Under The Sea workshops
We have recently ran two very different Under The Sea workshops which have been great fun.
Props
We love any reason to get our arts and crafts box out, so making these fishy props to use for the workshops was a very really fun. Using cardboard, ribbon, sticks and our trusty glue gun, we made two fish and a jellyfish. We wanted them to be tactile, eye catching and very sensory for the students who would be using them.
Snail and the Whale – dance workshops!
We had a lovely morning at St Mark’s Primary School in Hanwell, London, teaching their two Reception classes. Their theme was ‘under the sea’ and so we created a dance based on a book they had been reading called ‘The Snail and the Whale’ by Julia Donaldson (a well loved classic).
We started with some creative movement games based on the props we had bought in. The ones we had made, and also a selection of toys. The children loved moving in different ways depending on which sea creature they had.
Next we taught our Snail and the Whale dance, following the themes and story that is told in the book.
We used a great song, sang by Julia Donaldson narrating the book which went perfectly with the dance routine.
A great time was had by the children and one teacher said she wanted them to perform it in an assembly coming up – so that would be a lovely addition for the parents to enjoy watching too!
Valance Special Needs Secondary School
We have taught two workshops at Valance School previously (Bollywood and Brazilian Carnival dance), but for their Arts Week this time, their theme was ‘Under the sea’.
Their students all have learning and physical disabilities, so we had to adapt our workshops for a large range of abilities to make sure it was accessible for everyone. We also didn’t want to make it too ‘young’ for them to enjoy.
We used lots of props during the workshops as we wanted to make it extra sensory for them.
- Our large fish and jellyfish props
- Small hand held scarves for stormy waves and seaweed
- Large blue scarves for gentle waves
- Squishy balls for sea urchins
Each workshop lasted 30mins and everyone responded really well. It was great seeing everyone dance and move in their own way -dance is for EVERYONE!
At Zest we teach creative and cultural dance workshops to fit all themes and topics, for all ages and abilities. Get in touch to see what we can do for your school or setting.
