This is a tradition I hope to bring back to Oregon. The children learn to dance from Kindergarten through Year 6. There are dances during and after school offered to children to practice socialization and have fun. They aren't open, free dances with girls standing shyly on one side of the room while boys cringe on the opposite side. They are mixers with "games" in the style of organized dances, sometimes with a theme or costume suggestion, sometimes not.
The children are taught a variety of dances that are used during these socials. This past week we gathered, all Kinders, 1s and 2s, in a center patio area with a speaker CD box. The children find a spot where they have "room to dance." A teacher shows the basic dance idea, turns the song on, and off they go. They are not shy, hesitant, or awkward. The children love it!
Sample dances include the ever-popular YMCA. A second, The Dinosaur Dance, includes simple hand motions, crouching down, and freely moving about as "a dinosaur." Another dance begins with two dancers in a Tango position for 8 counts, followed by 8 more counts of stepping back, stamping feet and clapping hands. The partners then link elbows and circle before they choose two new partners from the seated circle surrounding the dance floor. Heaps of fun, and the children mix eagerly and joyfully.
I'm picturing not only their smiling faces, but also the coordination and spatial awareness developing. That's great for math and reading!! And physical fitness. And all in about 12 minutes start to finish.
More dancing in 2010 - 2011!
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