A Dance Activity Bubbling Over With Pastabilities

I love creating dance lessons that are fun, silly and connect to activities my students do at home. I also love to connect dance to literature. When I can connect the two - it is quite delicious!

This lesson was inspired by the book Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola. In the book, Strega Nona (grandma witch) boils pasta with just a few simple magic words. But when her handyman overhears these enchanting words he tries his hand at using the magic pot. But unfortunately he doesn't know how to make it stop!

Children love to eat spaghetti. And they love stories. Even better, they love stories about noodles taking over a tiny village in Italy.

The Magic Pasta Pot Activity
Read the children the story. (If you can not find the story you can still do the activity but if you can get the story it is a keeper!)

A quick summary of the important details of the story:

The magic words to make the pot boil with pasta:

"Boil, boil pasta pot,
make me pasta nice and hot,
I'm hungry and it's time to sup,
boil enough pasta to fill me up."

The magic words and gesture to make the pot stop:

"Enough, enough, pasta pot,
I have my pasta nice and hot
So simmer down my pot of clay
Until I'm hungry another day"

And blow three kisses to the magic pasta pot!

Now let the fun begin!

The poor handyman peaked in through the window and saw Strega Nona say the magic words to cook her dinner. He even saw her say the magic words when she wanted the pot to simmer down. But he did not see her blow three kisses into the pot! Recreate this part of the story.

1. Make a big circle on the floor ( I like to use painter's tape. Easy to tape down and even easier to pull up!)
2. Have all the children stand in the center of the circle.
3. Say the magic words with the children.
4. Have the children slowly bubble out of the pot. (You might want to ask them before the activity starts to list some action words that describes how spaghetti moves or how they eat spaghetti. Examples might include: wiggle, squirm, slurp, twirl, flop, etc.)
5. Say the magic words but do not blow the three kisses.  (Make sure they know if you do not blow the kisses they should not stop dancing!) 
6. Encourage them to "take over" the space. The spaghetti will not stop.
7. Finally say the magic words again and blow three kisses!  When the children see the kisses they should run back into the "pot."

To add an extra fun element to the activity give each student a box of spaghetti to take home with them so they can have pasta for supper!!

Have fun cooking up this yummy activity with the children in your life!

Sincerely,

Stacey

Puppy Dog Tails

Have you ever tried to teach your students/children about their bottoms?   What I mean of course is the bottom of their spines.  We have a top (our heads) and a bottom (our tails).  Kids have an easier time moving and leading with body parts they can see.  How can you teach them about their tails -by making tails of course!!

Three Different Ways to Make Tails

1. Draw tails out of paper.  Have the kids cut out the tails and color them.  Tape them to their leotards or clothes and have them explore how they can make the tail move.
2. Collect old stockings or tights.  Cut them down the middle and stuff them with stuffing/toilet paper (anything that will give it a shape.)  Pin, tape, glue or sew them on the children's leotards and have them explore moving with a tail.  This type of tail will have more swing!
3. Take scarves and pin/sew/ glue them on - and create a bottom dance.

Make sure when applying the tail that it is by the end of the spine. (Don't tie it to the children's waists or near their waist.)

To make it even MORE fun have the children explore their heads and tails!

Heads and Tails

1. Create ears!  Buy some headbands.  Have the children color and cut ears out of paper.  It can be cat, dog, elephant, tiger ears - what ever they like.  It can match their tails or not.  Tape them to the head bands and let the children explore how their heads can create and lead movement. ( You can also try attaching the ears to clips or bobby pins.)
2. Now add the tails.  How can the children dance moving their heads and tails toward each other and away from each other.  Can they move their heads and tails to the right, to the left, up and down?

Read Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The wild things in the book have tops that don't match their bottoms.  See if you can create elephant ears with a monkey tail.  How would this animal move?  What about cat ears with a bird tail?  What about puppy dog ears with a fisth tail?  Have a wild rumpus.  The sillier the better!

Exploring movement with themes and props/costumes can help children visualize what they can not see!

Have fun shaking, wiggling and swinging your tail with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Show and Tell and Dance

When I taught at a dance studio, my little ones loved to bring in toys and stuffed animals.  I used to take the toys and then give them back at the end of class.  Then one day I asked a child to share her doll with the class.  We talked about her texture, her angles, and curves and I asked the class how the doll would move.  Every child got up and showed me how he or she thought the doll would move.  It was awesome!!!

