Cut crepe paper streams or pieces of ribbon to about 3 feet long and give one to each child. Show the children how to hold one end of the ribbon in one had and hold it up high. Then turn on some music and let them dance and twirl their streamers in the air. On different days provide different types of music, both fast and slow. You can even tie two colors of ribbon together for holiday-themed ribbon dancing. Think orange and black for Halloween or pink and red for Valentine's Day.
This creative movement lesson is ideal for a farm or animal theme. Call out the names of different types of farm animals and let the children imitate them. They can gallop and neigh while pretending to be horses and squat down to waddle and quack like ducks. You can also vary the activity for different groups of animals. Children will have just as much doing a jungle walk, a trip to the zoo or even an ocean swim.
Do this activity in a wide open space or have the children follow you in a line up and down a hallway. As they walk, narrate their adventure. Have them face imaginary obstacles and explore new terrains and encourage them to act accordingly. Have them take big steps to climb a mountain, tiptoe past a sleeping bear or jump over puddles while they hold their umbrellas during a sudden rainstorm.
Play music and have preschoolers dance and move around however they want. Then stop the music. When it stops, everyone has to freeze until the music starts again. Another variation is to have the children fall down when the music stops instead of freezing. When the music starts to play again, they can get up and continue dancing.