The toddlers have been requesting music and dancing during free play in the classroom. We’ve observed the children as they invite their peers to join them – fostering their sense of belonging. They will hold their friend’s hands and jump or bounce on their feet together. We have been noticing the progression of parallel or solitary dancing to cooperative as they begin to interact and dance together. On this day we decided to move the dance party outside and add in the ribbon hoops. While outside we put on our Kidz Bop playlist and observed as the children interacted with their classmates and the other toddler class.
While outside the children continued to foster their well-being through movement by dancing and waving their arms from side-to-side as they held onto the ribbons. As the children held up the hoods, they noticed how the ribbons looked as they blew in the wind. It was almost as if the ribbons were dancing too.
I wonder how the watching the ribbons in the wind made the children feel? Was it calming?
I wonder how else we can incorporate wind into cause-and-effect exploration?
How else can we expand on our movement activities to continue to foster well-being and social interest?
Next, we can try to incorporate movement with calming music. We can observe how the children’s moods change and how they engage. We can add in stretching and mindfulness.
