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When we dance, our bodies have a conversation with the music. Just like any other conversation, listening is required, as is responding in a timely manner. Moving with the tempo is possible only if we are able to hear it in the first place. When working with children, therefore, the first thing to teach them is how to find the beat. Taking a few moments to slow things down and encourage deep listening helps. Once they find the beat, you can move on to moving the body in response.

Have the children lay on their backs with their eyes closed to begin. Make it an adventure by having scarves or mats for children to lie on to take a magic ride into the world of listening. It is much easier to listen when your eyes are closed, since seeing often overwhelms the other senses. Ask the children to listen closely and find the beat of the music and consider how the music makes them feel. Is it happy music, sad music, energetic music? There are many possibilities.

Next have then stand in place and clap along with the beat. Clapping is an easier way to follow along with the music. Once they have clapped for a few moments, have them try to clap and march. Elect one child as leader, and then have them take turns marching together.

Lastly, play the song another time and let them dance free form. Encourage them to use as many parts as possible while they move. Remind them that they are having a conversation with their entire bodies, with all the parts moving together. A dance often includes movements of the head, shoulders, arms, hips, legs and feet. If you have any percussion instruments, such as maracas or wood blocks, pass them out and let some children provide a background beat.

Learning to focus and listen to the musical tempo will definitely improve dancing skill, and will serve in other ways in the classroom, too. Sometimes slowing down and making it a priority is all it takes to see vast improvements in listening skills. Try it!

Warming up is such an important, yet overlooked part of dance and movement; the logical beginning of any dance or movement class.

Warming up our muscles means that we are taking care of the body, easing gradually into movement. Just like waking up in the morning, we don’t spring out of bed like we’ve been shot out of a cannon. We stretch and move slowly before we hit the ground running. Warming up helps prevent injuries, preparing the body for bigger movements.

Begin warming up gently, choosing either a top-down or bottom-up approach. If you choose the top-down approach, begin with the head, neck and shoulders, working your way down. The bottom-up approach works in reverse, beginning with the feet. Either way, there are a few key areas to keep in mind as you warm up:

Head and neck. Try tilting the head side-to-side, and rolling the head in circles. Follow by rolling the shoulders in circles, forward and in reverse.

Arms. Circle the arms, and “fly” them up and down.

Side body. Stretch gently from side to side.

Hips. Shake them, roll them, and get them going.

Knees and thighs. Ballet dancers do plies, gently bending and straightening the legs.

Calves and feet. Rise up and down on the balls of the feet to bring warmth to the calves. Point and flex the feet.

Spine. Curl down in a cat-like motion, beginning with bringing the chin to the chest, then letting the head go heavy. The body will curve down towards the floor. Roll back up in reverse, with the head coming back up last.

Warming up is just as important as waking up, and starting slowly will keep your body happy. It’s the natural choice for beginning any exercise, and the perfect way to get moving.

The human brain is a funny thing in its tendency to quickly reach boredom, Spend too long doing the same thing, or do the same thing too many times, too often, and suddenly there you are. Perhaps the subconscious desire for change serves an important purpose in driving us to continually try new things or different approaches in order to keep our lives dynamic and fresh.

This especially true than when working with children. Young brains haven’t had time to develop much in the way of patience, so focusing and repetition, while necessary, are also difficult. Sometimes they’ll get bored very quickly. Here are a few ideas to help liven things up:

Add something surprising. If you want to get their attention, try something strange, exciting, or gross. Try wheelbarrow races, jumping contests, or high-speed butt-shaking.

A little humor goes a long way. Laughter is powerful medicine, and it rules supreme with children. Have them do a silly walking contest, or better yet, the “underpants dance”, which can be their personal interpretation. The movements won’t matter at all, but the title is sure to get them going.

Use a new technique. If you always begin standing, then start the dance on the floor instead. If you usually teach particular choreography, then play music and let them dance freeform. For an added plus, make it into a game of “freeze dance”, where children freeze in position whenever you randomly turn off the music.

Try a change of scenery. A change of environment can break up routine quickly. Try moving outside in the grass, or in a different room, or with the lights off (Pass out flashlights ahead of time if you have them).

Change your music often. Even teachers need inspiration, and new music always spices things up.

