News & Events >> Family Dance
Family Dance
Date: 05/29/2009
FAMILY DANCE!
Delicious snacks & a story at break time
Friday, May 29, 6:30 to 8:00 PM
WHERE: in the gym at WMS
A Family Dance is a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your children (especially 6 to 9 year old Elementary children and older LS children, but all are welcome) doing the dances they enjoy during school, and some new ones as well. These include singing games, international folk dances and New England contra dances. We will share delicious snacks at break time, and a story after we eat. Family Dance is a time-honored New England Tradition that is alive and well. We want to make it a tradition for our school in New Preston, Connecticut.
Suggestions for how to help your children have a good time are listed below. We would like to encourage families to make and bring simple snacks to share at the dance. They can be very simple, perhaps cut up slices of apple with lemon juice on them and slices of cheddar cheese, or cookies if someone wants to bake. Snacks should be placed in the kitchen when you arrive. Please let Matilda know if you are able to help with snacks. We will have lots of good, fresh water to drink. Come join the fun!
Matilda
TIME, TOGETHERNESS AND MEMORIES
Time, togetherness, and memories – what a wonderful gift to our children. If you are longing for a special event that your whole family can enjoy I urge you to consider attending the Family Dance on Friday evening, May 29th (6:30-8:00 PM). It’s a delightful evening, perfectly timed for younger children as well as older siblings – and fun for all ages, even those Middle Schoolers who might enjoy helping younger schoolmates.
In the Montessori world, Matilda is well-known and highly respected as a music educator. Her Family Dance evenings are in huge demand at other schools. I know of a school similar in size to ours where over a hundred families attended on a week night! We are so fortunate to have her share her talent and enthusiasm with us at WMS; please gather up your children and make this an evening for family and fellowship.
You need have no expertise at dancing – just a desire to spend time with your children or grandchildren, enjoying their delight in doing something special with you – and Matilda, whom they adore. This is an opportunity to reclaim our connection to an earlier, simpler way of living and laughing. I look forward to seeing you there.
Susan Eanes, past parent and grandparent of Isabel and Luke Martin
Family Dance Expectations and Ground Rules
These will help us all have a good time
1. We use the space as a dance hall, which means that we use our energy in dancing hard, not in running around the room. Parents please make sure your children do not run around the room, as they could trip other dancers, and are not able to focus and enjoy the dance themselves. Learning the ground rules lets us all have a great time.
2. As in all adult dances, there will be chairs set up around the perimeter of the room, to deposit your coats and belongings and to sit when you are tired.
3. When a dance is being taught, all in the room listen quietly whether they are dancing or not.
4. When you would like a partner (if we are doing a partner dance) anyone can ask anyone to dance. You say “May I have this dance?” or “Would you like to dance?” and the answer is ”Yes, thank you! “ If someone else already asked you, you say “I’m sorry, I promised this dance to Nancy, but I will do the next one with you.” Or, you might say ”Sorry, I’m going to sit this one out.”
5. All children spend their time in the dance area, not on the other side of the gym or other areas of the school. We’ll need all parents’ help to keep this ground rule.
6. Simple but delicious snacks will be enjoyed at break time. We need to protect the dance floor so we will eat them in our large and gracious hallway. Please help your children take an appropriate amount of food, and to put their trash in the bins provided.
7. At story time everyone sits quietly to listen, or sing and participate.
8. Come to have fun! Spend time dancing and singing with your children and your friends. This is one of the best ways we can give our children a sense this wonderful community of people who enjoy each other’s company.
