Just letting everyone know we are in attendance today at the Showcase for Performers for Young Audiences in Skokie, Illinois.

The school year contains many special occasions. This we all know. Some are once in a lifetime festivities such as the closing of an older but still beloved building, or the grand opening of a new addition. Others are events that roll around with the calendar every year. Livening up these activities with a great school assembly can be a wonderful idea! But it is best to really plan ahead. Book early! Try to understand that those of us who create school shows can usually only be in one place at a time! If you think it would be a great idea to have, say, Abraham Lincoln on his birthday, be ready to learn you are not the first person to think of this. Though there are many Abraham Lincoln presenters in this wide country, they can only be in so many schools on the same day!

Ask any good teacher how kids learn the best, and they will give you the same answer. Given a choice between learning through listening to a lecture or learning through hands on experience, the latter will always provide better results. There is an old saying sometimes attributed to Confucius and sometimes to Ben Franklin. Regardless of who said it, it holds a lot of wisdom.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!    This town crier in traditional dress took to the steps outside of the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London to announce the birth of a baby boy to Prince William and Kate Middleton born at 4:24 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2013.

In our continuing series creating a Guide to School Assemblies, today we discuss school shows and assembly programs that deal with the Environment, Eco-systems and climate change.

 Recently in these pages we have been developing a Guide to School Assemblies.  Today we will look at shows and field trips featuring Fine Arts programs.