Dance...then fall down!

The teachers turned on some music and then invited the children to join us on the rug and dance.  Some twirled on their own and some joined hands in pairs.  The group grew slowly and we circled up and danced around and around.  Cody suggested that we "fall down".  The group was cooperative and we all giggled when we hit the ground.  We danced and fell again and again.  Perhaps next time we'll sing "Ring Around the Rosie" while we dance.  Thank you for the fun idea, Cody!

Spin Like a Dreidel

This week, we had a special Hanukkah visit with Dancy Nancy.  The Etzim class took time stretching, leaping, jumping and their favorite- falling, with Dancy Nancy to some fun Hanukkah tunes.  Hoops in motions, the Etzim class was spinning and twirling in time with the music, filling the community room with laughter!  We spun, spun, spun, spun and all had a chance to land on gimmel!  

A Special Visitor for Hanukkah

We had a special visitor today in the Kohavim class. Molly's grandmother, Barbara Krupat, came in and shared a wonderful Hannukah story with us called, The Hanukkah Trike, by Michelle Edwards. In the story a little girl gets a new tricycle for Hanukkah. When she tries to ride the trike for the first time, she falls off and scrapes her knees. Though she feels afraid, she finds the courage to try riding her tricycle again by remembering the bravery of the Maccabees. After hearing the story, the Kohavim children shared things that they have tried even though they might be challenging or scary. Some of the responses were trying the monkey bars backwards, riding a bicycle, and putting together a hard puzzle. We then danced to music form the CD, ShirLaLa Chanukah. What a wonderful way to start our morning! Thank you to Molly and Barbara for sharing one of their favorite Hanukkah books and music with Kohavim!

Dance Party

The children were delighted to gather on the rug for an impromptu dance party this morning.  Rhythm, melody, and a good beat - that's all we needed to join together and move our bodies.   Ally offered her hands to Joseph as an invitation to dance together.  It's great to see the children begin to make connections with each other.

 

Falling Leaves Are Everywhere!

Today the Etzim class were falling leaves, whirling and spinning with Dancing Nancy!  Then we went back to our classroom and took some time to look at the leaves we have collected over the last week.  We looked at what happens when our leaves get old.  We examined the different shapes, colors, and textures of the leaves, and then headed outside to build our collection!

Thank you Dancing Nancy

 It's hard to believe that today was our last session with Dancing Nancy. Fortunately we still have Shalom Day to look forward to and to share with Nancy. Thank you so much Nancy for working and playing hard with us all year. The children are clearly excited about performing our new dances on the last day of school.  Today they continued to work on regulating their body movements by freezing along with the music. They also had to follow multi-part directions as they practiced their dances. Using the hula hoops is always a hit, and today was no exception. It was great to see all the creative uses of the hoops that the children discovered. Maria and I tried to use them the old
fashioned way but without much
success. We need more practice.
Thank you Nancy for another great year!

 

Movin' and Groovin'

The Rainbows thoroughly enjoyed their visit with Dancing Nancy.  They warmed up with some stretches, did some running, skipping, and galloping, and then had a chance for some parachute play.   We bounced the ball around on the fabric, and even popped it into the air.  We climbed under the dome of the parachute and looked at how the beautiful colors played on our skin.  When class came to an end, the children found a way to make everyone smile just a bit broader by displaying their smile stickers in a create way.

Please view the video at the link below:

Movin' and Groovin'

Pilates on the ball?

Well, not exactly. Dancing Nancy gave each of the kids a ball this morning, and they had some fun balancing on it, rolling different parts of their bodies on it, leaning on it, and just plain sitting on it. It's not as easy as it looks! What a fun way to do some gross motor work together. The music just added to the enjoyment.

Pilates on the ball?

Well, not exactly. Dancing Nancy gave each of the kids a ball this morning, and they had some fun balancing on it, rolling different parts of their bodies on it, leaning on it, and just plain sitting on it. It's not as easy as it looks! What a fun way to do some gross motor work together. The music just added to the enjoyment.

Collaboration

Gabriel and Micah were playing xylophones with gusto today, when Lucy decided to join them. Rather than add another instrument to the mix, she decided to dance along with the music. This spontaneous, expressive performance featured lots of different dance moves as Lucy moved around and between her classmates. The three shared space on our circle rug for quite a while; they even attracted an audience of a few others who later joined in the fun.