Talking Hands Talking Feet Blog
Home Planet Earth

The Natural Education package is now ready. You can check out the video preview at the top right of the page This song, video and lesson plan explores the invaluable ways of living we learn from Mother Nature: biodiversity, conservation, recycling, sustainability.  It is designed for children ages 9-12 but younger children will also love [...]

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Children powerfully identify with animals. No matter where you are in the world, young human beings feel strongly about animals. It is a deep primordial sympathy. Children folk tales around the world abound with animal characters as vehicles of proverbial wisdom, caution and counsel. The courageous leadership of the lion; the work ethic beaver; the [...]

Continue reading “Animal Pow Wow Power” »

The Green Green Green Kit is now available! It includes the song, performance/instructional video, lesson plan, lyrics, chords and dance notes. This is an easy and dynamic way to open up this subject. Here is an excerpt from the lesson plan: Green Green Green Teaching ‘sustainability’ can be a challenging task. The song Green Green [...]

Continue reading “Teaching Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Values” »

The song Home Planet Earth is a beautiful teaching tool. Essential human values can be explored and expressed using this simple, profound song and its video. The song travels from A to Z through fifty six countries around the world. The video highlights folk dances from each country in sync with the verses. These are [...]

Continue reading “Teach Tolerance Through A Song” »

Racism has been rearing its ugly head again lately in the U.S.A.; showing its face shamelessly and without remorse. It seems the election cycle often brings it out for whatever reason. But this goes much deeper than political mediocrity. My oldest son proudly plays on a quite diverse soccer team for his high school. In [...]

Continue reading “Teaching Tolerance and Compassion” »

The Home Planet Earth video is now available. It is a beautiful world geography activity. Here are some simple ideas of how you can use it in the classroom and/or as part of a stunning performance. The song “Home Planet Earth” travels alphabetically through 56 countries (including one continent) around the world. It introduces students [...]

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“Teaching” the difference between sustainable and non-sustainable values, attitudes and practices towards ourselves, our brothers and sisters around the world and to the earth (our host) leads beautifully to the following analogy: Let’s say we are guests in a foreign country. The language is different, people look different, foods and customs and habits are different, [...]

Continue reading “The Good Guest” »

It’s always a real eye opener what becomes important to children working together toward a performance. We recently completed a 12 week program with 2nd and 3rd grade students culminating in a performance entitled Home Planet Earth. The whole project is chock full to the brim with wisdoms and lessons to do with the planet’s [...]

Continue reading “Sing With Spirit” »

We grew up playing lots of Basketball. Everybody had a hoop in their driveway or access to one nearby. Soccer hadn’t caught on yet in the USA. So it was Football, Basketball, Baseball and Hockey. Of those four, the only one that had any kind of compelling rhythm was Basketball. There was school ball and [...]

Continue reading “Rhythm Ball” »

Many, many moons ago, I was living in a indigenous village of close to 200 people (100 dogs, 70 burros, 50 pigs, 30 goats and 1000 chickens) along the Pacific coast of southern central Peru. It was called San Vicente de Azpitia. These were thoughtful, hardworking, gentle, kind-hearted and somber people born of the coastal [...]

Continue reading “Safety” »