Shake, Shimmy, & Dance: 7/20

During the summer, we’ve switched to a weekly format again! I’m packing in between 60-120 people in a room and we are DANCING ourselves silly!

The Plan

Book
Hiccupotamus by Steve Smallman
All of the animals make noise to create music, but what has Hippo been doing this whole time? Lots of participation options for making noises and moving around which is perfect for opening a Shake, Shimmy, & Dance! program. The book does run a little bit longer though, so I won’t be able to use it during the school year where my age range skews more towards babies/toddlers.

Props
Shaker Eggs!

The Playlist

Hello & How Are You? — Old Town School of Folk Music
Clap Your Hands — They Might Be Giants
Dance All Day — Bari Koral Family Rock Band
Marching Medley — Ralph Covert
Fruit Salad Salsa — Laurie Berkner
Shakeable You — Imagination Movers
Milkshake — Old Town School of Folk Music
Shake Hands With Friends — Ella Jenkins

How It Went

Since we’re several weeks into summer by now, the families are very much used to the routine. I love seeing all of my regulars and I’m continually welcoming new people as well. “Fruit Salad Salsa” is a great egg shaker song and cannot say how much I appreciate Laurie Berkner’s music in this program. This summer I have been incorporating some television show music tie-ins (Fresh Beat Band, Imagination Movers) and those has been great successes since the families recognize the musicians.

(For an example of the Powerpoint and handouts that I made for each Shake, Shimmy please visit the original post.)