Week of February 29th, 2016

Take a "Leap" in to Tap!

For our special "leap" year music week, we took a look at jazz music often used in tap, and had fun with our home-made "tappers"--little strips of elastic with washers secured in them. The kids simply slipped them over the tips of their shoes and VOILA--tapping bliss! =) We tried them out on hard surfaces and a blast was had by all. Infants that were a little too small for tapping enjoyed bouncing and rocking songs, along with our favorites for the month (Itsy Bitsy Spider with the ribbon streaming puppet and Langston Hughes' poem, "Bouquet" with a scarf!)

Check out the video below!

Please note that four year old class will be rescheduled for Wednesday, March 2nd.

Week of April 2nd, 2012

TAP TIME!

We had such a fun day with our home made "tappers". A very simple idea that is so entertaining for children of all ages! We used these last year and it was such a success, I knew I had to bring them back at least once.

The construction is so easy and affordable. Take a piece of elastic big enough to fit snugly around tips of shoes, and string through one washer. Attach ends, and make two, so that each foot has a "tapper". The result is a slip on tap shoe that makes a satisfying yet mellow "tap" for little friends!

We enjoyed using them and learning some very basic and simple tap steps today. Check out the Youtube video below for basic steps and also see the fun Fred Astaire video we watched. Try making your own tappers at home, and have fun! :)

Week of February 14th, 2011

Toddlers through School Age

We had an absolute blast in music class today using some very fun "tappers"! I found a neat idea online that used small elastic strips and washers. To make "tappers", I simply strung one washer on a short strip of elastic and glued the ends together. I then had a small band that could slide over the tip of each shoe! The washer is slid to the bottom of the foot, and makes a great "tapping sound"! We had a very fun time doing different activities with our tappers. To start the class, we watched the funny cow video below. Then we talked about tapping rhythms and tried tapping to several songs; "Who's that tapping at my window?" and "Hickory Dickory Dock". Check out our awesome tap video below that highlights all of the fun things we did in class today!

JN TAP DANCING:

DANCING COW:

INFANTS: Today our infant class enjoyed exploring hand bells while singing "Hickory Dickory Dock" and also read the book "Toot Toot! Quack Quack!" by John Archambault using an African Pod shaker!

MOM AND DAD CONNECT

Tap dancing is a great way to stay fit! Here are some video resources if you are interested in purchasing a tap dance video for your child!

Tap Dance Resources