Tag Archives: links

Candy Alternatives for Halloween Class

Posted in Pinspiration, Studio Life, Teachers by

As Halloween approaches, we often do special activities at my studio or allow students to wear costumes.  Many teachers like to reward their classes with a special treat, which historically has been candy.  I feel that as dance teachers, we have a responsibility to celebrate healthy choices and I like to search out alternatives to candy–especially with all of the food-allergies and preferences that my students have.

Coloring Pages
Such an easy and low-cost “treat”


Glow Bracelets
This is my choice for this year – trying something new and potentially something that they kids can take with them on Halloween.  I found glow bracelets on Amazon for $8.79 for 100 bracelets, so for under $20 I was able to get enough to cover my 16 weekly classes.

Stickers, Stamps & Temporary Tattoos
My elementary-aged kids love stickers, stamps and tattoos.  Not sure if their parents love them as much, but its fun to do a grab-bag of these items.

Rolls of 500 Halloween Stickers:  $9.99
72 Glitter Halloween Temporary Tattoos: $5.50
24 Halloween Stamps:  $7.95

 

“Haunted House” Class Picture
This one is fun to do with the older kids or students who love social media… the “Haunted House” class picture – take a group picture but tell your students to make a face like they are going through a haunted house – leads to lots of funny faces!

Slap on a filter/background and send to your students and watch them share 🙂

More Ideas For Those Blessed in the Craftiness Department (THANK YOU PINTEREST)

Do you do something special with your classes for Halloween?  Do you hand out any treats?  Share in the comments!

Most Popular Posts of 2012!

Posted in Pinspiration by

Jump for joy – here are the most-read posts from 2012!

Pinspiration

Do you find Pinterest as addicting as I do?  Here are the most popular “Pinspiration” posts from this year:

   

Athletic Dancers, April Pinspiration:  Leaps & Jumps, Performance Pinspiration

Music

I guess my teachers aren’t the only ones struggling to find clean hip hop music!

How to Get a Clean Music Edit Using GarageBand

My second video tutorial on music editing shows how to do a simple edit using Garageband.

Business

Most popular posts for Studio Owners:

Can we please take a short break

from winter and have summer for a week?

Everything Else

How to Take Dance Photos on the Beach

Some shots from my summer vacation and a tutorial on how to take photos on the beach proved to be on the of the most popular posts this year.

Rock Star Camp

5 days of dancing, crafts and game ideas!
Can’t wait to see where 2013 takes us – what would you like to see more of?  Leave a comment!

Link Love: Olympic-Inspired Movement

Posted in Teachers by

Thanks to Teach Preschool’s post about the Olympic Blog Hop, I discovered a bunch of great Olympics-inspired movement posts for the little ones and had to share!

Move Like a Gymnast from Creative Family Fun – these activities might be fun to incorporate into a summer camp next year.

Pom Pom Games – These pom poms look fairly easy to make and would be a fun alternative to bean bags in the classroom.

Movement Games for Young Children – a few ideas and a great list of guidelines for creating your own movement game.

Ring-Based Movement Ideas – You could easily translate these ideas to non-Olympic rings by using some hoola hoops or rubber circles.

Olympic Family Fitness from The Iowa Farmer’s Wife – a 15-minute fitness lesson for a 3-year old including warm-up, activity and cool down.

Cute London Bus Prop Idea – ok, so this one has nothing to do with movement, but the London bus they made from a cardboard box would be a cute prop!

Have you been watching the Olympics?  Will any Olympic inspired movement be making its way into your classrooms this year?

Share Those Performance Pics!

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That’s a lot of people out there…

With recital season for many North American dance studios upon us, don’t forget to participate in May’s Dance Blog Challenge:  Performance Pics!

My studio’s recital is this weekend, so I will have a post for you sometime next month, but in the mean time, you can check out the two irish step dancing bloggers who have shared some recital photos with us:

Check ’em out!  And then share your favorite photos with us!
No blog?  That’s ok – leave a link in the comments to your favorite performance picture.

To Do List: Spring Break

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With the students on Spring Break, it’s time to actually get some work done at the studio!

One of these years I will actually take Spring Break off, but for this year, there is much to be done in preparation for the rest of the year.

Anyway, I figured I’d share what I was up to on my “week off”.  What do you do when dancers are off from class?  Share in the comments!

On my to-do list this week:

  • Design this year’s Recital T-Shirt
  • Schedule recital rehearsals
  • Work on summer schedule
  • Hang up ten classes of costumes that just arrived (see below)
  • Re-tape dance floors (one of my least favorite tasks)
  • Finishing up taxes (nothing like last minute… hah)
  • Choreograph
  • Shop for props for my modern class
  • Sew straps onto costumes
  • Order dance shoes

It is Spring Break at your studio too?  What are you up to?

The UPS delivery guy is not a fan of costume time.

 

Monthly Recap

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Happy 2012!  Here’s our recap of the first month of 2012… it’s been a busy one for me – how has your January been? 


Make sure to check back tomorrow for February’s “Blog Challenge”!


Link love:

Are you on Pinterest yet?  If you were, you wouldn’t have 
missed this awesome picture!



What You Missed From The Dance Buzz



Dance Happenings Around The Internet

Ballroom Dance In School

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Just read a great little story about fifth-graders learning swing dancing in schools.

“…the classroom teachers tell us there is such a change in their behavior,” Suzie Henneman [ballroom instructor] said on the increased level of respect teachers said their pupils show for each other. 

“The swing is their favorite,” she said. “But it’s interesting how much they take to the tango. It’s such a serious dance. But they love the dance.”

Check it out: Catonsville fifth-graders step out of comfort zone, on to dance floor [Baltimore Sun]

NMM: Holiday Music Round-Up

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 If you enjoy this post, take a moment to VOTE FOR US for Top Dance Blog of 2011 by commenting on the post (click this link). Thank you!
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My students performing "Winter Song" (2010)

I started writing a post about holiday music, but I realized:

1. I did that last year and I still use the songs on the list.

2.  Other dance bloggers also have some great suggestions.

3. It's not Monday, so I guess this isn't a "New Music Monday".

So instead, I'm pointing you in the direction of some already awesome posts about holiday music! Ok, so one of them is my own post, so technically I just called myself awesome.. but let's let it slide, ok? 'Tis the season!

And because I can't resist, here are a few more "winter" and holiday tracks to keep your playlists updated!

Read more »

Business: Avoiding the Growth Trap

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Room To Move StudioJust read a great small business article by Jay Goltz at the New York Times:

Avoiding the Growth Trap

Worth a quick read if you are a business or studio owner considering expanding your business to a second location or doing other “growing”.  If you’re like many small business owners, you are constantly looking for ways to improve your business or opportunities to expand.  It is hard to shut down that entrepreneurial spirit that may have even prompted you to open in the first place!

“It really comes down to priorities. Do you want to take outside capital and the “partners” that come with it? Do you want to take on more risk? More employees? More travel? More stress? More potential aggravation?”

Mr. Goltz also makes a good point that sometimes business owners get so caught up in growing their business and expanding that they forget to check if they are still making a profit!

“I have also figured out that business is not just about growth…it is also about making a profit, which many companies seem to forget as they grow themselves out of business. Business is also about understanding that bad things happen…choosing to over-expand instead of being prepared for this kind of stuff can put the company in jeopardy. “

Look before you leap, and really take a hard look at all the possibilities when you are considering expanding. Sometimes its the right move, but sometimes things may be better off left alone.  Figure out your priorities and you will figure out what is right for you and your business.