Posted in Coordination games, creative arts, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Drama techniques, Drama workshops for children, Fairy Tales, improvisation, Mime for children

Fairy-tale Chaos: A Fun Journey through Drama

Fairy-tale Chaos: A Fun Journey through Drama

Duration: 2 hours

Objective: To explore the concept of Fairy-tale Mash-up through creative drama techniques, promoting imagination, teamwork, and confidence among the participants.

Workshop Plan:

  1. Warm-Up (15 minutes): Initiate with a fun “zip, zap, zop” game to warm up the group and enhance focus. Then, engage in some simple physical exercises and stretches to get their bodies moving.Here’s how you play:
    1. Formation: Participants stand in a circle facing each other.
    2. The Game Begins: One person starts by pointing at another person in the circle and saying “Zip”.
    3. Passing It On: The person who was pointed at then points to yet another person and says “Zap”.
    4. Continuing the Pattern: The third person then points to another person and says “Zop”.
    5. The Cycle Repeats: This pattern of “Zip, Zap, Zop” continues to be passed around the circle.

    The objective is to keep the rhythm going and the game should move quite quickly. If someone breaks the rhythm or says the wrong word, they are “out” and step out of the circle, or they can do a quick funny penalty (like a silly dance) before the game continues.

  2. Introduction to Fairy-tale Mash-up (10 minutes): Describe the Fairy-tale Mash-up concept to the children, explaining how characters from different fairy tales have ended up in the wrong stories. Divide participants into groups, and assign each group two different fairy tales.here are a few examples of fun and interesting fairytale mash-ups:
    1. “Cinderella and the Three Bears”: Cinderella, tired of her evil stepmother and stepsisters, runs away and finds herself in the house of the Three Bears. There, she learns to stand up for herself when Goldilocks shows up and starts causing havoc.
    2. “The Beauty and the Beanstalk”: Belle finds a magic bean in the Beast’s garden, plants it, and ends up climbing a giant beanstalk into the sky, where she meets a giant and his golden goose. She needs to find a way back to her Beast and perhaps find something that can break the curse in the process.
    3. “The Little Red Riding Hood and the Seven Dwarfs”: On her way to her grandmother’s house, Little Red Riding Hood stumbles upon the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage and decides to rest. What will happen when the Big Bad Wolf meets Snow White’s friends?
    4. “Puss in Boots and the Frog Prince”: The smart Puss in Boots encounters the Frog Prince and promises to break his curse in exchange for a favor. What ensues is a comical adventure filled with clever tricks and surprises.
    5. “Aladdin and the Glass Slipper”: Aladdin finds a glass slipper instead of a magic lamp. As he tries to find the owner of the slipper, he gets tangled up in Cinderella’s story, providing a different twist to both of their tales.
    6. “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure with Hansel and Gretel”: Rapunzel, with her long hair, and Hansel and Gretel, lost in the woods, team up to outwit the witch and find their way home.
    7. Sleeping Beauty and the Pied Piper”: Sleeping Beauty wakes up in the town of Hamelin, where she must team up with the Pied Piper to outwit the rat infestation and a new wicked fairy who threatens the town.
    8. “Jack and the Three Little Pigs”: Jack trades his cow for magic beans and climbs the beanstalk, only to find the Three Little Pigs are the ones living above the clouds. They team up to avoid the Giant and the Big Bad Wolf!
    9. “Pinocchio in Wonderland”: Pinocchio, instead of trying to become a real boy, falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. His peculiar condition of having his nose grow when he lies becomes even stranger in the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland.
    10. “Peter Pan and the Snow Queen”: Peter Pan, on one of his flights, veers off course and ends up in the icy realm of the Snow Queen. He needs to find a way to bring the warmth of Neverland to thaw the Snow Queen’s icy heart.
    11. “The Little Mermaid and the Frog Prince”: The Little Mermaid rescues the Frog Prince from the sea. In return, he promises to help her win the love of her prince with a magic potion.
