A Winter Dance Story: The Most Perfect Snowman

Hello, and Happy 2020!

I have created a new dance story around one of my favorite picture books: The Most Perfect Snowman, by Chris Britt. This is a fun and lively mid-winter activity, perfect for story time!

This beautiful story is about generosity, kindness, and selflessness, and is told in a gentle way. The lovely illustrations and language portray the story of a lonely snowman, Drift, who only has two skinny stick arms, and a mouth and eyes made of coal.  He has no hat, scarf, or mittens.  He sees the parade of other stylish snow people go by, laughing, dancing, and playing, and he longs for company and to be like the other snowmen. Most of all he wants a nice carrot nose. He thinks that if he were stylish and had a carrot nose, he would be perfect.

Drift spends his days slipping and sliding through the woods all alone.  Three children see him and feel sorry for him.  One child gives him a hat.  Another gives him mittens, and a third gives him a scarf.  Then, one of them gives him a wonderfully big carrot, and says that now he is a perfect snowman. Drift is happy and plays with the children.

A furious storm blows in. Drift thanks the children and waves good-bye to them.  The wind blows his hat and mittens away, and he tries to find them.  He searches everywhere. He's sorry to lose his new clothes, but is happy that he still has his long, warm scarf, and his fancy carrot nose.

He hears a little whimper in the middle of the howling wind.  It is a small bunny who is trying to survive the cold winter night.  Drift gives the bunny his warm scarf.  Then he hears the bunny's tummy growl with hunger.  He gives the bunny his carrot, and this makes him "the most perfect snowman of all."

Now, let's dance the story!

THE MOST PERFECT SNOWMAN

Dance Story

Read the story aloud, then use the following prompts to inspire the children to retell the story through movement.  Call out each one, and give the children plenty of time to respond through movement. This activity takes about 15 minutes, and works best in a large space.

Play a quiet instrumental selection in the background, such as "Just Before Dawn," by William Ackerman, from the album "A Winter's Solstice," Vol 4.

Begin the Dance Story:

• Imagine you are Drift, the snowman. You have eyes, a mouth, and two stick arms.  

• You spend your days alone, slipping and sliding through the woods, slowly and sadly.

• Here comes a parade of fancy, stylish snowmen.  Can you parade around proudly, showing your hats, mittens, and scarves?

• Have an imaginary snowball fight.

• Now do a snowman dance!

• Swish and slide through the woods, like Drift, watching the other snowmen play. 

• Suddenly, you see three children.  Wave hello to them.  Maybe they will come over to you.

• One of them offers you her hat.  Put it on your snowman head!  What color is it?  How does it feel?

• Another offers you mittens.  What do they look like?  Put them on your stick arms.

• And now one gives you a long, warm scarf.  Can you wrap it around yourself?

• What is the little girl holding now?  A carrot!  She gives it to you!  Put it on your face, just like you have always wanted.  You are the perfect snowman! Play with the children in the snow.

• Imagine you are a snowflake flying around in the storm. What shape are you? Blow side to side, up and down, as the strong wind swirls you around.  

• Now imagine you are Drift, and suddenly your hat blows away.  Oh no!  Try to find it.  Now your mittens blow away.  Slide through the woods and try to find them too.

• It's time to hunker down for the night and wait out the storm.What do you hear?  Listen carefully. Do you hear a small voice?  Look all around. 

• Look down and see a tiny, shivering bunny who is lost.

• Now, imagine you are the bunny.  How does it feel to be very, very cold? The snowman is giving you his warm scarf! Wrap up in the soft scarf. 

• The kind snowman is giving you his wonderful orange carrot nose! Munch softly on the carrot as you snuggle up next to the most perfect snowman of all.

MOVING IS LEARNING!

Keep on dancin',

Connie

www.movingislearning.com

Reading and Dancing from A to Z!

March, 2019

Greetings. and Happy Spring!

