Connie Bergstein Dow

 

 

 Clap and rub your hands together to stay warm in the cold winter night!

 

 

"Owl Moon" Dance Story

 

 

"Owl Moon," by Jane Yolen, with beautiful illustrations by John Schoenherr, is a Caldecott Medal-winning picture book (Philomel Books).  It is a simple, magical story about a young girl and her father. It takes place in winter, at night, with different animals hidden in the pages. It can be incorporated into any lesson plan about the fall/winter season. Once you have read the book to the children, try the following movement activity.

 

Music:  A soft, instrumental musical selection, such as a selection from the group Wyndham Hill

 

Space:  The children can move all together in the shared space, or you can divide them up into two or three groups, with one group dancing while the others watch. Give the audience group a task, such as, Watch the other children dance and see if you can imagine what an owl looks like when he is flying through the forest at night.

 

 

 

Say to the children:

 

Now that we have read the story, imagine you are the owl from the book. You have big eyes that can see in the dark, you can turn your head very far in both directions, and you have big talons and huge, feathery wings. I will play some music. (Allow time for the children to develop each prompt through movement. Then move on to the next prompt).  

 

 

 

  What does it feel like to be an owl?  Perch on a high branch.  Now look all around at the forest and the sky.

 

  Now we will take off from our high branch, and fly into the forest.  

 

 

  What do you see far down below?

 

Continue the activity:

 

  What other animals might you see in the forest at night?  Can you dance like the bird? 

 

  The deer? 

 

  The fox?

 

  The raccoon?

 

  The field mouse?

 

 

 

  Now let's imagine we are the little girl, trudging back home in the snow with her father.  

 

  The snow is very deep!  Take big steps and lift your legs high to get through the snow.  

 

  Make shapes with your footprints: Can you make the shape of the moon in the snow? Star shapes? What other shapes would you like to make in the snow? 

 

  Now, step through the snow as fast as you can.

 

Conclude the activity:

 

  Look, there is your house in the distance!  We are almost home. Shiver and rub your hands together. Jump up and down to try to get warm. 

 

  Now imagine you open the door and go inside your cozy house.  

 

  Walk up the stairs, lie down in your bed, yawn and stretch, pull the covers up, and think about the amazing owling adventure you had in the cold winter night.  

 

  What will you dream about?

                     Hold on tight!

 

 

Part 1 

 

Hold on Tight, Little Leaf!

 

You're a leaf in the autumn sun,

Clinging to a branch of a tall oak tree. 

Here comes a breeze. Try to hold on! 

Swing and twist, but don't let go.

A gust of wind comes along,

You flip and flop, but cling to the branch.

The wind rushes in, the tree sways again,

With a little "ping" you finally let go.

Swirling, twirling, you drift to the ground.

 

Part 2 

 

Leaf Pile

 

Run and skip and leap through the leaves! 

Clomp and stomp and listen to them crunch.

Hold them in your hand. Smell the dry, earthy scent.

Throw them in the air with your arms reaching high.

 

Now make a leaf pile, tall and wide.

Grab a rake, and sweep them up.

Gather the leaves in a colorful mound.

Look! Our pile is growing high.

 

Here comes the best part, ready, set, go!

One by one we run and jump.

High in the air, over the pile.

One more time, we jump right in!

 

 

Movement Prompts

 

Read Part 1 aloud, and then read it again, using the following movement prompts after each line:

 

Line 1: Imagine you're a leaf. What color are you? What shape?

Line 2: Cling to the branch

Line 3: Hold on tight!

Line 4: Now twist, swing, but don't let go 

Line 5: Sway with the breeze

Line 6: Flip, flap, flop while still holding on

Line 7: Sway harder with the big gust of wind

Line 8: You can't hold on. You finally let go!

Line 9: How many ways can you move like a leaf as you slowly float to the ground?

 

Read Part 2 aloud, and, as above, read it again, using the following movement prompts:

 

First Stanza:

 

Line 1: Run, skip, gallop, leap

Line 2: Clomp, stomp, then freeze and listen

Line 3: Imagine you pick up leaves, crunch them and smell the aroma

Line 4: Throw them in the air!

 

Second Stanza:

 

Line 1: Walk around in a big circle

Line 2: Imagine you grab a rake and begin to rake up the leaves

Line 3: Continue to rake as you make a big pile

Line 4: Show how high the leaf pile is!

 

Third Stanza:

 

Line 1: Imagine you are lining up and crouching down to get ready to run.

Line 2: One by one, run and jump

Line 3: Run and leap into the air, as high as you can

Line 4: Jump high, then fall gently into the pile

 

To finish the activity, play some upbeat music for the children to dance freely. as they think about their favorite things about the autumn season. At the end of the music, prompt them to fall gently to the floor, like the little leaf in the chant who clung to the branch, then finally let go and drifted to the ground.

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Stomping through mud puddles!

 

 

HERE COMES SPRING!

This blog post is a creative dance activity to welcome spring 

For ages 3-7

Time: 15-25 minutes

 

 

Dance about a spring shower!

 (Music suggestion: "When It's Showery," by David Jack; an upbeat instrumental; or any song about the spring season)

 

 Movement prompts: (Call out the prompts one by one, allowing enough time after each one for children to fully explore their movement ideas)

 

*Time to put on our raincoats and boots. Don't forget your rain hat!

 

*Let's go out and play in the rain. Make footprints in the mud. Stomp in the puddles.  Can you try to run between the raindrops? *Float in the sky like you are a big storm cloud. Change from shape to shape as you soar through the sky.

