Have you ever attempted "free dance" as an activity and had it totally flop? Kids running all over the place and you frozen (even though it's FREE dance not FREEZE dance) and not knowing what to do next? Or worse... the kids get bored before the song is even over and your attempt at a dance party is crushed before it began?
Sometimes putting on a song and saying "let's dance!" is just too open ended as an activity. It can also be a lot to keep coming up with dance moves in a way that feels organized or that motivates kids to follow directions… especially for young kids who mostly want to do their own thing.
Enter: the activity song.
Can I be honest for a minute?
I used to be really against using activity songs.
At one of my past jobs, I was basically told not to use them. The implication was that using them meant I wasn't really doing my job as a teacher. That anyone could dance along to those at home. So for a long time I stuck to that philosophy. No activity songs in my class!
Fast forward several years... I went to a teacher training and finally got to learn from my mentors in person instead of through books. And guess what? THEY were using activity songs!!
I started to see how they could be used in class to add value to the experience. Soon I was occasionally slipping them into my lessons to problem solve some classroom management challenges.
They were great for getting a particularly energetic class moving in an organized way at the start of class while also tapping into their need to be really wild before they could settle into a seated warmup. They became an extra tool for doing themed classes (under the sea, outer space, etc). And they worked beautifully to practice combining multiple dance skills into one dance - a stepping stone for learning choreography.
Of course, like anything, the activity song works best if you use it with a little preparation.
Here are my top tips for getting an activity song to work for you:
Model the actions in the song.
Dancing is more fun with someone else. If you want your dancers to buy in, then you’ve got to COMMIT! Run when the song says run. Jump when it says jump. Move with the same amount of enthusiasm you are hoping your dancers will have.
Song suggestions:
Run baby run by Casper Babypants
Exercise, exercise! by Miss Jamie
Pick a song based on the interests of your kid(s).
Nothing gets a kid more focused than their favorite thing. Whether it’s outer space or dinosaurs or mermaids - you can probably find a song that has at least a little bit of built in movement activity. Use that as a jumping off point and if the song leaves you hanging, just repeat 2-3 dance moves related to the theme over and over until the song ends.
Song suggestions:
We are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner
Let’s be Superheroes by Bounce Patrol
Farm Hokey Pokey by Miss Jamie
Use the Movement Concepts.
Identify a movement concept in the song and call it out when you notice it. When it’s a game to figure out the movement concept words and dance them, suddenly your dancer isn’t just moving their body, they are also training their ears to listen for the next set of directions.
Song suggestion:
Can you make a circle by Little Miss Ann (Movement concepts: Body shapes, Body Parts)
Shake your body down by Laurie Berkner (Movement concept: Direction)
Slow and Fast by Hap Palmer (Movement concept: Speed)
Remember the goal here is to get kids out of their comfort zone a little bit. So if free dance leads to repetition of one move over and over (only galloping or only running or only jumping) then doing just ONE new move is a big win. So model that wiggle and see if they’ll copy it. Pretend to be a mermaid and splash your tail. Listen for words like fast, slow, up, low, backwards, small - and rock to the concept. If all else fails, just bounce or gallop until the song suggests another movement idea. Most of all, let the dancing be easy. Don’t overcomplicate it - just dance!