Page 1 - Spring Dance Lesson 11

Resources for Spring Dance Lesson 11: fairytales Two
Activity: ‘All Around the Castle’ (tune of ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’, traditional)
In the Nursery:
The children hold the edges of the parachute and walk around in a circle as you sing the song. They keep the parachute still until “Roarrrrr” when they quickly lift it high into the air. Once the children understand the game, reveal the toy dragon (or toy crocodile or any other soft toy) and place it on top of the parachute. Repeat the song several times with the toy on top, tossing it high into the air on “Roarrrrr”.
Take the toy off and ask the children if they’d like to hide underneath. If there are 12 children or less they can take turns hiding under in groups of three. If there are more than 12 children, ask an adult to hold the other end of the parachute so all the children can hide under at once. Sing the song and lift the parachute up as you say “Roarrrrr” to reveal the hidden children.
At Home:
Find a piece of material (e.g. a scarf, muslin or old child’s bed sheet). You hold two corners and your child holds the other two corners and pull until the piece of material is nice and flat. Walk around in a circle as you sing the song. Keep the piece of material still until “Roarrrrr” when you quickly lift it high into the air. Once your child understands these movements, reveal a soft toy dragon (or soft toy crocodile or any other soft toy) and place it on top of the piece of material. Repeat the song several times with the toy on top, tossing it high into the air on “Roarrrrr”.
* If you’re finding it difficult to walk a round in a circle, stand stationary and move the parachute from side to side to the pulse instead.
Next, take the toy off and see if your child would like to hide under the piece of material, revealing their face as they say “Roarrrr”. Tell them you’d like to see if they can scare you!
Lyrics
All around the castle,
The knight chased the dragon. The dragon thought it was all fun, “Roarrrrr” went the dragon.
Other Ideas!
In the Nursery:
Choose one child to be the dragon. The rest of the children are the knights and they close their eyes whilst the dragon hides. The knights sing the song as they go searching for the dragon. The knights must try to find the dragon before he/she pops out from his/her hiding place and says “Roarrrr” (the dragon should only say “Roarrrr” when indicated by the lyrics of the song). Repeat until all the children have had a turn of being the dragon.
At Home:
Ask your child whether they would like to be the knight or the dragon. You be whichever they didn’t choose. The knight closes their eyes whilst the dragon hides. The knight sings the song as they go searching for the dragon. The knight must try to find the dragon before he/she pops out from his/her hiding place and says “Roarrrr” (the dragon should only say “Roarrrr” when indicated by the lyrics of the song). Switch characters with your child and repeat.
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