Dance Concept: Speed

Most of the time, we’re all going fast fast fast through our everyday lives and forget to S-L-O-W down. When we play with speed (running FAST, melting SLOWLY, and marching in MEDIUM tempo), we help develop attention span! It will also help develop self-regulation skills because moving slowly takes a lot of control in our bodies.

The contrast in tempo is very exciting and creates a lot of anticipation, creating strong connections in the RAS (Reticular Activating System). This is the attention center and it deletes incoming input in order to focus on what does need our attention!

Attention is the gateway to learning and engaging in sensory motor activities that have an element of surprise/change is the best way developmentally to grow strong connections in this part of the brain.

The other powerful attention builder is secure attachments to a primary caregiver. The other thing that the RAS does is to screen every interaction for possible threat/opportunity. So when a child has strong attachment with their caregivers, they feel safe and engagement occurs. Engagement develops the child’s capacity to accept & respond to new relationships and activities. In short, when a child feels safe, they can focus and pay attention to learning instead of worrying about their environment.

Good news! Class is a delightful way to bond with your child and make twice the impact on their budding attention span!