How to dance for kid

YouTube dances for kids: fun indoor moving and grooving to get the wiggles out

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We just got another boatload of snow, so on Sunday morning, when we were snowed in and couldn’t even get out of our house to make it to mass, we got our dance on.

Because why not?

Turns out that Cora and Owen’s awesome teachers for the past few years had often put on short little YouTube dances for them when they need to get the wiggles out.

We found most of Cora and Owen’s faves, and we found some more.

Not only does moving mid-day help increase concentration and focus (for everyone–not just kids!), but learning and practicing these dances will mean that our kids will be rockstars on the dance floor when it comes time for weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and Quinceaneras in the next few years.

Win, win, win.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Here are our faves:

The Sid Shuffle:

Shake Your Sillies Out:

The Skeleton Dance (and more):

Ridiculously Fun Dance For Kids:

Dino Stomp:

Dancercise for Kids:

Easy Kids Choreography- Hip Hop:

Mario Dance:

I’m a Gummy Bear:

Awesome Rainbows:

The Wobble:

Macarena:

Zumba Kids — I like to move it:

Jump Up:

30+ minutes of Kidz Bop dances:

Go Bananas:

Baby Shark Dance Version:

Freeze Dance Party Game:

How to do the Floss:

And for when your kids are really up for a challenge. . .

Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (Dance Video)

Hip Hop Dance Choreography:

Hip Hop Dance to Justin Timberlake song:

HOW fun are these? Hope your crew enjoys them as much as we did.

Or subscribe to the whole Dance Party Playlist for all of them:

Talk about some serious fun–and listening and moving and dancing–right in your own living room.

Do you subscribe to our YouTube channel? Head on over and do it!

Check out a few other posts that may help you develop strong and healthy habits for your family:

wait time
my day, your day
frozen peas
kids who rock the kitchen
kids who rock the laundry
rest time
gem jars
arm circles
noticing kids
homework routine

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy.

originally published: February 22, 2015

About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro · http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

10 Reasons Kids Should Learn to Dance |Child Dance Benefits

Kids seem to tap into a seemingly bottomless energy reserve that could be quite the handful if not channeled properly. While getting your kids to participate in some kind of sport might do it, you will need a working alternative to those who are not into team sports.

Dancing and dance classes are the perfect alternative. Since dancing is safe, fun and rarely a team activity, it is safe to kids of any age. If this isn’t convincing enough, here are the top reasons why you should sign up your kid for dance classes.

1. A Perfect Way to Stay Fit

Dance always involves complete fitness activities ranging from cardio, flexibility and sometimes strength training. It is the fun way to keep your kids healthy and deal with child weight issues.

2. Improved Socialization Benefits

Remember all those prom dances and the fact that knowing how to dance always creates a new socialization avenue? This is one of the many social benefits and socialization skills your kid will master by learning to dance.

3. Better Self Esteem

With each new dance move learnt, your kid will eradicate clumsiness and be happier knowing that he or she is good at something. This will boost self-esteem hence making our kids surer of themselves.

4.

Proven Educational Benefits

Learning to dance takes dedication and training. The discipline learnt on the dance floor will come in handy when learning in the classroom.

5. Teaches Self-Mastery

Every dance move learnt is a step towards mastering oneself both physically and mentally. Dancing will teach the kid how far he or she can go hence making them more certain of whatever they do.

6. Prepares Career in Dance Field

Dancing is a lucrative career that is quite fun if someone is good enough at it. Starting out early increases the chances of perfecting and having your kid discovered before it is too late.

7. Understand Different Cultures

Since most dance moves draw from a wide variety of cultures, chances are that your kid will learn to understand and appreciate the world’s diversity hence making them a better adult in future.

8. An Opportunity to Self Express

Dance moves can translate into a form of expression. The choreography can be a great way for you kid to express his or her opinions to and feelings to even bigger audiences.

