Dance
Paper Plate Tambourines
Take 2 paper plates and decorate the bottoms of them with markers, crayons, tissue paper pieces, ribbons -- anything you have handy. Then put the two paper plates together so that the decorated bottoms are facing out. Begin to fasten the paper plates together by stapling around the outer edge. Once you have stapled three-quarters of the way around, pour some rice or beans into ...(read more)
Hula Hoop Dancing
Get out those tried and true hoops and have some fun! They can be used as a boat for "Row, Row Your Boat." You can dance around, inside and outside the hoop. You can play musical hoops and freeze inside like a statue when the music turns off. (read more)
Freeze Dancing
Turn on the radio or CD Player and start to dance with the kiddies. Then turn the music off randomly and surprise the kids by saying 'Freeze.' If they don't freeze, they can be out or you can just continue to play without doing the elimination. With more kids the elimination works well and they have fun with it. Loads of laughs for a rainy day!(read more)
Backyard Boogie
Take your music and dancing outside for a change! With an extension cord or an outside outlet, you can play your kids favorite music or some of your old favories (we've played Abba, Billy Joel and the Eagles) and have a backyard dance party. I have found that it helps to place an object - a small blanket, ball or riding toy in the center of ...(read more)
Animal Freeze Dance
You can play this with or without a song. Pick an animal and say, "Dance like a rabbit!" After a little while say, "Freeze." Then stop moving and then call out another animal to imitate its movement. Between animals say, "Freeze." You can take turns with your child picking different animals to imitate. Pick animals that cover a variety of movements such as frogs, snakes, monkeys, elephants or ...(read more)
Freeze Dance Cards
With the proliferation of musical cards out there, we found a fun game to put that music to good use long after the celebration. We use them to play "freeze" dancing games. Open the card and everyone gets to dance their own way. When the card closes and the music stops, everyone must freeze in their dance pose. This is especially fun on rainy days. ...(read more)
Reindeer Pokey
You put your antlers in, you put your antlers out, you put your antlers in and you shake them all about...are you dancing yet? You do the reindeer pokey and your turn yourself around, that's what the reindeer do, WOO-HOO!! Put those antlers up as you turn about and watch your little ones dissolve into giggles. Jump up and shout, WOO-HOO before the next verse, which can ...(read more)
Monkey See, Monkey Do Music
Put on some fun music and take turns being the "monkey." The monkey's job is to imitate what the other dancer is doing. Does the music make you want to clap? spin? hop? roll? sleep? Monkey see, monkey do! Take turns and see how creative you can be. Kids LOVE to be imitated and to imitate, even little ones. (read more)
A Little Bit Louder Now!
Help your child learn to discriminate between loud and quiet music. Play your child's favorite music and have your child begin to dance while you slowly turn the volume up. Have your child dance faster as the music gets louder. Then, slowly turn the music down, and have your child slow down their movements. Keep decreasing the volume until the music is off, and have your ...(read more)
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A Great Book Rhymes!
Kids are a funny bunch. They are often loath to change and anything new. But still, our little ones are open to so much -- and so much more than we more ossified parents are! Think of poetry: preschoolers happily read and repeat poems with ease and
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