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Safari Theme Mommy and Me Dance Class

June 13, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

Mommy and me dance classes! They’re so hard and so simple. I am always nervous because the moms are in the room. But, those 18 month old dancers are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!!! Here are some ideas for a safari theme mommy and me class. My mommy and me classes always LOVE animal days.

First we’ll gather in a circle and do a movement rhyme I got from Anne Greene Gilbert’s book Creative Dance for All Ages.

Bounce, bounce, bounce like a ball.

Put your back and your arms and your neck up tall!

Hands in your lap. Look back at the wall.

Balance on your seat! And fall, fall, fall.

Next, we do follow the leader around the room, taking turns being the leader.

Then, we’ll move into our safari theme! I love to hide the pieces of this puzzle around the room. Then, students will take turns finding the pieces. We do a dance activity for each puzzle piece (listed below). If your students can’t take turns, sometimes I’ll have everyone grab a puzzle piece at once and we’ll put together the whole puzzle first. Other times, I’ll keep the puzzle pieces in my bag and let one student at a time grab a piece out of the bag and put it in the puzzle. Grab your own puzzle here!

Zebra: Zebras are a type of horse. They love to gallop! Let’s go galloping throughout the room. Can you gallop with knees up high? Can you gallop with straight legs (i.e. chasse)?

Hippo: Hippos like to hide under the water and open their mouths wide. Then they snatch up a fish for lunch! Can you sneak down low under the water when the music starts? Be super sneaky and slow! When the music stops, FREEZE!

Elephant: What does an elephant say? That’s right! Elephants are pretty noisy. Everybody grab a shaker (maracas), and let’s do a parade! (Follow the leader in a parade. Switch leaders and instruments if you have different kinds). This is what we use for instruments. But, I’ve also used dollar store maracas with great success!

Rhino: Rhinos point their horns forward and CHARGE! at their prey. Can you run as fast as you can when I say CHARGE!? Place moms on one side of the room and kids on the other side. When you say CHARGE!, kids run as fast as they can to their moms!

Alligators: Alligators open their mouths so wide, then SNAP! them shut! Can you open your legs wide (to 2nd position)? Then, SNAP! them shut (jump up and legs snap together). Try this jump (also known as an echappe) several times.

Lion: Lions love to hunt at night, when you’re asleep! Let’s do one of our night time songs! Both of these songs have times when you “go to sleep” then wake up, and do a dance! Check out the details at Late Last Night and The Goldfish Song.

Ostrich: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand! Let’s bury our heads in the sand too! Sit in butterfly (soles of feet “glued” together, knees out wide) and stretch your head down to your toes. This is also a great opportunity to go through your usual stretching sequence.

Giraffe: Giraffes are super duper tall! How tall can you be? Can you tip-toe walk all around the room? Can you tip-toe walk down the balance beam?

Then we read this book:

Eric Carle’s book From Head to Toe is so great for young children! Just go through and do what the book says! For example, “I am a penguin and I turn my head. Can you do it?” Everyone turns their heads side to side.

We usually end class with a tumbling segment. Moms help their kids to do forward and backward rolls on wedge mats, jump off a tall mat, do star jumps off the springboard or trampoline, walk down the balance beam, crawl through a tunnel, and climb over other mat obstacles.

If your students need a break from dancing or a treat to bring home, grab these coloring sheets!

Hope you enjoy!

Dinosaurumpus!

February 8, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

This book is so great for classes that are getting into a rut. I love it because boys and girls both enjoy the story, you can throw in technique as you go, and have a big creative portion at the end, right along side the book!

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton is my “grand finale” of a dinosaurs themed class. First, I’ll put up pictures of six dinosaurs, printable here. Then, I have cut out some leaves and flowers out of green and orange poster board. I cover up each dinosaur picture with a large leaf or flower. Written on the back of the flowers and leaves are different parts of our warm-up and technique portions of class. These could include: warm-up, stretch, kicks, movement rhyme, barre, etc. When students arrive, I tell them that we have come to the jungle today! There is something hiding behind all those flowers, but I don’t know what it is. Have students take turns removing the flowers and leaves and doing the activity on the back. Slowly, they’ll uncover all the dinosaurs. Then, we get to pick dinosaurs!

This is Deinonychus. She loves to run super duper fast! How fast can you run? Kick? Gallop? Chasse? Let’s do fastland/slowland. Line up some cones, mats, or a piece of tape across the middle of the room. One one half of the room, do movements as quickly as you can. You can dance any way you want (kick, wiggle, jump, roll, big, small, etc.) as long as it is fast! On the other half of the room, move as slowly as you can. Can you slow motion walk? Kick? Balance? (This idea is from Anne Greene Gilbert’s Creative Dance for All Ages).

Sometimes, instead of Fastland/Slowland, we’ll do animal races instead. Details here.

