Bachelor of Education students will celebrate the whimsy of childhood and wisdom of old age in their annual musical, which opens this week.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is based on Robert Fulghum’s best-selling book of the same title and takes a funny, insightful and heartwarming look at what is profound in everyday life.

In a performance of theatrical storytelling, teacher candidates will deliver monologues, dialogues and original songs while getting a hands-on, authentic musical learning experience.

“It’s been an absolute joy to spend the past two months preparing for this production,” says Holly Ogden, one of two faculty leaders for the production of Kindergarten and adjunct assistant professor for Education. “Together we have learned so much – not only about music, drama, and dance, but also about how arts-based learning can excite, thrill, and inspire.”

Kindergarten also serves as a way to connect the Queen’s and Kingston communities by sharing the production free of charge with groups of students and seniors in the community. Students from the Limestone District School Board, seniors groups, and adults from the Kingston’s H’Art Centre will be offered tickets to the production.

“We believe that by providing teacher candidates with this experience during their year at Queen’s, they will be better able to promote this form of teaching and learning within their classrooms,” says Christopher DeLuca, faculty leader for the production and assistant professor in the Faculty of Education. “Learning through the arts fosters cooperation, problem-solving, and improvements in spatial and verbal skills as well as develops a sense of connection, belonging, and positive learning spaces.”

Kindergarten runs on February 5 and 6 at 7:30pm in the auditorium at Duncan McArthur Hall. Tickets are $5 and available at the door or in the Queen’s Education Students Society office at Duncan McArthur Hall (Room B137).

For more information on Kindergarten, follow this link.