"Equality is not in regarding different things similarly, equality is in regarding different things differently." - Tom Robbins
Celebrations of independence often bring to mind visions of parades that include bands with big bass drums, firing cannons and rifles, loud motorcycles and horns, and none of these celebrations would be complete without a culmination of fireworks.
For some
children these celebrations are a nightmare.
These are the children who are sensitive to any type of noise – they
include those with sensory processing disorders and those on the autism
spectrum, and they are often found right in the middle of creative movement
classes.
In honor of
America’s Independence Day, I thought I would use this week’s post to share a
lesson plan that I use to help my students experience all of the celebrations
without the noise and fear that can sometimes accompany them.
I use John
Philip Sousa’s marches, and I let them play continually throughout our class
which incorporates different rhythms, marching in several different directions
and pathways, and lots of level changes and jumping.
We discuss
the parades that might be happening to celebrate the holiday, and then we have
our very own parade. Each child gets to
have a turn as the leader and decides what imaginary instrument we will
play. We have a great time playing
trumpets, flutes, trombones, base drums and bells. We all end this activity by waving our
imaginary flags and scattering throughout the room.
Our
celebration concludes with our firework display. We begin by counting together and jumping up
and exploding into fireworks on the number 8.
We then do the same counting to 4 and then 2. At this point I assign each child a number
(1-4), and he or she must explode when I call his/her number. I begin by calling numbers individually and
then begin grouping them together. For
the grand finale the students may choose when they wish to explode while the
music plays, and I watch the dazzling display.
Our job as
dance educators makes us responsible for all
children, and this class gives them the chance to experience the
celebration without trepidation or fear and is great fun. If you try it, let me know how it works for
you!