Pteranodon swoops and swirls in a loop. A loop is like a circle. Can you run run leap in a big circle around the room? Hold hands and make a circle. Let’s chasse together in a circle. Can you squish together little circle? Pull out big circle?

Apatosaurus swings his tail with a thwack, thwack, thwack. Today I have a ribbon tail for everyone! Give a ribbon to each child. Dance with your ribbon. Draw a rainbow overhead. Turn and make a circle around your body with your ribbon. Run and let your ribbon fly behind you! Throw and catch your ribbon. Shake and wiggle your ribbon. Put your ribbon on the floor and jump over it! Show me your favorite way to dance with a ribbon! Then, smash your ribbon into a little ball inside your hand. Put the ribbon back in my bag.

Stegosaurus loves to clatter her bony back plates. Everyone come get a shaker (maraca, plastic jar with beads inside, bells, etc.). Let’s shake to the beat of the music. Can you march and shake? Shake up high. Down low. Let’s make a shaker parade. Everybody follow me this way! Give each student a turn to be the leader.

T-Rex loves to dance in his very own way! Everyone close your eyes and think in your head, what is your favorite way to dance? Don’t tell me! Just think it inside your head. Do you like to jump? Turn? Crawl? Explode? When I turn on the music, show me your best way to dance!

For older students (4 and up…ish) make a dance that goes from this wall to the mirror (or this corner to the speakers, etc.) that has your two (or 3) favorite ways to dance in it. Add a beginning and ending shape. Practice it lots of times until it’s perfect! Take turns sharing your dances with a partner or the class.

Triceratops has three horns on his head. He likes to do dinosaur hops! Let’s do dinosaur hops going one foot, one foot, two feet! (Or, front, front back, or two feet, two feet, turn around, etc.) Do a hop sequence that your class is capable of.

Finally, read the story: Dinosaurumpus! As you go through the story, review the steps that you did for each individual dinosaur as you found them in the jungle. As time permits, create a class dance that puts all the dinosaur steps together. This will be your class “dinosaurumpus!” Maybe you will go, march in a parade, dinosaur hops, leap in a circle, run to the side, pick up your ribbon, and do your own dance across the floor.

Then, the dinosaurs are so tired, they all fall asleep. Everyone lay down. Do either Late Last Night or The Goldfish Song (click for details) as your goodbye dance.

And if you still have time (or want to send them home with the kids), here are some dinosaur coloring pages.

Under the Sea

January 28, 2016 by Erika 1 Comment

I love to dance under the sea! The animal movements are so different and unique. Here’s a creative movement class based on under the sea animals!

I usually start with a warm-up and across the floor section. Usually I’ll include a movement rhyme as well. Then it’s time for our theme of the day: Under the Sea! (This could also be part of a larger unit in conjunction with The Rainbow Fish lesson plan).

Place pictures of under the sea animals throughout the room (Printable here).

Everyone loves a clown fish, thanks to Finding Nemo! Clown fish have a special adaptation to where they live. Clown fish can swim among the tentacles of a sea anemone without getting hurt. Other fish are poisoned by the sea anemone. This helps to keep clown fish safe from predators. This square on the floor is our sea anemone. All of you are clown fish and I am a much bigger fish. Only clown fish can go inside of the square. When the music starts, begin swimming (or galloping, bourre walks, turning, kick walks, skips, saute arabesque, etc.) around the square. If the music stops, run to the inside of the square where you are safe from the bigger fish!

Watch out for the scary shark! Sharks are in this song: Late Last Night. Dance the Late Last Night (details in this post) song and dance together.

OR, Play an adapted version of sharks and minnows. When I turn on the music, freeze in a balancing shape (or on one leg, in 1st position, etc.). I am the shark, I’ll dance around all the balancing shapes. When the music stops, the shark will figure out you are not statues, you’re fish! Run and touch the chair/wall/mirror/etc. before I tag you and eat you for lunch! Take turns being the shark and dancing through the frozen shapes!

For younger students: sea horses swim. How do horses on land move? They gallop! Let’s go galloping!

For older students: Sea horses can camouflage or blend in to adapt to its environment. Pick four students to be “sea horses.” The rest of the class will be the coral reef. While the sea horses close their eyes, demonstrate a frozen, balancing shape for the rest of the class. They will copy that shape and freeze. When I say go, sea horses turn around and run over to your classmates. You must copy their shape so that you blend in to your environment. If you don’t blend in before I, the predator, tag you, then you have to be a predator with me.

Turtles on land are pretty slow, but sea turtles are fast! Try walking (skipping, galloping, kicking, etc.) as slow as you can. Can you walk faster? Super speed?

