Improvisation: Guided Fantasy - Birth in the Forest

This might be short, but who knows?

Objectives

Children ages 5 and up can act out a story Lang. IIIB
Children between 4-5 can demonstrate meanings of words by pantomime Lang. IIIB
And children between 2-3 can follow verbal cues Lang. IA
All children can participate in non-verbal interaction with children during play SE IV
and make animal sounds

Materials

Record player; soft classical music

Procedures

1. Outside, or in a large area indoors, have the children form a circle and ask them to pretend that they are all in a deep, dark forest with tall trees all around. Have the children suggest the kinds of animals that might live in the forest. They might say deer, tigers, rabbits, monkeys, bears, birds, snakes, etc. Ask each child to choose an animal he/she would like to be. Then have the children/animals curl up in little balls on the floor and, as the music begins, they are to begin waking up...they are waking up for the first time! Like a baby being born.

2. As the animals awake and look around with their eyes for the first time, they will discover their hands, arms, legs, and feet. As they stand up and move around, remind them that it is the first time they have ever used their legs and they will be shaky. The animals make their special animal sounds. As they move around, have them discover each other. As the new animals learn to use their bodies, they move faster and twirl, leap, and run in time with the music. Continually remind the children/animals to think about how they feel as brand new animals, babies seeing the forest and each other for the first time. The new animals must learn how to use their bodies to do all the wonderful movements that animals can do.

Variations

1. Trees: From a small nut, the children grow into beautifu, tall trees.  How would they move when they first feel the warm sun, the cold rain, the wind moving through their leaves and branches, a storm?