Firework Dance Explosion

Fireworks can be a great inspiration for movement.  Most of us will be able to see and, if not see, hear fireworks this weekend.   For some children this is exciting and for others this can be quite scary.  By exposing kids to a kinesthetic firework activity, it can enhance the experience for some and make fireworks more accessible to others.

Ask kids to show you in their bodies these words:

• Boom
• Pop,pop,pop
• Bang
• Sizzle
• Crackle
• Twinkle
• Flash
• Sparkle
• Quiet, calm, still

Now see if you can pick a few and put it in sequence:

• Boom, crackle, flash, twinkle, twinkle, Bang
• Pop,pop,pop, sizzle, sizzle, Bang
• Flash, Sparkle, Twinkle, Boom
• Twinkle, crackle, Sizzle, quiet, calm, still

Fireworks sail high into the air, explode reaching out far into the space and then fall to the ground.  Can you create a dance sailing, exploding and then falling?  Can you create a dance reaching high, reaching far and wide and reaching toward the ground?

How can you show color through dance?
Can you dance with multiple scarves?  Does each color represent a different step or movement?

Can you show the difference in your body between the two opposites of fireworks loud  and quiet stillness?  Can you be really still and then explode into movement? 

We learn through experiences.  So by children processing fireworks through their bodies and creating their own fireworks show through dance, can help them process the fireworks when they see, hear and smell it on the 4th of July.

Have fun creating firework dances with the children in your life.  What you create might be far more beautiful then what appears in the night sky!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Water as a Dance Tool

There are some dance concepts that are easier to grasp in summer because you can use sprinklers and pools easily.  Water is a great tool.  I wrote about water in a past post but there is so much more to explore!

Levels
High, middle and low level can truly be explored when jumping into a pool.  High level when you jump, your body soaring above the water.  Middle, when you are standing in water, head above, body below.  And low level when you dunk and are submerged.

Energy
Tap the water gently. Punch it with great force.  You can clearly see effort and feel it. 
Push the water, pull the water.  You can feel your muscles engage and work hard.  Sometimes it is hard for kids to feel their muscles engage without resistance.  Here is a great opportunity to play with strength.

What if you don't have a pool?  
No problem!  Try this activity with a garden hose:

1. Put your finger over the spout (or use a spray attachment.)  Have the water spray out gently. 
2. Have the kids run and jump OVER the water. 
3. Next, spray the water high over head.  Have the kids run, skip, turn, roll etc. UNDER the water.
4. Finally, put the spray in middle level and have the kids run THROUGH the water
5. Talk about the difference between OVER, UNDER and THROUGH and see which they liked the best.
6. If you are brave have them hold the hose for you and give it a try!!

Explore water this summer with the kids in your life.  Let it cool you down and let it be a teaching tool to delve into the elements of movement.

Have fun getting wet with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey 

Dance Your Tush Off

I have been watching a show called Dance Your Tush Off on the Oxygen network.  Ok, it isn't exactly called that. Substitute the word tush for donkey, and, well, you get the idea.  For those of you who have not seen this show let me give you a quick synopsis:

Overweight contestants work with professional dancers to develop routines which they perform at the end of the week in front of a panel of judges.  Their dance scores are added to the amount of weight lost for the week to come up with a final score.  The one with the lowest score each week goes home.  The last one standing at the end of the competition wins. 

What I liked about the show:

• People are getting into shape, working hard and dancing their hearts out.  The dancers have personality, some technique and are learning ballroom and other various styles.
• As they get more fit, their bodies take form, the mastery of their bodies improves and they develop a sense of body ownership.
• The development of body ownership is beautiful, the connection the dancers develop to themselves and their partners is inspiring.

What we can all learn from the show:

• Dance is not for the elite, the ballet trained or the perfectly fit. It is for everyone.
• Dance is exercise.  Dance is strength, stretch and endurance.
• Everyone can do it.  The more you dance the better you get, the more confident you get and the more you can let go of your inhibitions.
• Dance lets you connect with others.  Hold hands with someone, dance and look into their eyes.  You will see what I mean.

Need a little exercise?  Need a little pick me up?  Need a confidence booster?  Put on your favorite music and dance!  Can't go outside and want the kids to get some exercise - dance.  Want to cheer up a cranky child -dance.  Want to let off stress at the end of a hard day - dance.

