Experience Instructions - Line Dancing

Preparation

Plan a journey for the children around your centre, making sure there are the same number of stages as there are children. Try to include transitions that they usually make, as well as navigating play equipment and set-up obstacle courses. Your journey might look like:

From your room to the other kinder room.
From the other kinder room to the library.
From the library to your outdoor space.
Around a series of cones laid out on the path.
Along the bike track from start to finish.
Up and over the jungle gym.
From the jungle gym to the equipment shed.
Balancing along a rope laid out on the ground.

If they need to, they can do more than one lap!

Tune In

This activity requires some energy, but it also requires focus! Tune in to this activity by putting on some music and having a dance-off with the children. See who can come up with creative moves. You might like to see…

Who can dance the tallest?
Who can do the wiggliest dance?
Who can dance like a lion?
Who can dance the slowest?

Once the wriggles are out, bring all the children to sit down with you.

Find Out

Explain to the children that, “Today, we’re going to learn a special kind of dancing—Line Dancing! But it’s not the kind you see cowboys and cowgirls do; it’s our own way of moving together in a line like a team!”

Ask the children what they think they need to do to form a line. Use this opportunity to reinforce your own procedure around making lines, for example

Do the children stand single file or in pairs?
Where does the educator stand?
Who stands at the front and who stands at the back?
How far apart do we stand?

Select a child to be the Line Leader (Head Dancer) and explain that everyone will get a turn during the activity. Emphasise that the Line Leader’s job is to guide the class safely and carefully from one place to another following direction from the educator.

Take Action

Choose your first Line Leader to take you through the first stage of your journey. When everyone is in position and ready, start the music and set off on the first stage. When you arrive at the destination, pause the music, and choose the next Line Leader. Continue through the stages of your journey until everyone has had a turn at being Line Leader, and the last person has brought the group back to your room.

If you need to keep the children engaged, change how they move. They could tip-toe, skip, shuffle, or hop instead of just walking.

When you make it back to your room sit everyone down and thank the children for making such fantastic lines and for being such great Line Leaders. After so much movement it would be a great idea to follow this up with a Quiet Time activity.

Building Belonging: Line Dancing

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Summary

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Activity guides and printables

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Curriculum Mapping

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