The education staff at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division loves the transition from the studio intensives of the summer to focused classroom learning during the fall. As remote classes keep children in front of a screen more and more,  the need to connect body to mind becomes even more important.  We have thought of a couple ideas to get your kids out of their chairs and engaging in active learning using our Digital Collections portal.   

Screen Breaks 

When your little one has sat in front of a computer screen too long(the recommendation is a 5-10 minute break every 50-60 minutes) the Frederick Melton Photograph Collection is a collection of beloved New York City Ballet dancers in a variety of poses for your little dancer to try and see if they can replicate. You can also print out several photos and have them try to create transitions from one photo’s pose to the next. 

Create your own Exhibit

Young learners love to collect, arrange, and rearrange images according to a theme. Choose any of the thousands of dance photographs at digitalcollections.nypl.org  and create a mini-exhibit or one that takes up the whole room. This is an activity that can entertain preschoolers as well as high school students. Children can create art projects to accompany the photos and manuscript materials from scratch, or add decorative frames to the existing made or found images.   
 

Coloring Books and Puzzles

The JRDD staff has created several coloring books and puzzles for hours of entertainment.  Find the coloring books here, and puzzles here.  For more line drawings to color, search the collection of Prints Depicting Dance. 

Deep Looking

Choose any of the thousands of dance photographs at digitalcollections.nypl.org and use the structure of Visual Thinking Strategies to ask in-depth questions about the image. Begin with the questions, “What’s going on in this picture?,”  What makes you say that?,”  “What more can you find?” There are other deep-looking exercises called “thinking routines” available at Harvard’s Project Zero website. For younger audiences, print off the photos for free and create a match game. 

The School Outreach team of the New York Public Library has written a blog post with back-to-school resources including craft activities, storytimes, and homework help. Keep up with new updates by signing up for the NYPL Kids newsletter and by reaching out to the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org