Encouraging children to pursue healthy, creative activities is important for both mental stimulation and physical growth. As you browse through pamphlets and websites of programs, consider the many benefits of enrolling your toddlers in dance classes.
Development of Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Taking dance classes can help toddlers to develop their gross and fine motor skills. Toddlers will have to bend, twist, leap and engage in other physical activities during dance class. Also, youngsters may need to learn to manipulate props while they are dancing. For example, dancers might use hats, batons or streamers in their performances. Strengthening fine and gross motor skills in dance can help toddlers in other areas too. For example, you might notice improvements in how your toddlers play sports, write the alphabet or hold scissors when doing art projects. Dance classes teach youngsters how to have greater control over their muscles.
Emotional Growth
Dance classes can also help your toddlers to grow emotionally. When little ones improve their dance moves or perform on a stage for the first time, they can feel a boost of confidence. This confidence has the ability to translate into other areas of life, such as school and in social settings. You may notice that your toddlers are more confident taking advantage of opportunities at school or going up to groups of children on the playground to talk. The interactions your children have with other toddlers in dance class can aid in overcoming shyness. Another benefit of dance classes is that your youngsters can gain more appreciation for the value of creativity. Allow dance to become a meaning-making experience in your toddlers’ lives. You may even notice that your kids start to make up their own dances at home or begin to incorporate dance into their imaginative play experiences.
Social Engagement
Taking dance classes helps toddlers learn how to communicate and share spaces with their peers. Basic skills, such as taking turns, play a role in dance classes. Your little ones may also perform in duets or in larger group numbers, and these experiences show toddlers how community members come together to create art. Since dance is a form of communication, this art teaches toddlers how to communicate with one another nonverbally. Non-verbal communication plays in an essential role in spaces that your toddlers will inhabit as they grow. For example, students in a classroom can convey to the teacher that they are puzzled or paying attention through nonverbal communication. On an athletic field, team members can nonverbally signal to each other to make game-winning moves. Dance classes provide important foundations for nonverbal communication.
When it comes to enrolling your toddlers in classes, plenty of options exist. Consider the many benefits of dance. Taking dance classes is a form of exercise and helps in the development of important physical abilities. Further, dance classes promote healthy relationships among youngsters and allow children to learn about the value of creativity in the world. Starting dance classes at a young age can lead to a lifelong hobby or even career.
