The Tranquil Tortoise and the Hoppity Hare

This Saturday, we were treated to a wonderful treat: We attended a special showing of the Alliance Theatre's "The Tranquil Tortoise and the Hoppity Hare" put on just for FOCUS families.

I've blogged about FOCUS before, but in case you missed those posts, FOCUS is a great non-profit organization here in Atlanta that serves children with special needs and their families. We have been involved with FOCUS since last summer, when a teacher at Claire's school recommended the it to us. I'll admit, at first I was skeptical . . . I kept telling myself that we didn't need to belong to an organization like FOCUS, but since making the call, I'm glad every day that I did. We have been so grateful for the events, education, support, and connections we have received through our participation in the organization.

As always, FOCUS did an incredible job with Saturday's event! The event included lunch, activities for the kids, and the play. The play was wonderful. It was VERY interactive. Instead of taking place on a stage, the play happened around us, and we were asked to participate in various ways at various points during the play.

I have never seen Claire so engaged!

(Watching the play)

Evidence that the play captured Claire's attention: We are still working on head control, and when we sit like we are sitting above, she often gets tired an throws her head back to rest it on my chest. During the play, not once did she throw her head back. My only explanation is that she was so interested in the action that she must have forgotten that she was holding her own head up!

(The tortoise and the hare in action.)


(Showing off her "Team Hare" tag.)

As I mentioned, the play was really interactive. At one point, the tortoise and the hare handed out tags to everyone in the audience to demonstrate their affiliation with one creature or the other. We were recruited for "Team Hare."

(Claire with her "Team Hare" tag.)

Thanks, FOCUS!