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 March 10th, 2014

Thank you so much to Kristi Schneider (mom to Sammy in our toddler room) for thoughtfully sharing her tap shoes with us today! The kids loved exploring them and we enjoyed learning about their construction!

FUN WITH TAP DANCING!

At least once a year, we love to bring out our "tappers". These ingenious (and easy!) little contraptions are simply a metal washer looped through a strip of elastic that has been glued together, making a little band that can easily be slipped over a shoe. When the washer is positioned at the bottom of the foot, it makes a satisfying yet mellow little "tap"--and a great makeshift tap shoe!

Today we learned a few tap dance moves--the "stomp", the "hop", the "shuffle" and the "flap". See a few of the moves pictured here:

THE FLAP

THE SHUFFLE

THE STOMP

Don't forget to watch this fun video montage of class today to see all of the adorable dance moves and also some clips from infant music, as well! We also enjoyed singing "Rain, Rain Go Away" and the fun chant, "Grandma's Glasses", pictured in a video below.

Have a wonderful week!

TAP DANCING MONTAGE!

"GRANDMA'S GLASSES"