OR, Do slowland and fastland. Set up a line down the middle of your classroom. On one side of the line move as slowly as you can. Kick slowly, balance slowly, roll slowly, etc. To cross the line, do a pas de chat (or leap, glissade, skip, or any other step you’re working on). On the other side of the line is fastland. Move as quickly as you can. Can you jump super speed? Roll and crawl quickly? Change sides whenever you’d like, as many times as you’d like! (This idea is from Anne Greene Gilbert’s Creative Dance for All Ages).

A sail fish loves to jump up out of the water and “fly” before diving back down. Let’s go “flying” over these cones/mats/spots. Practice leaping, star jumps, tuck jumps, etc. as you fly all around the room.

A puffer fish can blow up like a balloon when it tries to scare away other fish. Let’s play The Balloon Game!

An octopus has eight legs! How many legs do you have? Everyone grab a ribbon to give you an extra leg to dance with. Try drawing a circle with your ribbon. Can your ribbon fly behind you when you run? Can you toss and catch? Can you spin with your ribbon?

Jelly fish will sting you if you get too close! Let’s practice our saute arabesques (or whatever step you are working on), but when the music stops, freeze, so the jelly fish (the teacher) can swim by without stinging you!

Dolphins jump up out of the water and dive back in. Let’s practice dive rolls over a mat.

OR, instead of dive rolls, you can jump up tall, then dive down to touch the floor with your hands.

I hope you have fun with this under the sea lesson!!!

Also, grab these coloring pages for a quiet time activity at home or school.

And if you missed the link earlier, visual aid printables are here!

The Rainbow Fish

January 7, 2016 by Erika 3 Comments

Teaching dance classes with books is one of my favorite pastimes. I love how a story can motivate movement in children! The Rainbow Fish is a fun story for 3-8 year olds, and I always end this lesson talking about how we can share our dancing with others. Here’s the lesson:

Show pictures of several sea creatures and talk about how they might move (for the printable visuals, click here)

Fish: Wiggle your head

Octopus: Wiggle your arms and legs

Crab/Lobster: Tiny and sharp steps

Sea Turtle: Slow, sustained/smooth movement

2. Turn on music and guide the children through an improvisation of how these sea creatures move.

3. Read aloud Marcus Pfister’s The Rainbow Fish. Whenever the book says the word “fish” all the children must wiggle their head like a fish. Rainbow fish learns that he can make the other fish in the sea happy by sharing his scales. What can you share that makes other people happy?

4. We all have bodies to dance with and we are going to create a dance that we can share with our teacher, and if you remember, you can share it with your mom or dad when you get home. Assign the children into two groups: either one’s or two’s. All of the one’s go out into the space and make a sea animal shape (any frozen shape will do). All the two’s, when I say go, dance into the space quick and sharp like a crab and then make a different sea animal shape. Alternate one’s and two’s using the various sea animals we learned.

5. Place several mats around the room. These will represent the islands in the sea. When I turn on the music, everyone will dance around the room without touching the mats, wiggling your arms and legs like an octopus. When the music stops, you must freeze in an octopus shape and be touching a mat. (Repeat with other sea animals). More than one child may touch a mat. As you repeat, the instructor can be the “evil eel” and take away two or three mats each time until there are only a few left.

6. Have children do a Good-bye dance. Line up on one end of the space and, while playing music, have each child one by one dance across the room, practicing what they can share with their parents about how sea animals move.

And if you’ve got extra time, enjoy these printable Rainbow Fish coloring pages!

Animal Conditioning

December 30, 2015 by Erika Leave a Comment

After warm-up in my preschool gymnastics classes (and sometimes in dance, too), I do a conditioning portion of class. One of our all-time favorites is “Animal Conditioning. Each animal has a picture in my bag. One at a time, students pick a picture out of my bag and we do that animal’s movement across the floor. I usually say, “When I say go, crawl like a snake (waddle like a penguin, hop on one foot like a flamingo, etc.) all the way to me. Give me a high five, then go back to the red line (starting line)”. Then I make any student who left before I said “Go!” return to the starting line and wait for the cue. Here are the animals!

Get the free printable here.

Turtles move down low and slow. How slowly can you crawl all the way to me?

Snakes slither on their bellies. Can you crawl like a snake?

My favorite kinds of penguins are fairy penguins (crouch down low) and emperor penguins (stand as tall as you can). Fairy penguins are the smallest kind of penguin. How small can you get? Emperor penguins are the biggest kind of penguin. How big can you get? Test their memories by calling out: Fairy! Emperor! Fairy! Emperor! Emperor! Fairy! etc. When you say Fairy!, they should crouch down low into a tucked position. When you say Emperor!, they should get on tip toes with arms up in a v.

Then, waddle like a penguin all the way to me! Give me a high five, then go back to the start.

Horses love to gallop quickly. Show me gallops with your knees up high. Then, try straight legged gallops (or chasses).

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