Dancing Words Blog

Category: Fall/Autumn

  • Yellow Time – To Explore Colors, the Season of Fall, and Props

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    Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer is a picture book with numerous possibilities within a dance class for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classes. Check out this book if you are interested in exploring: colors, the season of fall, props, or turning a story into a group dance.

    Colors

    Yellow! The book is about a tree turning a beautiful yellow. My research has yet to find a book just on the color yellow, so this is a great opportunity to explore this primary color.

    To see other books about colors and rainbows, click here.

    The Season of Fall

    "Fall/autumn" is always a rich theme for dance classes – to explore change and transformation, the actions of falling and floating, and props to represent leaves and various colors.

    To see other books about the seasons, click here.

    Props

    The story of Yellow Time inspires me to give each student some yellow fabric (or scarves) to create some dancing leaves. Students LOVE props and the simple joy of something in their hand to toss, sway, circle, and zigzag. Head to your local fabric store to purchase a few yards of fabric. You can purchase tulle for everyone, or select a variety of fabrics in varying shades of yellow.

    A Story into a Dance

    Lauren Stringer's story easily leads to a full dance with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The students can be the crows in the trees. They can fly in and then be still (as dance students practice shapes and stillness). The crows can "hide" yellow pieces of fabric behind their backs, and then the leaves begin to dance. Use a music selection from Vivaldi's Four Seasons……

    Crows love yellow time.

    They fill still-leafy trees with their voices announcing it's coming to everyone. 

    Just before yellow time, the air smells different. Like wet mud and dry grass with a sprinkle of sugar.

    Yellow time comes before white time. Every time.

    Everyone is ready. The trees can't hold on forever.

    The sky billows gray with clouds, and then it begins…..Whoosh! Whoosh! WHOOSH!

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    Lauren Stringer has also illustrated other books mentioned on this blog:

    Deer Dancer

    When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky

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  • More Autumn Leaves

    I was browsing again at the library for inspring books about fall. Here are two to use in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classes.

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    Fall Leaves Fall! can be a springboard for improvisation or creating a dance with preschoolers and kindergarteners. You can read the book and use the actions described in the book – changing colors, falling, stomping, kicking, blowing, and catching. The book also describes the shapes and textures of leaves (pointy, smooth, small, large). These words can also be a starting point for movement explorations.

    When doing activities like this, I also like to use "fall music" such as Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag," the jazz standard "Autumn Leaves," and the fall section of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

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    With kindergarten and first grade students, you can also explore the book Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins. This is a more "factual" book on leaves, with nice, clear photos of leaves with a white backdrop on the pages. I would suggest using the book as part of a warm up activity, exploring shape. I like how the book describes various kinds of leaves (gingko, hickory, sweet gum, etc). The book talks about the size of the various leaves and their particular shapes – like stars, like fans, curled, and pointed.

    Have fun this fall!

     

  • Poetry Series for Dance Classes: Autumnblings

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    I am a big fan of author/illustrator Douglas Florian. Many of his poetry books are great for dance classes.

    Today I want to highlight Autumnblings. The poems can be used in a variety of ways in PreK-2nd grade dance classes. Teachers can use the poems to create new warm ups. Multiple poems talk about the "colors of autumn" – so bring out a variety of scarves for dancing. Improvise and explore the action of falling through multiple poems and imagery in the book. Other poems are about baseball, pumpkins, the wind, weather, animals, and what we love and hate about fall. Autumnblings can be a great new way to explore the season in your classes. I find it to be a fresh take on the theme.

    What to Do with Autumn Leaves

    By Douglas Florian

     

    Kick them.

    Catch them.

    Pick them.

    Snatch them.

    Romp them.

    Stomp them.

    Hurl them.

    Heave them.

    If you want to,

    Even leave them.