Read & Romp Roundup -- March 2013

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the roundup in March. I think this is our largest one yet! Once again we have a great mix of dance, yoga, and general movement submissions...plus a poem! There's a little something for everyone, so I hope you enjoy hopping around to read the different posts.

At Playing by the Book, Zoe has embraced the color pink and made the wordless picture book Flora and the Flamingo a family affair! Read her post to learn more about this new book by Molly Idle. You can also see how Zoe and her two daughters celebrated this dance-related story of friendship and found some creative activities to go along with the book.

Early childhood dance educator Becca Beck shares the poem "The Goldilocks Song," which is perfect for incorporating into creative movement and pre-ballet classes...or for enjoying at home! Hear how she uses it with her students to explore the concept of making shapes bigger and smaller.

Gail at Yoga Kiddos with Gailee tells us how she uses the picture book Z is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinksi, in her yoga classes for kids. The funny alphabet book, which involves a fame-hungry moose who will do anything to be included in the book, lends itself well to acting out yoga animal poses.

Amy from Picture-Book-a-Day is back with a review of Ellen Stoll Walsh's Hop Jump. Read her post to learn more about this picture book about a frog who gets bored of hopping and jumping and decides to add dance to her repertoire. As usual, Amy is also full of creative ideas to go along with the book, including making origami hopping frogs!

At OMazing Kids, Angela shares a Dr. Seuss alphabet extravaganza for kid's yoga and early literacy. Her post is packed full of yoga, literacy, music, art, prop, and game ideas to go along with Dr. Seuss's ABC. Because Angela is a huge fan of Dr. Seuss, she also includes links to other posts that combine his books with yoga.

In a second post at OMazing Kids, Angela uses the classic Eric Carle book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to celebrate the start of spring. Her full lesson plan -- including yoga poses, a music playlist, and a mindfulness activity with real fruit -- are all included!

Reshama from Stacking Books reviews the picture book Goal! by Mina Javaherbin and A.G. Ford. With kicking, dribbling, and running, this book is full of movement! Set in South Africa, the book is also a good introduction to a different culture and to the concept of bullying.

The new dance, craft, and storybook Crafterina has a blog! This post provides an introduction to Crafterina and provides guidance on how to best take advantage of all aspects of the book. You can also learn more at www.crafterina.com.

At ABCs of Reading, Jayne uses the picture book Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen and Jack Mack to teach the comprehension strategy of questioning and to get kids "moo-ving." Inspired by the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle," Cindy Moo sets out to show her friends that cows really can jump over the moon. Read Jayne's post for her movement ideas!

Author and dance educator Connie Bergstein Dow contributes to the blog PreK + K Sharing, where she has created a carrot seed dance story based on the classic book The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson. Learn more about Connie, who regularly uses movement as a learning tool, at movingislearning.com.