“Bored” is a five-letter word. But with a few simple techniques, you can eliminate it from their vocabulary permanently. We all need fresh ideas, challenges and stimulation. It only requires a few minutes of planning ahead. The results are worth it!

Out on the west coast, signs of spring are beginning to emerge: rolling hillsides are covered with brilliant emerald grasses, and flowering cherry and plum trees are beginning to bud. We have rounded the corner of the darkest time of year, and the new blooms are so welcome that people are walking with a spring in their step and a song in their hearts; this is what joy looks like when it is expressed in the body.

We have sayings about this feeling, such as “jump for joy.” Joy does make us feel lighter, like floating. It is such a natural part of being human, such a wonderful part that we all enjoy. Why not celebrate that feeling with movement?

Begin with playing music that inspires the feeling of joy, such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Next, try exploring the basic components of joyful movement. Imagining that your heart is full, try moving across the floor, walking or running, feeling as light and free as possible. To stay light on your feet requires stepping more gently, and slightly on tiptoe. Skipping is another joyful movement, as is any sort of jump. As you skip, encourage students to use their full range of movement, incorporating the arms and upper body. How many different ways can you skip? High, low, fast, slow, turning… there are lots of options. The same holds true with jumping, although there are even more variables to play with. For instance, try jumping with your legs together, split apart, straight, bent, or any other combination.

Once you have explored all of the components of joyful movement, have your students put the pieces together into their personal version of the dance. After letting everyone dance simultaneously, try one last variation by having the students form a large circle and have each student take a turn in the center. Those in the circle can continue dancing in place if they wish, taking care to give the person in the center and the other members of the circle enough room to move.

Spring may not be in the air quite yet, but we can rest assured it is right around the corner. In the meantime, we can carry the associated feelings of hope and joy in our hearts and keep our eyes open for the first signs of new life.

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For more articles and other resources about dance and movement for kids, visit www.griercooper.com and www.becomearealballerina.com.

It was a bright and sunny day this morning, even though this was exactly the opposite of the weather forecast. Blue skies and sunshine bring on good feelings, and the urge to get outside… and move. Watching the movement of the clouds overhead gives us something to think about when we move. Clouds don’t look or move just one way; they can be light, wispy and slow-moving, or dark, dense and swift. These are qualities to explore with your dance.

For instance, we’ll begin with the light, wispy ones. What do light and wispy movements look like, and what can we do to create lightness in a dance? We can rise on the balls of our feet in a releve, or jump, leap and skip. What are some other ways to be light and wispy?

Next, try the contrast, the dark, dense, swift ones. Quick, heavy movements include sweeping across the floor, taking large strides with bent knees, or one could roll along the ground. What are some other ways to put this feeling into play?

Nature is both our support system, and our backdrop. We interact with it all the time, either consciously or unconsciously. Clouds are both a constant source of wonder and entertainment. It’s a pleasure to imagine we are a cloud; even if just for a few minutes.

Every one of us has a rhythm that we carry inside, our heartbeat. Our innate sense of rhythm started before we were even born, with the rhythm of our mother’s heartbeat. Finding our heartbeat and using it as a basis for movement can be enlightening and amusing, and for many children, it might be the first time they have heard it. Explain how the heart works, contracting over and over to circulate blood throughout the body to keep our cells (and ourselves) alive.

It isn’t always so easy to hear our heartbeat, but it is easy to feel it. Begin by having the children sit quietly with their eyes closed, have them take two fingers and place them on pulse points on the inside of the wrists and the side of the neck. Once they have located their pulse, have them use this rhythm to begin moving, just an easy walk around the room. Each child will move at a different pace, since no two heartbeats are exactly the same.
From there, it’s time for a little experimentation. Play some music that has a faster tempo, and have them check their pulse again after the song has ended. What happened? How is has their heartbeat changed? Vary the tempo of the music and check again to see what happens with the heartbeat.

The human body is full of surprises, and finding one’s own pulse is awe-inspiring for young children. They will never forget the power of getting in touch with their pulse and inner rhythm for the first time.

While our lower bodies “drive the ship”, so to speak, when we dance, our upper bodies are a realm of real expression and play. Moving our arms in different patterns, exploring the myriad joints and ways of moving can be a fun exercise. Teaching this is mostly a matter of first bringing children’s attention to their upper bodies, and then describing actions that they can try. Here are a variety of movements to practice:

Swimming. Swimming arms can be freestyle, forward movements, backstroke, backward movements, or breaststroke, sideways movements. Offer the suggestion of swimming arms, and see what each child brings to the table.