9. A Strong Way to Understand Art

Since dancing is an art, it follows that learning how to dance will improve your kid’s chances of mastering art. Knowing art is the first step to cultivating a strong and resilient mind.

10. The Perfect Way to let off Energy

Growing up as a kid presents a lot of misunderstood stages especially around puberty. Dedicated dance classes and occasional performances will give your kid a safe place to vent of the extra energy and stay busy.

If you are looking to enroll your kid to dance classes in Maryland and to reap the benefits, contact us today or call (301) 731-0003 to learn more!

How to teach a child to dance at home

Dancing is a fun and positive activity that has absolutely no age restrictions. Already in the first year of their life, babies make their first dance movements to the music - they clap, squat, stomp their feet. As children grow older and develop motor skills, they are able to master more and more complex elements of dance, but for this they need the help and support of their parents.

We stimulate the desire to dance

Having noticed a preschooler's interest in dancing, mothers and fathers try to develop it and, as a rule, enroll the child in classes at dance studios. Moreover, many parents simply do not know how to teach their child to dance at home on their own, so they prefer to leave it in the hands of experienced coaches. Such a decision is logical and rational if you want to "grow" a professional dancer out of your baby. In most cases, namely for general development and just pleasure, classes with a child of 3-6 years old can be carried out at home.

Parents need to remember and understand that dance is, first of all, a way of self-expression. An impromptu free dance reflects the characteristics of a person’s character, his temperament. Each child dances in their own way: someone jumps rhythmically to the beat of the music, someone modestly shifts from foot to foot, and someone demonstrates original movements. The task of parents is not to "reshape" their baby's dance style, but to help him develop his potential and become liberated, if necessary.

Moms and dads do not need to schedule classes with their baby - the beauty of home dancing is that you can do it at any time. Heard a rhythmic song on the radio - dance, clean the house to the music - find time for dancing. With a child of 3-4 years old, it is not even necessary to learn specific dances, because. at this age, it is enough to simply develop general musicality, plasticity and a sense of rhythm.

It is very important to decide on the choice of musical material that stimulates the child's desire to dance. Watch the baby's reaction to individual songs - some compositions will make him feel sad, and some will lift him up and make him dance.

From easy to hard

Preschoolers soak up information at an incredible rate, so don't be surprised if you see your toddler diligently copying dance moves from a recent video clip. Children are open to new knowledge and skills, but it will take some time to master them. If a child fails to reproduce the dance he likes, it is necessary to support him and help him learn the movements. This should be done gradually, without pushing and, moreover, without criticizing the baby.

Some parents are in a hurry to choose the right dance style for their child right away. Moreover, the decisive factor is usually the personal preferences of mom and dad, and not the desire of the baby. It is important to understand here that dancing is creativity and a way of self-expression, so the right to choose still belongs to the child himself. Perhaps the kid does not want to limit himself to one style at all and dances, rather, for pleasure, and not to achieve a certain result.

The process of teaching a child to dance should be exciting, presented in a playful way. You can start with improvisations - just turn on the music, dance yourself and invite your baby to join you. Already at this stage, it is possible to assess the general potential of a preschooler, as well as the degree of his enthusiasm and sense of rhythm. Gradually move on to learning easy dance moves:

turns;
jumping;
steps;
handclaps;
inflows;
rocking from side to side.

For an adult, such elements seem very simple, but children aged 3-4 years have to work hard to perform them correctly. Be sure to demonstrate all the movements yourself and encourage the baby, even if he does not perform them quite confidently.

Gradually begin to "link" the individual elements into a dance - combine them using stomps and claps as transitions. Learning even such easy dances develops the attention, memory and coordination of the child, which is very important at preschool age. The main thing is not to get hung up on the quality of movements and let the baby enjoy the process.

