Marching & Movement Christmas

Christmas Moves
Use holiday symbols to dramatize this circle dance. Have the children form a circle. Place a paper cutout in the center of the circle representing the symbol you are singing about. Sing this song to the tune of "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."
Marching around the Christmas tree,
Christmas tree, Christmas tree.
Marching around the Christmas tree
with Christmas on it's way.
-----
Skipping around the Christmas wreath,
Christmas wreath, Christmas wreath.
Skipping around the Christmas wreath
with Christmas on it's way.
-----
Hopping around the Christmas bell,
Christmas bell, Christmas bell.
Hopping around the Christmas bell
with Christmas on it's way.

(from brighthub.com)

Hiding from the Rain (or snow)
Arrange hoops in an open space (the hoops are the home base).
At the sound of the music the kids begin to turn around in the open space.
When the music stops, the entertainer bangs rapidly on a drum (like raindrops falling).
The kids run to find shelter from the rain (in the hoop).
When the rain subsides and the music begins, the kids may leave their home base and continue to wander around in the open space.

Snowflake Float
Children (or you) can create and cut out several snowflakes to use for a winter movement activity. Encourage them to spread out so they have enough room to move around without bumping into others. Each child can select a snowflake and toss it into the air and then try to keep the snowflake afloat by blowing it or using their arms to move the air underneath the it. See which child can keep their snowflake afloat the longest.

Indoor Ice Skating
Turn a carpeted classroom or living room into a movement activity by making an ice skating rink for children. Give each child two pieces of wax paper (or two paper plates) to use as ice skates. Children can position the paper underneath their socked feet and glide around the room. Create a “rink” by positioning items around the room for the children to skate around. Encourage them to move their arms while skating around the room. I'm planning on using this song from Charlie Brown's Christmas - Skating: Vince Guaraldi

Falling Snowflakes
Play classical music for children and encourage them to pretend they are a snowflake drifting through the air during a winter snowstorm. Children can use their whole bodies when pretending to fall through the air. When the music changes tempo, children can move faster or slower to match their movements to the music. Children can change from delicate snowflakes to hard frozen hail or soft wet snow adjusting their movements to correlate with their new form.

caterpillars

here's a quick tutorial on how to make some fun little caterpillars. The kids loved filling them up with fruit loops and then gobbling them up! This is great for our insect theme.

What you'll need:

*note: I used craft glue for the eyes and antenna and hot glue for attaching the head to the body. Also find the center of the pom pom and put the glue deep in there before pushing the pipe cleaner on, it helps keep them together.

p.s. I jut noticed I spelled antenna wrong on all the photos, I'll fix it tomorrow...woops:)

Food on the Move

Here's some ideas and songs for Food marching and movement:

make a pizza pie to Charlotte Diamonds "I am a Pizza". Just lay out a parachute and have the children sit around it. Give each child a handful of pizza toppings and let them decorate the pizza in front of them. At the end of the song when it talks about "I am a pizza dropped on the ground...now I am a mess" let the kids make a mess of the pizza.

I made these simple pizza toppings out of construction paper. To make start by stapling two pieces of paper almost closed, then stuff with tissue paper, and staple all the way shut.



If you bought the Halloween Wee Sing Cd, there is a fun popcorn ball song on it. Or use the church's popcorn song. There is another fun version of the primary song here. This would be a great alternative to the pizza, with white ping pong balls or sock balls on the parachute.



Laurie Berkner has a TON of food songs, here's some ideas:

The Pretzel Store Make a pretzel store out of cardboard (or just designate an area in the gym). Have a bowl of pretzels in the store. In the song the pretzels fly away,swam away, and gallop away. At the end they sing "I love pretzels" this would be a good time to let the kids take a pretzel and eat one!


The Cookie Bakers of the Night Dim the lights, have the kids sit in a circle and sit in the middle of the circle with a flashlight. When the song talks about hiding have the kids try to duck under your light. Follow the song, mix them, taste it, shape them, roll them, cut them. A fun idea would be to have the moms be the bakers and the children be the dough. Have fun mixing, rolling and shaping your kids:). Then let your kids jump around!

Fruit Salad Salsa

This song has tons of good instructions for the kids. Stand in a circle and let the kids shake shake shake and move in and out.

Ice Cream Cone

have different colored "ice cream" balls in different corners of the gym. Let the kids run and get the flavor that the song is talking about and pretend to eat it!

Do a Hug Sandwich

Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot"Gather children in a circle with two children in the middle.

I'm the peanut butter,(first child points to their chest)

I'm the jam,(second child points to their chest)

We stick together When we can.(children hug each other)

Bread will gently squeeze us,(outside circle of children gently hugs the two in the middle)

Squish, squish, squish,We make a yummy Hug sandwich!

Move Your Body!

I have not yet used this theme, but am looking forward to a fun month of finger plays, songs, and movement. Here are a few song suggestions to move to.


Janeen Brady's Watch Me Sing album contains a few great body movement songs.

Of course the Marching Feet song is perfect for Marching.

See Me Run is always a fun way to move that body.

Eyes Were Made For Seeing, I Wiggle My Torso, and I Have Ten Toes are great body awareness songs.



Laurie Berkner also has a few fun songs to move our wonderful bodies to.

