"Up and Down!" Preschool Dance Activity

Happy Spring!⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘🌤🌈🍃⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘

I enjoy taking a simple preschool concept and making a dance activity around it.  I have done that here with the concept of "up and down" (Or more specifically, levels in space:  low, high, and everything in between).  Using this theme, I have created a classroom movement lesson, beginning with warm ups and finishing with a very lively group activity.

UP ---> DOWN ---> UP!

A 30-45 Minute Themed Movement Activity

You will need:

A gym or large, open indoor space

Materials:  1 balloon per child (all the same color, if possible!)

Music:  2 lively selections, such as Joplin ragtime instrumentals, or any classroom favorite

Dance and Freeze

Start with a freeze game.  Play one of the musical selections and ask the children to dance freely to the music.  Stop the music and ask them to freeze in in a high shape.  Continue this, alternating with high, medium, and low shapes.  Finish by asking them to make a high shape on their tiptoes and try to balance.

Warm Up

Floor:

Take five counts to go down to the floor.  Then five to stand up.  Then down in four counts, and up in four counts.  Repeat until the children are going up and down in one count.  Finish on the floor.

Sit with legs straight out in front.  Flex and point feet.  Then try the same thing lying down with feet in the air.

Stay lying down.  Imagine riding an upside-down bicycle.

Turn over and come to all-fours.  Arch and curve back ("Cat and Cow" stretch).

Squat and imagine you are a rubber band.  Stretch slowly to standing, reach further, and pop, going back to the ground.  Repeat several times, finishing standing.

Standing:

Bend knees and stretch legs.  (Stand with legs straight and feet parallel to each other, about hip-width apart.  Bend knees with heels staying in contact with the floor, then stretch back to beginning position.  These are called pliés and are the basis for all standing and locomotor movement).  Repeat about 8 times.

Do the same thing, but this time go from bent knees (with heels down) to tiptoes.  Repeat 8 times and finish on tiptoe, trying to balance.

Bend and jump:  Same kind of bend, this time going up into the air.  Landing should be with heels down.  Try 4, rest, then try 4 more.

Bend and jump in funny shapes:  Once the children are landing correctly, try 4 jumps making funny shapes in the air.

Large Motor Skills

Try these different movements across the floor and back:

March:  Try with arms swinging, then again, holding arms overhead and clapping in time with the marches.

Tiptoe Walk (Challenge the children to try to walk on tiptoe without bending their knees)

Sideways Gallops (also called slides, or chassés)

Skips (If the children are older 4's, 5, and 6)

Runs (Dance runs are quiet, keeping the body weight lifted.  I call them "Hurry Up and Be Quiet" runs)

"UP and DOWN" Balloon Dance

Ask the children, How long do you think you could keep a balloon dancing in the air?  I will give you each a balloon -- remember not to put it near your mouth -- and you try to see how long you can keep the balloon dancing without letting it touch the floor.

If you have a large group of children, you might want to do this in two or three smaller groups, as the children will be moving around quite a lot.  Play a selection of upbeat music while the children are performing the activity.

Follow-up activity:  Try the same exercise with two children sharing one balloon, keeping it in the air by working together.

MOVING IS LEARNING!

Keep on Dancin',

Connie

http://www.scbwi.org/members/connie-dow/

Dancing With (Stuffed Toy) Animals!

Greetings!

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).  

  Dancing with animals! This photo is from my class at the Otto M. Budig Academy of the Cincinnati Ballet 

Dancing With Animals!

This lesson works best in a large room, such as a gym.

Bring one or two upbeat songs about animals, or lively instrumental music, that the children enjoy.

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.

For the remainder of the seated warm up, ask the children to have their animals next to them to "watch." 

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

Moving is Learning!