There’s a scene in ‘The Office’ in which Dawn the secretary, reflecting on the failures in her life that have led her to Wernham Hogg, muses about a kindergarten friend of hers who now owns an internet auction website, makes a fortune and is happily married to a marine biologist: “She used to eat chalk!”
It’s a reminder that the strangest kids often go on to excel, and that as parents, we needn’t worry if our six-year-olds are exhibiting the characteristics of a young Hannibal Lecter or, even worse, Donald Trump.
In contrast, however, some young children are disarmingly intelligent, almost scarily so. Society labels them prodigies, presumably with a view to keep on referring to them as such years later, reminding them that it was all downhill from the age of seven.
By writing and performing in their own play, the children at Sunrise International Preschool in Hellerup are walking dangerously close to the line. The little Mozarts and Michael Jacksons, aged two to six, on February 22 presented the worldwide premiere of their theatre show, ‘The Magical Mountain, the Fairy Witch and the Forest Animals’, to an enthralled audience at the school. They even made the props: beautifully decorated handheld puppets made from old socks, and their performance made those gathered laugh, cry and lose themselves in the moment.
Sure, there were a few forgotten lines and moments of stage fright, and one of the school’s teachers, Alexandra Gunnlaugsdottir, composed the music, but it just goes to show that among the chalk eaters are children capable of chalking up truly magical theatre.
From the arts to art! The children at Sunrise International Preschool (Norgesmindevej 32, Hellerup) are putting on their own art exhibition on April 5 from 2pm until 4pm. The opening will include a cello performance. Find out more at www.sunrisepreschool.dk.