    12. “Red Riding Hood and the Beast”: Red Riding Hood, on her way to her grandmother’s house, meets the Beast who needs her help to break the curse, in a journey filled with excitement, fear, and friendship.
    13. Remember, these are just ideas, and the fun part is in the exploration and creation of the new storyline. Encourage children to use their imagination and creativity to build on these ideas and come up with their unique fairy tale mash-ups.
  3. Character Creation (15 minutes): Encourage each participant to choose a character from one of the assigned fairy tales. Ask them to introduce their character to the group, stating their name, some key characteristics, and how they feel about suddenly being in a new story.
  4. Exploring the Mash-up World (20 minutes): Ask each group to create a tableau representing their mashed-up fairy tale. Encourage them to use exaggerated facial expressions and body language. Once frozen in tableau, walk around tapping each student on the shoulder. When tapped, the student should come alive and explain what they’re thinking or doing in the scene.
  5. The Giant Story Circle (15 minutes): Form a circle with everyone involved. Start a collective storytelling session where you begin the mixed-up fairy tale story, and then each child adds a sentence to develop the story. This will help them to understand narrative progression and sequencing.
  6. Pass the Prop (15 minutes): This activity encourages creativity. Using a basic prop (such as a piece of cloth, a hat, or a stick), each participant must use it in a scene as their character would. For example, the cloth could be Cinderella’s cleaning rag, then become Jack’s beanstalk, then Goldilocks’ blanket.
  7. Mime Time (20 minutes): In their groups, the children will mime a short scene from their mashed-up fairy tale. The rest of the group will guess what is happening. This encourages non-verbal communication and creativity.
  8. Fairy-tale Improv (30 minutes): Now it’s time to bring it all together. In their groups, participants will improvise a short scene from their mashed-up fairy tale, using all the elements they’ve practiced. Encourage them to use dramatic actions, character voices, and props.
  9. Show and Tell (15 minutes): Allow each group to perform their scene in front of the others. After the performance, give positive feedback and ask the performers how they felt about the experience.
  10. Cool Down (5 minutes):Sure, let’s break down that cool-down activity into more detailed steps:
    1. Slow Down the Pace (1 minute): Start by asking the children to find a comfortable space in the room and stand or sit comfortably. They should spread out enough so that they’re not touching anyone else. This is a signal that the high-energy part of the workshop is ending and it’s time to start winding down.
    2. Yoga Stretch (2 minutes): Lead the group in some simple yoga stretches. Start with a “Mountain Pose” where everyone stands tall, reaching their hands up to the sky. Then transition into a “Forward Fold”, bending at the waist and letting the arms dangle towards the ground. After that, sit down and stretch legs in a “Butterfly Pose”, with the soles of the feet touching each other and fluttering like wings. Remember to maintain a calm and soft voice while instructing, helping the children to relax.
    3. Deep Breathing Exercises (1 minute): Once everyone is seated comfortably after the stretch, guide the group through a short deep-breathing exercise. You could say, “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a moment, now breathe out through your mouth. Imagine any remaining energy or excitement is leaving your body with each breath out. Let’s do that three more times.”
    4. Group Reflection (1 minute): Ask the group to open their eyes and, if they feel comfortable, share one word about how they’re feeling now or one thing they enjoyed about the workshop. This promotes self-awareness and a sense of community.
    5. Group Cheer (less than a minute): Finally, bring everyone back to their feet and into a circle. Place your hand in the middle and ask everyone else to do the same. Choose a phrase related to the workshop, like “Fairy Tale Magic” or “Drama Stars”. On the count of three, everyone should shout the phrase and lift their hands up together. This creates a sense of accomplishment and unity to end the workshop on a high note.

