Do you want to teach your child how to do more than boogie to the radio? Here are some techniques and skills (based on the standards and benchmarks listed in Florida’s Sunshine State Standards) to work on with your K-2nd grader to help them become more coordinated and comfortable with dancing. Don’t expect high quality ballet quite yet, but you can expect a little more grace with movement when you practice these basics.

Nonlocomotor/Axial Movement

Start off by doing basic nonlocomotor/axial movements. Big words, I know. What it means, in plain English, is do some simple bending, twisting, and swinging of your arms and legs. Model the movements for your child. Pretend you are moving like the wind or like the waves in the sea Wave your arms as if they were the rippling ocean or the leaves in a tree on a windy day. Lie down on the floor and swing your legs up and down as if they were flowers bending in a breeze. Make up your own movements, but smooth and graceful as possible. Don’t criticize if your child’s movements are jerky or stilted. These skills are hard for young children and take practice.

Locomoter Movement

Try doing some simple locomoter movements such as walking, running, hopping, jumping and leaping. You can put a small towel or blanket on the floor and pretend it is a pond. Run around it, leap over it, stroll around it. You can pretend to be a frog hopping on the lily pads, a bee buzzing all around, or a fish leaping out of the water. Come up with your own creative ideas. You will be surprised at what your child can imagine. Once those skills are mastered, you can move on to compound locomotor movements such as galloping, sliding and leaping. Pretend you are a horse and your living room is the field. Or pretend you are an ice skater and your back porch is the rink. Try doing two leaps in a row, first on one foot, then on the other.

Rhythmic Accompaniment

Turn on some music with a strong beat and watch your child learn to move to the rhythmic accompaniment. Listen to the beat a bongo drum and practice changing your movements based on the tempo of the drum. It’s important for children to learn to move to various sounds and use their bodies to mimic the beat. You can take turns beating on a coffee can and trying to keep your movements in sync with the rhythm.