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.
Read about these beautiful creative dance-centered picture books by
five talented authors. You will love these colorful books filled with fun, play, creativity, and movement!
Connie's picks for picture books about dance and creativity (published by Shepherd.com)
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:
Debbie and I are excited to share our fun-filled book with you!
Keep on dancing,
Connie
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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!
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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
Fall is here! For today's post, I have created a poem and a dance activity inspired by the beautiful sunflower.
Stay connected with family and friends with a virtual dance party! A guest blog post for Redleaf Press, in the time of Covid.