And do what they say on the show.  Dance your you know what off!

Have fun dancing your tush off with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Dance Spontaneously

Have you ever danced in front of your little ones?  I am not talking about demonstrating a step or the dance they are learning; I am talking about you just breaking into dance spontaneously.   There is something very powerful about teaching the art of self- expression and in order to teach you too must do!

When could you break into spontaneous movement?

1. Waiting for the CD player to play (my CD player is always very tempermental)
2. Walking a class in or out of the classroom or studio
3. While kids are putting on shoes, clothes, etc
4. Anytime, whenever, any moment will do

What will they learn from watching you break into dance?

1. Dance is for everyone
2. Movement is not limited to a certain time, day, or place
3. You can express your feelings through dance
4. It gives them permission to do the same

At the end of every class I teach we finish in a circle.  I have each child go into the middle of the circle, one at a time, and share his or her favorite way of moving.  When I teach in the schools I also have the classroom teacher go into the middle of the circle.  The kids love watching their teacher dance.  They clap and giggle.  The kids also make sure that I don't forget to go into the middle as well.  When you ask kids to share, make sure that you don't forget to share as well.  It builds a sense of community, trust and creates a shared experience.

I dance in the kitchen when I cook dinner.  My daughter laughs and will sometimes join in without me asking her to do so.  Just the act of dancing in front of her creates a bonding moment.  A moment where neither of us is asking anything of each other.  We are just sharing an experience together.

So, have fun dancing in front of the little ones in your life! 

Sincerely,
Stacey

This Little Piggy Went to Market

Do you ever dance with your little ones without shoes and socks?  Let the soles of your feet the prickly grass or feel the plush carpet or smooth hard wood floor? 

And what about those wonderful toes?  As anyone who has ever stubbed a toe knows, toes help you balance, they enable you to spring off the floor when you jump, help you to transfer weight from one foot to the other when you walk as well as raise you up on tip-toe.

When kids dance in shoes they miss the tactile sensations their feet can provide them as well as the opportunity to articulate their feet (especially those wonderful toes!)

So the next time you dance with your little ones, pull off those shoes and socks wiggle those toes and make up a feet dance.  Scrunch those toes, spread them wide, clap them together, walk on your heels, balance on tip toes, and explore those feet and piggies!

Have fun dancing barefoot with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Water dance: Float, Sink and Bubble!

Floating is an amazing sensation.  It is one that we can visualize and observe but to truly experience it you got to jump in; to water that is.  I love to move and dance in water because I can feel my body so differently and can move with an added sense of buoyancy.  I experience breath differently to because I am more conscious of how I breathe underwater.  I slow my breath down and deliberately  breath through my nose or mouth.

Water can be a great tool to explore new and unusual ways of moving.  It can assist you in performing movements that would be quite difficult or impossilbe to do on land.  It also helps in developing body awareness and spatial awareness.

Explore:

• twist, twirling, rolling
• floating, sinking
• kicking, splashing, bubbles
• pushing and pulling
• diving, jumping, bobbing

One of the most important teaching tools in water is patience, trust and safety.  It sometimes can take children a very long time to be comfortable in water.  Let them explore at their own pace.  Learning and discovery is not on any artificial timeline.  As children develop confidence, they build self esteem and a sense of awareness of what their bodies can do.

After swim time is over, see if the children can take the movements they explored in the water and translate them to land.  How can they float, sink, bob, dive and splash?  How can they jump, twirl and roll?  Does it feel different?  How?

Have fun dancing to the pool, in the pool , on and  land and with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

The Nature of Movement

Watch an animal move.  Really watch.  Most of the time it is different then your percecption of how you think it moves.  Kind of like when you learned that a dog says 'bark" and a bird says "tweet."  I don't hear "bark" or "ruff" when I really listen to a dog. It's a sound I can't put into the english language.  Sometimes a dog bark sounds like pans crashing to the ground or a bag of potato chips being ripped open.  And sometimes a bird "tweet" sounds more like a squeeky chair.

My point is when you really listen, really watch, you learn something different then what you expect.

Watch a bird with children and say what you see. 

• How does the bird move?  How does it walk?  Does it put one foot in front of the other or does it jump around with both feet?  When it moves it's head does it move it slowly and scan or does the bird tilt it sideways very quick?  When it flies does it jump into the air and flap it's wings?  Does it take a running start?  When it flies does it flap constantly or does it soar tilting slightly?

