Halloween movement ideas, a dance story, and a short Halloween story!

Hello and Happy Fall,

Here is a playful movement lesson plan based on the classic picture book Barn Dance! by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, along with a Halloween-based warm-up and a very short original story!

Halloween Warm Up and the

Barn Dance! Dance Story

WARM UP

The children will make up movements for the Halloween characters below. Ask them to stand in a circle. Begin with "Bat,"  ask the children to move away from the circle like a bat, and then back to their spots in the circle. Continue this same exercise through the list:

Bat

Scarecrow

Rolling Pumpkin

Robot

Black Cat

Falling Leaf

Outer Space Alien
Spider

Take suggestions from the children for more ideas, and continue this activity as long as the children are engaged.

 BARN DANCE! DANCE STORY

*A special thank-you to Kathleen Smith, fellow creative dance teacher, who introduced the ideas for this lesson plan to me.*

Materials:  

• The book Barn Dance! by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
• Lively musical selections, such as a classical piece, and blue grass instrumentals
• Optional props (1 per child): 
• Sparkly/swirly streamers (crepe paper or fabric)
• Bandannas
• Orange paper plates

Instructions for presenting the dance story:

Read the book aloud to the children. Ask the children to spread out in the space.

Retell the story through movement, using the following movement prompts. Allow the children to explore each one until you move on to the next one.

It is a very quiet, clear night. Lie down and listen to the night sounds. Now wake up, stretch, tiptoe to the window, and sneak outside.  (Note:  remind the children this is a pretend story, and they should never sneak out of the house!)

Now let's dance about the night: the sparkly stars, the floating clouds, and the wind!  (play classical music selection, and pass out swirly streamers if you have them)

Listen!  The scarecrow is calling all of the animals with his music. How does a scarecrow move? Let’s move like the scarecrow. Can you play a pretend fiddle, like the scarecrow?

Now move like the animals who were following the scarecrow to the barn!  There were horses, sheep, cows, pigs, raccoons, foxes, rabbits, chickens, skunks, and crows!  (play a bluegrass piece)  

Help the children put on bandannas, give everyone a "pumpkin" paper plate, and instruct the children to go to a corner of the room to hide (like the little boy in the story), asking the children to cover their faces with their paper plates. One by one, call the children's names. When you call a name, instruct the child to put her "pumpkin" down, run and jump over the apple barrel, and go back to her hiding place.  

Now ask them to all come out together and spin around like the pigs (play another bluegrass piece). Finish this section by asking each child to make a shape like a dizzy pig, and turn off the music.

Now grab a pretend apple!  It's time to go home! Do you hear the rooster crowing? That means the sun is coming up.

Walk quietly up the stairs, and sit on your bed. Take a bite out of your "apple." Was it a dream, or did the barn dance really happen?

And now, for a short (97 words!) Halloweensie story:

                     

             

                Prelude

Oh my deary, time to get ready.

What shall I wear to the Hallow’s Eve Ball?

My crookedy hat,

my raggedy gown, 

my tappity boots

for my clackity dance. 

My face will be painted a ghastly green,

with lumpity warts on full display. 

My scraggledy “do” I’ll primp and prime, 

with cobwebs twisted and tangled and tied.

And what shall I bring?

My cleverest spells, 

my gnarliest broom,

my trickedy, terrible, powerful wand.

The finishing touch:

My stinkedy, horrible potion perfume.

A little dab here, a little glop there, 

and I’ll be the smelliest of them all!

Reinforcing Early Reading Skills with a Multi-Layered Dance Activity

Hello!

This movement lesson explores letter knowledge, including recognizing letter shapes, making the shapes with the body, and learning the sound the letter represents.  It also explores sequencing, word meanings, and making words and sentences.  In addition, encouraging children to make letters in space, whether standing, sitting, lying down, or jumping, helps to develop a child's spatial sense.

Before we begin, it is important to note that the kinesthetic exploration of letters is what is important in this activity.  Whether or not he accomplishes the exact letter shape, it is the child's recognition of the letter, his attempts to make the shapes with his body, and exploring new ways to move that are the valuable learning experiences.

Dancing About Letters!

Time of Activity:  20-40 minutes

Materials:  2, 3, 4, or 5 letters written on paper, or letter flash            cards; and a large, open space, if available

Music: 1 or 2 upbeat musical selections (suggestions below*), and a drum or tambourine, if available

• Choose two to five letters that make a word, and write each of them on separate sheets of paper (or use flash cards). As an example, let's use the letters D-A-N-C-E.

