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Grin Bear Move #1: ORBITS!

MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS presented by Vera Monstera

Vera Monstera Presents: GRIN BEAR MOVE, a monthly series of movement activities for kids.

Anyone can play, but these prompts work well with kiddos who are 5-10ish. If you have a kid in your life, feel free to share. Or if you’re new here and thinking, “what’s happening?” Don’t worry. Nobody knows. Especially me. But please come back next time for our weekly-ish essays and ephemera. Or join in! When I was teaching, I often used the same prompts for kids and adults and fun was had by all. So go ahead grown-ups…let loose!

This GRIN BEAR MOVE series is an extension of my belief that play is a deep form of work and essential for building resilience, creating connection and having fun. These bite-sized prompts are about process rather than finished products. This is a laboratory for movement.

Today, we’re talking about ORBITS because I’m working on a story about a baby planet. Let’s go!

STEP 1: It’s story time! Here’s a rough draft of my story about a baby planet.

If you have a grown-up or a friend, you can read it like a play with 2 characters.


Behold, the baby planet!

I’M NOT A BABY!

Behold the…beginner planet? A little planet, an asteroid, really, who was bursting like a supernova, an exploding star.

WHAT?!

This beginner planet, who is NOT a baby–

THANK YOU.

–was not really exploding. Not in real life. But it felt like that when this…young planet…dropped their moon clear into space!

HEY! I DIDN’T SAY YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THAT!

But this story has a really good ending.

I KNOW, BUT IT’S MY STORY.

Oh, sorry. You’re right. Would you like to tell it?

FINE. BUT I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT I’M NOT A BABY.

Right, I said that.

OKAY, THANK YOU. SO ONCE UPON A TIME IT WAS YESTERDAY…

Let’s tick time back to yesterday! Un-burst this planet and her moon mess! Slurp her tears back in!

EW, YUCK! AND HEY, I SAID I WILL TELL THIS STORY!

Sorry, sorry!

HUMPH!

No really, I’m done!

GIVE ME THE MIC. LIGHTS UP. ACTION!

FIRST, YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT IN THIS STORY, IT WASN’T MY FAULT. AND IN THIS STORY, I AM THE HERO.

IT WAS A BRIGHT DAY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. NOTHING WAS WRONG. NOTHING AT ALL! IT WAS A CLEAR DAY AND ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE.


So, what do you think happens? Tell me! I would love to hear. And by the way, what would you name a baby—I mean beginner—planet?

STEP 2: Play with the movement of orbits using the video.

What’s an orbit? Something circles around something else. Over and over, ‘round and ‘round. Think of the earth orbiting the sun. Or our moon orbiting the earth.

As for the movement that you invent, there is no wrong way to do it. Only lots of fun ways. Go ahead and play because guess what? Kids are the coolest artists I’ve ever met. Really! Your imaginations can take you anywhere. And your big dreams make the world go ‘round. Like an orbit.

STEP 3: Make even more art! Maybe? Yes!

* DRAWINGS! 
* PAINTINGS! 
* PUPPETS!  
* STORIES!
* PLAYS!

Invent your own solar system. Draw your own planets. Map out the orbits. Who circles whom? Can a planet be a puppet? What story will you tell? What’s the best material to make a planet? Cardboard? Crayons? Yarn? Rocks? You’re the space boss.

STEP 4: Share with us!

If you create something, please share it. Grown-ups, you can message Jenny Parrott on Substack and attach images. We’ll include them for our next installment of GRIN BEAR MOVE. No videos, please, for the privacy of young artists.

This series, GRIN BEAR MOVE, will return next month. In the meantime, stay tuned for regular transmissions of essays and ephemera from Vera Monstera. Thanks, as always, for your support.

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