Dancing is such a great activity for children (and adults!), it’s a good source of fun and exercise. It is also a creative outlet, a way for your child to express all that they are feeling and to discover who they are and what they like and feel passionate about. For children younger than five, dancing does not have to be complicated and can be done anywhere. For this activity, all you will need is music and a scarf. It does not have to be anything fancy, any one of mom’s scarves will do and if you don’t want to use those, any scrap of colorful fabric can do the trick. Our students love dancing with scarves at our CEFA Early Learning schools!
Best Ages for This Activity
One to five
How to Prepare
All you need is a little space anywhere in the house or even outside in the backyard. Make sure there are no sharp objects around in case your child falls. Move the furniture a little if you have to. If your child is young, it is best to dance on a rug as it is less slippery and on a flat surface instead of a bumpy one. Then get a scarf or any light, colorful fabric.
What You Will Need:
- A music player – you can use just your phone, or if you have a speaker, it makes it even better as it is a little louder and clearer.
- A scarf
- Your child in their dancing shoes (or bare feet)
What to Do
- Put the music on, offer your child a scarf, and invite your child to dance to the music! You can join your child, or if friends or siblings are joining, give them their own scarf as well. Your child will love to see the scarf “dance” and will begin making it move to the music. The idea is to feel the music, and interpret it through movement, of the scarf, of your child, and eventually, of both.
- Try playing different types of music, including classical music, and see how your child interprets the music.
Learning Opportunities
This activity is part of our dance curriculum at CEFA Early Learning schools. It is an essential way for children to express themselves creatively and to discover who they are and what they like in the process. This is good for their social and emotional development. It also improves their confidence, general sense of well-being and happiness, develops their self-esteem and if they dance with a friend, improves their social skills also. Besides, starting to dance now leaves them with virtually zero risk of becoming wall-flowers when they grow up.
It also has great physical benefits: It is good for the heart and lungs, increases muscular strength, endurance and aerobic fitness, improves coordination, agility and flexibility, improves balance, gross motor skills and spatial awareness. Dancing also has other benefits like reducing anxiety and depression, releasing stress and dissipating anger.
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