Ask the children to do these movements.  Remember they are not acting like a birds but taking the movements they observed and putting them into their bodies!  Observation is a very important skill .

I took my daughter to see the movie Ocean.  Throughout the entire movie I kept thinking, "I didn't know dolphins moved like that", or "I didn't know fish could swim under a shark."  It was like a water dance and I was in awe.  It made me think about really watching my surroundings and seeing the true nature of movement and not my perception of movement.

Take the time to observe the animals around you with the children in your life and discover the movement essence of the world.  Then make a nature dance that is not like anything you might imagine because the true nature of movement can sometimes be even more spectacular!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Thank You Sun!

Have you danced outside with your little ones this spring?  It is warm enough now without being too hot, cool enough without being too cold and breezy enough without being too gusty.  It seems to me to be perfect weather to feel the space, the air, the ground and the sun. 

When I teach outside, I define the movement space with cones ( but you can define the space with anything you have on hand.)  This way the children have definite boundaries and I don't have to go chasing anyone.  Obstacles to be aware of:

• wet grass/cut grass
• bright sunlight
• bees, bugs, butterfly distractions

Have a dance space already in mind to before you take the kids out, preferably with a shady area.   Be prepared if the ground is wet to have an activity that does not require sitting, rolling,etc.  If the grass is dry, roll away!

Thank You Sun Activity
For those of you who have a yoga background it is great fun to do sun salutations outside.  Reach up and arch up to the sun and yell thank you sun in the beginning and the end of each salutation.  If you don't know the sun salutation make up your own thank you dance or stretch.

Ask your students:

1. What is the sun's job?
2. Where is the sun?
3. How does the sun feel on your body?
4. What is the sun like today? (Can you feel the sun today, is it cloudy, bright, etc.)

See if your students can stretch their bodies in all different directions and have the sun hit every piece of their bodies. Their noses, knees, elbows, chins, backs, bellies, shoulders and toes.  Reach up towards the sun, face to the sky and yell "thank you sun!"

Dance BIG
This is a great time to move big.  I usually don't have the opportunity to teach in a large enough space to accommodate the entire class running, leaping, jumping at the same time.  I usually have to keep tight control on how many students can move through the space at one time.  But outside there are no walls, ceilings and doors!  I love to watch full movement without constraint.  And it feels different to the students as well.

Have fun feeling the wind between your finger and the sunlight dancing on your knees with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Exploring Science Through Movement: Flower Dance

I am a guest in a first grade class today.  Our theme: Flowers.  The class has been learning about the parts of a flower and the teacher wants me to come in and create a movement activity based on this unit.
After the movement activity the kids will write in their own words how a flower grows.

Parts of a Plant
In order for us to delve into movement ideas, we have to understand/review what we are exploring.

• roots- which takes in the water for the plant (low level)
• leaf- makes the food for the plant (low to  middle level)
• stem- carries water from the roots up the plant (middle to high level)
• flower- makes seeds (high level)

What plants need to live
Without any of these four elements, plants would not be able to grow.

• water (rains down, sprinkles, drips, pours)
• sunlight ( radiates, beams, shines)
• soil (covers, surrounds, holds, blankets)
• air (can see but can feel around us. Blows side to side, forward and back)

 How a plant grows
Plants don't just pop out of the ground. They grown slowly.  They grow down before they grow up and up and up.

• A seed is placed under ground and covered with soil
• Roots reach down and sprouts reach up
• Petals expand wide as the stem continues to grow up
• Flower blooms and opens

Flower Dance
From what we know about flowers, I am going to have the class piece together the dance.  We will have a beginning:  the seed, a middle: sprouting, an ending: the bud opening. And we will connect these three parts of our dance with the action of the soil surrounding, the rain dripping, the sunlight beaming and the air blowing.

I don't know exactly what the dance will look like until I see it unfold in front of me.  I will take their knowledge of plants and help them translate it into movement. The hardest part of an activity like this is to keep the focus on movement and action instead of acting.

For an activity like this it is also important to utilize the students' knowledge, this way the movement activity can be an assessment piece for the teacher.  It also enables the students to delve deep into movement concepts (levels, shape, direction) and can be a assessment activity for you as well.

