Testimonials

I am a preschool teacher from the Philippines. I came across your website and was fascinated with your program. I have been a Kinder teacher for six years now and dancing is one skill that I highly value and love! I try my best to integrate it in our curriculum and I believe that I continue to be successful in somehow encouraging my students to love dancing! I am not a dance teacher nor have I been educated in the field. I really believe that you have something very wonderful going on. Maybe one day, I could develop a program inspired by yours.

I'm so impressed with Sparkplug and just the whole feeling and approach of your dance classes. I've been recommending the classes to everyone and I feel so lucky to have your organization in Eugene.

- Mom of Creative ballet student, via email

I took a workshop of yours at the library awhile back, and was in total awe! You made me want to know more about the developing brain in young children,and how dance/movement influnces that development. I am no dancer myself, but I have recently completed my degree in early childhood education, and am excited about incorporating some of your work into my own curriculum development ideas.

Thank you so much for the great class. It was so exciting to learn about all of the work you have done, and it was refreshing to know that you have been doing this so well for so long! I just love the idea that teachers and parents can reinforce each other to make activities appropriate for kids. It just never occurred to me how much we do at "circle time" is creative dance!
I have been looking at your curricula for toddlers on your website, and it is perfect for us to use in planning for. The kids are going to love the songs and braindance. I am so excited for a fun and rich way to introduce concepts.

- Erika Lanning, preschool teacher

"I am a dance educator from Barcelona, Spain, where I run a dance studio. I teach creative dance for babies and toddlers. I've looked through your website, which I found through Anne Green Gilbert's last book, and found it very interesting and complete."

I loved the recognition that movement is tied to learning in ways that we are just now beginning to understand. I loved the dancing but I loved even more the educational piece that went with it, the part where you shared with children the purpose of some movements. It was movement for the soul. There are always some kids who love to dance but frequently there are students who see dancing as just a place to be goofy. They see movement only as a tool to get somewhere or as a way to win a game. To view movement as essential for learning all across the curriculum is new for students and parents. I wish this was part of our every day curriculum with students.

- Anita White, Edgewood Elementary, Eugene

" Rachael is an inspiration to all of us - children and adults alike. We all found ourselves excitedly waiting for her arrival each week and we were never disappointed! Rachael always arrived enthusiastic and well-prepared for the lesson. Her sheer joy, knowledge, and passion for dance and creative movement were abundantly apparent! We feel fortunate to have had Rachael work with our Primary students and received wonderful feedback from both the children themselves as well as their parents. I was impressed with Rachael's knowledge of brain development and her ability to communicate complex research into easily understandable terms - receiving her detailed lesson plans each week enabled us to do follow-up activities with our classes. We all enjoyed working with Rachael tremendously and look forward to future opportunities - thank you, thank you!"

-Julie Hulme, First Grade teacher, Edgewood Community School

“Great class, instructor made us feel comfortable. We had fun and learned a lot.”

“Lots of information that I will be using in my classroom.”

What I liked best: “The energy and information from Rachael Carnes.”

“Thanks for the wonderful ideas and information.”

“I liked learning by moving, interspersed with pointing out relationships with brain development.”

You are a great teacher in that you've inspired me, not just as a teacher, but also as a parent. It really meant a lot to me to have somewhere to go on those looong days of baby care; not just anywhere but a place to be physical and free and to have fun with ourselves and our kids. You are the greatest and you supplied a very necessary service to me at that time in my journey through being a father.

-Ben Chesluk, Dad of Olive

We attend movement for toddlers with Rachael Carnes and it has transformed the way I interact with my daughter. She teaches us developmentally appropriate skills and then pushes both caregiver and child to reach a higher level teaching math, logic and pre-literacy skills for children from 0-3!!!! Her lessons provide activities and "sparks" that illuminate our lives!

-Maria Blanco

Ms. Blanco is a Speech Therapist, Dancer, and Mom of Gracy

Early motor freedom and movement is key in overall development. Rachael's program is a wonderful guide for parents, giving them the confidence to do what probably feels natural to them but is rarely discussed in the "parenting guide books" promoted commercially. Unfortunately, more effort is spent selling products (which babies rarely need) to parents than in emphasizing the real benefit of natural play and body movement.

Body knowledge and freedom of movement with well-developed coordination is indeed the foundation for all learning. It is how we explore our environment initially and how we represent it cognitively later.

I have spent the last year lecturing all over the country about the importance of early motor development and its role in learning and performance. Working with our patients in vision therapy, I found that many had poor integration of early motor movement patterns and often these primitive reflex motor patterns would dominate visual motor performance because the patient did not have the body knowledge to integrate these movement patterns into more intricate voluntary movements. Their movements were not well coordinated or visually directed nor was the patient even aware of how they were moving their body.

This problem does not go away with age -- they do not outgrow the problem. They simply learn to compensate or avoid activities which require more integrated movement then they are capable of achieving. These problems interfere with their ability to achieve their full potential.

I can't help but wonder if the proliferation of baby "contraptions" (carriers in which the baby can sit during transport, in the car, on the counter, etc.; swings in which they sit to be entertained; walkers or jumpers which artificially support their little bodies while preventing them from exploring their own control, etc.) are leading us to a generation of "bucket babies" with poor motor integration. I am certainly seeing more problems in my practice than I did 20 years ago. What Rachael is offering is a way to avoid this problem by creating opportunity for natural learning.

The movement activities Rachael recommends play a key role in the integration of the primitive reflex movements during the developmental stage where it is most appropriate.

-Carol Marusich, OD, MS, FCOVD

Dr. Marusich graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1981, and is in private, primary care family practice in Eugene, Oregon, with special interest in pediatrics, learning-related vision problems, and vision rehabilitation following brain injury. She serves on the Health, Disabilities & Social Services Advisory Board for Head Start, the Lane County Early Intervention Council, as adjunct faculty for Pacific University College of Optometry, and as is a Past Chair of the International Examination and Certification Board of the COVD. As past president of the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association, Dr. Marusich currently serves as the Oregon Trustee on the Great Western Council of Optometry's Board of Directors.

I think it is really wonderful that you are doing this. Your class is very important for the children and especially for new moms.

-Michele Schifferle-Marzulli, mother of Sam

I used your suggestion of using cornmeal poured through a funnel for some cause/effect, in/through tactile experience today with our toddlers. What a hit! All five were completely enthralled for about 15 minutes - a lifetime in toddler years. We're definitely doing it again. Great suggestion.

-Yamila Fournier, cooperative preschool parent, mother of Jacob