MAPP: A Modge Podge of Lessons

Now that I've been more diligent (comparatively!) in blogging, it kills me when I don't take a picture to document the cuteness.  Around Valentine's we were doing a whole "Arts" unit and I had "Dance". 

It was one of the most active days I've taught by far and it was such a blast.  We were on the move so much that I forgot to take any pictures and, oh my-there were some cute moments!

WHAT IS DANCING?

Dance expresses how people feel…without saying a word! You show happiness, anger, love, humor, sadness, beauty, fun…all by the way you move your feet, move your arms, your hips or any part of your body and by the expressions on your face. Most of the time people dance to music or a specific beat.

There are many different types of dance…(I had the kids draw various dances out of a bowl. I'd do (my best attempt) at a dance step and then they'd imitate for exercise time.)

Ballet
Hip Hop: breakdancing, popping, krunchin, jerkin,
Tap
Folk Dancing: Cultural dances
Belly Dancing
Modern (act like the wind, the ocean etc)
Swing Dancing (Charleston)
Latin Dancing (cha cha esk move)

My goals for the day were have the kids experience how fun dancing is and introduce them to various genres of dance.  Little did they know they were just warming up for more to come!!
 
I read them a couple of books about ballet and some about fictional characters that danced.  (Personal favorite "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae.)
 
We did snack, and worksheets etc but the highlight of the day was going upstairs and showing them clips of real dancers on the computer, then letting them practice!

Ballet/Polina Seminova: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2Gp7a38DM&feature=email

Hip Hop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o8we0lJptM&feature=email

                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FX_NFOgQEU&feature=email

Tap Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM&feature=email

Modern/SYTYCD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe4-ZNcP14E&feature=email

Swing Dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAy0cYbPi18

Cultural/Haka (PCC): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAIJNKRajTc&feature=email

Cultural/Native American Hoops Dancer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqNRLIH4vZk&feature=email

The kids could not get enough of the Polina Seminova one (it IS a really neat number!)-they'd line up and take turns running and leaping through the air. They also requested encores of swing dancing.  Easton made the comment (referring to Swing), "I wish I were bigger so I could throw people up in the air and stuff!" 

Just picture-Grant and Eliza, Jackson and Colista and Easton and Taya swingin their little hearts out! That is the moment I wish I had my video camera. They were adorable. 

I showed the haka clip very last and taught the boys a couple of lines from it. (It was really hard finding a clip that wasn't too scary). Picture me shouting "Ka mate, ka mate Ka ora, ka ora. Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru.

Nana i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra. Upane, upane. Upane kaupane. Whiti te ra!!" and the three boys wearing their kuikui nut necklaces, slapping their arms and chests! 

Then I taught the girls a hula from a couple of lines from IZ's "Over the Rainbow".  The girls enjoyed putting on the hula skirts and leis. The boys performed for the girls then the girls performed for the boys. (I wanted to teach the kids how they should act when watching a performance and what to do after a performance ie Clap and shout "Bravo!")

What I will not do for preschool-I tell ya what!  I was exhausted by the end of the day, but what fun!!

The week of St. Patrick's Day I had the letter Z and Cars (transportation unit).  So it was all about how Cars go ZOOM! My favorite part of that day was watching the kids following steps to drawing their own sports cars. They really loved that, and did a great job. 

On St. Patty's we had a party, complete with streamers. It was rather hard to get them to settle down for circle time, but I couldn't blame them since I had bagpipes blaring in the background!! 

We read about St. Patrick and how he overcame the adversity of being a slave (try explaining "slave" to a bunch of 3-5year olds!) and returned to Ireland to spread Christianity.  Side note: Did you know he used the shamrock as a symbol of the godhead? (I just love learning new things when I teach!)

We also read "“Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk” as well as a poem about leprechaun's and their lucky shamrocks. A leprechaun turned our vanilla pudding green, so in return we followed clues and found his

hidden pot of gold! 

 I changed the game "Duck Duck Goose" to "Clover Clover Shamrock".  We also played "Ring Around the Shamrock"-The kids took turns being the Shamrock in the center..."Ring around the shamrock, everybody kick your sock..." (Hey- I was ad libbing! The kids rather enjoyed kicking at the person in the center...we kept it soft I promise!!)

Rachel (Colista's mom) and I took the group to the St. Patty's Day parade downtown.  We arrived at the end of the route right as the beginning was approaching. It was fun, though some of the groups were "done" by the time they got to us and the most of the candy had been distributed prior to us.  But the kids didn't know the difference and had a blast.  (Until it was time to walk back the the car; they were kind of done by that point...and we forgot which street we parked on and walked a little more than we needed to...and I was pushing three kids in a 2 kid stroller so they could take turns walking/being pushed...and it got a little hot...and...I'D DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN NEXT YEAR!!) 

Taya, Grant, Jax, Colista and Liza-Easton was sick.

On a personal note: Jackson wasn't about to be tricked by ol mom.  It was my first attempt to "trick" the kids and I failed miserably. I had the green tablecloth out and had put a dot of green food dye in a glass so when I poured their milk for breakfast it would "change before their eyes"...Jax was like, "Mom there is a dot of green food dye here...why did you do that?!"  And at preschool, he made sure the kids knew it was me who changed the pudding and hid the chocolate gold pieces..."Jax! We are just having fun-Shhh!"

Actually, it was probably good he kept letting the cat out of the bag, because Eliza did NOT like the idea of a guy walking around our house playing tricks on us.  She kept saying, "I DO NOT like that leprechaun man!"  What cracked me up even more was a couple of days after St. Patty's, after Jax had pondered on things a little he said, "Mom, I knew it was you turning everything green because real leprechauns only live in Ireland!" (Oh good, he is still a kid after all! :)