April showers bring May flowers outside and inside the classroom as well.

Have fun exploring, dancing and blooming with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

That's What It's All About!

Have you ever done the Hokey Pokey with kids?  What about The Chicken Dance?  Electric Slide?
Kids love these dances and adults love them as well.  Whenever I go to a fancy party ( wedding, Bar Mitzah, etc.) I am always amazed that adults jump up to do these dances led by the MC. 

When I got married a pleaded with the band NOT do any silly party dances.  I wanted a romantic and classic feel.  They did it anyway.  The funny thing is the dance floor was packed with people in fancy outfits flapping their arms like chickens. I realized that party dances (dances that already have choreography or are led by someone) give people permission to be silly, to dance with abandon.

See if you can find a moment this week to have kids and adults of all ages dance together.  Lead the dance so your dancers don't have to think, they just have to follow.  Dancing together as a community is fun as well as creates bonds between generations.  Get silly, dance with abandon no matter what your attire is for the day. 

Some fun party dances:

• Hokey Pokey
• Chicken Dance
• Electric Slide
• Cha-cha slide
• Limbo
• Macarena
• Cotton Eye Joe
• The Twist
• YMCA

See if you students/ kids can teach you a party dance.  Maybe you can create your own!
Keep dancing with the kids in your life, flap your arms, put your elbows in and shake 'em all around because that's what its all about!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Dancing In The Rain

Have you ever seen the movie Singing in The Rain?  One of my favorite scenes in the movie is Gene Kelly dancing, stomping, kicking, jumping, splashing, and twirling in the rain.  How many children can relate to this scene?   My guess is most every child can.

The thing about dance is that it is a kinesthetic connection to what you are experiencing. 
Gene Kelly didn't just stand still and sing about the rain, he explored it and everything he could possibly do in it.  For a child, this is how he or she learns.  How does it feel, sound, taste, smell?  How can I make it move?  What happens if I jump in it?  What if I splash really hard?

When I teach, I try to connect the lesson to what the children are learning in school or I try to connect to what they are experiencing around them.  This way they are able to connect what they are learning cognitively to what they are experiencing physically.

Well, since April showers bring May flowers, I thought about the wonder of rain and that iconic scene in Singing in The Rain.  For kids who are afraid of rain, thunder and lightning, exploring rain in a classroom or studio can be a safe way to become comfortable with all the elements of a thunder storm.

Dancing in The Rain Activity

1.  Come up with a the list of words that describe what you see and feel before a rain fall

•  angry clouds, puffy clouds, air blowing, sun disappears, rumble...

2.  Come up with all the list of words that describe rain falling down

• Splash, drip, drop, drizzle, plop...

3.  Come up with a list of words that describe what you see and feel after the rain

• Drippy, quiet, puddles, rainbows, sticky mud...

4.  Now you ready to perform your "Dancing in the Rain" dance.  You have a beginning before the rain,  a middle the rain, and an end after the rain.

You can even video your dances and watch Gene Kelly's dancing in the rain section of Singing in The Rain and then watch your classes' rain dances.


Have fun dancing in the rain with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

In continuing participation in the Why Dance Matters event, dance matters because dance is a learning tool.  For proof, just watch a child dance in the rain!

Why Dance Matters

This post is in honor of Arts Advocacy Day and the online event Dance Matters going on April 12 through May 3rd.

Dance can be...
a form of expression
a way to get the sillies out
a medium for physical fitness
a way to share common ground
a tool to interact with others.

Dance can...
 make time fly by
 make a moment more intimate
 make a moment more universal
push you to the limit.

Dance now...
with others
by yourself
in your room
outside
in the grocery store
while waiting for a bus, the subway, a loved one.

Dance is...
a voice
unspoken
loud and clear
subtle
quiet
obvious
abstract
a way to say what can not be said any other way.

Dance...
today
tomorrow
next week
with emotion
with spirit
with a friend
with a stranger
with a relative
with a child

Dance matters...
to me.

Ask the children in your life:

1. How does dance feel in their bodies and in their hearts?
2. Why do they like to dance?
3. Do they like to dance by themselves or with others?
4. Where is there favoirite place to dance?
5. What kind of music do they like to dance to?
6. Can they make up a special dance and share it with you/the class?

