7 Planned Transitions for Preschool Dance Class
7 Planned Transitions for Preschool Dance Class
Planning transitions for preschool dance classes is one of those things that can be easily forgotten in a dance class. BUT, if you teach toddlers or preschoolers, I don’t need to tell you what you already know: transitions will make or break your classes.
When you haven’t planned out your transitions… if you hesitate, stop to look at your lesson plans, have to pause for the music… it may all be over! You’ve lost your students’ attention. In fact, I think this is one of the biggest keys to keeping your toddler and preschool dance students engaged.
1. Tell a story with your class
This is one reason why I love teaching dance to children through stories. When I teach using a story (or even a broader theme—like say unicorns or dinosaurs), I actually tell parts of the story between each section of class. If it’s a story my students already know well, I might ask them a question about the plot. This is great for the preschool and pre-K age groups because they are learning sequencing at this age. (Sequencing is basically understanding the order of the plot of a story.)
I also ask my students questions about what they might think about a character. How did he or she feel when X happened? How would that make you feel?
This has worked magic in my classes. When you tell a story, children chime in. It really keeps your kids engaged—whether in person or online.
My one word of caution with this tactic is to make sure you’re keeping the class moving. It doesn’t need to be a long discussion. It just needs to be something quick to keep your students’ attention and lead them into the next activity. It should also relate to your next activity. If your class theme is Alice in Wonderland, don’t talk about the caterpillar to lead into an activity around the Queen of Hearts.
2. Design your class so one activity flows to the next
For toddler classes (or if you have a very chatty older class), an alternative to telling the story between activities is to design your class so one activity logically flows into the next.
For example, you might end your traveling activity as horses galloping as they pull Cinderella’s carriage to the ball. Let your students choose their own path and freely gallop throughout the room. Then have them arrive at the ball as they each pick a marker or spot spread out on the floor. Now they can go straight into their next activity—let’s say a story dance when Cinderella arrives at the ball. You can then have your students’ story dance lead into a guided free dance of Cinderella dancing with the prince at the ball and fleeing the ball.
You can do this with any story—fairy tale or not. You can do this with themes too. Maybe you’re using an under the sea theme. Have your activities move from one sea animal to another, or maybe from the beach for your warm-up, to a reef for traveling, to the deep ocean for a free dance.
The main thing here is to let your class flow. Let your activities naturally take your students through a story.
3. Just don’t stop
Sometimes it can be really difficult to make your class flow from one part of a story to the next—simply because of the structure of a dance class.
Your transitions for preschool dance class don’t always have to be an added movement or mini activity. It might actually make sense to not have a transition at all. What!? NOT have a transition? Yes, you heard correctly. The trick here is that the lack of transition is intentional. You know you’re going from a traveling activity to a free dance activity, for example. Don’t hesitate. As soon as your students are done traveling, start giving them instructions to spread out and introduce the free dance activity.
4. Give them a task
You can also give your students a task to do that will take them from one activity to another.
When you end your circle warm-up, have your students fly like fairies (aka “fairy run”) for 16 counts then pick a beautiful flower (aka a mat, sticker, tape, or spot) to land on for center barre.
After center barre, have them passé walk to the side of the room and line up in a marker to get ready for traveling.
5. Keep your class order the same or similar
When you keep your class order the same, or almost the same every week, children know what to expect. This can make transitioning easier for your students and you.
Also, make sure you teach classroom etiquette to your students (and parents for a parent/toddler class). This will go long way in your students’ behavior during class activities and transitions. I spend my first month back during the school year focusing on classroom etiquette. (Remember, to many in this age group, the classroom experience is a brand new one!) If it’s an 8 or 10-week session, I’ll focus on classroom etiquette for the first couple of classes in the session.
COVID-19 Note: With our current circumstances, when you return to the studio with certain restrictions and social distancing measures, it’s a great idea to treat coming back like you would beginning a school year (whether it is or not). Focus on any new rules your students may need to follow. And focus your classes on things like spacial awareness.
6. Sing a song
This works great for some teachers. It may depend on your personal teaching style. You can sing your instructions. It can be simple. When it’s time to put away a prop or instrument, you can simply sing, “Bye, bye, ribbon streamers!” or “Bye, bye, instruments!” as you collect them (or have your child put them away themselves in the case of an online class).
And if your students tend to lose focus during transitions, singing a short nursery rhyme with hand gestures can do wonders to reel them back in (even if it doesn’t fit with your class story or theme). I usually keep this as more of a backup activity. But you can of course plan it into your lessons too!
7. Direct their parents
When you’re teaching a parent/toddler class, make sure you are giving your parents as much instruction (if not more!) than your students during class. And that includes transitions. Your parents are going to be the ones guiding your students in this class. When your parents know what their role is and what’s expected to happen next, this can make your class run so much more smoothly!
Happy Dancing!
Ashley Hartford
Founder + Owner, Once Upon a Ballet
Want to know more about me?
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