Song In My Tummy is a fun action song about different body parts having a song.

I Really Love to Dance is a fun dancing song.

Bring Your Clothes is an action song where you can move your body with the instructions of the song.

Here are a few other songs by other artists.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is always a fun body challenge.

Anna Banana is a song of counting, clapping and doing the splits.

Here is a link to some creative ways to get the kids to interact.

If you have any great ideas or success please share. Enjoy moving your bodies with your kids this month!

insect headbands

Here is a fun easy way to make insect headband for the kids for marching and movement. Just buy some headbands, pom poms, and pipe cleaners at the dollar store. Twist two pipecleaners together, hot glue a pom pom on each end, twist onto the center of the headband. It's good to add a little dot of glue to the headband for extra stability.

Insect Themed Movement Ideas

My sister Kathleen shared the idea to make your own
egg shakers. What you will need for these fun themed instruments: an 18 pack of eggs ( I got mine for a $1) a hot glue gun, rice, and a egg carton. I painted the carton in rows to match the eggs so that the children can use there sorting skills when putting them away. To assemble the eggs fill one part of the egg with some rice, put a small bead of hot glue around the circumference of the egg, and quickly shut.

Doodlebugs is a fun marching song.

The Ugly Bug Ball you can either dance or march to.

Insideout A-Cappella's Eensi Weensi Spider this too can be a fun marching song. You can also use rhythm sticks (chop sticks, drum sticks) and do a rhythm drill mimicking the beat and the rain.

Charlot Diamond's Spider Web

you can have them spin around in circles or around the room. Or you can have the children sit in a circle and toss a ball of yarn to create a web.

With the Hug Bug song you can hide plastic insects in the gym prior to movement and start out with this song and have children search for the bugs, and when they hand them in they can even get a hug. On the last day of the week, or a nice day during the month you can take the children outside and have them hunt for real bugs.

With the Slimmy the Slug song they can slither around like slugs on the ground, or you could bring in blankets, if you didn't have a large group and have moms pull them around on their tummies while lying on the blanket.

For the Buzz, Buzz song you can make little bug antenna by using a generic plastic head band, pipe cleaners, and pom pom balls. Have the children where the antenna and fly, or buzz to different flowers in the room.

For the Balance Beam song, you can either bring in 1x4's or use the lines on the gym for the children to practice there balancing skills. To make it work with the theme, you can say they are bugs walking on a thin leaf or branch, or like it is a row in the garden and they don't want to step on the new plants.

Jump and Fly would be a fun song for pretending like you are a bug.

If you have any great songs or ideas that you have used or are going to use, please share.

Visial Aids for Fingerplays and Singing Time

Throughout the years we have seen many creative visual aids to help out during fingerplays and singing time. These visuals help to motivate kids to sit still and participate so that they can earn the privilege of picking the next fingerplay or song. I thought it would be fun to start sharing some of those ideas.

Here is what I did this month for Fingerplays. I have made a generic felt board with a piece of cardboard and felt. And then created images that represent the six fingerplays we are covering this month on one side of a rain drop. I then choose different children to come up and pick a rain drop to turn over so that we can start our next finger play.

There are many ways to go about this, if you have any weather visual aids and are willing to share your ideas and images we would all appreciate it. Please email me your ideas and images, and I will add them to the site. Thanks!

Here's an idea for singing time. Find your umbrella, tie some yarn to each tip, tape raindrops to the yarn. The names of the songs are on the raindrops. The kids loved this!

Weather Marching and Movement

Here are some fun ideas for marching and movement:

Thunderstorm by Laurie Berkner Band

This song could be used with a parachute or for circle time with rhythm sticks or with their hands. (you can use chopsticks for rhythm sticks!)



How about a snow fight to Snow Day-Bleu

just roll a bunch of white socks into snowballs and let the kids go nuts. If you have older kids you are worried about injury you could always use a bag of cotton balls (that way no one will get hit too hard:)



In the Clouds- Laurie Berkner
bring a white sheet, have children lay down and wiggle the "clouds" above the children (you could have moms help you hold it above the children, walk in circles, make it flow, etc.) *this is a good way to calm the children down when ending marching and movement*




Let's go Fly a Kite- Marry Poppins Soundtrack,
For this song you can assemble recycled grocery bags with a string and make kites. The kids love these kites!

Somewhere over the rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Have the kids hold their rainbow sticks, or make another version of these on a hair elastic.
OR - cut out long strips of tulle (in rainbow colors) and let the kids run with them
Also the rainbow tulle strips would work great with a classical song having them run around making the wind blow {fast, slow, high, low, in circles, etc.}

Love & Family

February is all about Love & Family!

Here is a link to love and family fingerplays and songs .

Remember these cute valentine felt cookies for the '5 pretty valentines' fingerplay ... they're so easy to make and the kids love them!

Here are a few fun ideas for Marching & Movement:

Cut out a bunch of large paper hearts, spread them out and let the kids dance to music and find a heart when the music stops. A great song for this is Charlotte Diamond, "four hugs a day". Here is a free download of the song.

Another fantastic song is, "I had a friend" by Laurie Berkner, on her Buzz, Buzz album. Buy it on Amazon for $.99!

For singing time, remember you can download songs for free on lds.org. There are a ton of great primary songs that are about love & family.