Move. Create. Educate.

Power Up With Protein

By maria, on April 29th, 2011%

Munch n’ Move #4 by guest Joanie Johnson from Motivated Nutrition. Read other posts in the series here. Enjoy!

In this profession, I feel obligated to know as much as I can about the body and am always encouraging curiosity when it comes to movement, food and function. That’s why this month I’m giving you a little protein 101! Continue reading Power Up With Protein

5 comments   dance educator, Useful Information   , , ,  

It’s a Box! Not!

By maria, on April 26th, 2011%

I hope you are ready for the cutest book ever! This month Kerry from Picture Books and Pirouettes recommended Not A Box by Antoinette Portis. I could not wait to use it with my students. I tried it with both 2′s and 3′s and both age groups really ran with it!

First, go here to read the review of the book and learn a little more about it. Then come back to see how I used it in my dance room. Continue reading It’s a Box! Not!

4 comments   blogs, creative movement, teaching tools   , , , ,  

4 Ways to Celebrate National Dance Week With Your Young Dancers

By maria, on April 25th, 2011%

Even though this week is short I still plan on doing some activities for National Dance Week. Are you celebrating it with your students? Here are some easy ways I came up with to share National Dance Week with your young dancers and their families: Continue reading 4 Ways to Celebrate National Dance Week With Your Young Dancers

2 comments   Celebrations, creative movement, dance educator, teaching tools    

Vacation, Updates, and Links Just For You!

By maria, on April 15th, 2011%

Are you on vacation next week? All my classes are off next week so I have planned a trip home to my parents house to work on planning my wedding! I wanted to let you know that posting might be light next week. I hope you get a bit of a break, I know we could all use one! Continue reading Vacation, Updates, and Links Just For You!

Leave a comment   blogs, dance educator, Useful Information    

Why in a W?

By maria, on April 11th, 2011%

Today I saw a blog post on Twitter about children and W sitting. I was so happy to read it because I have been so curious about this. (Thank you early childhood Twitter followers!) So many of my preschoolers and young dancers sit in this position. I always tell them to put their feet straight out, but most of the time I sound like a broken record. I remember a time when the W sit sightings were few and far between, but now it seems like I am seeing it more and more. Continue reading Why in a W?

35 comments   blogs, creative movement, dance educator   ,  

A Slice of First Position

By maria, on April 6th, 2011%

My 3 year old students are in love with the book A Ballet Book. In that book they talk about the five positions and how when doing first position you could think about putting a slice of pie in between your toes!  Yesterday, I was feeling inspired to do something different with first position. I told them to show me first position and I would bring them a slice of pie. I went around to each dancer and gave them a different flavor of pie in between their toes. Cherry, Strawberry, Apple, Blueberry, etc. are some examples. I asked them what kind of pie Miss Maria should have? Their answer: Chocolate! (haha!) They loved getting their own flavor and it really taught them to stand in first position for longer then normal because of the imagery of the pie.

Continue reading A Slice of First Position

8 comments   ballet, creative movement, teaching tools   ,  

Dance Making with Dice

By maria, on April 1st, 2011%

My dear readers, I am so excited to share this prop with you! Did you know dice with pockets exist? They are the coolest thing I have seen in a while. They have clear plastic pockets that you can tuck pieces of paper into. Aren’t they neato? You could go crazy with these. Writing movement words, shapes, levels, symbols, pictures, or anything you can think of. Of course, I do them myself since my students are young, but if you work with older kids you could ask them to create the components to the dice and then do the lesson. Continue reading Dance Making with Dice

6 comments   creative movement, dance educator, teaching tools   ,  

About

Maria Hanley Maria Hanley is an independent early childhood dance educator in New York City. View Maria's profile on LinkedIn

Moving Around The Web

Dance Advantage Columns- Read Kid Concepts where I write helpful tips about teaching dance to toddlers and preschoolers.

Read It.Move It.Share It.

Bounce

Looking to use picture books with your littles? My collaboration with Picture Books and Pirouettes will give you loads of ideas!

Dance NYC

NYC Dance Maria serves on the Dance/NYC Junior Committee.

Member: National Dance Education Organization

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