FOL Friday: Freeze Dance

Teaching children to develop their own inhibitory control can be a difficult task.  Little ones are always on the go and, sometimes, it's tough to get them to stop for a moment, walk instead of run, or listen to instruction in the midst of play.

One tremendously fun way to teach this skill is to "freeze dance."  Play a song, dance with your children, and stop the music in various places.  Tell your children that, when the music stops, they must freeze in whatever pose they are in.  Then show them how to do it.  They'll have a blast...and you will too!

In my family, we love to freeze dance to the Fresh Beat Band's "Freeze Dance" song. You can find it here. Try it with your children!

Now for the child-development reasoning behind all this crazy fun:

Activities that encourage a child to move or STOP moving in response to a cue help the child develop inhibitory control.

This ability to control one’s own body movements is an important first step toward developing both coordination and self-discipline.

Tips for parents:

One start/stop learning game for kids is to turn on a favorite recording or song and have your child dance until you push “pause”. Then start dancing again when the music starts up again.

Learning Through Sign Language

You can also teach your child this ASL sign for STOP.  Sometimes giving children something to do, i.e., making the sign for stop themselves, helps them be able to stop their bodies.

- Contributed by Theresa Case, whose Greenville, SC program, Kindermusik at Piano Central Studios, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Originally posted at http://mindsonmusic.kindermusik.com/foundations-of-learning-2/fol-fridays-aaaand-stop/