For more information on the Dance Matters event check out: http://danceadvantage.net/2010/04/08/why-dance-matters/


Have fun exploring why dance matters to you and the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

SPRING, SPRONG, SPROING!

Here in the northeast we have been having beautiful spring weather. With "spring" in mind, action words are so much fun to explore with your kids/class. One of my favorite books to read in the spring is "Bugs, Bugs, Bugs" by Bob Barner. There are lots of action words to pick out and fun spring pictures.

"Butterflies that flutter in the sky,
spotted ladybugs that go creeping by..." 
Can you just visualize the children in action?

You can make an action word list with your class by picking action words out of books you are reading or come in with a premade list. You can even have an action list that you add to every week. Then take the words and get moving! Try taking the children's favorite action words, put them in a sequence and have them perfom their "action dance". Integrating vocabulary into the body helps with comprehension, literacy and story telling. It is also silly and fun!

Here are some of my favorites:

Bend
Bounce
Burst
Creep
Drip
Droop
Explode
Float
Flop
Grow
Hang
Melt
Pop
Rise
Shake
Spring
Twist
Wilt

For an extensive list visit: http://www.leapinglegs.com/download/LL_ActionWords.pdf

Have fun bending, melting and twisting with the children in your life!

Sincerely,

Stacey

Audience Appreciation

I am going to participate in a Passover Seder tonight. For anyone who is not familiar with a Passover Seder, it is a dinner where everyone at the table participates in reading out of a special book called the Hagadah. It tells the story of the exodus of the Jewish people out of Egypt. There will be 24 guests celebrating Passover tonight and each of us will take a turn reading out of the Hagadah.

As I think about the Seder, I keep coming back to audience participation, and the importance of teaching this concept to children when they are very small. We tend to think that the person dancing on stage is the one who is actively engaged. But this is not true at all. Yes, of course the person on the stage is engaged but the audience member is just as engaged. The audience member is a critic, observer, and a part of the experience.

The Role of the Audience

1. To listen. We listen with our eyes and ears.

2. We are quite so we don't disturb the dancers and other audience members.

3. We watch. We look for shapes, levels, steps. We watch for images.

4. We think. We feel. What did the dance remind us of? How did the dance make us feel?

5. We share. We tell the dancers what we saw and liked.

6. We applaud. We thank the performers for sharing with us.

Sometimes it is hard to sit and be still and not be the one on stage. But when the audience has a job to do, they have the tools to focus and give feedback. They have the tools to be apart of the performance and have the opportunity  to use the dance skills they are learning by observing.

When I am sitting at the Passover table tonight, I will be an audience member and "performer." I will speak, listen, observe, think, and share.

Children at every age can be audience members and start practicing this very important job.

Have fun being an audience member with the children in your life!

Sincerely,

Stacey

Dance Treasure Chest

I love keeping a dance journal.  I started this in college.  I wrote down thoughts, inspirations, technical corrections, concepts, anything and everything that I encountered in a day.  It helped me process what I was experiencing.  And some of those thoughts became dances. And some dances I saw encouraged me to right down my thoughts.

Dance Notebooks
I bought small notebooks, pencils and colorful erasers for the children in one of my classes and asked them to write about what the learned, experienced, and what their favorite activity was in class.  These students are 6 and 7 years old.  Some of them asked me if they could draw a picture of their experiences and my answer was an absolute YES!!  They were very excited to each pick a notebook (they were various colors), a pencil and a colorful eraser to go on top of the pencil.

After they were finished writing I asked them one at a time to read what they wrote.   Some entries were very detailed and others were about a sentence. It was special for me to hear each child read about their own personal movement experience and it was also a great assessment tool.

If your child/students are not old enough to write down some words or sentences you can have them draw a picture about their movement adventure.  They can describe the picture for you. 

For examples of this check out http://www.leapinglegs.com/literacy.html

There is more than one way to learn from an experience.
By doing and then redoing in a new way, like writing about it or drawing a picture or talking about it, you develop a deeper understanding of the kinesthetic experience.  Having a special notebook to process the experience is just as important, it is like the dance treasure chest that holds all the gold!

Have fun moving and writing/coloring with the children in your life!