• Hold up one of the letters, say the name of the letter, and have the children repeat the name and the sound of the letter.  Now ask the children to make this letter using their whole body (not just hands and fingers).  Do the same for each letter.  Practice this until the children can make each letter in their bodies without needing the visual cue of the letters you are holding. 

Continue with these playful activities that will help to reinforce the learning: 

• Play a lively piece of music.  Allow the children to dance while the music is playing.  Stop the music and call out one of the letters, and ask the children to make that shape in their bodies.  Continue this until you have named each letter several times, in random order.

• Using a drum, tambourine, or just clapping your hands, now call the letters out one after the other on each beat or clap.  Ask the children to make the shape as you name each letter.  Start out slowly, and increase the speed as the children become more efficient at responding.  When you have done it as fast as they can respond, ask them to freeze in the shape of the last letter you called out.  Then ask them to melt to the floor holding the shape as long as they can, and then make the letter shape on the floor with their body.

• Bring five children up to the front, or to a place where everyone can see them.  Have them make the letters for the word "D-A-N-C-E" in order, and see if the class can figure out the word.

• Move the children around so that the letters are out of order, and see if the class can remember the correct order of the letters in the word.

• Once the letters are in the correct order again, ask each child to hold an imaginary pencil and trace the letters of the word one by one in the air.

• Finish with a free dance about the letters or the word the letters make, such as an alphabet song or a song about dancing.  Two examples are Dance in Your Pants by David Jack, and Funky Bluesy ABC's, by Taj Mahal.*

Expand the activity:

• Choose a different word each time you do this activity

• Repeat the activity using another corresponding word, or several words, such as D-A-N-C-E  I-S  F-U-N.  This is a good exercise for practicing sequencing and making sentences.

• Build this lesson around a specific piece of music that includes the word you are using, or tells a story using the word (for example, if you are spelling the word F-I-S-H,  play Goldfish*  by Laurie Berkner).

• Try doing the word or words using all uppercase letters first, and then do the same using lowercase letters. 

• Ask the children to walk the path of each letter on the floor, imagining they have paint or chalk on the bottoms of their shoes.

Keep on Dancin',

MOVING IS LEARNING!

Connie

Montessori-Inspired Bee Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

I'm excited today to share a theme that's fun for summer and is especially helpful for children who are afraid of bees. With knowledge, children can learn to be safe around bees while still understanding the good things about bees. 

At Living Montessori Now, I have a list of free bee printables. The free printables include my latest subscriber freebie (a Montessori-inspired bee pack). Here, I'm sharing ideas for using free bee printables to create Montessori-inspired activities. 
You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. You'll also find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities. 

At Living Montessori Now, I have a post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. 

Montessori Shelves with Bee-Themed Activities

 

My shelves with bee-themed activities include a free honeybee culture card here designed by The Montessori Company. You’ll also find Montessori-inspired bee numbers and letters (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

I have a number of bee books for our bee theme. We always enjoy the National Geographic Readers, such as this theme's Bees. Are You a Bee? and From Flower to Honey are on our shelf, but I have quite a few bee books in our book basket as well. 

You could mix your bee-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special bee area something like the one pictured. My shelves this month have a mixture of skill levels, although they're mainly for 3-5 year old pre-readers. You'll find a couple of more advanced activities below. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, just rotate them. 

Honeybee Culture Card (on Shelf with Bee Books) 

I'm happy to share with you a lovely hand-painted honeybee culture card from The Montessori Company. You can use it on your shelves to introduce a bee theme. I’m hosting the free printable as an instant download at Living Montessori Now. You can always access the free honeybee culture card here. 

The description says: “Honeybees live in a highly organized society collecting pollen and nectar from flowers. They make honey in hexagonal cells in their hive.” 

Montessori Types of Bees 3-Part Cards Free Printable: Montessori 3-Part Cards - Types of Bees from Max and Naoli 

I used a Montessori-Services medium-size tray and two small tabletop easels to hold the cards. There are many ways to display 3-part cards, but this is a super-simple one and works especially well in a homeschool. 

The cards are gorgeous, and Zoey loves them. She was fascinated to learn the names of the different types of bees. 

