Introduces/Supports/Reinforces
-Physical activity
-Interpreting music
-Attention to detail
-Kinesthetic sense
-Pattern recognition
Supplies:
Construction Paper
String/yarn or paper
Tape
Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies (Here is a link to the song on youtube)
Clear space to move -Ask children to sit quietly for a moment and close their eyes.
-Play a clip of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" by Tchaikovsky.
-Ask the children to imagine what snowflakes might do if they were dancing to the music. Are they moving fast or slow? Spinning or going straight?
-Cut out 2 snowflakes for each child (slightly bigger than a child's hand). You can also let them do the decorating for the snowflakes to incorporate art as well as music.
-Cut a thin loop out of paper or plastic, and attatch to the back of the snowflake to make a place for the child to put their hand through.
-Have them simulate snowflakes falling and twirling, faster and slower to the music like they imagined snowflakes would.
*For older children, you might have them pick out a specific instrument sound they hear (drums, strings, horn) and mimic those sounds. Multiple children will make interesting patterns as some are moving slowly, some fast, depending on the music. If the children are too old for “snowflake hands”, it is sufficient for them to simply move their body to various parts of the music.
These activities are presented without assumption of your child’s age or developmental stage. Children grow and develop so quickly during early childhood, but they are still learning how to control their bodies and are taking in enormous information—everything is brand new!
If you try an activity and your child is unable to complete it, relax 😊. That is normal for children. Adjust the activities to your child’s level or do a different activity entirely. Perhaps come back to an activity in 3 or 6 or 12 months and try again.
We cannot emphasize enough that the MOST important part of these activities is exposure and fun—exposure of the child to new ideas and fun with the parent so the child has a long term, enduring idea that learning is a good thing.