Here is a dance activity that can incorporate your child's favorite small plush animal, which can stimulate many different movement ideas. Children will have the chance to explore how different animals move, they will dance with their animals, and they will also dance for their animal "audience."
When I teach this lesson in the classroom, I invite the children ahead of time to bring a small plush animal. I also have a bag of them that I bring in for extras.
This lesson is loosely based on the chapter More and More Animals, from my book Dance, Turn, Hop, Learn! Enriching Movement Activities for Preschoolers (Redleaf Press, 2006).
Begin the lesson with a short Seated Warm Up using the animal theme.
1. Boat: Sit with legs crossed or soles of the
feet together and rock from side to side, placing the animal on the floor in
the “boat,” giving the animal a “ride.”
2. Merry-Go-Round: Also while sitting, have each child bring
their knees to their chest and spin around on their bottoms several times using
their arms to propel them. Then
have them spin their animal around the same way.
3. Body
Part Isolation: Ask the
children to put their animals next to them. Lead the children in a body part warm up, begininng with the
face, then neck, shoulders, arms hands, torso, legs, and feet. Then ask the children to help their
animals do the same thing, moving the parts of the animals as you say them
again.
1. Upside-Down
Bug: While lying on the back,
move the arms and legs in the air.
2. Cobra:
Lying face down, lift head and chest by pushing up on the hands. Slowly lower the head and chest to the
ground.
3. Lizard
Crawl: Lying face down, bend
one leg up and to the side, then use the arm and bent leg on that side to
propel the body forward. Repeat to
the other side, and continue moving forward by alternating sides.
4. Kitty-Cat: While on hands and knees, arch and
curve the back.
4. Down-Dog
Position: Face downwards with
the weight on the hands and feet, the legs straight and the seat in the air.
5. Bring
the Children to Standing: From
the Down Dog position, walk the hands back to the feet, bend the knees, and slowly stand up by
uncurling the back.
Large Motor Skills Practice:
For the large motor skills practice, ask the children to
line up on one side of the room, carrying their animals while they move across
the floor:
1. March
Can you march, stamping your feet like a
great big dinosaur?
2. Tiptoe Walk: Can you tiptoe quietly like a mouse?
3. Prance: Prance
like a proud horse!
4. Gallop:
Gallop like a zebra!
5. Run: Can
you run quickly and quietly like a leopard, or a cheetah?
6. Jump:
First, let’s all jump up and down while
we are holding our animals. Now, standing still, let’s throw the animals up in
the air and catch them, so they can “jump” too!
Animal Dance
1. Dance For the Animals: Line the animals up against a wall of
the room, telling the children the animals will be the “audience.” Then, ask each child to take turns
leading the class, moving like his or her stuffed animal would move if it were a real animal. Play one of your musical selections. Continue this activity until every child that wants to has had a chance
to lead the class.
2. Dance
With the Animals: Now have the
children pick up their animals.
Suggest to them that they are going to do a good-bye dance with their
animals. Prompt them to find as
many ways to dance with their animals as they can, using many different
movements. Play another musical selection for this activity.
Good-Bye Circle
Have the children bring their animals into the closing
circle. Tell them: Hold
your animal in your hands away from your body, and as you bow, have your animal
bow toward you!
Keep on Dancin',
Connie
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| Moving is Learning! |
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