Flying. What young child doesn’t want to be a bird? Incorporating flying into dance can be liberating.

Stirring. Use the arms and hands and pretend to stir a giant pot of soup… or a witch’s brew.

Snaking. Pretend the arms are snakes. Let your “snakes” undulate as many ways as possible. Let the arms, wrists, and hands become the snakes and move fluidly.

Elephant. Bending forward from the waist, let the arms hang down towards the floor and “glue” the palms together to create an elephant trunk. Let the trunk sway from side to side, or any other way an elephant trunk might move.

The definition of “dance” states that one moves the body to music, and when we dance it’s important to remember that the body has many moving parts. The arms get to float along for the ride, but they certainly are an integral part of personal expression. Remember to let them play, too!

When teaching movement to young children, it is often easier to guide in terms of concepts rather than actual dance choreography. Some children may not be able to actually count the beat of the music, and it can be confusing to remember which step comes next within a series of movements. Giving them an idea to work with gives them the opportunity to use their imaginations, and translate their own ideas into movements. It can be quite rewarding to see the varied interpretations of an idea, each one very different from the next.

A childhood favorite in ballet class is called “Run, run jump”, where we imagine it is spring time and the ground is covered with puddles, making it our job to jump over each of them. Bigger imaginary puddles necessitate bigger leaps. Regardless of puddle size, it is always a satisfying exercise, and the most exciting and well-loved part of class.

Over time, this exercise evolved into creating a dance for each season. In fall, the children imagine themselves as leaves being blown about in the wind. In winter, when nature sleeps, and plants have done the reverse of growing, the children pretend to do the opposite of growing with their bodies. Reverse-growing usually results in moving to the floor, which is a world of movement unto itself. Summer’s dance involves swimming movements. Collaboration makes the entire process even richer. Try asking children about their own associations for a particular season, and then put these ideas into play. Putting your collective heads together will give the entire group much more material to work with.

As we enter the darkest time of the year, it is a time to find the light within our hearts, and share it. Whatever movements you practice together as a group will bring everyone closer together. Happy Holidays!

Consider the fact that the human body has over two hundred joints; in essence we were born to move. So many moving parts, so little time… many millions of shapes can be made with so much potential. Getting to know our own bodies and their capabilities (and limitations) is a continuous exploration, and as children grow, they become more and more familiar with their own physical terrain, which allows them to develop greater grace, ease and agility in their movements.

The exploration of the shapes our bodies can make is a great game to further awareness of the body’s moving parts. It also helps to build balance and coordination. It can be used in the classroom for the dual purpose of physical education and a change of pace, (when one is needed). Play it as a game unto itself or as a warm-up before other exercises.

The Get Into Shapes game itself is very simple. Players stand in a circle, with one player acting as the demonstrator. The demonstrator comes into the center of the circle and creates a shape with their body, whatever shape they can imagine. The other players then mimic the same shape with their own bodies. Each demonstrator shows three shapes and then it is the next person’s turn, continuing around the circle until everyone has had a turn.

Remind children that there are many hundreds of moving parts in the body. (There is an ongoing debate about exactly how many… but suffice to say that there are at least 230 joints, and potentially up to 360 joints.) That’s a lot to work with. Encourage them to bend different parts in different directions simultaneously. For instance, the head can bend one way, while the waist bends in the opposite direction. Balancing on one leg will make a shape more dynamic, as will rising up on the balls of the feet. Or try placing one or two hands on the floor and turning the world upside down, which is especially fun when you are a child!

As with anything else, confidence and learning occurs with exploration, repetition and play. Building confidence and awareness in the body is a vital part of learning to care for our bodies. After all, we have to make them last for a good long time. Grooving with our bodies etches those grooves in our brains, sending the message that moving feels good and is fun. And that is the name of the game.

by Grier Cooper

28” bouncy rubber ball, color of choice
4 objects to use as bases
Telephone to invite others (optional)

Sometimes it seems like the simple act of getting a child to play outside is next to impossible. In the back of our minds, we all know that time spent outside is essential, beneficial, and rejuvenating. However, the likelihood of that happening would be far greater if it was a family affair, for “the family that plays together stays together”… yet as parents, we constantly have to work with the challenges of finding group activities that will work for a variety of different ages, that kids will be motivated to try. Additionally, we may struggle to find time to squeeze in some time to for ourselves to exercise… but perhaps there is a way to overcome these challenges with one simple idea…playing sports together.

