After warm-up in my preschool gymnastics classes (and sometimes in dance, too), I do a conditioning portion of class. One of our all-time favorites is "Animal Conditioning. Each animal has a picture in my bag. One at a time, students pick a picture out of my bag and we do that animal's movement across the floor. I usually say, … [Read More...]
Lesson Plans
Love and Valentines
I love dance. I love teaching. And I LOVE my students! As I pulled this lesson out to put it up on the blog, this valentine from last year fell out. Happy smiles! … [Read More...]
The Rainbow Fish
Teaching dance classes with books is one of my favorite pastimes. I love how a story can motivate movement in children! The Rainbow Fish is a fun story for 3-8 … [Read More...]
Dancing a Book About Lines: The Straight Line Wonder
This is one of those books I just discovered while perusing the children's section of the library (a frequent activity of mine, much to my husband's dismay). It is … [Read More...]
Dance Games
Secret Agents
Some dear friends in college taught me this variation on The Dice Game. It's a great way to involve boys and unwilling … [Read More...]
The Name Game
Here's a fun introductory game I'll use in a first day of dance camp or as a creative portion of technique class. Each … [Read More...]
Fitness
Jump in the Line!
This is my favorite cardio dance song for older adults. It's so fun, but simple! My class could probably do it by … [Read More...]
Workout of the Week – 40 Minute AMRAP: As Many Rounds As Possible
This week's workout is nice and simple. Do the listed exercises as many times as you can in 40 minutes! You are … [Read More...]