Dance Concept: Relationships
Dancing is a GREAT way to build relationships with your children! Exploring “Relationships” brings many benefits, physically, cognitively and emotionally!
We could be relating to ourselves (my hand is in front of me or above my head), to someone else (I am next to you, behind you), or to a prop (this scarf is between my legs, or near and far from me).
When we dance in a variety of relationships:
We are bringing greater awareness of our children’s bodies in relationship to themselves and other people and other things around us. That way they can navigate the world with confidence. Strong spatial awareness is key for feeling secure in a variety of environments.
It helps our children develop problem solving skills as they think their way through how to relate to the space they’re in - For example when we enter a room with low ceiling, we’ll first have to relate our bodies to the space that we’re in and realize that the ceiling is lower than us. Then, we’ll have to think about what to do with our bodies in order to fit the space. So we’ll need to bend down to avoid hitting our heads. What your child problem solves with their bodies transfers to cognitive problem solving. The brain is built on demand, the more we use it, the stronger the capacity to problem solve becomes.
We are also helping our children develop vocabulary, comprehending prepositions.
When we take time to bond with our children, we’re helping develop their limbic system which is responsible for emotional capacity. The more they feel loved, the more emotionally resilient they will be. When they feel safe, secure and loved, that part of the brain can relax and get out of on-call mode and free up space for higher level learning.
Enjoy, relate and connect! :)