Shake, Shimmy, & Dance: 1/17

The Plan

Book
Fly Blanky Fly by Anne Margaret Lewis
This is a very easy read for Shake, Shimmy. The longest page spread is the first and it sets up the story. Then, I lead the kids and caregivers in following along with the motions that Blanky does. This morning, I decided not to demonstrate what a “whoosh” or “choo-choo” looked like and instead I asked the kids first to show me. This led to a lot of great movement and really encouraged their creativity. After a little bit, I did demonstrate a motion for the friends who needed some guidance.

Props
Activity Scarves!

The Playlist

Hello & How Are You? — Old Town School of Folk Music
Take the Sun — Caspar Babypants
Get Up and Go Go — The Fresh Beat Band
Rocketship Run — Laurie Berkner Band
Jump Up (It’s a Good Day) — Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Colors of You — Miss Nina and the Jumping Jacks
Popcorn — Mr. Jon and Friends
Shake Hands With Friends — Ella Jenkins

How It Went

I kicked this dreary January day off with “Take the Sun” which I used as a stretching song. We stretched up and down along with the lyrics and then I let the kids stretch however they wanted during the instrumental part and end of the song. This was a good choice to start with as everyone seemed pretty sleepy this morning.

We then went straight into a free-dance song with “Get Up and Go Go”. This didn’t work as well as I wanted. My regulars were ready to go, but I could see that some of the newer friends needed more direction. I just worked with it and shouted out some suggestions and followed through with keeping up the energy.

Then came “Rocketship Run” and “Jump Up (It’s a Good Day)”, both of which have actions in the lyrics. Both of which are classic Shake, Shimmy songs and beloved by my patrons.

It was time for the activity scarves to come out with “Colors of You” and “Popcorn”. During “Colors of You”, I asked the kids to wave their scarves. I really love how that song can work two ways: with colored scarves and also in a social justice way. And for “Popcorn”, we bunched up our scarves and tossed them into the air. I saw lots and lots of giggles during this activity and will definitely repeat it, though I typically do popcorn themed songs with the parachute!

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