And a few more tips for parents helping their child learn to dance:

Encourage your child to dance . Give compliments, praise, but do not overdo it - a few words of praise will be enough to cheer up the baby.
Choose dances that suit your child's temperament . It is difficult for active and restless children to concentrate while performing a waltz, and moving dances are not easy for calm and relaxed children.
Cultivate a love of music . If a child likes music, then it will be easier for him to dance - a sense of rhythm and a musical mood greatly facilitate the learning process.
Organize home discos. Some children, even having excellent dancing skills, are simply too shy to dance. In this case, they need to be helped to overcome their modesty, to become liberated. And you can do this with the help of home discos, where the baby will feel calmer and more confident.

Over time, parents will decide for themselves when to send their child to dances, and whether it is worth it at all. Perhaps the kid will not want to go to classes at the dance studio, but will be happy to dance at home when he hears his favorite song. The main thing is that when making a decision, the desire of the child himself must be taken into account.

Does your baby like to dance? Does he usually dance at home, or did you enroll him in a dance studio? How do you think you can teach a child to dance on their own?

How to dance with a child at home.

Tips from experts on how to teach children to dance on their own

Contents

Dancing is a natural human state. Starting from the age of 6-8 months, babies begin to move with pleasure to the beat of music, and having learned to walk, they stomp to their favorite songs. Between these spontaneous movements and a real expressive dance is not such a big gap. But to dance really fully and physiologically correctly you need to learn. And dance classes are very useful for children, and, importantly, give the children pleasure. Consider when to start learning to dance and how best to build homework with young children.

The benefits of dancing for the development of the baby

First, let's figure out whether it is necessary to dance in childhood and whether regular dancing classes bring benefits to the development of the child. First of all, dance is a motor activity that is necessary for every person. Classes contribute to a harmonious load on all muscle groups, make the child more resilient and dexterous, improve his coordination and orientation in space.

In addition, dancing develops:

flexibility;
hearing;
sense of rhythm;
ability to understand music;
creativity;
formation of neural connections.

Dancing trains memory (the child has to memorize movements), helps to gain a beautiful posture and self-confidence. Classes contribute to the development of intelligence, the ability to concentrate on tasks, the ability to set goals and achieve them. All these skills will be useful to the child not only in further schooling, but also in adulthood.

We must not forget about social development. Even if you decide to study on your own at home, the baby has to interact with you, the child learns discipline, learns to listen and understand an adult, perform new tasks, and overcome laziness.

Even more benefits from teamwork. Here, kids learn to interact with each other, in practice they understand how important mutual assistance is, if the dances are paired, then they master the distribution of roles in the dance and gain communication skills.

At what age to start dancing with a child

You can teach your child to music at an early age. You can play music for newborns, sing lullabies or funny nursery rhymes to your child. When the baby begins to coordinate his movements, add stomping, clapping, give the child a tambourine, spoons, bells or drums. You can also take the baby in your arms and move yourself to light music. Such joint exercises help to form a sense of rhythm.

As for regular classes, it depends on the individuality of the child. Some children are able to perform simple movements as early as 2-2.5 years old, and some find it difficult to concentrate on classes even at 4. . If you think that your baby is already ready, try some joint activities at home, if it doesn’t work out, put your attempts aside for a while. There is no need to rush things and force the child to do what he is not yet ready for. This can discourage not only dancing, but also other activities.

How to properly start learning and get your child interested

As already mentioned, the main thing is not to rush things and approach learning smoothly. It is also important to interest the child, because if the baby himself wants to learn to dance, then it will be much easier for him than if he simply fulfilled the desire of his mother.

At the conscious age of a child, you can start showing performances of professional dancers, children's groups or solo dances of his peers. Choose colorful and understandable numbers, try to choose not too long programs to watch with fairly simple choreography and clear rhythmic music.

Ask the child if he wants to learn to dance too, dance with him yourself. Even if he never managed to get into the rhythm, praise him, tell him that he will make an excellent dancer.

