Connie Bergstein Dow

                     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.

 

 

 Hello, Halloween!

 

 

Here is a lively poem, SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL, that I wrote in honor of Halloween. It accompanies the dance activity below. Have fun grooving at the

     

Skeleton Jamboree and Monster Ball!                

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shake, Rattle and Roll

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I go, clackety, clop,

I'm gettin' ready for the skeleton hop.

.

I'll be gleaming from head to toe.

Shining my bones 'til they sparkle and glow.

 

Cranium, maxillae, mandible bones, 

Humerus, radius, trapezoid bones,

 

Pectoral girdle, scapula bones,

Tarsus, talus, cuneiform bones.

 

Waxing my skull to shine like new,

Wearing my mask and top hat too.

 

 

Look at my pale, unearthly gleam,

Under the moon, I grin and beam.

 

Shake those sacrums and ischiums now,

Rattle and roll, curtsy and bow.

 

Clavicle, vomer, and palatine bones.

Pelvis, ribs and ischium bones,

 

 

Femur, patella, tibia bones.

Phalanges, ulna, cuboid bones

 

 
Shake and shimmy and strut and swing,

Rock and rattle and do our thing.

 

 

Jam and jitterbug, jive and jig.

Move and groove at our jamboree gig!

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Dance Activity
 

 

 Here is your invitation to dance like a monster, a skeleton, or a witch with a broomstick!

 

Imagine you are invited to a monster ball. What monster would you want to be? What would you look like?  What would you be wearing?  Show how you would walk, how you would run, and how you would dance.

 

Now think about all of the other characters at the ball. Let's try moving and dancing like each one.  Here are some ideas, and you will have a chance to think of your own and explore those movements too.  

 

 

(Call out the Halloween characters on the list one by one, and give children plenty of time to explore their movement ideas before moving on to the next prompt. Play any of these musical selections while children dance about the different characters).

 

 

Witch with a broomstick

Zombie

Frankenstein

Skeleton

Ghost

Black cat

Bat

Jack O'Lantern

Spider 

Robot

 What else?  

 

Which was your favorite? Let's do one final dance, so everyone can dance about their very favorite Halloween character!

 

Music suggestions: 

 

 

 

Monster Mash, (Bobby Pickett, 1962)

 

Monster Boogie (Laurie Berkner Band, from the 1998 Album Buzz Buzz)

 

Night on Bald Mountain, Mussorgsky, from Pictures at an Exhibition (any rendition)

 

For very young children: Halloween Shark (Pink Fong Halloween Special) Apple Music

 

 

Keep on Dancing!

 

Connie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com/2014/09/lets-read-then-dance.html