Education

PLANNED EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT CURRICULUM


Lilly’s Light: The Movie is a program that integrates entertainment value with educational value. It is soft content family programming that also meets the FCC educational requirements. The show leads with a look and feel that scream fun and follows with embedded content that can be used to stimulate discussion.

“A media project for children built around pro-social life-lessons related to social, emotional, and cognitive ideas are what we are defining as “educational.”

Lilly’s Light: The Movie is a musical designed to entertain, inform, enlighten and advance pro-social and imaginative behaviors in early school-age children through developmentally appropriate life-lessons. It is also a concept that attempts to challenge primary grade boys and girls to get actively involved in the beauty of the language arts, through rich story telling and adventure that is rooted in imaginative play, humor, music, and dance.

Lilly’s Light: The Movie is a gateway to the classics for children, helping them develop an appreciation for modern and classical musical theater as well as opera, etc. The lyrics in the music become the core of the life lessons and drive the story idea.

Lilly’s Light: The Movie empowers children through story, music and positive role models, with a greater sense of self-esteem, belief in their own sense of personal worth and creative expression. It challenges the imagination and inspires children to reach for new ideas. (These are really curricular and educational ideas)

I believe that Lilly’s Light: The Movie has an educational curriculum that is based on concepts that will assist a child in his or her social and emotional development (affective areas), as well as with those self-esteem and personal concepts that will assist them in their reading, writing, math and social studies (cognitive areas).”

Dr. Gordon L. Berry – Education Consultant

Professor Emeritus

Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA

A MUSICAL ADVENTURE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

LET’S TALK TOGETHER

Discussion Starters for Parents/Caregivers and Teachers

Lilly’s Light is the story of Lilly, the keeper of a magical lighthouse and the foster mother to Ashley and Max, sister and brother, and young Katie-Lynn. As Lilly explains to Daniel, a young man who has lost his grandmother, his only family, and is struggling with being alone, you can make your own family. You only need the courage to open your heart.

Themes of love, family and friendship, the power of imagination, the joy of adventure and the limitless possibilities in life make Lilly’s Light a show that both entertains and offers rich content for discussion. Use these ideas with children to get conversations started during and after viewing Lilly’s Light.

Life is full of possibilities

The story opens with this optimistic song. Talk about the word possibility – something that is possible, or could happen – and the possibilities in a child’s own life with these questions:

  • When Lilly sings that “life is full of possibilities,” what do you think she means?
  • How can being a good friend help you have more possibilities for fun?
  • How can working hard in school help you have more possibilities in your life when you grow up?
  • What is something special that is a possibility for you?
  • What could you do to help that possibility come true?

On the light side

Lilly is a lighthouse keeper. Talk about the job of a lighthouse – it sits on the edge of the sea and shines a very bright light to help ships find their way safely to land in the dark or in fog. A lighthouse keeper tends the lighthouse to keep the light shining. Explore these ideas with children:

  • How do you think Lilly’s lighthouse is different from other lighthouses?
  • Why do you think Lilly is a lighthouse keeper in the story? Who does Lilly help to keep safe in her lighthouse?
  • When Lilly sings about keeping “the light inside of you” shining brightly, what kind of light do you think she means?
  • What helps you keep your light shining?

Fostering love

Lilly is a “foster mother” to the children in the lighthouse. Talk about what foster mother and foster mean: A foster mother (or foster father) takes care of children whose own parents cannot care for them. When you foster, you help someone or something grow. Explore these ideas with children:

  • How do you think Lilly is like other moms? How do you think she is different?
  • How do you think Ashley, Max and Katie-Lynn feel about living with their foster mother, Lilly?
  • What does Lilly help to “foster,” or grow in others? How can you tell?
  • What are good feelings that you can foster in yourself and others?
  • What is a good way to foster love in the world?

Helpers and friends

Lilly and the children have many interesting visitors to the lighthouse, like Uncle Fitz, Will and Al Patchit, Peaches and Dee, Professor Crabbe and Pel Mel. Explore the theme of helpers and friends with these ideas:

  • Who are people in the story that are friends to Lilly and the children and help them out?
  • Which of these characters are your favorites? Why?
  • Why does everyone need friends like Will Patchit and Uncle Fitz?
  • What makes Pel Mel a special helper at the lighthouse?
  • What message would you send by “peligram”?

Pass it on!

Lilly, the children and their friends create story adventures by using their imaginations. One person starts a tale, another adds to it and they “pass it on” to the next person. Explore these ideas with children:

  • If you could create a “pass it on” adventure, what would your story be? How would it start?
  • Think about how Lilly and the children use their imaginations. Can you pass your imagination on to others? How?
  • Think about the good feelings that Lilly, the children and their friends pass on. How do they pass happiness on to others? Friendship? Love?
  • How can you make “Pass it on!” a way to share good feelings with others?

Powerful you

Lilly’s Light has many empowering messages for children. Explore these ideas together:

  • Lilly, the children and friends sing a song to Sir Oinks-a-lot with the words, “I am what I am. I know inside of me I will find everything I was meant to be.” What do you think those words mean?
  • What is inside of you that can help you be everything you want to be?
  • Max draws Katie-Lynn’s imaginary monsters to look silly, so she is not afraid anymore. How can you change the way you think about something so you are not afraid?
  • Lilly helps Daniel feel that even when he can’t change what happens in life, he has charge of his feelings and actions. How can you follow Lilly’s advice when things happen to you that you don’t like?

Open your heart

Lilly’s Light has many messages for children about the power of love and friendship. Explore these ideas together:

  • Why do you think the sisters Peaches and Dee fight so much? What could they do to get along better?
  • Why does Daniel pretend to be tough and act like he doesn’t care about other people?
  • How does Lilly help Daniel?
  • Have you ever met someone like Daniel? How could you help that person?
  • Think about the sign that Max, Ashley and Katie-Lynn make for Daniel: “Friends together, friends apart. Friends forever in the heart.” Who would you give that sign to that you know?
  • How can you be a forever friend?