Let’s Dance!

It’s International Dance Day – find out how our session leaders celebrate!

Structure!

Kim from Little Learners Winchester starts each class with The Mark Makers moment of the week. Early writing often begins off the page. Kim says…

‘For example, with ‘Swirlo’ we do big circles with our arms. Some fast and some slow. I always ask the big children to watch the grown ups and make sure they do it properly! It always gets a giggle! Additionally seeing children translate their movement into mark making on paper lets me know we are making progress.’

Dance is a great distraction too, especially for the children who don’t want to wait and just want to go and get messy. Kim continues…

‘Starting every session with dance helps build a routine. This helps children understand what’s about to happen next and stick to the class structure, ensuring I get to properly greet all the learners. Having a tidy up boogie when the class is over ends the session on a high too!’

Sensory Toys and Dance

Brooke, from Little Messy Learners Hobart loves to incorporate sensory toys into movement exercises. Utilising scarves, ribbons and instruments to get children dancing!

‘Dancing with ribbons to themed songs at the start of every class is always fun. We even use a large parachute and children love dancing under it. At the end of our lesson we always say goodbye with bubbles and use the Tidy Up song to have a dance and sway our bodies around the room.’

A little help…

Some of our session leaders even bring their own children to their class! Having a child who is well versed in Messy Play at a session really helps bring other children out of their shell. Jade, from Little Learners Uttlesford & Bishop’s Stortford brings her daughter along…

‘My 2 year old now performs alongside me and is very exaggerated. She loves dancing and performing and is a great help! She shows off which Mark Maker movement we need to do – helping other children learn!’

Let us know how you celebrate International Dance Day in the comments!