Opposites: Freeze & Jump

Get those funny faces ready. We're ready to see what-you've-got, in the funny face race. Always a crowd pleaser. Always a good way to get the crowd up & moving..... in preparation for some focused sitting to follow. In my experience, it's the balance of movement and then focused sitting that make for a good performance. In a crowd this size, I am certain to pick several team captains to lead the fun. It's easy to put the classroom teachers on the spot to make the selection process fast & easy. I ask each classroom teacher to choose one boy & one girl to join me on stage. Voila. We're ready to jump.

Jumpin' & Freezin' &

It always works. It works with teachers and it SERIOUSLY works with the kiddos: Jumpin' Jamboree!! There's thirty seconds of flat out jumping unrestrained, followed by thirty seconds of 'freezing frozen.' Guess what comes after that? Thirty additional seconds of enthusiastic jumping again. So what follows the jumping? More freezing frozen shenanigans. It's simple. It's predictable. It's got a pattern. It's full of oxygen-intake. It's over-the-top fun. It's opposites. It's alliteration. It's a guaranteed smile. In fact, I think it's appropriate to offer a money back guarantee on that one. (It's from my fifth recording.)

If you really want to double your fun, on the freezing frozen fantasticly verse, have the children stand on one foot, balancing while making their funny faces. All sorts of integration of those two hemispheres of the brain.

Jumping Then Freezing

Penthouse: Foothills II, on the 17th floor, overlooking the river. My breakout workshop: Music, Movement & Motivation. With the help of the AV team, we got from the keynote on the 2nd floor to the 17th in the fifteen minute transition. Unplugged my computer & reconnected to the LCD upstairs in the time available. I was delighted to pull it off with support. The moral to the story: Ask for help.

Here we are at the very end of the workshop, when I FINALLY remembered to take some pictures. I totally missed capturing the other 80 minutes of our fun. It finally dawned on me as we finished our double Higgeldy Dance, that I hadn't turned on the camera to that point.

So here's the big ending, "Jumpin' Jiminy." We had a professional jumper demonstrate jumping in perfect form. There was jumping all through out the entire room. My favorite part is always the freezing frozen verse.

Verse Two

Second verse, same as the first. Now ya know what you're doing. Giggle till ya burst!!

Opposites Attract

Jumpin' Jiminy Jamboree. It's the allure of the opposites. Jump for a full 30 seconds within the artful land of alliteration. Then consider the opposite of all the pogo-stick jumping, by freezing frozen on the spot. Balance completes the exercise.

Fun in the Afternoon

Region V Head Start

The windy city. Chicago. Head Start folks from across the midwest..... gathered together at the Hyatt out at O'Hare. Pretty swanky digs, for sure. I presented on behalf of Zaner-Bloser and we had a fantastically responsive crew. The award I want to give is to our one, lone male participant for his gifted & talented presentation of "jumping" that will forever leave a happy smile in my memory. Congrats. Way to share your excellance with the rest of us earth-bound mortals.

The Fun Continues

We're going on a reading adventure. Together. The whole pride. ALL of us. Watch us coordinate our movements to the beat of the music. Look as we make dramatic faces. See us learn the sign language to support the text of our adventure. Just how CREATIVE can we get? Time will tell. OK. Mission accomplished...... now it's back up and movin' & jumpin' & freezin' frozen. Then when we sang "Monster Spray" we had the very best grandpa get very involved in adding theatrics to that song. He used his very, deepest voice for the 'creepy' part. It brought waves of giggles with each verse -- all four times!! FANtastic.

The Outline for the Show

Let the fun continue. More singing. Cooperative happy campers. The fun of a 'show' at a library, is the unknowns of who will be in attendance. I bring my surprise box filled with goodies and once I see the whites of their eyes, of those in attendance, I develop a plan of what to include. Today I'd prepared a mix-CD including 17 of my favorite large-group songs. I usually feel that about 50 to 55 minutes is the 'right' length program -- if there's a good proportion of 'older' children in attendance. (If it's primarily a preK/K group the 'right' length for me is often between 35 & 45 minutes.) That's usually time for about half a dozen choices. I'm always interested in stacking the deck back & forth between 'active' and then 'passive' numbers. Most of my passive/listening/quiet numbers include some sign language for the participants...... so even if the kids are sitting, they have a role to play.

Jumping Jiminy Jamboree!

Alliteration alert!! Alliteration alert!! These pics capture the second half of our jumping jamboree..... everyone here is "Freezing frozen fantastically." An enormous big thanks to Bill Johnson, of ZB for taking these great action shots. (I forgot to get a picture of Bill & my polka dots together, crummy buttons.) This was our first meeting and we've already started making exciting plans for the future.

Do you like my skirt?? The crazy idea, to clean out our closet in earnest, netted my 'finding' this gem, folded neatly and hidden away behind layers of other nonsense. It was such a happy delight, to unearth my ol' friend and return her to active duty. Rock on with your polka dotted pattern on the bias, colorful happiness, festive, smile inducing attitude, little skirt. Welcome back.