Some classes will be all yoga/movement story with just warm up songs, rhythm, rhyme.  Other classes will be almost all songs, rythm and rhyme with just a wee bit of yoga based movement and Brain Gym® activities thrown in for good measure.  Other classes will be completely Brain Gym.  Currently my classes include two 2-4 year old classes, one 5-12 year old class (by far the hardest due to the age spread span), three 3-5 year  old classes, and two mini onstage performances at a Methodist church (Bible movement stories!!).  You will get the best and funniest moments from our weeks, the music we're using and any new twists and turns that show up either planned or spontaneous.  This week I'll start out simple with just a review of the great new music CD's I've been using.

 

This past week, and the week before that, I've been trying out two new music CD's  from an incredible company called The Learning Station.  The Brain Boogie Boosters and Literacy in Motion CDs are both a movement educators dream.  The music is upbeat, catchy and fun.  The moves (that correspond with the songs)  are obvious and the critical thinking behind the skills and techniques employed, brilliant.   Like Move with Meâ„¢, this company uses the science behind movement to inform and inspire their work.   Downloading the songs from the website is a great option, but when you buy the CD you get an insert with all the songs written out and wonderful, relevant information on the why behind their creation.   And what do you have to look forward too?  The fourth track on Brain Boogie Boosters is a song called Move and Freeze that will have children of ANY age moving and shaking.   It's a chicken dance for the brain, kids can't help themselves, even the reluctant ones end up joining in.  My other two favorites on the BBB CD are track 07, a song about kindess, and track 17, A Team of Two.  But really, they are all good!

The second CD I can recommend wholeheartedly is Literacy in Motion.  Like our Tales with a Twistâ„¢ series, they take well known children's stories and spice them up with movement, fun and laughter.  From Where the Wild Things Are to Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar you just can't go wrong if you're working with kids kindergarten age and younger.  Some of the songs stretch well into 1st and 2nd grade but on the whole this CD is for the 6 and under crowd.

I have not been paid, solicited or given any free products to review The Learning Station products.  I ordered them for my classes after hearing part of Brain Boogie Boosters and have just been so pleased with them I felt compelled to share.