“ Performance is transformat ive, a way to find your
voice and find your creat ivity and strengt h.”
Heller An Shapiro
explains Cathleen Sherman, Lilly’s mom. “With
each thing she’s done, Imagination Stage gave
her the right amount of support,” she says. “She’s
really proud of herself at the end of each class.”
Plus, Lilly’s self-confidence keeps growing. She
auditioned for the lead in “Aladdin,” and although
she didn’t get that role, she intends to try again in
other Imagination Stage productions.

ArtStream, based in Chevy Chase, also offers
classes specifically for kids with intellectual and
developmental disabilities who might otherwise
get left out of traditional theater programs.

Penny Russell, a teaching artist at ArtStream,
says theater programs benefit children with
disabilities by helping with social and emotional
development. “Working through emotions in
character can help a child recognize their own
emotions as well as the emotions of others. This
leads to greater empathy … [which] will help the
participant throughout their life,” she says.

Turner also sees theater classes as a place
for new ideas to flourish. Creativity happens
naturally when “students use imagination for
games and exercises,” he says. For instance, they
may receive fictional scenarios and be asked to
Montessori School
of McLean
Exceptional Montessori
Education for Toddlers
through Upper Elementary:
Ages 2-12
create their own characters and scenes as part
of improvisation. This is where children with
disabilities blossom as they use their own vision
and draw from their personal preferences and
lives to create new things.

Time management, meeting deadlines, flexibility,
thinking on one’s feet and problem solving are also
skills kids learn in a theater class, says Heller An
Shapiro, ArtStream’s executive director.

“Performance is transformative, a way to find
your voice and find your creativity and strength,”
Shapiro says. More than that, it provides the
opportunity for parents and others to see a child
on stage. “They see them in a whole new light and
recognize talent and confidence they didn’t know
that student had.”
When Cathleen Sherman watched daughter
Lilly onstage in “Aladdin,” singing and dancing
as part of the ensemble in nearly every scene, she
was amazed. Lilly’s friends came to watch her and
couldn’t believe what she was capable of.

“That was one of our favorite memories,” says
Sherman. n
Additional reporting by Amanda M. Socci.

The Center for
Ballet Arts
• Ongoing registration
• Live classes and
virtual options
Ballet . Pointe . Modern . Jazz
Tap . Pilates . Kinderballet
Ages 3 thru Adults
3955 Pender Drive, Suite 105 Fairfax, VA 22030•703.273.5344•thecenterforballetarts.com
Cultivating each child’s unique ability to flourish
in mind, body and spirit
ENRICHMENTS • Science • Technology • Spanish • Outdoor Classroom
• Library • Music • Drama • Art • Physical Education
Aftercare • Transportation • Summer Camp
1711 Kirby Road
McLean, VA 22101
703-790-1049 www.mcleanmontessori.org
14 Washington FAMILY MARCH 2021
Accredited by



Dr. Seuss
once said, “Fill your house with
books, in all the crannies and all the
nooks.” Now, people in the Washington metro area are taking that con-
cept one step further, filling their front yards with Little Free Libraries
of books for neighbors, friends and community members to enjoy.

“When I first offered to have the Little Free Library in my yard,
I didn’t anticipate it would grow into this little neighborhood
destination,” says Janet Jaworski. “I planted flowers, made a rock
garden and put some plastic Adirondack chairs around the library.

And Stephanie, who came up with the idea for the library, bought a
bench for the space. It’s become a little pocket park on the side of
my yard.”
The Little Free Library, which is in Jaworski’s yard in the Old
Lee Hills neighborhood of Fairfax, Virginia, was the brainchild of
Stephanie McCarthy and her four children.

“Every summer my kids and I create a bucket list,” explains
McCarthy, who knew Jaworski from the neighborhood. “Two
summers ago I suggested we do a lemonade stand to raise money for
a Little Free Library to put in our neighborhood. The community was
so generous, and the lemonade stand was a huge success.”
McCarthy and her kids took the money raised and bought a little
library, which they painted with colorful, cheery scenes of rainbows,
flowers, birds and a tree with a swing. Then, last April, McCarthy
teamed up with Jaworski, who offered to host the library in her yard.

The McCarthy family dug a huge hole with a postal digger, mounted
the library box on a fence post and the neighborhood’s Little Free
Library was open for business.

“The timing of this, which we didn’t plan, has been a nice
community thing for our neighborhood,” says McCarthy. “The
pandemic has been hard for everyone, including kids, parents and
schools, and having this library is a nice for our neighborhood. It’s
fun to walk by and take a book.”
McCarthy recently registered the library with the Little Free
Library organization, the world’s largest book-sharing movement.

Founded in 2009, the nonprofit organization “builds community,
Take a
BOOK, Leave a
BOOK d er
edlan i
r F
a iz
By Al
PROVIDED PHOTOS
Little Free Libraries
are popping up in
neighborhoods across
the DMV for readers of all
ages to enjoy.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 15