Time for a Halloween Poem and a Monster Ball!
First, a 100-word poem, SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL, which is my entry into Susanna Leonard Hill's
10th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest!
SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL
I'll be gleaming from head to toe.
Shining my bones 'til they sparkle and glow.
Cranium, maxillae, mandible bones,
Humerus, radius, trapezoid bones.
Pectoral girdle, scapula bones,
Tarsus, talus, cuneiform bones.
Waxing my skull to shine like new,
Wearing my mask and top hat too.
Look at my pale, unearthly gleam,
Under the moon, I grin and beam.
Shake those sacrums and ischiums now,
Rattle and roll, curtsy and bow.
Come on, skeletons, shimmy and spin,
Celebrate Halloweensie's ten years in!
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Halloween Dance Activity
And now, here is your invitation to dance like a monster, a skeleton, or a witch with a broomstick!
Imagine you are invited to a monster ball. What monster would you want to be? What would you look like? What would you be wearing? Show how you would walk, how you would run, and how you would dance.
Now think about all of the other characters at the ball. Let's try moving and dancing like each one. Here are some ideas, and you will have a chance to think of your own and explore those movements too.
(Call out the Halloween characters on the list one by one, and give children plenty of time to explore their movement ideas before moving on to the next prompt. Play any of these musical selections while children dance about the different characters).
Witch with a broomstick
Zombie
Frankenstein
Skeleton
Ghost
Black cat
Bat
Jack O'Lantern
Spider
Robot
What else?
Which was your favorite? Let's do one final dance, so everyone can dance about their very favorite Halloween character!
Music suggestions:
Monster Mash, (Bobby Pickett, 1962)
Monster Boogie (Laurie Berkner Band, from the 1998 Album Buzz Buzz)
Night on Bald Mountain, Mussorgsky, from Pictures at an Exhibition (any rendition)
For very young children: Halloween Shark (Pink Fong Halloween Special) Apple Music
Keep on Dancing!
Connie
