Connie Bergstein Dow - SCHOOL VISIT INFORMATION

SCHOOL VISIT INFORMATION

Author Visit -- Interactive Storytime!

Are you interested in an author visit that will be filled with lively and playful movement?

Please contact Connie Here

All of the presentations below can be tailored to your own curriculum and classroom needs

Check out past author visits and photos

PRESENTATIONS

Presentation 1:

DANCE CHANT FUN

Connie will share three dance chant activities from her new book TAP AND RAP, MOVE AND GROOVE

The fourteen dance chants in this book are essentially playful creative movement activities, with the instructions for dancing embedded in the rhythmic language of the chant. Connie will lead three different chants, and children will respond to the built-in movement prompts.

Creative movement encompasses the development of physical skills, like balance, body and spatial awareness, and learning and practicing large motor skills. In addition, social emotional learning and stimulating creativity and imagination are a central tenet of dancing with young children. Learning dances is different than learning a song, where the words and melody are written down. A dance chant, with words and instructions together in a simple format, is a way to create and dance all at the same time. Like music, dancing and repeating rhythmic words is good training for language acquisition and readiness for reading.

Presentation 2:

DANCING, CHANTING, AND LEARNING FROM A TO Z!

Combining the two picture books FROM A TO Z WITH ENERGY! and TAP AND RAP, MOVE AND GROOVE doubles the fun and learning opportunities

Children love to move, and the variety of playful activities in this presentation will ignite children's imaginations, reinforce early literacy skills, and encourage self-expression through movement. Connie will prompt children to explore and dance their way through the alphabet, and will also present several of the dance chant activities that she developed for her most recent

picture book.

Presentation 3:

DANCE THE ALPHABET!

Children will move and groove from A to Z while learning and having fun!

This presentation teaches about letters and other early literacy skills through movement and music. Connie will read her picture book FROM A TO Z WITH ENERGY! and continue the active and lively workshop by inviting children to do movements that correspond to each letter of the alphabet (M is for March! T is for Tiptoe! S is for Stomp!), explore letters kinesthetically, practice large motor skills, and make up their own alphabet dances.

Presentation 4:

LET'S DANCE AND LEARN ABOUT OPPOSITES!

During this playful and energetic movement activity, we will explore many opposite pairings, such as slow and fast, stop and start, forward and backward, light and heavy, cold and hot, wide and narrow, straight and twisty . . . .

We will explore the concept of opposites kinesthetically during this session. Connie will use props, pictures, and movement prompts to inspire the children to come up with creative ideas to express and learn about opposites through movement. This workshop is built around the chapter "Opposites" from her book DANCE, TURN, HOP, LEARN! ENRICHING MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Presentation 5:

FROM STEM TO STEAM TO STREAM

Connie will create an enriching learning experience tailored to your classroom!

Add the "A" for Art (Dance) and the "R" for Reading to explore STEM subjects. Movement explorations built around math and science concepts can engage all children, and especially those who may learn best in this type of active learning environment. Creativity is one of the most valued skills in today's work force. Through movement explorations of STEM subjects, young children will nurture their imaginations, look at problems in new ways, and come up with innovative solutions. Connie will build this age-appropriate presentation around a STEM subject from her book ONE, TWO, WHAT CAN I DO? DANCE AND MUSIC FOR THE WHOLE DAY

Presentation 6:

Let's Make a Dance Story About

FROM A TO Z WITH ENERGY!

This activity nurtures many early literacy skills, such as sequencing, vocabulary acquisition, comprehension, and if the children are very young, learning the alphabet and letter shapes.

This session will be designed around my picture book FROM A TO Z WITH ENERGY! and will be a playful, interactive storytime. During the thirty minutes, Connie will read the book aloud, then give a series of playful movement prompts as we retell the story through dance and music.