When you and your students explore the letter M, these books can be springboards and inspiration for improvisations and dance projects.
M is for MOVING
Move! - Numbers on the Move - Alphabet Movers
Float....swing....leap! Join the animals moving in Steve Jenkins's book Move!, available in hardback and board book formats. Move! inspires you and your students to do a wide variety of locomotor actions.
Teresa Benzwie has written two movement-related books, exploring the alphabet and numbers. Both are great for warm ups and getting students to move in various ways:
M is for MOM
There are great books with mothers and children dancing together, My Mama Had a Dancing Heart and Jonathan and His Mommy. I especially love Jonathan and His Mommy, as it is a beautiful springboard to explore walking and pathways with students.
M is for MABEL
Mabel Dancing is a playful book to share in a preschool setting or at home with parents and child. It is a “classic story” in some ways of a little girl who dreams of dancing and naturally wants to move and dance at home.
Mabel’s parents dress up to have a dance party downstairs in their large house. Mabel is tucked into bed for the night while the party takes place. She cannot resist, and ends up sneaking downstairs to have her short moment dancing too.
M is for the MOON
Eric Carle's 1986 book Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me is a gentle story between a girl and her father. The daughter so wants the moon, and the father "catches" it for her. But, as we know, the moon "appears" and "disappears" in our lives each month. The story is a playful way to explore the phases of the moon. And, like the images in the book, students can also dance with a crescent moon if you make a prop for the class. Play one of the those classic jazz tunes - like "It's Only a Paper Moon" - as you and your students dance.
M is for MERMAIDS
Last, have you had students who have requested to dance a "mermaid dance?" This book - literally titled Mermaid Dance - can be translated into a dance for your students.
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Search for these great "M books" at the school library, public library, or online. Many are reasonably priced (used) on amazon.com.
Exploring letters and the alphabet through reading, movement, and dancemaking creates powerful connections for young learners.
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