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

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

I love the wind.  I love feeling the air on my skin.  It makes my body feel alive.  I love teaching movement with the wind as a tool for body awareness.  It is the perfect tool.  We are normally not aware of our skin like we are aware of our knees bending or our arms swinging.  It is hard to be conscious of the back of your neck or the front of your shins.  But when a strong brisk breeze blows by you can feel every ounce of your body come alive.  The hair on your skin stands up as if to shout "We are here!" like the Whos did in the book Horton Hears a Who!

In feeling all sides of the body, in essence your three dimensionality, you become aware of all the directions your body can move.  The wind can blow forward, back, side, and side and so can you.  The wind can twist and turn, so can you.  A kite can take flight and so can you.

Movement Activity

1. Talk about the wind with your child/class.  It travels in all directions.  How do we know?  We can feel it.  We can feel it whooshing by our legs, it sometimes can push us forward or back with its force.  We can see it when our hair gets whipped about or when it picks up a piece of litter and lifts it off the ground.  Let's see if we can travel in all directions like the wind.
2. Give each child a scarf.  (If you don't have a scarf, use a tissue.)  Can they move their scarves forward and back?  Can they make their movements bigger and smaller?  Can they move through the space with big sweeping forward and back movements?  Next try side (right and left) and back.  Can they twirl and spin with the scarf?  Can they move from low to high and high to low?
3. Make a circle and have one child go into the circle at a time.  Watch as they do their wind dance.  Have the children pretend to blow softly, moving their scarves gently, directing the dancer to move gently and slowly like a calm breeze.  Then have the children move their scarves fast and furious like a blustery wind.  The dancer in the middle then should react with gusto!

Have fun moving up down and all around and off the ground with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Keeping the Beat

I just got back from exhibiting at the eastern regional AAHPERD convention.  For those of you who have never heard of AAHPERD it stands for American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.  There mission is to "promote and support leadership, research, education, and best practices in the professions that support creative, healthy, and active lifestyles."
Check it out at www. http://www.aahperd.org/

I had a wonderful time meeting educators from all over the East Coast who are dedicated to bringing  movement programs and possibilities to kids and adults.  My booth was next to the American Heart Association.  They were promoting their Jump Rope For Heart Program .  Here is more information about the program taken straight from their website http://honor.americanheart.org/site/TR/JumpforHeart/NAT-JumpNational?fr_id=1240&pg=entry

• The American Heart Association, with its partner the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, launched Jump Rope For Heart as a national fund-raising and education program in 1978. More than 30,000 schools jump in each year to help fight America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers – heart disease and stroke – and teach kids the importance of physical activity and a healthy heart. Jump Rope For Heart continues to educate students about living a heart-healthy lifestyle.
• Jump Rope For Heart develops rope-jumping skills that are fun for everyone while promoting the value of physical activity and teamwork. Students learn about the seriousness of heart disease and stroke, the lifelong benefits of physical activity and the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle. The program also teaches students to set and achieve goals and shows them how they can make a difference through volunteering and community service.

Jumping Rope Teaches Rhythm
I remember when I was 10 I learned a jump rope tap dance routine.  It was crazy hard and fun.  The most interesting thing about jumping rope is that it helps to teach rhythm.  Many people tell me they can't dance or they have no rhythm.  What they really are saying is that they are self conscious about how they move and have never been taught that they don't have to move like anyone else.  There is no right or wrong way to move the body - just choices and possibilities!

When I teach rhythm to students I use jump ropes, balls and hula hoops.  Why? Because you need to keep a beat in order to do these activities.  When you jump rope you natural keep a beat, the same with bouncing a ball or moving a hula hoop!  Everyone can keep a beat, but it is easier when you are not thinking about the beat but doing an activity.

Try using balls, jump ropes and hula hoops and see what fun you can have. And thanks to Donna, my first dance teacher, for teaching me to jump rope and tap dance, I will never forget it!

Keep moving up down and all around with a beat and a jump!

Sincerely,
Stacey

How to Get From A to B

Have you ever heard kids sing "Don't step on the crack or you'll break your mother's back?"  Well, if you haven't let me explain.  Kids love to step over cracks in the sidewalk, pavement, floor tiles, you name it.  I don't particularly love the phrase (especially because I am a mom and don't need any back problems!)  This game as silly as it is, is great for movement exploration.

When choosing to move from point A to point B, the possibilities are endless. You can choose to move in a straight line, a curve or a zig-zag pathway.  Or you can choose different steps to get there: hop, skip, tip- toe, jump,etc.  You can move fast or slow.  You can choose to move in different levels (high, middle and low) and you can choose to move over cracks, around cracks and through them.


