Our Dance
Here's What To Do
1
Create a dance together to your child’s favorite song.
2
Each of you can take turns suggesting a move that the other person copies.
3
You can try to remember and do a short sequence, or just try out a few moves as you take turns.
4
Practice with your child and other family members, and enjoy learning and dancing together!
Put PEER Into Action
P
Pause:
- Stretch your arms all the way up and all the way down to warm up your bodies before dancing.
E
Engage:
- “Let’s make up a dance together. We’ll take turns copying each other’s moves. Can you show me the first move we should do?”
- “Let’s try that again, and see if we can remember what we did!”
E
Encourage:
- Brainstorm a few dance moves together first to help your child think of moves.
- Use simple, familiar movements your child can easily copy.
R
Reflect:
- “Was it easy or hard to copy me?”
Not quite ready?
Instead of making up a dance, help your child practice imitating others by playing short games where you do a simple movement that they copy. This can be a great way to fill time while you have downtime together, like waiting at a doctor’s office.
Ready for more?
Include music with different rhythms and new unfamiliar moves as you create a more complex dance together to the rhythm.
As your child masters this skill...
They will express themselves artistically, with assistance.