    Remember, the purpose of the cool-down is to help children transition from the high-energy activities of the workshop to a calmer state, preparing them to return to their regular activities. It’s also a time to reinforce the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie they’ve built during the workshop.

This workshop plan is designed to keep the fun quotient high, while still teaching essential elements of drama. Remember, the key to a successful workshop is creating a safe and supportive environment for the children to express their creativity.

Posted in Action Poems, Circle games, co-operation, Coordination games, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama games for 3 year olds, Drama games for 4 year olds, Movement activities, Movement stories for children

Movement Activities for Children that focus on Coordination (Drama Games)

Group Of Children With Teacher Enjoying Drama Class Together
From more movement activities, games and stories, click on the image above.

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The following movement activities promote the following types of coordination skills:

Gross motor coordination: This type of coordination is the movement of arms, legs and body that allows children to walk, run, jump, throw kick and twist.

Fine motor coordination: This type of coordination allows children toperform tasks that require precision. Activities that require children to manipulate small objects will improve their fine motor skills.

Hand-eye coordination: This type of coordination allows children to guide their hand to complete the task.

Movement Activities:

Movement activity: Doors and Windows

Age: 5 years

Minimum number of participants:10

Resources needed: Clear space.

Other benefits: Spatial awareness, group work.

Instructions: The children form a circle while standing and holding their hands. The group spreads out enough so that everyone’s arms arestraight in the circle. This should form large spaces between the circle members. These large spaces represent the windows and doors. Then one child is chosen to be the runner. The runner starts running,and weaving in and out between the windows and doors. The children inthe circle randomly drop their arms down trying to touch or trap the runner who is weaving his/her way in and out of the windows and door.Once the runner is caught or touched by the arms of someone in the. circle, they are out. The runner chooses another child in the group to take his/her place and they become the next child to weave in and out of the windows and doors.

Movement activity: Centipede

Age: 5 years +

Minimum number of participants:

Resources  needed: Clear space.

Other benefits: Teamwork, trust.

Instructions: Divide the group into groups of 5 or 6. The children ineach group sit on the floor and hold the ankles of the child behind them. They call out left, right and the group has to try to move while everyone is holding the ankles of the child in front of them. If there is more than one group they can have a centipede race.

 Movement activity: Object Relay

Age: 5 years +

Minimum number of participants: 4

Resources needed: Clear space, a ball and a variety of objects (optional).

Other benefits: Imagination, teamwork, focus.

Instructions: Children stand in a line. If there are lots of childrenin the class you make more than one line. Each line has a ball. The ball must be passed down the line. The teacher calls out the instruction of how the ball should be passed down the line. Once the ball gets to the end of the line it has to be passed back. Suggested instructions:

  • Pass the ball overhead.
  • Pass the ball between your legs.
  • Pass the ball without using your hands.
  • Pass the ball by just using your chest.
  • Pass the ball by just using your head.

If a team drops the ball then they have to go back to the beginning.

Extension: You could have a box of different objects that they must pass down the line. Each line should have the same objects. The line that gets all the objects down safely is the winner.

Movement activity: Bean Bag Balance

Age: 4 years +

Minimum number of participants: 2

Resources needed: Clear space, bean bags for each member of the class Other benefits: Focus, imagination, problem solving.

Instructions: The teacher gets the children put a bean bag on their heads and they walk slowly around the room. Once they feel comfortable the children can walk faster and faster. They can see if they can run with the bean bag on their head. Once they have mastered balancing the beanbags on their head then they can see if they can balance the bean bag on other parts of their body. Suggested Body Parts:

  • Knees
  • Foot
  • Hands
  • Thighs
  • Shoulder
  • Face
  • Wrist
  • Toes

Again, they start off slowly and then they get faster and faster. The child that can balance on the most body parts and move the fastest is the winner.

 

Movement activity: Pick Up the Bean Bag

Age: 3 years +

Minimum number of participants: 2

Resources needed: Clear space and a variety of bean bags, a basket orbox for each child.

Other benefits: Warm up, teamwork.

Instructions: The teacher gets a variety of bean bags and spreads them across the space. The children have 10 seconds to see how many beanbags they can collect. The group could divide into sub-groups of three or four and have a race to see who can pick up the most beanbags in the time allotted.  

Movement activity: Roll the Dice

Age: 3 years+

Minimum number of participants: 2

Resources needed: Clear space, a dice for each member of the group.

Other benefits: Creativity, memory, focus.

Instructions: Everyone rolls their dice together. Each number corresponds to action such as: 1 Wiggle your body for 10 seconds. 2 Spin around 5 times. 3 Stand on your right leg for 15 seconds. 4 Hop 10 times. 5 Make a large circle with your arms 10 times. 6 Close your eyes and take 5 deep breaths. Once the children have become used to the actions, get them to come up with their own actions for each number.  


Movement activity: The Troll’s Bridge

Age: 4 years +

Minimum number of participants: 3

Resources needed: Masking tape, objects to carry.

Other benefits: Energy, focus.

Instructions: Make a bridge with the masking tape. Tell the children that they are crossing a very narrow bridge and there is a troll thatlives underneath it. The children are crossing the bridge going to visit their friend. They are carrying a variety of objects with them.The children are told the troll won’t bother them if they stay on the narrow bridge and don’t drop anything. If they fall off the bridge or drop anything then the troll chases them. The troll can be the teacher or another child. If you want to make it more difficult tell them. to carry the objects over the bridge on their head.  

Movement activity: Cooperative Chase

Age: 3 years +

Minimum number of participants: 6

Resources needed: Clear space.

Other benefits: Warm-up, teamwork.

Instructions: One child volunteers to be “It.” If he catches another child in the group then they join together and connect. The connected pair need to work together to catch a third child who in turn would connect to them. They do it until everyone is connected. If the group catches someone and the connection is broken, then that child is free to go.  

From more movement activities, games and stories, click here.

For free movement activities click on the following: 

 

The hare and the tortoise movement story. 

Goldilocks and the three bears movement story

More movement activities for children.