Name Dances: Creating with a Movement Alphabet

Providing children with a well-rounded dance education is more than just teaching steps. An important part of any dance education is learning how to create. Student choreography provides children ownership and self-expression over their work. When working with younger students providing a structure and simple choreographic devices can give them the support they need to successfully create their own piece while allowing them the freedom to make their work unique and reflective of their own movement personality.

One activity my 6-7 year old Creative Jazz Ballet students at J'Adore Dance have been enjoying immensely is creating Name Dances using a movement alphabet.

The War on Fame: Teaching our Children to value Kindness

When my girls were babies I would rock them in my arms and tell them "You are a smart girl. You are a kind girl. You are LOVED!" I hoped my gentle words of affirmation would mold them into the strong women. But I'm learning there are many other loud voices in my daughters' ears daily "You NEED to be rich! You NEED to be famous! You NEED to be better then you are!"

My gentle words need to be louder. And so do yours.

For 50 years the Department of Psychology at the University of California analyzed the top two tween TV shows in the U.S. once a decade, from 1967 through 2007, to determine how our society ranked the following values (image from The Rise of Fame: A Historical Context (Yalda T. Uhls, Patricia M. Greenfield):

Knee Bounce Rhymes: Developing your Baby's vestibular system

The vestibular system first begins to develop while your baby is in the womb and continues throughout her first 5 years of life. The vestibular system helps your baby analyze where she is in space as well as the relations between her body parts and movements in relation to one another. This is important for developing body awareness and balance as well as processing sensory information.

Knee bounce rhymes provide a fun way for you to support your baby's developing vestibular system, encourage language development, and bonding. Thank you Baby Eleanor for playing with me today!

IntelliMoving! Understanding and supporting your baby's creeping, crawling and walking development

Between 6 months to 12 months your baby’s understanding of the world and how she experiences it changes dramatically. Rather then relying on you to move her through her surroundings, your baby will explore and master different locomotor movements that allow her to travel through space. This newfound independence will lead to many new discoveries about her body and the world around her.

Daily tummy time together on the floor ensures your baby will develop the core and spinal strength needed to successfully master locomotor movements. Creeping, crawling and toddling require your baby to use her increasing strength and coordination through body and brain integration as both sides of the body move in unison. You and your baby will both be amazed at what she can achieve when you move and explore together.

Right on Sight: Infant Vision Development

What can my Baby See?

Your baby is born with the capacity to see distances from her nose to as far as the horizon. However she still lacks the muscle control and brain development to properly focus on objects farther then an arm’s length away. Over the next 8 months her retina and brain with learn to work together to improve her ability to focus at varying distances and see detail.

Your baby will reflexively be drawn to high contrast colors and patterns, like geographic black and white patterns. However, if bold retro prints do not suite your taste, fear not! Dr. Russell D. Hamer of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute states that:

By about 2 months of age your baby is capable of perceiving almost all of the subtle shadings that make our visual world so rich, textured and interesting: shadings in clouds, shadows that are unique to your face; even see a white teddy bear on a white couch!(What Can My Baby See? 1990)

Creative Mom Confessions: Craft versus Art

To dispel any rumors that I am a "super mom", I have decided to confess some things to you. My hope is that it will show you I am just like any other parent, trying my best to be flexible in the craziness that is raising a family. That my ideas do not live in a creative purist vacuum. That I am not perfect. How boring is it to read only about perfect people?

So let's tackle something I have had a few of you ask me about: Craft versus Art

Listen, Watch, or Do: Your Child's Learning Style

Learning styles can best be described as the brain’s preferred way of receiving, processing and expressing information. While there are many different theories, describing equally as many learning styles, we are going to be focusing on the VAK Theory of learning styles, which include Visual, Auditory & Kinesthetic learning styles.

Fingers and Fun: Fine Motor Development in Toddlers

Developing Fine Motor Skills

Between 12-24 months, your toddler is making major leaps in her gross motor development. Standing, walking, running, and climbing keep her on the go and keep you on your toes. During your busy day it can be easy to overlook some of the fine motor skills your toddler is working on mastering, but if you watch closely you will be amazed at her growth!

By 12 months your toddler has begun using a pincer grasp, picking up objects using his thumb and index finger. He may bang two blocks together or place them in a container while playing. He will start voluntarily letting go of an object (as long as you have something more interesting he wants) and may use his index finger to point to new or desired objects. Over the next 12 months, he will work on refining these skills further, developing more control and precision.

Go and Stop: Your busy, busy Toddler

Developing Body Awareness

Between the ages of 1-2 your toddler is rapidly changing and growing. One of the biggest changes in your toddler’s development is his increasing movement vocabulary and strong desire to explore his world. However, despite this drive towards independence your toddler still needs your guidance.

Before age two, your toddler still does not have perspective about the world. He has limited body awareness in relation to things around him, meaning he will often bump into objects, people and pets. He also does not understand potential dangerous consequences of his actions, such as running out onto a busy street or climbing up onto a high counter.

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