Last week whenever my son would run around the room, my daughter would be mesmerized and then would crawl around after him forever. They had so much fun giggling and both got a lot of energy out. Then he started waving random blankets and objects while he ran. I immediately thought of ribbon and streamer dancing... and decided to make him something to shake.
Materials Needed: ribbon, wood dowel, colored electrical tape, scissors... and your favorite MUSIC!
Directions:
1. Cut the ribbon so that it is as long as you want (I'd recommend about 2 ft).
2. Tape the ends of the ribbon to the top of the dowel.
3. Start wrapping the electrical tape around the dowel from the top to the bottom until the dowel is completely covered.
4. Turn on some music and start shaking!
The baby loved chewing on the end of the electrical tape when the little guy put it down. She didn't get to keep it for long because this is NOT a baby chew toy! Babies and children should NOT be left alone when doing this activity. The ribbon could definitely be a strangulation hazard. Stay in the room and keep an eye on them at all times... you can even dance too 🙂
We're all about simple, open-ended activities around here... so this one definitely fit the bill. Shake to the music, create your own dances, and move!
If you have thicker, fancier ribbon, that could definitely be more fun 🙂 We just used what we had in our stash.
This activity focused on...
- large motor movements
- rhythm
- visual tracking (for the baby :))
- we also talked about colors while we chose the ribbon!
Hope everyone had a great Labor Day (if you're in the states and celebrated yesterday). We are off to a Preschool walk through this morning. My little guy is so excited to meet his teacher... though I think he might be even more excited to meet the class pet (a corn snake)!
Oh I love your version of dance ribbons – easy and sturdy! Here is my version – kreativeactivities.blogspot.com/2011/08/ribbons-in-action.html
Kids just love them don't they!