Here, finally, is the Read & Romp Roundup for January 2012. I was thrilled with the response to my first call for submissions and think we have a great and diverse roundup here. Just what I was hoping for! We have picture books with themes of rhythm and dance, unique ideas for incorporating poetry and picture books into dance and yoga classes, and even a birthday celebration for a beloved author who writes about dance. Hope you enjoy the inaugural roundup!
Amy at Delightful Children's Books shares a list of 10 children's books that entertain, inform, inspire, and broaden children's understanding of dance. Amy also created a YouTube playlist to go along with her post, including performances by Fred Astaire, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and more.
Wait until you see what Eric from Happy Birthday Author did to celebrate author Katherine Holabird's birthday with his three children. It involves a book about Angelina Ballerina, a dance studio, and you guessed it...dancing!
Nicola at Nic's Barefoot Books Edinburg has resolved to review more books on her blog this year! Well, here is her first review of the year--a post on the popular picture book My Daddy is a Pretzel. I've always been curious about this book so loved reading Nic's review. I also enjoyed seeing photos of Nic and her three girls trying out yoga poses from the book!
Speaking of yoga, Angela from OMazing Kids Yoga also joined our roundup this month. Here she reviews the picture book Not a Box and shares a lesson plan for using the book with young yogis. Who knew this simple book about a rabbit and a box could inspire so many yoga poses!
Meg at Dancepulse is a full-time dance specialist in a public elementary school. Awesome! This month she shares a lesson plan for her fifth graders. Based on the poem "Dream Variations" by Langston Hughes, her lesson includes a reading of the stunning poem, an improvisational warm-up, and small-group choreography inspired by words and images from the poem.
At Access Dance for Life, Jacqui uses the book Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert to share healthy messages about food with her preschool dancers. Find out how the artwork in the book can inspire an exploration of the shapes, colors, and textures of different fruits and vegetables!
Another alphabet book illustrated by Lois Ehlert is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which Liz at Children's Books to Love says "is possibly the most fun alphabet book on the market today." In her review, Liz mentions how fun it is to read, sing to, and chant to the book. I bet it would be fun to dance to it, too!
Maria from Maria's Movers describes how she uses the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt with her young creative movers. See how she uses a cone, a rope, and a hula hoop to explore her students' understanding of three common words from the book: over, under, and through!
Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews discusses the new book Dance Together Dinosaurs, which is loosely based on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing (the precursor to Dancing with the Stars in the United States). Although Cheryl gives the book a mixed review, she says she can't help dancing along when she reads it. See what you think!
This is awesome! What a great collection of posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy. I'm glad you were part of it!
DeleteCool! Thanks for including me in your first Read & Romp Roundup! I loved reading all the other posts :) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of my faves (here's a link to an album with activities for the book on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000076494834#!/media/set/?set=a.278741158843563.82618.174264525957894&type=3)& also love We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ OMazing Kids Yoga
Hi, Angela. I'm glad you liked the posts and recognized some of the other books. Thanks for participating, and thanks also for sending the link to the activities to go along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We love that one at our house, too!
DeleteKerry, This was a great roundup! I visited all the blogs and enjoyed everyone's post! Thanks for including me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating, Eric. I'm glad you enjoyed all the posts!
DeleteGreat list Kerry! I have to pick up My Daddy is a Pretzel, looks like a good one!
ReplyDeleteHi, Liz. I just found your comment in my spam folder, and I don't know how it ended up there! Hope it doesn't happen again! Thanks for your contribution to the roundup, and I agree that My Daddy is a Pretzel looks great. You can buy flashcards to go along with the book, too :)
DeleteFabulous as i don't know any of these books. Use to be a ballet dance and now a grandmother who teaches young children and tries to instill a love of art and movement and reading. cheers
ReplyDeleteHi, Lesley. Thanks so much for dropping by! I love that you like to combine art and movement and reading. There's another blog you might be interested in called the ABCs of Reading. Have you heard of it? Here's the link: http://abcsofreading.blogspot.com/ Cheers!
DeleteHi Kerry,
ReplyDeleteGreat post as usual.I love your themed blog.
I have awarded you the Liebster Award so others can know about your blog too.
Thanks so much, Darshana!! I like the concept of this award, too. Hope it is bringing you lots of new traffic, and thanks for thinking of me. I added a button about the award to the bottom of my blog and linked back to yours :)
DeleteMy daughter's teacher has been having the kids act out We're Going on a Bear Hunt to warm up, and it's my daughter's favorite part of class. She's a bit theatrical.
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy. Thanks for sharing. It's so great to hear that your daughter's teacher is using We're Going on a Bear Hunt in class...and even greater to hear that your daughter's loving it! My dance teachers never used books in class when I was young, but I have fond memories of acting out the story during school and summer camp. We were always sitting down for the whole thing, though, so I bet it is so much more fun to really move it!
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