This activity is great for PE warm-ups or cool-downs as well as a good transition activity.

I home school and find free play for recess a bad idea as my students have trouble switching back to school and worse they never get any excercise. So, between classes we exercise through dancing trantsitions. First, I set the timer for 10 minutes and turn on fast paced dancing music and instruct the student to creatively dance until the timer goes off... the wilder the dance, the better!

Just make sure that furniture is moved first, jumping, flipping and spinning are ok as long as they don't hurt any one else. For cool down, I reset the timer for five more minutes and play a bit slower music like soft rock or some softer country music and children continue dancing or playing quietly by themselves for 5 more minutes.

When the timer rings, set the timer for one more time for 5 minutes this time play quiet music such as classical or lullaby music with out the words and students sit quietly in one place and may lay there head down, read, write, draw or do another relaxed activity. Sometimes a guided relaxation tape is used for this time.

After this students are ready to return to work, energised, relaxed and up to the really important stuff!

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