Listen when your student says "no" and you might get a "yes"

I can't believe it has been a month since I lasted posted - it has been unfair of me to keep all my new movement ideas to myself!  So let me get right to sharing:

1. We all have bodies meaning we all have something in common
2. We all use our bodies to communicate, no matter how subtle or grandiose
3. Our muscles hold emotions and sometimes we hold our muscles
4. Moving our bodies is beneficial for our mental, physical and emotional health
5. Moving can teach you new things about yourself and others
6. Everyone can move
7. There is no right or wrong way to move
8. Some kids can't stop moving
9. Some kids are shy to move around others
10. Everyone's bodies and feelings about movement should be honored to make moving safe, fun and comfortable

I was teaching 3rd graders (not a movement class) but of course I added movement because I always throw in kinesthetic learning no matter what I teach. I started leading a movement exercise and one of my students started to get angry crossed his arms and asked if he "had to dance."  I said yes.  Well, he was not happy and I saw him get anxious tensing his shoulders and standing stiff like a statue.  After the class I thought about the experience.  I wanted him to dance and explore his movement potential but forcing him to move when he was not comfortable had an adverse effect.  His body closed down and he became stressed. 

The next class we were sitting in chairs and I had the children stand up and sing and dance.  I bent over and whispered to him that he could join in if he was comfortable but he should do what felt right to him.  He smiled and looked relieved.  His friend sat next to him and I noticed that they were "dancing" in their chairs.  He had permission to explore his body the way he was comfortable and did it beautifully!

Permission to use your body in a way that is accessible to you (physically, emotionally and mentally) is huge.  Safety and comfort is huge.  And listening to your students is huge - picking up signals not only verbally but in all forms of communication.

It is hard as a teacher to sometimes pull back and look at why a child is saying "no" or not wanting to participate. 

The next time your student/child says "no" (even if you are super excited about your lesson or creative idea) take a moment to explore why they don't want to participate.  Giving a child permission to say "no" might lead them to exploring at their own pace and teach them movement is safe because they are choosing to do it - and not being forced before they are ready.  And that "no" might soon become a "yes."

Explore the "no's" with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

What do Apples and Butterflies Have in Common?

A few years ago my sister went to France and came back with a beautiful picture book La Pomme Et Le Papillon. (It means the apple and the butterfly.)  I love books and wanted her to bring me back a children's book, even though I do not speak French. 

 

To my surprise and delight there are no words in this book - only illustrations.  The first page is an illustration of the inside of an apple hanging from a tree with a tiny little caterpillar emerging from the core.  The caterpillar slowly eats its way out of the apple and as you flip the pages you continue the caterpillar's adventure as it  hangs down off the apple, lands on a nearby branch and builds a cocoon.  The illustration of the tree shows the passing of time as the leaves change color, fall off the branches and then new leaves develop as the butterfly peaks its head outside of its slumbering home.  At the end of the story, the butterfly flies off to a new blossoming apple tree and lays an egg on an apple blossom.  The cycle begins again.

 

I was thinking of this book today because it is apple picking season here in New England.  And when I teach thematic classes in autumn I utilitze the idea of picking apples.  The children and I usually talk about reaching to pick the apples, pushing the wagon, rolling down the hill, slicing and crunching apples but never what can happen inside an apple.

 

 

The mysteries of the unknown, a world within a world - now that is the place that imaginations can really soar like a butterfly!  New ways of approaching a subject can be exciting for student and teacher alike. 

 

This book's story unfolds with pictures.  It clearly demonstrates that a story can be told elequently without a single word.  This is a great way to tie movement and literacy together.  The students can dance the story.  

 

And of course there are so many action words that can come out of the story as well: peak, crawl, wiggle, hang, nestle, fall, grow, expand, fly, glide, perch, open, descend - to name a few.  And I bet your students can come up with twice as many by exploring the story with their bodies or by coming up with their own apple adventure.  

 

Think outside the box and open this book for a new look at using the imagery of apples this autumn season.  And don't forget to come back to it at spring time to add to the discovery and adventure!

 

Sincerely,

Stacey

 

 

 

Negative Space is Postively Fun!

I was practicing some yoga in my living room and my daughter started to dance around me and tried to fit her body into the empty spaces in the yoga poses. (With much success and imagination!)  Empty spaces are so much fun.  We usually explore big spaces we can see but what about the little spaces that are not as obvious?

Activity to Explore:

1. Have a few of your students make shapes with their bodies.  (Remind them they can make angles, curves and straight lines with their arms, legs, knees, hips, back, etc.)
2. Next, have a few more students try to "fit" into the empty spaces (in dance we call this negative space.)  Encourage them to complement the shape.  It is not about sticking an arm through a space but finding a way to highlight and draw attention to the space.  For example, when I was practicing Downward Facing Dog ( a yoga movement that creates a large upside down "V" with the body) my daughter rolled underneath me in a tucked in ball shape.  She created a curve under my angle.
3. If you have permission from parents, take pictures of your exploration.

This exercise reinforces the concept of space and let's the children experiment with  how shapes can fit together.

Have fun exploring with the the children in your life!
Sincerely,
Stacey

Dancing Words Creates Dancing Pants

I have written before about how much I love Shel Silverstein's poetry and how poetry or words can inspire movement.  Well, my dear friend was teaching a summer dance workshop and called me up with an urgent request.  She wanted to know if I could suggest a Shel Silverstein poem that her jazz dance class could use to create a dance.  I nearly leapt out of my chair with excitement.  (Okay - I did leap out of my chair.)  I have many books Shel Silverstein wrote but my absolute favorite is Where The Sidewalk Ends.

I began to suggest to my friend almost ever poem on every page of the book.  His poetry is so descriptive it just about begs a dancer to move to the words.  She decided on the poem Dancing Pants. 

Dancing Pants by Shel Silverstein (page 126 in Where the Sidewalk Ends)

And now for the Dancing Pants
Doing their fabulous dance.
From the seat to the pleat
They will bounce to the beat,
With no legs inside them
And no feet beneath.
They'll whirl, and twirl, and jiggle and prance,
So just start the music
And give them a chance-
Let's have a big hand for the wonderful, marvelous,
Super sensational, utterly fabulous
Talented Dancing Pants!

Hope you can come up with a dance for these dancing pants with the little ones in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey