In teaching the water cycle as part of our curriculum in Taking Hands Talking Feet, this open form improvisational dance developed. It’s really fun and easy for children of any age to experience and enjoy.
We encourage participants to dance with the whole body to find form and expression as they explore the journey of water.
From the mysteries of the human mind to magical rainforests, to the life-giving waters, to the communication networks between trees, animals, plants, fungi and who knows what else, we live in a planet full of wonders.
The Rio Grande of the North American southwest is one such wonder. It is celebrated in the song entitled River of Wonder, and we hope you enjoy these accompanying videos of the song and learning the dance.
We so encourage making the study of geography a vibrant journey.
“Without geography, you’re nowhere.” ~unknown
“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future.” ~ Michael Palin
“I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers hold the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.” ~ Brian Andreas
Talking Hands Talking Feet songs are made to be springboards into the subject areas. Riddle of the Planetsgives clues about the members of our solar system, for your students to shout out the answers. Vamos A Caminar is an adventurous bilingual exploration of biomes and ecosystems.
We hope you and your beautiful students enjoy these video lessons.
We wish to invite you to enjoy our fourth ‘learning portal’ inspiration including a special impromptu stick dance with our sons and a song video entitled Home Planet Earth which travels around the world from folk dance to folk dance…
May you all be healthy and in good surroundings and process,
We bring you our second ‘video lesson’ called A Day Around the World, following a theme that could be entitled ‘Home Planet Earth’. It in a special introduction to the subject of World Time Zones.
We hope you and the young lives in your care and trust enjoy it!
With warmth and encouragement,
Paul and Melanie Zeir
In response to the need to reach children while schools are closed, we have created our first online ‘learning portal’ video. It’s called New Geography, and we hope you love it and can share it with the students in your care.
Our aim has always been first, to enrich the lives of children with inspired education songs in motion; and second, to provide a valuable resource for teachers and parents.
These ‘video lessons’ are our way of engendering the warmth of connection, the courage to be bold and curious learners and the confidence of self-expression.
With care and encouragement,
Paul and Melanie Zeir
When our family was getting started, one of the many wonderful books we cherished was Coyote Places the Stars, by Harriet Peck Taylor. The story itself is adapted from a Wasco Indian legend about the origin of the constellations. Like many Coyote tales, it illustrates the accidental and spontaneous genius of Coyote bringing the tribe of animals together to witness and celebrate the power and beauty of Creation.
Accompanying the story are the wonderful pictures! These vibrant images bring the story to life, sensitively rendered by loving hands.
The song, Animal Pow Wow, and its accompanying theater, was inspired by Coyote Places the Stars. The animals come together in the song to beacon a special message to the human race:
Hear O Humanity
Hear now our call
Care for our Mother Earth
As our Mother cares for all…
For young children, animal tales can be a vital source of natural planetary wisdom and healthy human character.
We hope you enjoy the Animal Pow Wow video which includes images from Coyote Places the Stars. A special thank you to Harriet Peck Taylor, and a tip of the hat and a playful wink to our dear friend, Coyote!
The Upper Rio Grande Valley in Northern New Mexico is one of the world’s geographical gems. Anthropologists have called the Rio Grande, the “Nile of the Southwest” because of its thriving pre-Columbian culture, still alive and well in the remaining eight northern Pueblo communities. It is home to a still thriving “Low-Rider” culture, traditional weaving villages, Chimayo Chile, artist conclaves, ‘spiritual’ centers, reservation casinos and ancient ‘Anasazi’ sites.More
We have been given a rare gift. In the Fall of 2016 we began teaching in three village schools of the Española Valley school district. To see why it is such a gift requires stepping back from the immediacy of 21st century America.
Northern New Mexico is a rare jewel on this planet. You have to see it and feel it to begin to know just how extraordinary it is. And yet, many miss it. It does not yield to hostile or opportunistic brains. It is a powerful maternal land. It has a different rhythm, long and slow…ancient…soft, yet potent. Anthropologists have called the Rio Grande “the Nile of the Southwest” because of its rich and ancient pre-Columbian living heritage. Like so many of the special places of this Earth, it defies mediocrity. If you’re open to it, it provides a nourishment that originates beyond the stars.More