My photo: Rhododendrons in my front yard
Celebrate the blooming flowers of spring sprouting in our midst! I wrote this poem with music for a fun dancing activity. Divide the children into three groups – the seeds, the sun, and the rain. The seed group begins in the center crouched on the floor with heads down, hands and feet tucked under. First the sun group, then the rain group, dance around the seeds in turn as their music plays. Then the seeds have their turn to move, grow and dance with the blooming spring music. I usually invite everyone to come dance The Flower Dance together at the end! See my blog post about Dancing Spring for more background about this musical poem.
poem by Barb Tilsen, music by Scott Malchow
DANCING SPRING
by Barb Tilsen
© Barbara Tilsen
Green growing, beautiful blooming Spring!
It begins with a little seed sleeping in the cool dark earth
Here comes the sun. Listen to the sun music
Little Sunbeams! Come dance!
Golden, gentle, smooth and slow
Melting blankets of frozen snow
Warm the sleeping earth with your
Spreading solar soft embrace
Sunbeams, shine!
Glowing, flowing, dancing, prancing
Welcome the waiting seeds!
Now comes the rain. Listen to the rain music
Little raindrops! Come dance!
Rolling thunder, lightening clash!
Twinkle, sprinkle raindrops flash
Pitter patter, swirl and splatter
Down to the thirsty earth
Water Dancer, twirl and turn
Circling earth and sky
Shimmering showers wet and wild
Drumming ancient songs
Dance, Raindrops, dance!
The song of the seed!
Little Seeds! Your time has come! Wake up!
The Sun has warmed you, the rain has watered you
Let your tender shoots rise up through the rich dark earth
Wake up! Send out your stem, unfurl your leaves
Seek the wind, the rain the springtime sun
Lift your beautiful blossom faces to the big blue sky
Dance the Flower Dance!
The Dance of the Seed!
The Dance of Life!
Note:
Here are musical suggestions I’ve made over the years to accompany this poem:
Most recent is the music composed by Scott Malchow for the musical poem Dancing Spring” on my 2015 recording “Take the Seed”
The original song choice when I first wrote this was music from the Nueva canción group from Chile, Inti-Illimani: from their recording “Leyenda”:
Sun: “Preludio y Festejo” by Horacio Salinas
Rain: “Tarantella” traditional, arranged by Inti-illimani
Plants: Seeds growing—“Sensemaya” music by Horacio Salinas, lyrics by Nicolas Guillen and Flowers blooming—La Fiesta de la Tirana traditional, arranged by Horacio Salinas
Other suggestions:
Sun: Canon in D by Pachelbel, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Debussy
Rain: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Dukas
Plants: Seeds growing—Boléro by Ravel, and Flowers blooming—Danube Waves by S. Ivanovici, or Chiapanecas – traditional Mexican song