Stilt Dancers
Dance on a pair of tin can stilts.
Materials
- 2 large juice cans or coffee cans
- 2 yards of clothesline or cotton rope
- Triangle can opener
Directions
You and your child can make a pair of stilts from two large juice cans or coffee cans.
- If you are using empty coffee cans, one end will already be open. If you are using juice cans, remove the tops. Turn the can upside down so the open end is on the floor.
- Cut two lengths of clothesline or cotton rope, each about a yard long.
- Use a triangle can opener to punch two holes on opposite sides of the bottom of the can. Poke the ends of the rope through the two holes (into the inside of the can) and tie a knot in each end.
- Help your child step up on the cans, hold onto the loops of rope and practice walking on the stilts. You may need to adjust the length of the loops a bit to fit your child's height.
- When your child is comfortable on the stilts, turn on some Dixieland jazz so your child can dance or march to the music.
Talk About It
Colin explains to Buster that African drummers used to convey secret messages through their drum rhythms. With your child, make up simple drum codes for messages like, "Emergency!" "All is well," "Time for dinner." Take turns tapping out drum messages for each other. Can you and your child communicate with your secret drum code?
Related Books
- Can You Dance, Dalila? by Virginia Kroll
- I See the Rhythm by Tyomi Igus
- The Jazz of Our Street by Fatima Shaik
- The Sound That Jazz Makes by Carole Boston Weatherford
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