Activity Plan Mixed Ages: Look How I Can Move

Children will swing and sway their way to learning with this lively movement activity.

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Ready-To-Use Teaching Idea: Music/Movement

Materials:

• record, CID, or cassette player
• variety of multi-cultural music (Latin, African, Asian, Bluegrass, Reggae, and so on)
• books or photographs about the different types of music

Objective: To develop self-- esteem, listening, and large-motor skills, and cultural awareness, children will think of special ways to move their bodies to music.

ACTIVITIES

1. Explain to children that each day they will listen to different types of music. Invite each child to think of a special body movement or dance for each type of music.
2. Introduce children to the day's featured music at the start of each day. Have the music playing as children enter the classroom.
3. Invite children to the meeting area so they can listen to the music again. Ask them if they have ever heard this type of music and encourage them to share what they may already know about the music. Ask them to describe the different types of sounds that they hear. Can they identify any of the instruments? Is the music fast or slow? How does the music make them feel? Share information about where the music comes from, how it may be used, and different instruments that are used to create the music. Use photographs or books to help children visualize the experience.
4. Next invite children to think of a way that they can move their bodies to the music. Encourage them to experiment with different types of body movements. Can they think of ways to move just one part of their bodies such as their heads, hands, or feet? Can they think of ways to move their entire body while standing in one place? Can they create big body movements or very small body movements?
5. Older children can create movements individually or as a group and work together to create a dance. Younger children can each take a turn sharing a movement and invite the others to copy it.
6. Create a language experience chart to summarize the children's experiences with the various types of music.

Curriculum Connection: FAMILY INVOLVEMENT

Send a note home to families requesting that they share music or songs that reflect their family's culture or preferences. Invite family members to share songs, recorded music, or play instruments for the children. Encourage children to be active participants by learning new songs, dances, or playing along with rhythm instruments.

Risa Young is the former director of two early childhood programs in the New York City area, the Children's Aid Society's Greenwich Village Center and the Innovative Learning Center at the Long Island College Hospital. She has been a consultant to Early Childhood Today for more than eight years.

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