FUN WAYS TO GET FIT WITH THE UNDER 5s

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend today.  She attends a Disco Duck class and whilst her daughter is enjoying the freedom of expressing herself through our dance classes, she also enjoys the class!

She stated that the realisation of using her whole body to perform some of our actions, simply emphasises how limiting every day actions in life are.  How often do you lift your arms above your head or reach and stretch whilst assuming day to day routine?  Our normal actions are small and effortless and of course all good excercise requires energy and the ability to make our heart beat faster.

Using the body effectively in excercise is a must, for example, walking whilst moving the arms creates even more energy.   Any basic action can be improved by adding an arm action for example, start by performing  a gentle side step left to right (We call these basic taps)  Then try adding arm actions and gradually increasing the size and height of the action.  You will find your body warming and your heart beating faster as you raise the tempo.

Adding energy and effort into our everyday routine goes a long way to helping our fitness.

Add some feel good tunes to the mix and time will pass quickly – was that exercise?

Happy Dancing everyone!

THE STORY OF DISCO DUCK PART 3

Farmer Fred had worked hard all morning – cleaning out the stables, giving all the animals their breakfast and milking the cows.

“Time for a well deserved rest!” He said to himself.  Farmer Fred opened his bag and took out his flask of tea, a delicious home made sandwich and his portable radio and settled himself by the Duck Pond, enjoying the warmth from the summer sunshine.

He took a sip of steaming tea, ate a bite of his sandwich and switched on the radio.

As we all know, Ducks love to nibble bread!  So very soon, Farmer Fred was surrounded by his beloved Ducks “Quack Quack” They all shouted!  Farmer Fred laughed and scattered the remains of his sandwich by the pond for them all to share.

A familiar pop tune blared onto the radio, making Farmer Fred nod his head and sing loudly to to the words….However to his absolute astonishment – He was not the only one moving rhythmically to the music….

Farmer Fred looked over towards Disco Duck. As the beats of the music poured over the Farmyard, Disco Duck was tapping his webbed feet and shaking his feathers in time to the music….

Disco Duck by Ruby Boast

FUN WAYS TO GET FIT WITH THE UNDER 5`S DEC

Why does it feel like it is almost Christmas already?  All the Children (approximately 300 per week) that I teach seem extremely hyperactive and excited and as one of our Dance-Beat Teachers said this week “Once you see the Coca Cola Lorry on the TV, you know that Christmas is here!”

Christmas is a magical time when you have Children, it brings a new light to the festive season, the preparation, the Santa letters, the nativities, Carol Concerts, Mince Pies and Mulled Wine!

It is a terrible time to keep fit and keep up with the festivities and then to worry whether you will fit into your party dress! It is a great time, however, for meeting with friends, listening to music and dancing around the living room.

As Disco Duck heads  towards the festive season, the Christmas songs that little ones enjoy will make an appearance into our classes, plus, our lovely bells to mark out rhythm and enforce good timing will be featuring at all our Christmas Parties – twirling around the living room to jingle bells seems like a good idea!  Try and make up some energetic actions with your little one to your favourite Christmas songs in the privacy of your front room.

Happy early Christmas everyone!

The story of Disco Duck part 2

The Sun started to rise over Honeysuckle Farm, casting a warm and rosy glow across the water, the cock crowed noisily and the farm started to stir, the lambs bleated and the pigs grunted, the cows mooed and the chickens clucked.

Farmer Fred started his busy day on the farm by feeding all the animals and they greeted him by calling out to him in their special way.  Farmer Fred opened the barnyard doors and the ducks waddled out, quacking noisily, flapping their wings and making their way towards the pond.

Disco Duck unwrapped his wings and stared sleepily out onto the farmyard, watching his brothers and sisters making their way towards the pond.  He stood up and shook his yellow feathers, a haze of golden dust flew about him.  “AACHOOO!” Disco Duck sneezed and opened his beak to “quack” to the Duck family.