This past weekend, the answer for us was kickball. I had a burning desire to play it (for the first time in over two decades) and managed to coerce a critical mass of other people into joining the game. But it could have been any game, really. Kickball was the game of choice simply because I have many fond memories of afternoons spent playing it with my brothers and whatever assorted friends were assembled at the time. So often, parenthood offers us the opportunity to revisit childhood, and a perfect outlet to share all of your favorite games, especially the rambunctious, physically demanding outside games. Whatever your childhood favorites might have been; from basketball to Frisbee to cartwheels across the lawn, they are just as fun now as they were then, perhaps even more so when shared with children. Your children can return the favor and also teach you.

Kids learn new games all the time, and are more then happy to share them with anyone who is willing to play. They may not be able to explain the rules as clearly as you might like, but learning by playing the game a few times works just as well.

Choosing games that require multiple players offers the opportunity to connect with other people by combining forces with other families. Modern day culture provides few outlets for intergenerational connection, so it is up to us to discover ways to revitalize it ourselves. Our kickball game required making a few phone calls, and we ended up with four families participating. And in a spirit of “the more, the merrier”, we added a few random neighborhood kids who showed up on the school field at the right time and were eager to involve themselves. Big sisters, moms, dads, and little brothers all played their part in what became a rousing game.

No one kept score, but everyone had fun. As I watched my daughter running around the field on such an unseasonably balmy day, I realized that if we had not had this plan to play the game with our friends, she would probably have chosen to spend the entire day inside. At the end of the day, I came home and noticed that I didn’t feel good… I felt great!! Meeting new people, discovering new things about my adult friends on the sidelines, and the sheer joy of playing for hours and using my body to run was completely intoxicating. There was the added plus of my daughter sleeping twelve hours that night to wake the next morning later than she ever had. The good news: everyone benefits. Creating a different, healthier habit did not require much work at all, and only a modicum of creative thinking. I believe it was a thoroughly successful experiment, as many of the adults have since commented on how much fun they had and want to know when the next game will be.
It looks like the game is on.

A Weekly Column for the National Writing for Children Center from Grier Cooper

The holiday season has sprung up in full glory, winter is just around the corner, and in the middle of all the festive merrymaking it’s hard to believe that sometime, in the very near future, there will be cabin fever to contend with. Just as little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, winter is often made of snow and ice, things not very nice, leading to a parental waking nightmare, where the family is stuck in the house and the kids are bouncing off the walls, looking for somewhere to expend their excess energy. It’s moments like these, when things get tough, that the tough proceed immediately to the stereo, crank up the tunes, and let the wild rumpus begin… the impromptu living room dance party, guaranteed to combat even the toughest cases of bad weather blues.

Just because it’s nasty outside does not mean that fun cannot be had inside. For most children under age eight, fun music inspires an immediate response: feel the beat, move your feet. Better yet, this is an activity that the whole family can enjoy. Parents spend a lot of time and energy trying to squeeze in a little time to get in a good workout when in reality, it can be had for free anytime… burn two hundred calories on thirty minutes, and you don’t even have to leave the house. Not that you could… even if you wanted to.

To make the activity fun for everyone, be sure to select music that everyone will enjoy, grownups included. Some foolproof musical selections include: old-time classics, such as anything by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, or The Ramones, soundtracks from musicals like Singin’ In The Rain, High School Musical, Grease and Saturday Night Fever, or just hit “shuffle” on your MP3 player, and let the internal electronic dj genie take over. As long as the music has a good beat and makes you want to move your body, then it’s the right choice.

Try dancing with partners as well as individually. If there are several people dancing, try dancing together in a circle, or create a conga line. If you have carpets, pillows thrown randomly on the floor can add to the fun. Use them as steppingstones to jump from, or as an obstacle course to avoid. If you have hardwood floors, the pillows can be pretend puddles to jump over.

The living room dance party is your prescription for dealing with pent-up energy (yours and your children’s) and keeping everyone sane, healthy and fit. This New Year’s, make your number one resolution a dance revolution!