Shake, Shimmy, & Dance: 7/25

The Plan

Book
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera
I love a song that grown-ups can join me during, which is the beginning of this book for sure. But I *also* love a song book that takes an original tune further by adding more verses and activities to engage the kids. And that is the magic of Jane Cabrera. I love this about so many of her books!

Props
Parachute!

The Playlist

Hello & How Are You? — Old Town School of Folk Music
Movin’ Groovin’ — Mr. Jon & Friends
Spin Around — The Fresh Beat Band
Bouncing, Hopping, & Jumping — Jim Gill
Rainy Day Dance Party — Milkshake
Popcorn Calling Me — Laurie Berkner
Great Big Sun — Justin Roberts
Shake Hands With Friends — Ella Jenkins

How It Went

This week’s Shake, Shimmy, & Dance started with Movin’ Groovin’ by Mr. Jon & Friends. Mr. Jon is one of my favorite musicians for Shake, Shimmy, & Dance and I hope that there are more albums to come soon! This one reinforces a lot of what we do in our opening song (clap, stomp) and we all know that kids learn best through repetition.

A song that’s sure to make you dizzy is Spin Around. Before starting this song, I like to let everyone that we can spin with our hands (rolling our arms) or that it’s okay to take a break from the music. Next, it was time to practice some large movement with Bouncing, Hopping, & Jumping. Then, our last song for the day before props was a free dance with Rainy Day Dance Party.

Our big parachute today became a popcorn popper with Popcorn Calling Me and some crumbled up recycled paper as our popcorn pieces on top. Some kids LOVE to run underneath the parachute and “pop” the popcorn, while others are content to shake the parachute as our popcorn poppers. I try to encourage both ways, as they’re great ways to play along.

Great Big Sun lets our parachute turn into a giant sun that rises up and down while kiddos get to run underneath. It’s a really joyous time for everyone involved.

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