Class Management, Pt. 1
Managing Your Pre-Ballet Classes
In today's post, we are going to begin covering tips for managing a classroom of young children in a preschool or pre-ballet class (which we will call “pre-ballet” throughout this article). Younger children--in particular those under the age of 5--can require a lot of patience and energy from the teacher. It can be difficult to teach a lesson plan while maintaining classroom order. But with a little extra preparation, you’ll find managing your pre-ballet classroom will start to become second nature, and your students will benefit from being able to better focus on learning steps and role-playing in dance activities and movement games.
BODY AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
First and foremost, keep in mind the age of your students. Remember that 3-year-olds are not tiny adults. Their bodies and brains are developing, learning, and processing a mass amount of new information each day. Especially in the case of those children under the age of 5, students are not just learning dance steps. They are also learning classroom etiquette. They are learning how to socially interact with others their age and their teacher. They are learning to deal with their own emotions. Sometimes a meltdown may happen over something that seems quite trivial to you. But just remember, that trivial thing may seem like a very big deal to your young student.
SET THE RULES
At the very beginning of the year (or session, or month--depending on how frequently you have a group of new students start), one of the first things you should do in class is set expectations. Let your little ones know what the classroom rules are. Especially for very young children, this may be their very first classroom experience. You can make it fun. Young children love to show you what they know. Point to your eyes and ask them if they can show you where theirs are too. Then ask them what they do with their eyes in ballet class. Do they look at the teacher when she is talking? Do they watch where they are going when dancing? What about their ears? Do they listen to their teacher? For their mouths, do they keep their mouths quiet? And for their hands, do they keep them to themselves? Go through these (and any others you wish) at the very beginning of class each day for the first few weeks. When a dancer acts up, remind them. For example, if a dancer isn’t listening, ask her if she remembers what we do with our ears in ballet class and point to your ears. This will help to reinforce the rule. Of course, keep your expectations real. Your students are learning and may not get it the very first time. Also, remember every class is different. You may have a class that is extremely well-mannered and behaved. You may have one that as a whole is not so well behaved. And you may have one that is somewhere in between.
DANCER’S CHOICE
While we want our classroom to be disciplined, remember these are young children. Sometimes young children act out because they are trying to show their independence. When this happens, give your little ballerinas some freedom. Give them choices and allow them to make decisions on their own. During a traveling exercise, you might give them a choice between two movements. Or allow them to choose their own pose to finish at the end. Giving them some freedom within boundaries can allow students to assert their independence, while you’re still able to teach them what you need to.
Stay tuned for next week--we'll be giving more tips on classroom management! In the meantime, do you have any tips of your own you'd like to share?
Happy Dancing!
Ashley Hartford
Founder + Owner, Once Upon a Ballet
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