The Candy Mom Can

Tey gave a gift of experience to Bean this Christmas instead of buying another thing to add to the clutter of the house and to our Chrismas carbon footprint. We had just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so when I saw that Champaign Park District was putting it on at the Virginia Theater, I suggested it as a gift he could give Bean. I gave him some other ideas too but I don't remember what they are. So, after almost 3 months of anxiously waiting until March, tonight was Willy Wonka day!

You could taste the excitement!

The boys outside Virginia Theater

Their review during intermission. Sorry for the darkness. 

An usher teaching Bean about the orchestra pit

Me and my Tey exchanging words of love. Fact: intermission is always the perfect time to tell your date how much you love them.

A twitter friend of mine has a daughter (the Candy Man, er, Woman) in the show and seriously, she was the best. I don't think I am biased. Both the boys also thought she had the best voice and best costume. We met her after the show to tell her good job and went around to several other cast members as well.

Want to know that the kids told me in their own words?

Tey's narration of the event:

"We sat, of course. We watched the show. The candy man was singing. The candy man was singing the best at the show. Willy Wonka gave all his stuff to someone else."

Bean's original narration of the event while I typed:

"I remember that lights turned on and off and curtains opened and closed. Charlie got a golden ticket. Veruca Salt a golden ticket. Augusta Gloop got a golden ticket. Mike got a golden ticket. Violet got a golden ticket. And Veruca Salt, Agusta Gloop, Mike, got in trouble. But, Charlie got Willy Wonka’s hat and walking stick. We sat the whole time. We watched the whole time. And Charlie also got Willy Wonka’s whole chocolate factory. The end."

After I showed it to him we went through an editing process where I tried to teach him about removing repetition and grouping similar thoughts. Here is his finished report:

"I remember that lights turned on and off and curtains opened and closed. We sat the whole time and we watched until the very end. Veruca, Agusta, Charlie, Violet and Mike each got their very own golden ticket. Everyone got in trouble, except Charlie got rewarded with Willy Wonka’s hat, walking stick and his whole chocolate factory. The end. Do you ever think you’ll be going to Willy Wonka?"

I loved the creativity as he added more detail and flair the second time around. His improvements were better than I expected too. For example, for "We sat the whole time. We watched the whole time," I encouraged him to combine the sentences and remove the repetition. I thought he might say "We sat and watched the whole time," which is how I remember learning in school. He came up with an even better sentence that has his own Bean flavor, "We sat the whole time and we watched until the very end." 

The candy mom can cuz she mixes it with love and makes the world taste good!