Parts of a Bee Activity Free Printable: Parts of a Bee Labeling by Color or Word from A Little Pinch of Perfect 

For this activity, I used a Multicraft tray and a Bambu condiment cup to hold the pieces. 

There's a version of the printable with just words and another with colors. I like that younger children can do the activity by matching the colors. Then you can discuss the parts of the bee together. Of course, traditional 3-part cards are great, too. You'll find a link for those in the list below. 

Bee Life Cycle Work 

Free Printable: Animal Life Cycle Cards from The Pinay Homeschooler 

Free Printable: Bee Life Cycle from NASA Climate Kids 

I put all the materials on a Multicraft tray. The Safari Ltd. Life Cycle of a Honey Bee set is perfect for this! I used both life cycle printables because I liked having a variety of materials, such as a handmade book and life cycle chart from The Pinay Homeschooler printable and the gorgeous drawing from NASA. They're great with the 3-dimensional figures. There are some other wonderful life cycle materials in the list below, too.

Working with Life Cycle of a Bee Materials

Zoey really loves this activity. 

Beehive and Bee Cards and Counters Free Printable: Beehive Numbers (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

I used a Montessori Services basket, 55 little wooden bees, and a small bamboo condiment cup to hold the bees. I LOVE these little wooden bees! They're inexpensive and come with so many in a package that they can be used for a number of activities. Zoey finds them very appealing, too. 

I like to lay out my numbers and counters in the traditional Montessori way of rows of two counters with a left-over counter centered below the bottom row. This gives a visual impression of odd and even. For more about creating DIY numbers and counters and a link on how to present the lesson, check out my DIY Cards and Counters post.

 

I use a Montessori Services rug for the layout. 

Bee Clothespin Count-and-Clip Cards Free Printable: Bee Clothespin Number Work from The Helpful Garden 

For this activity, I used a Multicraft tray and miniature clothespins with the little wooden bees glued on for interest. It was very easy to prepare and is great for fine-motor skills as well as counting and number recognition! 

Bee is for Bumblebee Missing Number Activity Free Printable: Bee is for Bumblebee Missing Number Activity - from ABCs to ACTs 

For this activity, I used a  Multicraft tray and a small bamboo condiment cup for the numbers. 

It was extremely easy to prepare, and it's just a simple way to reinforce numbers 1-20. 

Honeycomb and Honey Letters for Letter H Object Basket and Salt Writing Tray

 
Free Printables: Honeycomb and Honey Letters for Letter H Object Basket and Salt Writing Tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) 

As you can see on my shelves, I used a Montessori mystery bag and blindfold for the letter h basket. I got the basket, mystery bag, and blindfold from Montessori Services, and I used a variety of small objects that beginning with the /h/ sound. 

If you'd like ideas for teaching phonics, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics post. 

For the salt writing tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though. I simply colored salt by putting some Wilton gel food coloring in a plastic bag with the salt and shaking it until it was mixed thoroughly. I wanted it to look a bit like pollen! I added a bee from the Safari Ltd. Insect TOOB for interest. 

Bee Themed Double E Word Slider 

 

Free Printable: Bee Themed Double E Word Slider from Royal Baloo 

This is simply a cute and fun bee-themed activity for children working on reading phonograms. It's so easy to put together after you print it out on cardstock!

More Free Bee Printables 

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free bee printables from around the blogosphere: Free Bee Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bee Activities. And be sure to subscribe to my email list if you'd like to get an exclusive free printable each month (plus two more awesome freebies right away): Free Printables.

More Insect Posts and Resources

• Montessori-Inspired Insect Unit
• Free Ladybug Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ladybug Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Caterpillar-Butterfly Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Life Cycle Activities
• Free Butterfly Printables and Montessori-Inspired Butterfly Activities
• Free Butterfly Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Butterfly Sensory Bin with Scavenger Hunt and Life Cycle Activities {Free Printables}
• Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities with Spielgaben {Free Printables}
• Free Butterfly Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Ant Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ant Activities
• Free Ant Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
• Free Ant Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Ant Sensory Bin with Scavenger Hunt and Life Cycle Activities
• The Best Ant Books for Kids
• Ants on a Log Fun Food Preparation for Preschoolers
• Insect Unit Study Pinterest Board

If you'd like to focus on manners with children, please check out my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! It's written for anyone who'd like to feel comfortable teaching manners to children ages 2-12. I'm also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

Have fun this summer!

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 42 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and 3-year-old granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.