"Come Join the Circle:

Singing and Dancing for Early Childhood Education"

 

Professional Development Workshops and Coaching Series

 

Conferences - Half-day training - Mentoring over the course of a school year

Highly interactive!

Each workshop or series for Pre-K through 4th grade teachers, librarians, counselors or any group interested in bringing this art form into the home or place of work, may include:

• Kinesthetic tools for adults - Learn to drum and keep a beat, and how to use rhythm in the classroom for teaching and class management.  Learn to sing -- yes even you!  Tonal variation engages the brain in learning and is an imperative step toward literacy. Cultivate your skills at facilitating easy and effective movement. Children need to move in order to learn.  Combine these three skills and you have circle dancing and singing.

• Why is this important? - We don't stop at reciting end results of clinical studies. Susan teaches a brief and accessible overview of how the brain learns and takes in information.  Teachers have this knowledge at their command when making teaching, social and management choices for their children.  Create your own scaffolded learning strategies

•  A natural, easy way to get your point across to children - Over the last 50,000 years our cognitive brain, social interactions and languages  have developed hand in hand   Singing and dancing together rhythmically is the one elective activity that we humans have continually practiced over the millennium.  Research proves that these activities are what our brains require to develop the highest human functions - reasoning, language and creativity.  It is both natural and highly enjoyable for all involved.  Stress levels are reduced in both children and adults. 

• Learn how to integrate rhythm, movement, music and circle dancing into your daily activities. Adults will learn to generate engaging class activities through brain storming and mind mapping exercises. Practice how to combine what you already know and what you are required to teach into fun and engaging projects.

• Discover multicultural resources.  Susan's 30 years of experience of working with the arts, multicultural circle dancing and children becomes a marketplace of new ideas for you.  Collect resources for music, instruments,  activities, research, reading, websites and more.

Goals & objectives for children:

• Develop strong, integrated cognitive functioning (neural pathways) in young children
• Develop emerging literacy skills  
• Develop pre-math and science skills
• Prevention/turning around of some learning disabilities
• Reduce stress levels in children and teachers/ providers
• Improve social discernment and adjustment
• Multicultural awareness
• Introduction to performing arts
• Create a classroom culture



• Curriculum tie ins:
  Science:  gravity, direction, sound & vibration, elements, weather, momentum
• Math: geometry, division, sequential memory, math-music connection, spatial - temporal perception, patterns, basics of  symbolic representation
• Social Studies:  select any culture in study in the classroom bring it to life with a song and dance from that culture. Provides a first hand experience of the culture and language.
• Character Education: cooperation, working together non-competitively, empathy, boundaries, respect, self esteem as one takes an equal place in society, disappearance of apathy, substance abuse prevention
• The Arts:  music, dancing, physical and emotional expression, creative thinking,  thinking in metaphors
• Physiological Health:  stress reduction, safe and healthy physical interaction, eye health, integration of beneficial neurotransmitters

 

 

Material for these workshops is now available in the book:

 
"Come Join the Circle: Singing and Dancing for Early Childhood Education"

A how and why handbook for parents and teachers

Take this wonderful one-stop-shopping resource home with you!  All you need to get started in one book! Learn to work with young children using rhythm, movement and tonal variation.  Learn the brain research to support this work in growing enriched, integrated neural pathways in young children.

To Order, click on this link:

 http://stores.lulu.com/ReadingRhythm

 

 

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Other Workshops Available

 

Tools for Emerging Literacy - Focus on skills specifically designed to lead to successful reading and writing.  Includes techniques for reading aloud, moving with letter parts, singing for language development, phoneme awareness and personal expression.  Developed with the most current brain research.  Pre-K - Kindergarten

 

Cultural Connections - Susan visits your elementary classroom, after school program, scouts and libraries with stories songs, games and dances from around the world.  Pre-K thru 5th

• West African Sojourn - experience the ancient rhythms, songs and teaching stories through this series of workshops that brings the cultures of West Africa to the classroom
• Native American Circle - The first people who lived on our continent survived for thousands of years through oral traditions and ecologically sound practices.  Participate in their stories, songs and dances and learn how these art forms encouraged successful social organization.
• Caravan to India - The cultures of India have inspired the world with intricate music, stories and a seeking for the answers to the human condition. Join this journey on the silk road.
• Early Learning with Rhythm, Music and Movement - a simple and engaging introduction to the performing arts to build a strong ladder to learning language, expression and friendship.