Instead of a loud and toneless quack, when Disco Duck opened his beak, a beautiful and tuneful note could be heard “QUAAAACK!”  The Ducks stopped in their tracks and stared blankly at Disco Duck, Farmer Fred stopped and looked around “What was that?”he asked himself.

He shook his head and carried on feeding the animals.  Disco Duck stood still in fright!  He didn`t know what had just happenned.  He opened his beak to quack noisily again and the same thing happenned “QUAAAACK,  QUAAACK, QUAACK”.

This time without his knowing, Disco Ducks` webbed feet moved in time to the rhythm he had created. “1 – 2 -3“

The sound travelled accross the pond “DOH RAY MIIIII!” 

Silence fell accross the farmyard – ssshhhhhh!

Farmer Fred walked slowly towards the pond….but of course all he could see were the ducks swimming smoothly across the water…………

Disco Duck singing by Joely Tapp

To find out what will happen to Disco Duck, please look out for the next instalment….

Fun ways to get fit with the under 5`s in the Winter

As the nights are drawing in and winter is definately settling in, it becomes harder to motivate yourself to excercise, especially with young children to care for.

When my daughter was young, I spent many hours up they gym, whilst she was in the creche and although the excercise lifted my mood, I now seem to have less time (and money) to spend there and as always as all working mothers do, I carried a huge guilt that my spare time should be spent with my child and not on my fitness.

Now, running Disco Duck classes for the last 2 years, I can see that keeping fit, does not have to involve the gym at all!  As our classes involve the parents, it is a great way for both mother and child to “work out” at the same time!  Studies have also shown the link between music and dance to have a positive effect on our well being to be true.  The facts for the adults being that dance encourages lean muscle mass, as the body is effectively using itself to create energy and muscle resistance, so hence, gives a slender look to the body (lovely!)  So when your little one asks you to (yet) again play the link on the Website to our Wake up warm up Dance, please feel free to join in and try and recreate some of our lovely dance excercises, (wiggles/roly polys etc.) to your favourite music.

Sunday was my first day off since the beginning of this term and I relish my time with my lovely daughter and extremely patient husband (!)  The weather was fine, we took a bag onto the fantastic “Greenway” in Letchworth and whilst we briskly walked, we collect Autumn “treasures” along the way, workout for Sunday complete!

The Story of Disco Duck

Disco Duck lived happily on Honeysuckle Farm with his brothers and sisters and lots of Farmyard friends.

Honeysuckle Farm was a happy place, Farmer Fred loved all of his animals especially the Ducks, he spent many hours by the pond feeding them and making sure that the ducklings were safe and warm.

Disco Duck used to love swimming in the pond and diving for fish and quacking happily to his family and friends.  However, one dark night something happenned that would change Disco Duck forever!

It was late Summer, the hazy sun was about to set, painting the sky a beautiful pink, washing the farm with golden colour – Farmer Fred was putting all the animals to bed in their comfortable barns, the Ducks waddled happily into the nearby barn to settle down for the night, snuggling into the warm straw and wrapping their wings around their downy heads ready for another busy day of swimming and diving.

However, Disco Duck had been busy diving and had missed his brothers and sisters waddling into the barn, he looked up startled as the barn door shut with a loud bang, leaving Disco Duck outside.  It was a warm evening, so Disco Duck was not worried, he found a comfy spot on the side of the pond and feeling rather tired, gave one last quack and settled down to sleep.

Being a Duck, Disco Duck did not know that tonight was Midsummers Eve, the most magical night of the year, strange things happenned on Midsummers Eve and tonight was no exception.

As the clock struck midnight, the stars twinkled brighter and brighter and the pond was awash with starlight, it glimmered and shone, as the water lapped peacefully, Disco Duck slept on and on and on…..Suddenly, down from the night sky drifted beautiful glimmering, sparkling shiny dust – was it stardust?  No - it was Magical Musical sprinkles and unbeknown to Disco Duck whoever is touched by the Magical Musical Sprinkles, becomes magical themselves……..

To find out what happens to Disco Duck next,  look out for the next instalment…

Magical Musical Disco Duck

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Amanda

www.disco-duck.co.uk