Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) continues a free series of children’s puppet plays in the new year at Matrushka Toys and Gifts, 309 Main Street, Great Barrington, with the performance of “Mashenka and the Bear” on Saturday, February 11, 2012. There will be two show times at 10:30 and 11:30am, appropriate for toddler through kindergarten age children.
In this delightful Russian tale, a little girl, Mashenka, cleverly outsmarts a bear to find her way home. Puppeteer Michelle Kuzia is a lead kindergarten teacher at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, where she began her teaching career by founding the nursery class in 1978, when the original school was expanding from a one-room kindergarten in a timber frame barn. Kuzia earned her Waldorf Early Childhood certificate from Sunbridge College, and her M.Ed in Waldorf Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Antioch University. A Berkshire native, Kuzia has been pivotal to the strong growth and success of the school, from which all four of her daughters — including Matrushka owner Brooke Redpath — matriculated.
Matrushka Toys and Gifts, located at 309 Main Street in Great Barrington, brings a love of “action” to children of the Berkshires, specializing in a unique collection of “child-powered” toys, entertaining games, classic books, beautiful children’s clothing and natural baby gifts, in a store that makes room for imaginative play. Matrushka enhances the community with free in-store events, such as partnering with GBRSS to present puppet plays that come to life in the hands of an experienced early childhood teacher. Matrushka is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm. For more information about Mornings at Matrushka, please call the store at (413) 528-6911.