Intellidance Classes- Family Resource

Happy Musical Monday!

Today I am excited to share with you my newest song based BrainDance: Skip to My Lou!

I wanted to create a slightly more vigorous BrainDance that supported your little ones in practicing their skips (or other locomotor movements) and to keep them actively moving at home! I've always loved to use the song Skip to My Lou to work on skipping with my young dancers, so I decide to build an ABAB BrainDance that alternates between sections of skipping and the BrainDance patterns.

If your little one isn't skipping yet, a few foundation skills you can work on:

1. Walking and hopping: A skip is a combination of a step and a hop. Your child needs to be able to do both those skills separately before we combine them together. If your child can already walk to a steady beat, have them practice hopping on both feet.

2. Galloping: A skip is a ternary movement, meaning it has an uneven rhythm, verses a movement like a walk or a run, which has an even rhtyhm. Galloping is another ternary movement, but developmentally, most children will master a gallop before a skip. Working on galloping supports your child is developing the rhythmic movement needed to skip!
~ Ms. Jessica

Hello Friends!
Today I'm sharing another favorite activity from the Intellidance curriculum: The Garden Snail.

This action poem can be used with toddlers and preschoolers to work on the concept of Speed (fast and slow).

Did you know what regulating the speed of their body movements, helps your child with emotional regulation? Children experience their emotions physically before they recognize them cognitively. When children can change and control their body speed they feel more in-control of their emotions. .

Adding sound effects and self-touch also supports your child's sensory processing and regulates the nervous system.

This poem can also be done as a finger play poem for babies! Simply do the movements I am demonstrating on my body on your baby's body. It's great for tactile connection and body awareness!

I hope you enjoy! ~ Ms. Jessica

Happy Musical Monday friends!

One of the most requested Intellidance® songs is Jack Be Nimble! This song is well loved by all our little dancers from babies to children age 5.

This song explores pitch (moving up and down the scale, high and low), level, and body parts.

It's a wonderful way to young children to explore expressive communication, musicality, and body awareness.

Caregivers, if you are trying this song with a baby, simply do all of the movements I am modeling in this video on my own body, and gently touch your baby's body from toe to head as you go up the scale!

Give it a try with your little ones at home! ~ Ms. Jessica