The next week more children brought toys or dolls in and we did it again.  Soon we had Show and Tell at the end of every class and it was not only educational but a great motivator for the kids to pay attention in class so we would have time for show and tell.  It also was another great incentive for the kids to participate and think about dance outside of class. 

Try incorporating a little Show and Tell into your classes and watch your students get engaged in a entirely new way.  You will also learn more about each student.  It was so interesting to me to see what the children brought in and what they shared about their objects.  It can give you great insight into how to reach a child that is shy or reluctant to move in class.

You might want to bring in some items to share as well.  Study the texture, angles, curves, straight lines, size, weight, etc and see what new movements the objects inspire!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Free Dance is Freeing

I believe a person receives a gift every time they dance; the gift of body ownership and a sense of control.  Children do not get to make many choices in their day.  They don't choose when to wake up, what they are going to eat, what they will be doing at school, and what time they go to bed.  Adults might not get to make as many choices as they would like either!  But when you dance you are the one in charge!

You can choose to wiggle your hips, swing your arms and tap your toes.  You get to find your own rhythm, create your own pathways through the space and choose your own steps. You can raise your arms up to the sky or reach them down to the ground.  The possibilities are endless; the choice is for each dancer to make.

"Free dance" is an important part of any dance experience.  This is a time when you decide and find out how you like to move.  What feels right for your body, what feels natural and safe?  It is important to remember that giving children the time to explore and move freely is essential to developing a sense of self.  It can promote body awareness, self expression and self confidence.

Our Favorite Thing
I like to make a circle with my class and have one child at a time go in to the center and dance.  I call this time "Our Favorite Thing."  Each child shares their favorite way of moving.  We clap along and practice being good audience members.  If a child is shy, he or she can invite another friend to dance.  This is their special time to shine.   

In a day filled with so many unknowns that you can not predict, so many rules and schedules it is great to let loose and explore what is yours alone; your body.  Find at least one moment a day to dance freely, without rules, with the children in your life.  It will do your body and your children's bodies good!!

Have fun moving any way you like with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a Dynamic Friendship Dance!

What does it mean to be a friend?  Ask a child this question and you will get some wonderful answers!  Around Valentine's Day I always ask this question to my students.  And through our discussion we wind up talking about feelings and sharing our feeling with another person.  Which leads to my next question.

When you listen to another person do you talk when he or she talks?
No, you are quiet and you have eye contact.  In movement we can show this by staying very still when our partner is moving.

How do we know when we are happy, sad, surprised or mad?
We feel it inside our bodies.  We have to pay attention to how our body feels because it tells us amazing things. Our body can be light, heavy, quick, slow (sustained), bound or free. 

Happy can feel light and free.
Sad can feel heavy and slow.
Surprised can feel quick.
Mad or angry can feel bound or tight.

Dynamic Friendship Dance
When we clue in to how our body feels (mind-body connection) we learn a lot about how we feel.  We can share how we feel with others and our friends can share with us how they feel.

1. Explore the dynamics of each emotion with your class or children.  Move around the space light and free like a helium balloon, carefree and at ease. Feel like balloon is deflated, slowly sinking to the ground.  Everything gets heavy; arms, legs, shoulders, back.  Next, clap your hands or beat a drum.  When the class hears the sound see how fast the can jump into a new shape. And finally, see how tense and tight they can make that shape squeezing every muscle in their body (knees, toes, neck, tummy shoulders,etc.)
2. Depending on the age of the kids you can do the partner dance in a few different ways.  If they are able to work in partners great. Otherwise you can pick one child at a time to partner with the class. Ask the first partner to choose a quality of movement (or you can say an emotion as long as they know they are not acting out the emotion but showing how the emotion makes their body move.)  The other partner (or class) stays very still then repeats the movement as best as they can to show they were listening.  Repeat this with the other partner picking a different quality or emotion. 
3. Share your friendship dances with the class. Sometimes I have kids share with the class one at a time or I have a few partners up and moving.  Ask the audience what they saw, and what they liked.  It is never to early to develop good audience manners!

Keep moving up, down and all around with the ones you love!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Sincerely,
Stacey