Connie Bergstein Dow

CONNIE'S BLOG:
Moving Is Learning!

Connie has been blogging since 2011. Her posts range from tips for teachers, the benefits of dance, playful class plans, to how to choose a creative dance class for your child, and much, much more! All of her posts are below, starting with the most recently-published ones.

INTRODUCING "TAP AND RAP, MOVE AND GROOVE!"

June 2, 2023

Tags: Activity Guide, Back to School Creative Dance Activities, Benefits of Dance and Other Arts, Body Awareness and Control, Connie B. Dow, Creative Movement, Dance + Movement, Dance Education, Dancing with Props, Early Childhood, Early Literacy, Exercise, Rhythms, creativity, personal space, physical activity, picture book, play, preschool, young children, Debbie Palen

Coming in October!

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

3 Comments

A Collection of Winter and Holiday Movement Activities

December 4, 2020

Tags: Connie B. Dow, Dance + Movement, Dance Story, Dancing with Props, Dramatic Play, Early Childhood, Holidays, Large Motor Skills, Listening to and Following Instructions, Moving Is Learning, Read and Dance, Winter, picture book, snow, snow day, snowflakes

Playing with netting snowflakes!

Hello, and Happy Winter!

For this blog post, I have assembled a collection of many of my past posts about winter. They are all published in the SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Editors) 2020 Holiday Activity Guide -- Winter Activities for Grades PreK-Kingergarten, Ages 3-6, where you will find lots of other children's authors' ideas for winter fun.

By clicking this link, you will find the following winter movement activities:

Footprints in the Snow: A Movement Exploration Inspired by Winter
Winter provides endless inspiration for imaginative movement ideas. This activity addresses science, nurtures creativity, and encourages large motor skills practice.

Bird Count Picture Book, with a READ AND DANCE Lesson Plan
Susan Edwards Richmond wrote a beautiful picture book about the Audubon winter bird count, and I have created a playful movement activity about her story.

Snow Day! Indoor Activities to Supplement Outdoor Play
Playful and lively indoor creative movement activities about winter: Draw and Dance, Indoor Snowballs, Dance and Freeze in Snowflake Shapes.

A Winter Dance Story: The Most Perfect Snowman
A dance story about the picture book The Most Perfect Snowman by Chris Britt–a lively activity that's perfect for an interactive winter story time.

Christmas Story and Dance Activity: Sparkle the Snowflake
A lively holiday activity, built around an original story about a valiant little snowflake, with simple instructions for retelling the story through dance and music.

Keep on Dancing,

Connie