From what I know, Blobs was written by Marian Rose (from Canada), who has lots of wonderful dances for varying age groups in her "Step Lively" series of books/cds. She's a terrific resource, as is Sanna Longden's materials, Paul Rosenberg's materials, and the New England Dancing Masters materials.

Patricia Campbell 

Newtown, CT

On Mar 28, 2018, at 7:08 PM, Jonathan Sivier jsivier@illinois.edu [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

I call a dance at a local library each year for kids. It is called
the Fairy Tale Ball and sometimes feels like I'm standing in a sea of
knee-high princesses. The age range can go from toddlers with parents
to grade school and middle school. So I need a wide range of possible
dances. One dance I used this year that went very well with kids that
were in what seems to be the age range you are talking about, was The
Blob. I have it down as being by Sherry Nevins. If I have that wrong
please let me know.

The Blob
Sherry Nevins?
Longways proper for as many as will
with partners (any age, any gender) facing each other in a long line.
Starting at the top, join hands in groups of 4 or 6; this is your blob.

1 - Long lines forward and back
2 - Forward and back again
3 - Partners right elbow around
4 - Partners left elbow around
5 - Blobs join hands and circle left
6 - Circle right, back to place (top blob keep holding hands, others
jump WAY back from partner)
7-8 Top blob sashay down the center, others clap in time, & move up
towards the top

Of course all the usual whole set dances work well for groups like
this, the kids can just have a friend as their partner and it doesn't
matter who is in which line. I typically use Galopede, Cumberland Reel,
Rural Felicity, etc. The books by the New England Dancing Masters are
very helpful for dances to use at events like this.

Jonathan
-----
Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, Square, English and Early American Dances
jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
-----
Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!

On 3/28/2018 4:36 PM, Ridge Kennedy srk3nn3dy@gmail.com
[trad-dance-callers] wrote:
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> I'm doing a mother-daughter dance in a few weeks.  In the interest of
> keeping things interesting, are there any new or unusual or different
> dances sequences you recommend?
>
> I recently heard mention of "Cats and Mice"  I think it was in the
> context of dances for very small people -- and that's an area of
> interest too.  One coming up in July.
>
> Sharing of repertoire ideas appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ridge