One of my favorite ways to get children up and moving is to read a story, and then use ideas from the story as movement prompts.  Here are some of the benefits children can gain from a Read and Dance activity:

• Comprehension
• Sequencing
• Identifying with and understanding different characters in the story
• Exploring and learning about the setting
• Vocabulary acquisition
• Recognition of rhyme and rhythm 
• Alphabet knowledge/Letter recognition
• Fun and lively physical activity
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):  Group cooperation; creativity; problem solving; listening to, understanding and responding to instructions; self-expression; body awareness

Reading a story , , ,

Dancing the story!

I love to inspire young children to be active and to learn by exploring, playing, dancing, and moving in many differentI ways.  in this blog post, I am introducing From A to Z with Energy!, my new picture book, published by Free Spirit Publishing.

The book, geared toward children ages 3 to 6, along with parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers, offers ideas for staying active while learning and reading about the alphabet. The book includes guidelines for 10 supplementary movement activities, along with a short summary of some of the many benefits of movement for young children.



Here are some suggestions (these are examples; the ideas are expanded upon in the book) for enjoying From A to Z with Energy! as a Read and Dance activity with young children:

Once you have read the story aloud:

• Read it again and as you read it, ask the children to clap the rhythm of the verse
• Ask them to sway side-to-side, march, or move freely as they clap.
• In the book, each letter introduces ideas about being active.  Read each stanza slowly.  Ask the children to imagine they are doing the activities described.  Show the colorful, lively illustrations by Gareth Llewhellin to further stimulate movement ideas.

There are several more playful movement activities to help children explore letter shapes kinesthetically, and ideas for supplementing early writing activities as well.

Making Letter Shapes!

Keep on Dancin',



Connie

www.movingislearning.com

MOVING IS LEARNING!

To order From A to Z with Energy!:Click here

Christmas Story and Dance Activity

Cheers! 🎄

I have a special blog post today.  I wrote a short (247-word) Christmas story for Susanna Leonard Hill's Holiday Writing Contest for children's writers.  Since this blog is about dance and movement, I have also created a movement activity for children three to six years old, to go along with the story.

I hope you enjoy reading the story Sparkle the Snowflake, and then dancing the story with your little ones!

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Sparkle the Snowflake

by Connie Bergstein Dow

Everyone knows that no two snowflakes are alike, but Sparkle was extra special.  She shone and shimmered a little brighter than all of the other snowflakes that lived in her cluster of clouds.

Sparkle and her snowflake friends had an important job to do.  They were to fall to earth on Christmas Eve. They would cover the hills and trees, and especially the rooftops of the houses, so that Santa and his reindeer would leave their footprints on the rooftops for children to see on Christmas morning.

The snowflakes were busy the day before Christmas.  They carefully planned their journey from the clouds. They practiced floating and staying together so they could create a beautiful snowfall that evening. 

Sparkle and all of the other snowflakes snuggled deep into the billowy clouds to get some rest before the busy night.  Soon, Sparkle woke up and looked around in alarm.  It was almost midnight!  “Wake up!” Sparkle called. Then she soared from cloud to cloud, making sure that every snowflake was ready.

Just in the nick of time, they slipped from the puffy clouds and began to twirl and dance in the chilly night air.  The snowflakes landed gently, and waited silently.  When the sun peeked over the hill, the snowflakes heard children laughing as they ran from their houses and saw the glistening snow.  Little did the children know that the snow that had greeted them this Christmas morning was all thanks to Sparkle, the shiny little snowflake.     

*

Here is a lively and playful creative movement activity for 3-6-year-olds 

*If available, play some holiday or other music for background as the children dance. 

*Optional props: "snowflakes" --  shower scrubbies or netting strips tied together

Dance the Story of Sparkle the Snowflake

Imagine you are a little snowflake.  What shape are you?  Now try a different one. And now one more.  Which do you like best?

Now think of what it would be like to practice your snowfall,  floating softly through the sky.

Snuggle deep into your cloud.  Pretend to drift off to sleep, thinking of something you like about the holidays, and imagine your are dreaming.  Wake up quickly, sit up, and show what your face looks like when you think you have overslept. Hop out of your billowy cloud as fast as you can!

