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Throughout history, dance has served as a means of communicating and bonding, celebrating, healing, as well as a form of creative self-expression. It’s also an amazing activity that supports positive physical and mental health.

Recently, Canada initiated its Sharing Dance programs under Canada’s National Ballet School, citing that 90% of children do not meet physical activity guidelines; and one out of three children and youth are overweight or obese.

The initiative promotes dance for all ages, as benefits are not dependent on age. Starting children off in dance early, however, kicks off good habits that can last a lifetime, while introducing them to the best possible way to channel their boundless energy.

So, let’s look at the reasons why we should get kids up and dancing. Here is a fun playlist to sing and dance along too!

Dance for health

Kids have so much energy! Next time your class is feeling drained and needing release, consider doing the mash potato, moonwalk, or hokey pokey…

Some of the physical benefits include improved aerobic power, muscular endurance, strength, flexibility and balance – all of which contribute to lower risk of illness and injury. As if that’s not enough to get moving, Psychology Today reported that dancing improves brain functionality.

According to Livestrong, “Dancing is an aerobic form of exercise. For children who are overweight, it can potentially help them to lose weight and improve their eating habits.

”What’s more, dancing in a social setting can release endorphins – the chemical in the brain that reduces stress and pain – resulting in a feeling of wellbeing similar to what is known as a “runner’s high.” When there are learned steps and routines, dancers also benefit from cognitive development.

Dance to be happy

Dance offers all the benefits of a hardcore workout, minus the stress. Nancy Van Keuls, MD, a Cleveland Clinic pediatrician and certified Zumba instructor believes dance can be much more effective for kids who shy away from competitive activities such as organized sports.“In dance, they’ll never strike out, miss a basket or finish last,” Van Keuls explained. “They can do their own thing. They can become comfortable and confident with their own body. It’s a healthy form of self-expression.”Turn up the music and keep the following in mind:

• Find The Beat: It’s good for the heart! For maximum benefit, do at least 30 minutes of dance most days.
• Step Into Fitness: You don’t have to be sporty to reap benefits – just keep moving.
• Stretch Your Brain: Focusing on dance steps while paying attention to rhythm is smart work for the brain.
• Kick Up Your Grades: Concentrate better and score higher on academic skills tests – especially reading and math.
• Shake Off Stress: Try NOT to smile while shaking a tail feather. Dancing just feels good … and helps to fight feelings of depression and anxiety.
• Take a Breather: Dancing can make for a better night’s sleep – and better attention and performance during waking hours.
• Spin Some Fun: Dancing is a great uniting force, so grab a partner! Age doesn’t matter… anyone over the age of two should be handed a dance card.

Dance for your SELF

We all know what happens when a baby hears music or see a child’s reflexive physical reaction to music. Studies show infants are predisposed to move to music. Children feel an inclination to dance, so turn up the music.

“If you put music on, young children move to the music — its universal,” Daniel Mollner, a facilitator of weekly “ecstatic dance” events in Santa Cruz, Calif. said. “It’s natural.”

As a dancer himself, he realized that critique can be a deterrent, especially for youngsters. His advice: Dance for yourself and find “a freestyle movement where you can move your inner rhythm.”

Keep it casual and fun! Find a good beat and welcome a new sort of recess.

As kids explore movement and various postures, they begin to get a better sense of their bodies. Becoming more comfortable in their skin helps to improve confidence and self-esteem.

“This can be particularly beneficial for children who are physically or mentally impaired or those who are attempting to deal with significant emotional problems,” Livestrong reported. 

 Learning is Where We Play:

Creating a calm, tidy, inviting environment in your classroom can be a challenge. Books, folders, papers, everyday supplies, manipulatives, arts and crafts materials, and games all need to be corralled yet easily accessible in the confines of one room. It’s a big task, but these easy tips and tricks can help you organize your classroom quickly!

While some students respond easily to initial instruction, others need different tools. As educators, we're challenged to respond to these learning differences, keep our eye on the standards, and find ways to teach every student. A great way to help all students succeed is by using Multisensory Learning.

What is Multisensory Learning?

Multisensory learning  involves using two or more of the senses while doing one activity. Children take in information in many different ways:by listening, seeing, touching, and moving. There’s a great Chinese proverb that speaks to this:

“Tell me and I’ll forget;

Show me and I may remember;child 

Involve me and I’ll understand.”

Using multiple senses makes it easier for students to make connections between new information and what they already know. Here are some ways to do this in your classroom:

Hands on!

Foundational learning starts with the fingers. Many children benefit from visuals and also crave tactile stimulation. Manipulatives can help you reach children on both fronts.

For example, students who struggle with reading may find success through using letter manipulatives to build words or by using word manipulatives to build sentences. And, if those manipulatives are color-coded, the visual cues may help children recognize spelling or sentence patterns, too.

Move it!

Large muscle movements stimulate the brain by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen. But did you know that movements that cross the midline, such as crawling and climbing, stimulate both sides of the brain?

Get students down on the floor! They can: Play mat games and use activity mats that target all kinds of literacy and math skills. Do giant word sorts on rolls of paper spread out on the floor. Crawl as they practice counting by tens. Pretend to climb an imaginary ladder while spelling words or reciting math facts.

Rock on!

Musical intelligence may be the first to develop, and it continues to flourish throughout our lives. You can have students make or listen to music to create those synapses!

Here are a few ideas: Go online to find songs to play in the classroom. If you have students who love to perform, use a USB recorder like the Easi-Speak™ to capture their voices as they sing upbeat educational chants. Then, replay to help the whole class build their skills in a fun way.Remember that music with visuals, physical actions or manipulatives is even more powerful. So, encourage students to tap their toes, dance along or create artwork as they listen. Or, how about playing clapping games with a partner while chanting rhymes or alliterative tongue-twisters?

Visualize it!

Graphic organizers allow students to see connections and critically analyze data by making abstract concepts more concrete. Try introducing story webs, sequencing charts and timelines into the writing process.

Each student can use info from their own writing to fill out the organizer, check that their writing makes sense, and includes all the right elements. You can also challenge students to create a new visual (like a poster, collage, drawing, or painting) based on a completed graphic organizer. Graphs can be integrated into sorting activities by having students tally their sorting results and display their findings in bar or line graphs.

Brain-based activities allow all learners to succeed. To stimulate your students' brain cells, add these multisensory tactics to your program and help everyone flourish!

Tell us about some of the ways you use Multisensory Learning in your classroom at blog@learningresources.com!