Tempo

The lesson focus in Zoo Train today was Tempo. We talked about animals that move fast (allegro) and slow (andante). We rode the train fast and slow, and we visited slow gliding giraffes to move around slowly and reach for the sky, and then we visited zebras to gallop fast and race around.

As children develop, they learn all of the ways that their bodies can move, and one important aspect of this movement is speed. As babies learn to crawl, we often find them cruising around the room quickly. When toddlers learn to run, and later as preschoolers reach new levels of physical ability, we find them stretching their limits to go, go, go. In our fast-paced world, children don't often have opportunities to explore slow movement. We will make a point to experience both fast and slow through fine-motor movements, instrument exploration, moving and listening.

Another highlight was looking into little family mirrors to see what the monkeys see when they look at us. There were so many wonderful grins and giggles as kids and mommies made silly faces, sad faces, copy cat faces and enjoyed this great activity.