 

*Now imagine you are a raindrop. First, you are a light drop blowing in the wind. Now be a fat raindrop that plops to the ground and makes a big splash.

 

*Imagine you are a seed waiting in the ground.  The gentle shower helps you to open and begin to grow.  Slowly push up through the moist soil, and grow tall. What kind of plant are you?

 

*Shake all over like a doggie playing in the rain

 

Rainbow

(Music suggestion: "I Can Sing a Rainbow" -- various versions, or an upbeat instrumental selction)

 

 

 

*The storm is over! Let's paint a big rainbow! Grab your magic paint brush. Let's start with red, then orange. Paint your bright colors across the blue sky. What color comes next?  

 

*Now let's dance about the rainbow! Trace its shape in the air. Run under and around the rainbow. Can you try to jump over it? Can you hop over it? Leap over it? Climb up one side and slide down the other side.

 

*Now dance about all the different colors!  

 

 

Sun

(Music suggestion: "Mr. Sun," by Raffi, or a lively instrumental selection)

 

 *Think of all the things you like to do outside on a warm, sunny spring day. Now dance about your ideas! 

 

*To finish the dance about spring, make your body into the shape of a rainbow!

Do your little ones love to move, groove, dance, tap, rap, play, bend, twist, stomp, chant, freeze, balance, make silly shapes, jump, hop, slither, stretch, crawl, leap, tiptoe, twirl, and gallop? 

 

Our new picture book TAP AND RAP, MOVE AND GROOVE (Free Spirit Publishing) will inspire them to do all of these and more, plus they will use their imaginations while having fun.

 

The fourteen original dance chants, like "Tappity Rap," "Thumbs Up," "Lively Feet," and "Quack, Quack, Quack, Moo!" provide everything you need for a creative, playful dance activity, while at the same time, reinforcing early literacy skills. The activities also nurture important developmental skills such as body awareness, spatial awareness, listening to and following instructions, multi-tasking, and problem solving.

 

One of the best parts about this book is the gorgeous illustrations by talented artist Debbie Palen. The beautiful, colorful pictures truly capture the joy and energy of children in movement. Little ones will love all of the lively and fun characters Debbie created.

 

TAP AND RAP, MOVE AND GROOVE is coming in October, 2023, and is available for pre-order now:

 

 

Bookshop.org

Free Spirit Publishing

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Target

 

 

Debbie and I are excited to share our fun-filled book with you!

 

 

 

Keep on dancing,

 

Connie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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An energetic brain break is always a welcome activity in the middle of a busy day.  These playful, active, and enriching brain break ideas will be fun for a small or large group of children.

 

1. Category Caper

 

Time: 10 minutes

Directions:

 

This activity can be done in a small space. All of the movements can be performed in place.

 

Identify 3 categories:  i.e., colors, fruits, vegetables.
Then, match an action to each category, i.e. color = jump, fruit = sit, vegetable = run in place.
Name, show a picture, or hold up an object and the children will categorize it.  
The children then perform the corresponding action.

 

*This game should progress quickly, to keep the children moving constantly from sitting to jumping, to running. 

 

 

 

2. Time to Rhyme

 

 

 

Time:  10-15 minutes

Directions:

 

This activity can be done in a small space.  All of the movements can be performed in place.

 

1.  Say the following poem line by line, allowing the children to respond in movement to each movement prompt.

 

 

 

I like to march right under the arch.

 

I like to jump and land with a thump.

 

I like to learn how to turn.

 

I like to run – it's so much fun.

 

I like to hop then quickly stop.

 

I like to freeze and bend my knees.

 

 

2.  Repeat the activity, and instead of saying the action word, give the rhyming word and encourage the children to fill in the blank with the appropriate motor skill.  For example, say, " I like to _______, and land with a thump."  Once the children guess the action word, they respond in movement.

 

3.  Vary this activity for a larger space.  Ask the children to think of rhyming words for the following additional motor skills: walk, crawl, slide, gallop, prance

 

3. My Turn!

 

 

 

Time:  10-15 minutes, depending on the number of children

Materials:  Movements written on file cards, one movement per card (enough for one per child, or several per child for a small group).

 

With the children standing evenly spaced in a circle, say to them:  We will go around the circle and each child will have a turn. I am going to choose a card from this stack.  When it is your turn, you will do the movement on the card.

 

Movement suggestions: 

• Touch your toes
• Jump as high as you can
• Turn around on your tiptoes
• Balance on one foot
• Shake your whole body
• Make a silly shape and a silly face
• Touch your nose to the floor
• Make an upside down shape
• Imagine you are very sad, and then very happy
• Hop on one foot
• Play air guitar
• Go down to the floor very slowly, then come back up quickly
• Balance on your tiptoes as long as you can
• Make a narrow shape and then a wide one
• Make a twisty shape like a pretzel
• Sit on the floor, then stand up and reach your arms high 
• Stomp your feet without making any noise
• Take baby steps and make a circle around yourself
• Jump with your feet wide apart, and then with your feet together
• Make a shape with two hands and one foot touching the floor

 

Once you have gone around the circle, shuffle the cards and go around again, if the children are still engaged in the activity.

 

Other suggestions for continuing the activity:

 

*Ask the children to think of their own movements as you go around again

 

*Ask the children which one was their favorite movement, and have them all do their favorite movements at the same time

 

*Continuing with the favorite movement idea, ask them to repeat their favorite movements five times in a row

 

*Play a lively musical selection, and allow the children to move about in the shared space, trying out many of the movement ideas from the circle.

 

 

 

Keep on Dancing,

 

Connie

                                                   MOVING IS LEARNING!

                                                     

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