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.

Straight and Curved Pathways

Play Follow the Leader and teach your child to move in straight and curved pathways. Young children often go full blast in a straight line, so the curved path may be a little difficult at first. You can pretend to be the mouse while your child pretends to be the cat that is stalking behind. Another idea is to drag a string behind you while your child pretends to be (again) a cat chasing yarn.

Series of Movements

Try to teach your child a series of movements that you make up such as, bend, then stretch to the sky, then gallop to that corner, then bow. You can add more complicated movements as your child gets used to the idea. If it is too difficult for your child to remember the movements in order, make it simpler. Following three and four step directions is useful in any area of learning, and dance is no exception A great way to entice your child to do this is practicing to put on a little show in your living room. Make Dad or Grandmom watch the show!

Inventing New Movements

Turn on some music and watch as your child creates his own new movements. Ask him to teach the movements to you and notice whether or not he can re-create the same movement again and again. This activity can be done anywhere, even on a trampoline. Jump way high in the air and strike a pose! In the same vein, see if your child can create his own series of movements, such as walk across the room, spin twice, then sit down with a flourish. Ask your child do recreate the same movement again so that you can learn it too.

Independent/Autonomous Dance

When your child is playing alone, watch to see if she will create movements of her own accord. Even with a playmate, do they dance? Put on shows? Encourage them to do so by turning on some upbeat music and providing some rhythmic instruments like drums, sticks or tambourines. Let them know that you are a willing audience if they’d like to put on a dance show.

Balance

Practice balance by walking on a straight line or low beam. You can pretend to be the tightrope walker at the circus or a gymnast at the Olympics. You can also have a little competition to see who can stand on one foot the longest. Try weight shifting by balancing on first one foot, then the other, a precursor to hopping on one foot which is quite hard to learn. You can also try jumping straight up and landing in the same spot. Mark a spot on the floor so that you’ll know whether or not you did it. In balancing activities, show your child how to use her arms and posture to keep her balance.

Tumbling

Do some tumbling on the living room floor. Show your child how to do a forward roll, a backwards roll, and, if you can manage it, a cart-wheel. Try doing a handstand or headstand up against a wall. Be there for support to help your child learn.

Dancing is more than just a fun and enjoyable activity, although it is that as well. It’s a way to get to know your body. Young children are still learning what their bodies can do, and you can help them by encouraging playing at dance.