Make-It Topic: Dance

Imaginative:

• Set up a dance studio using a bar on the wall and dance mats or create a dance bar
• Place out dance costumes for the children to try on
• Place out  Hawaiian Lei’s for the children to have a luau
• Place out dance shoes (ballet, tap you can often ask dance schools for old shoes with holes they do donate them)

Language:

• Read “Angelina Ballerina”
• Read “Barn Yard Dance” by Sandra Boynton
• Read poems about dance

Art:

• Make a collage of foot prints
• Lay out a large piece of paper  outside, use paint or color chalk on the children’s feet, allow them to dance a picture
• Make streamers  using paper and paper towel tubes
• Find dance pictures have the children cut them out to make a collage
• Make paper grass skirts
• Make lei’s to dance with

Water/Sand:

• Have shoes in the water table for washing
• Place shoe laces into the sand table with cups
• Place colored water encourage the children to let their fingers dance in the water
• Place out a series of tubes in the sand for dancing sand

Gross Motor:

• Place out foot prints for the children to follow doing a simple dance
• Grab small blankets for each child go outside have music let the children move with the blankets
• Play freeze dance; play the music when it stops everyone freezes
• Play hoops everyone dances around a hoop till the music stops then hop into a hoop almost like musical chairs
• Use streamers to dance with 
• Place out mats for the children to move on

Science/Curiosity:

• Use soda water and raisins to make dancing raisins
• Oil and water jars with sea creatures

Conceptual/Tabletop/Fine Motor:

• Have pictures of dancers to match
• Have dance sequencing cards 
• Lace up dance shoes
• Make a pictures of dancers for lacing
• Bead strings

Music:

• Dance to music
• Have different music such as bells and drums out
• Rain sounds

Quiet:

• Place out dance books
• Make a studio out of flannel have pictures the children can move around

Cooking:

• Make musical  bread make bread dough turn on music have the children shape it then bake and serve with jelly

Field Trips:

• Go to a dance studio for some dance time
• Arrange to have a instructor come to show the children some moves