Dance Concept: Shapes and Pathways

There are 3 kinds of shapes our bodies can make – bent, curved and straight! For example, we can curve our body to make a “C” shape, we can make a straight shape like a “Y” and we can hold up strong arms in a bent shape!

And then there are 3 pathways we can move through space in – straight, curvy, zig zag!

All the letters of the alphabet are formed by these simple shapes & pathways.

When our kids makes these shapes and pathways with their bodies, they are getting a kinesthetic awareness of what those alphabets feel like. And when they are able to master their gross motor skills (like making the shapes with their bodies), it will help with their fine motor development (like writing these alphabets with their hands). This helps them to make meaning out of the symbols later on and take interest in writing them.

Have you experienced that yourself, where you learn and remember better by doing? That’s because when you learn with your body, plus adding on the vocabulary (labeling), there are more ways to help you recall what you’re learning.

Lastly, we are helping our kids develop impulse control while they hold their body in shape – not an easy task to do for these little kids!