Movement Activity:
Dancing On, Over, Around and Through
I love painter's tape.  It is such an easy tool to use.  The tape can be applied to the floor easily, and it comes up without a mess, won't leave a mark and takes seconds to remove.  Especially if you work in so many different spaces, it can be invaluable because you can mark off you movement space ( I make a square and call it the movemet square.)

This activity uses painter's tape to makes "cracks" on the floor.  You can design zig-zags, curves and straight lines on the floor.  You can do shapes or even letters or numbers. The choice is yours.

1. Design the floor with various lines, shapes and letters.  Ask the kids what they see.  Observation is a great skill and children can learn a lot by verbalizing what they see.
2. The children can dance on any of the lines.  See if they can walk on the lines.  After they have mastered this challenge ask them to jump, tip-toe, skip, etc.on the lines. 
3. Next,  change the tempo.  It's fun to continue an activity and change the music.  Ask the kids if they notice a difference in their movements with the different tempos and music selections.  Observations are always encouraged!
4. You gueseed it.  Try it again moving in different levels.  Is it harder to move in one level then another?
5. And lastly can they jump over lines, can they move around them without touching them and can they run, hop, skip and leap through them? 

Like many activities, you can choose to do some or all of the steps.  Never be afraid to repeat activities either.  Kids learn by repetition and master skills by practice. 

Have fun and let all the moms out their know what you are exploring in case they feel a twinge in their backs!

Keep exploring and observing all the up down movements with the children in your life!

Sincerely,
Stacey

Body Awareness and the Power of the Breath

My daughter had a snow day from school last Wednesday.  We sat on the couch and watched the snow fall, it was quite beautiful and I was amazed that my very active child was cuddling with me for so long.  I got off the couch to do some chores and she just sat on the couch all cuddled up.  This was quite unusual.  I would love to say that she was taken with the snow and the peacefulness of the moment but when I touched her forehead I knew otherwise.  She was sick.

You often hear the expression "you have to listen to your body" and it is the truth.  It also relates to last week's Friendship Dance post.  We have to learn how to listen.  To quite ourselves enough to connect to what we are feeling.  Adults do anyway.  My daughter was trying to tell me all week that she was tired.  I first thought she had the Monday blues.  I then thought she did not get enough sleep.  NOPE.  She was listening to her body.  Her body was tired.

As parents, teachers, friends, etc. we need to embrace the cues our body gives us and we need to connect to the cues that our children, students, friends' bodies tell us as well.  My daughter lacked her usual pep, was whiny and lost her patience very easily.  All cues.

What I learned from this experience is LISTEN.  Not only to the words (which she expressed very well) but to body language!

Some children don't have the words to express themselves.  Sometimes it is due to age, language difficulty or a non-verbal disability.  Using the body becomes an extremely important tool, a necessity to communicate with others.  The body is truly a tool of communication.

Body Awareness Activity

1. Lie on the floor with your arms by your sides and your legs straight out. Breathe deeply and concentrate on your chest rising and falling.  Rising with each inhale and falling with each exhale.  You can have students put a small doll or a bean bag on their chests to watch it rise and fall.
2. Focus your breath now in your belly.  You can place your hands on your belly or the doll.  Watch/feel it rise and fall.  Feel how slowly your belly rises and falls. 
3. Jump up and run around the room, or in place for one minute.  Lie back down and watch/feel your chest rise and fall.  Feel how fast your belly rises and falls. 
4. Your breathing speeds up when you speed up.  It slows down when you slow down. 

Enjoy this simple activity and see what words kids use to describe their breathing before and after the activity.  Did they know that their breath was connected to how they moved?


A Few Words About Breath:
The act of breathing is part of the autonomic nervous system.  We breath automatically, we don't have to tell our body to do it, it does it beautifully on its own.  Breathing, however, is the only part of the autonomic nervous system that our body can control.  We can speed it up and slow it down on our own.  We can also use this to our advantage. Have you ever been startled? Your breathing speeds up.  To calm yourself down, you consciously slow your breath down.  When we clue into another person's breathing we can gain important information about the person.  Learning to clue into the breath is a wonderful mind-body tool. 

Keep moving up down and all around with the children in your lives!

Sincerely,
Stacey