OJAI : Pupils Spend Their Week in Fairy Tale Land

For this week only, those who pass over the threshold at tiny Monica Ros School in Ojai must also cross over a wide wooden drawbridge.

The private campus is hosting “Fairy Tale Week,” a five-day celebration of medieval times that features parents posing as jugglers and magicians and visitors reciting ancient tales of wizards and legends.

Students this week have taken full advantage of the theme party. On Wednesday, they made capes, dug a moat around an impromptu castle and decorated jesters’ caps made of felt.

“It’s very fun to have fairy tales,” said 7-year-old Andrew Adamson, interrupting his moat dig. “You get to learn about castles and how they were built.”

School Director Denise Miller said she always looks for activities to keep the 3- to 8-year-olds interested in school.

Classic stories like “Cinderella” and “Snow White” told by costumed performers capture the imagination of children everywhere, no matter what decade they were born in, she said.

“All children believe in magic,” Miller said. “When they’re writing, listening and imagining, it allows the children a little variety. And the creativity is a large part of it.”

Students and staff have dressed the school in full medieval regalia, with hand-sewn banners and flags draping trees and purple-and-white ribbons streaming from classrooms.

Pre-school teacher Kristen Pekar said the event stirred the imagination of her students. “It adds a little bit of spice and spontaneity to their lives,” she said. “They’re thrilled to come to school, wondering what’s going to happen next.”

Inside a classroom, parent Debra Scolari was helping mold red-and-green caps for the 5-year-olds.

“To see the magic happen when they put on a hat and become characters, it’s a very special thing,” she said.