It is worth noting that here parents may encounter some difficulties. The fact is that most children are absolutely sure that they already know how to dance. Preschoolers are incapable of being critical of themselves. To them, antics and chaotic jumps in front of the mirror seem no less beautiful than the perfected pirouettes of a professional ballerina. In no case do not convince the child that he still knows nothing. Show him some more difficult movement and offer to practice more to learn. Offer to learn a specific little dance, etc.

Another incentive that can be used is professional clothing. Even with self-study at home, buy ballet shoes for a child, a swimsuit and a tutu for a girl, and beautiful dance pants and a T-shirt for a boy. Take a trip to a specialty store with your child, let him choose the right clothes for dancing for himself, do not argue, even if you get a completely wild combination of colors. The child will definitely want to wear a beautiful, self-chosen outfit and try it out in class.

Choose movements that children can do and gradually increase their difficulty. You can try the following items:

stomping and clapping;
side steps;
squats.

The first dance moves should be clear and not multiple, gradually complicate the compositions.

How to choose music

Classes with a child should not be monotonous and boring. Small children cannot work for hours to the same melody, honing movements to perfection. Therefore, you need to pick up a whole collection of music suitable for classes.

Of course, you need to purposefully learn dance compositions and links, and not just move to the music (although the latter is also good), but try to diversify your classes. You can use different melodies:

for warm-up;
for musical breaks during classes;
for coordination and stretching exercises, etc.

Be sure to consider your child's preferences, age and temperament when choosing music. If you have a fidget growing up, choose fast, rhythmic music. If the child is a little slow and thoughtful, calm smooth melodies will suit him.

It is also important that your baby likes music. You can try dancing to tunes from your favorite cartoons or to popular children's songs. Gradually diversify melodies, introduce classical music. This will allow not only to learn how to dance, but also to acquaint the child with a variety of genres of music. For example, five-six-year-olds are quite capable of mastering musical compositions to Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker or Shostakovich's Dancing Dolls.

Professional advice: how to properly dance with children and what not to do

All classes for preschoolers should be conducted in a playful way, all movements should be accompanied by words. Children have a well-developed figurative imagination, and if in the process of training you “walk like a duck”, “flap your wings”, jump like a grasshopper, then the baby will quickly remember all the necessary movements and postures.
Change your activity more often. Even a six-year-old cannot concentrate on one activity for more than fifteen minutes. Your lessons should be dynamic. You can, in addition to warming up and learning dance, include elements of finger gymnastics, outdoor games and arbitrary rhythmic movements to music, stretching exercises, etc. in your classes.
Never force a child to do something that greatly exceeds his current abilities. If something does not work out, do not scold the baby and do not focus on failure, just switch to another activity.
Never yell at a child, scold or make harsh remarks. If the kid does not succeed, he indulges or simply does not want to listen to the teacher, show patience and tact. This will give better results than criticism and swearing.
Don't make the lessons too long. With three-four-year-olds, you can practice for 45 minutes maximum. In this case, you should change the type of activity every 10-15 minutes. The older the child gets, the longer your lessons can be (but no more than an hour and a half) and the longer you can practice each movement or exercise.
Dancing for yourself is wonderful. However, you should also think about the audience. Public speaking is an important stage in a child's development. They teach not to be afraid of the public, give self-confidence, allow you to share your success with the audience. You need to not only learn dance compositions, but also think about where and how your child can demonstrate their art. Arrange concerts for grandparents, for other relatives. If the kid attends a kindergarten, arrange with the teachers so that he performs with a learned number at the next holiday. Invite your child to prepare a room for a family holiday or for the birthday of one of his friends. Such performances will allow the child to be liberated, determine the purpose of the classes, evaluate their progress, and maintain interest in training.
It is possible that sooner or later your little one will outgrow home workouts. Then it will be possible to find a good dance school for him. From a certain age, it is more interesting for children to engage in a team, in addition to communication, the child is waiting for performances, preparing costumes and other pleasant moments associated with the life of a professional dancer.
Children learn the world by copying adults.
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