad guys” doing good for charities and the specific kid-oriented fun planned for Fan Expo Vancouver 2014.  (For more Fan Expo Star Wars excitement see this article.)

Next we get in-depth with Craig Dickinson, a 6th grade teacher who uses ALL SIX Star Wars films in his classroom. Imagine studying the Star Wars saga in class as an assignment! Sign me up!

All that & more in this jam-packed episode!

Links:

Fan Expo Vancouver

Twitter @FanExpoVan

501st Legion

Twitter @501stLegion

Craig Dickinson’s blog

Twitter @Influxman

More excellent Star Wars teaching resources at:

Star Wars In the Classroom


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FAN EXPO Vancouver: Plenty for Star Wars Fans!

You know an event is off to a good start when their announcements contain a Yoda quote! If you're fortunate enough to live in the Vancouver area (like me) or within travel distance, be sure to attend FAN EXPO Vancouver April 18-20th.

Here's their announcement, edited for Star Wars lovers like us...

FAN EXPO Vancouver™ will mark its third year by delivering a fan-tastic Easter Break escape for geeks and superheroes of all ages. The celebration of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming returns April 18-20, 2014 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

In the wise words of Jedi Master Yoda “Do or do not, there is no try.” At FAN EXPO Vancouver™ fans can 'do' it all: Q&A’s with celebrities and industry pros, sketch duels, photos opportunities with the entire Star Wars 501st Legion crew, retail and exhibitor areas bursting with rare comics and collectibles to the latest nerd-wear and tech-gear, and gatherings of fellow minded superheroes in and out of disguise (Batman or Bunny costume optional).

“FAN EXPO is the perfect playground for pop culture fans of all ages and this year we made it bigger for Vancouver fans,” says FAN EXPO HQ President, Steve Menzie. "We added 50% more space and a third day so our fans can enjoy even more of the fandom they are so passionate about."

Meet Darth Maul/Ray Park in person...if you dare!

GUESTS

- Star Wars Episode 1's Darth Maul aka. martial arts expert RAY PARK will be there!

- Star Wars Rebels' (the upcoming, very exciting animated TV show) voice actor Steven Blum. He'll be playing Zeb on the new show.

Zeb from the upcoming Star Wars Rebels!

- Star Wars/Lucasfilm artist Robert Bailey will be displaying artwork!

- Star Wars comic & book artist Ken Steacy!





EVENTS & MORE!

- STAR WARS KIDS HOUR Just for Kids! Join the 501st Legion for Star Wars themed games of skill, with lots of giveaways such as Star Wars tattoos, activity & coloring books! Having fun will be strictly enforced by the Stormtroopers on hand, plus some other special guests!

- STAR WARS GOLD HEART CAMPAIGN Variety - the children’s charity will be on site at Fan Expo Vancouver to sell this year’s limited edition gold heart. More info on these collectibles here.

Of course there will be plenty else to do and celebrity guests to meet if you're into things like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and much more! But this is the STAR WARS Kidscast site! For the complete list of guests, info and tickets, visit http://www.fanexpovancouver.com

Photos from New LEGO® Star Wars Miniland!

If you're a Star Wars fan of ANY age, and live near Chicago, IL (unfortunately I do not), there's some very cool additions to LEGOLAND^® Discovery Center Chicago, and a special event March 15-16, 2014.
 
LEGOLAND^® Discovery Center Chicago unveils a newly redesigned Center giving the thousands of families who visit an even better brick experience. The renovation includes improvements to the Center’s highly popular play areas, cafe and all new model display areas, including LEGO^® Star Wars^TM Miniland – a large-scale, interactive LEGO model display chronicling the adventures of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

As part of the new intergalactic exhibit, guests can help the Rebel Alliance destroy the Galactic Empire’s powerful Death Star, experience the epic duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, watch in awe as the Millennium Falcon rises from the deserts of Tatooine, discover the bustling city of Mos Eisley, and take in the busy cantina where the band plays its familiar tune and dangerous characters lurk in dark corners. The display replaces the Center’s previous Star Wars Miniland, which featured scenes from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

The first event taking place in the newly refurbished Center is LEGO^® Star Wars™ Days, March 15-16, featuring special out-of-this-world activities, including:

• Build your own LEGO creation in Build and Test
• A meet and greet with members of the Star Wars 501st Legion
• Take photos with life-sized LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader and LEGO Star Wars R2-D2
• Win prizes and giveaways, while supplies last

 For more information and to purchase tickets visit: http://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/chicago/

Images courtesy of LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Coming to Netflix March 7, 2014!

Terrific news for fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and exciting news for anyone unfamiliar with that fantastic series: starting March 7, 2014 it will be available for viewing on Netflix in the US & Canada (still awaiting news for other countries).

Star Wars: The Clone Wars was the Emmy Award-winning animated series that bridged the gap between the Episode II & III films. From 2008-2013, action-packed, weekly adventures of characters like Anakin, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Palpatine, General Grievous, R2-D2 & C-3P0 were on TV! It also introduced many now-popular characters like Ahsoka Tano, Cad Bane and Hondo Ohnaka. The outstanding quality of the animation, voice-acting and writing made each episode feel like a mini-Star Wars movie!

It wasn't widely publicized but Star Wars creator George Lucas was directly involved in all aspects of the show. Like the movies, some parts were light and fun but some were thematically very dark and intense, most notably the storyline of Darth Maul's return. Yep, Darth Maul survived Episode I, and The Clone Wars being such a well-written show came up with a plausible way to make that happen. However, it should be said that some episodes of The Clone Wars may be too frightening for the youngest younglings in your family.

The Clone Wars was unfortunately cancelled before many of the the 6th season episodes were finished or aired. There was concern when it aired that the Season 5 finale was actually going to be the series' finale, and that later turned out to be true.

Thanks to continued fan support, letter-writing and outcry (#SaveTheCloneWars), most of what would have been Season 6 has now been completed and will be also available on Netflix March 7 as "The Lost Missions". There is no proper finale to the show and even after we see these Lost Missions there will likely still be some unanswered questions. Here's the official info from StarWars.com 

However, for fans of the show any more Clone Wars is a good thing. For new viewers you'll have 5 seasons of awesome to catch up on starting March 7! Enjoy! 

Star Wars Kidscast Episode 6: Vader Valentines, Variety & Voicemail

It's almost Valentine's Day and Star Wars Kidscast is joined by Star Wars A Very Vader Valentine's Day illustrator Katie Cook along with her baby girl...hey, kids are always welcome on the Kidscast! We talk Star Wars, art, Muppets and briefly touch on Valentine's Day too. Also in this episode we take a closer look at the Star Wars "Gold Heart" pins available to support Variety the Children's Charity and respond to a listener voice message.

Links:
More about artist Katie Cook: www.KatieCanDraw.com
Star Wars support of Variety: USVariety.org
Star Wars Age 9

To read a review of Star Wars: A Very Vader Valentine's Day visit here.


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