Soar from cloud to cloud, waking up all of your snowflake friends. Now, imagine you are ready to fall to the ground.  Slip out of your cloud.  Dance in the cold night air!  Twirl, swirl, tumble slowly and quickly, get blown by the wind from side to side, up and down, around and around. Finally, you float gently to the ground.

Now imagine you are one of the children in the story.  Run out of your house, see the snow, and jump up and down.  Play in the snow! 

Have an imaginary snowball fight!  (Use optional snowflake props here). Make footprints in the snow.  Now, imagine you are sledding down a steep hill.  Fall out of your sled at the bottom of the hill and land in the soft snow.

 Roll snowballs and make a giant snow person.  What does it look like?  Now, imagine you are the snow person.  Make yourself into a snow person shape.  Uh-oh -- the sun comes out!  What happens?  Slowly melt to the ground.

The activity ends with a free dance to music.  Prompt the children to dance about ideas from the Sparkle the Snowflake story, the imaginary playtime in the snow, and anything else they like about winter. Use the props again if you have them.  Ask the children to throw them up in the air all together at the end of the dance to make a "blizzard."

*

Keep on dancin', and enjoy the holidays,

Connie

www.movingislearning.com

MOVING IS LEARNING!

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Dancing from STEM to STEAM to STREAM!

Hello!

Dancing to stories is one of the main activities that young children have enjoyed in my creative movement classes over the years.  Reading a book or story, then using verbal prompts to encourage the children to relive the story through dance and music, is also a wonderful way to incorporate the all-important "A" for Arts and the "R" for Reading into STEM. 

STEM to STEAM to STREAM -- let's go!  

Recreating the story with movement helps children to understand the concepts in the book and learn about them kinesthetically.   This process also helps children identify with settings, characters, plot and themes of the story, and helps with sequencing, comprehension, and vocabulary.  Most of all, though, this activity makes story time lively and even more fun.

Here is a dance story that I have created based on Eric Carle's classic book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Along with instructions for presenting the dance story, I have included photos of a visit I made to a school in Nicaragua.  I had the Spanish version of the book, La Oruga Muy Hambrienta.  

I often supplement a dance story with props.  In this case, I used colorful scarves which become the wings when the caterpillar becomes a butterfly.  

The materials you will need for this activity are:

1.  The book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
2.  Colorful scarves or fabric scraps, about 12" square 
(2 per child)













3.  Two lively instrumental musical selections, one of which has a conga rhythm



Now you are ready to begin!  Gather the children together and read the story.

Explain the dance story, and tell the children that you will be giving them movement prompts so that they will be retelling the story with dance and music.  Make sure to give the children plenty of time to respond to each of your movement suggestions.

Play the music softly in the background.  

Begin:  

You are a little egg on a leaf, in the moonlight.

Pop out of your egg!

You are so hungry.  Where would you find some food?     Proceed through each day in the story as the caterpillar finds new things to eat.

Eat as much as you can and become a great big caterpillar!

Your tummy hurts! Eat a nice green leaf to make you feel better.

Now it is time to spin your cocoon! Turn, turn, spin, spin, spin!  Wait inside your cocoon while you make your amazing transformation.  

While the children are waiting, use a clothespin to attach a scarf to each of their shoulders.

Nibble a hole in your cocoon, and push your way out. Push hard.  Push with your feet, your wings, and look, you are a colorful butterfly! Your wings are still wet.  Try to flap them up and down, very gently.  Now, flap harder, and fly.  Fly around the room, beautiful butterflies!

Now we will finish our story by making a giant caterpillar! Form the children into a line, and put on the conga music.  

Play the conga music, stand at the front of the line and introduce the conga step:  one, two three, touch heel to one side (rhythm:  one, two, three + four), repeat to the other side, and continue all around the room.

Caterpillar Conga line.  One, two, three, and four!

Happy dancing -- 

from STEM to STEAM to STREAM!

Keep on dancin',

Connie

MOVING IS LEARNING!

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