Quotes worth a Smile

These past few days in class with the littles have been full of smiles!! I love when they say something that sticks with me for a few days. Thought I would share a few with you, in case you are in need of a smile!

At the very beginning of creative movement class I start with emotions. We make all the faces we can think of, happy--sad--silly--surprised! My favorite one lately has been a sleepy face! They think it's hysterical, so while I pretend to sleep they all scream at me to WAKE UP! It's so fun! One of the little boys in the class says "Ms. Maria, you can't sleep now! You are supposed to teach us how to dance."

Today in ballet class I was so excited to see some of the little girls I haven't seen since before the holidays. They were so excited to be at ballet. The moms say they couldn't wait to bring them to ballet because they drive them nuts talking about ballet class. One mom says "she's obsessed!" haha. Anyway- I was telling them that they made my day and that I was so glad that they were there. One little girl responds "We are so glad you are here too, Ms. Maria." The cutest right?

Did any of your students say anything that made you smile this week yet? I would love to hear the cute things your students say! I am sure they are worth a smile too!

In the meantime movecreateeducate...

Star Wars: What my students are talking about . . .

Hello my dears . . . I'm curious, what are your students talking about these days? To my surprise my students are talking about (you guessed it) Star Wars!! Now it's time to ask me if I know anything about Star Wars . . . answer - nope, not a thing. So tonight, here I sit, studying the characters and of course how they move.

Today we traveled to the mysterious (to me) land of Star Wars. I tried to have the kids explain it to me, they did a good job, but I still want to study it for myself. I had promised a little boy that we could travel there today (which, I forgot about). Some of the girls resisted until I told them there was a princess in Star Wars. The boys wanted to dance with guns (hmmm, guns?). I tried to tell them they could be robots or dance with the light sabers (light sabers? is that what they are called), but they were not buying it.

I am wondering how exactly we can do a dance about or in the land of Star Wars? Have any ideas? I would love to hear...

P.S. Did you have any idea there was a cartoon about Star Wars? I never knew this!! (Big thanks to Dan for clueing me in on this one!)

Teaching with Another Teacher

Many times in a week I push in to a classroom to teach movement or visit a school as a teaching artist to teach ballet. I also have many times in a week that I have my own classes and there is not another teacher present. I am thinking I like my own classes better, but I was wondering about what can make collaborating with a teacher easier? Here are some of my observations...

*Most of the time teachers already have quiet signals, floor spots, rules, and words they use in every class that the students are familiar with. Even if the teacher does not tell me what these are (even if I ask) I still try to pick up on the words and tones of the classroom. This helps me adapt to what the students already know. It keeps it consistent and easy to follow for the students.

*Another challenge I find as a teaching artist is creating goals. Of course as a teacher, I have goals for my students. BUT since they are not "my" students, I try to keep the goals broad. I am positive that the teachers have their own goals for their students in their dance room or classroom. Even if we discuss these before hand, it takes time to adapt to the goals of their classroom. I try to focus on just one at a time, once we have mastered one goal, we move on to the next. Example: Doing a ballet warm-up without talking (this is hard for 2nd graders to do, just saying!)

*One more challenge for me is knowing the students- 1- There are so many of them I can't learn their names in the short amount of time I am there. 2- I don't know their behavior history and if the classroom teacher is not helpful with discipline, it's hard to get anything accomplished.

Do any of you push into a classroom or dance room? Are you a teaching artist? What challenges do you face with the teacher or the students? I find it more challenging than having your own class of students. It seems to me though that having one more teacher involved should make it easier- Right? Not so much! Maybe it's time to leave the teaching artist world?

I would love to hear your ideas on this!

In the meantime movecreateeducate...

Create a Dance with Symbols!

On Monday in my creative movement classes I introduced Motif symbols to my 4 and 5 year olds. I know what your thinking, isn't it a little advanced to ask them to remember all the symbols and the movements? It is actually so easy, and they love it! They can create their own dance using THEIR movement based on the symbols. Here is an example:

This symbol is shape (they think it looks like an apple, which it does!) Make a frozen shape!

This symbol is balance... we try to balance on many body parts (it's a very silly)
Then we try to put some of them together- Wiggle and Travel at the same time! So fun!
Connect and Turn (woah tricky) They love to come up with different ways to move and connect!
We then put them all together and we have created a dance!

With my 5 year olds I introduced the symbols of levels (high, medium, low) We add those to the symbols above. Make a low shape- Travel in the middle- Wiggle up high!

Have you tried using symbols with your students. I find that no matter how many times I use them, the kids never get bored, because we can always make a different dance. There are a bunch of other symbols you can find here if your students are older or really picking it up! As you can see I just hand drew them on paper... easy easy! We can never have enough ways to explore movement. Try it out!

Winter Ballet Classes

Hello my lovely readers,

I hope you have had a chance to check out my new website! Yesterday were my first ballet classes at Realbirth in Hell's Kitchen in NYC! I thought I would give you a glimpse into what the space looks like! It's a great space for ballet and is a very nurturing space for mommies and their babies to take a fun ballet class! Enjoy!

Here is the board outside on the sidewalk!

and this is the chalkboard by the front desk! (See Maria's Movers at the bottom? yay!)
This is the big upstairs studio that I use. It's so gorgeous!

If you are in NYC and have a 2, 3, or 4 year old, come check it out! You are always welcome!

In the meantime movecreateeducate...

Launching Maria's Movers Website!

Maria's Movers Website is up and live! I would love to hear your feedback on what you think about it! I am so happy with the way it speaks about my classes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! xoxo

p.s. lots to talk about this week! More coming soon...

Hugs!

Ahhh, the first week back after the holidays is always a tough one, but I am feeling equipped with new ideas, new classes and of course very rested. I approach this week with a new master calendar and new motivation tactics to exercise and take dance classes. I am looking forward to being happy and healthy! What have you prepared for the weeks ahead? New curriculum? New props? New music? I would love to hear!

Have a great week back and

In the meantime movecreateeducate...