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Using dance to help children move, learn and have fun is an excellent way to prevent childhood obesity. As a parent or teacher you are helping your child to get into the habit of physical activity early in life.  An activity like dance has many benefits that other activities do not. Dance is an activity that your child can do alone or in a group. It also incorporates one element that many other activities do not and that is music. It calls upon the student to utilize memorization skills, as well as problem solving skills. It uses the mind and muscles simultaneously developing a smarter student as it develops the brain.

Don’t expect your child to come home excited about how they developed their brain and explored new and exciting things that they can do with their body. Do expect them to tell you about how much fun they had. Expect them to tell you how they flew to a distant land with wings, or a cape like Superman  or even as an airplane. How much fun they had going in slow speed, fast speed and meduim speed as they flew.

This is fun for a child not exercise as they are using the largest muscles in their bodies, their legs to run in the different speeds. Fun is what fuels the dance class and because of this learning takes place. So if you aks your child to show you what they learned in dance class and they take off running don’t be alarmed. You might ask them if a Ballet run is the same as when they run on the playground or at the park or in the gym and to show you the difference. Now your child knows the difference between fast and slow and in between. If they are a little older they might learn pre Math skills by learning about parallel and perpendicular lines.

These things are usually learned in a preschool dance class or a class geared to 3-5 year olds using Creative Movement and Dance. It is a good idea to start them young so they can develop a love of movement and not think it’s a crime to sweat. More schools are incorporating Dance and Creative Movement into their curriculums as they find that it really helps to supplement and reinforce learning in a fun and memorable way. They learn these skills in addition to traditional dance vocabulary and movements.

Try dance for your child. It is a wise investment not a cost into your child’s future. They will also have a blast in the process. Also get a free report on helping your child stay healthy at http://healthykidsweightloss.com.

A very effective activity for kids is walking. Walking is an excellent fat burning activity. It is a great activity for teachers to do in school as well as parents to do at home with their kids. Here in the northeast we are having very snowy and inclement weather. It seems every time we look around it is snowing, sleeting or raining. And if that is not happening it is frigid temperatures outside. Yet it is still beneficial for you to take your children outside. There are several benefits to walking besides the physical benefits.

In cold weather make sure your children are dressed warmly, that means scarves, hats and gloves. Make sure they are zipped up well and if really cold have on hats and hoods and scarves around their neck and face. You will not be out very long and you will be moving a little faster than you normally would. A good way to accomplish this is through marching. Have them count and see how far they can count up to or they can count the usual hut 2, 3, 4! or 1,2,3,4!

Just because they are walking they don’t have to walk the entire time. They can stop and march in place or march in a circle or weave in and out of one another. Of course you will use common sense and if it is frigidly cold you will not keep them out long 5 minutes is enough for them to get some fresh air. In addition they can hop in place or jump in place or even skip. These activities will keep them warm and burn calories at the same time.

You can also have them do observation activities like count how many cars they see on the street or how many people. How many were grownups. How many were children like them. Were they males or females, boys or girls. Did they see any animals or what did they see. Upon returning to the school or home recall what happened on the walk.

It’s an opportunity for you to bond with your children. Communication and linguistic skills are enhanced and exercised and learning opportunities are available in which you learn about them and they about you. If the weather doesn’t permit going outside you can always walk in your school or take a trip to the mall or a museum. It is totally up to you and your child, remember to get their input too. Have fun!

Healthy eating is an excellent way to keep fit. Get a free report on healthy eating for kids at http://healthykidsweightloss.com.

This is fitnesss activitiy is to help children learn rhythm and timing and to learn to take turns. In learning to take turns toddlers learn patience. Which takes quiet a bit of practice for their age because everything at this age is about me me me. Learning to wait for their turn is an important skill that toddlers must develope. It is a social skill and this particular activity helps them to work with others and bulids comraderie as they cheer one another on. Sometimes they even say one another’s name in an effort to help.

This is a very popular activity in my dance classes held on site at preschools through out New Jersey. The school above Lil Tykes Learning Center in East Orange, New Jersey and also a part of the Tri City Peoples Corporation, have dance as a part of their learning curriculum. It is given at no additional charge and is a $55 per month per child value that is freely given to their parents. The teachers and parents appreciate having the convenience of having it at the school and love the fact that it’s so much more than dance, and learning as well.

This is a great activity for circle time or for children to use at home. Children doing it at home can use their stuffed animals. You can also substitue say your age also to add some variety or change the beat. It’s all up to you and the chlildren so have fun!

It is important to have a variety of fitness activities for kids. Having variety keeps children’s interest and enagages them. When people think of fitness they think of rigorous movement or some form of movement. In addition to movement we need transitional activities also that help quiet the mind and body. This particular activity is one that quiets the body and  can be used in three ways. It can be used for developing listening skills and helping children to pay attention. It can also be used for learning self control and patience. The activity is called the MAGIC NUMBER .

This is an activity that involves you counting and the children listening. Have the children lie on the floor. Explain that they are taking a rest and that it will be time to get up after you say the magic number. Tell them the magic number. Ask them what is the magic number and have them tell it to you. Have them lie down and then begin to count.  In between your counting ask the children is it time to get up. They will love to scream back at you NO! Once you say the magic number it is time to stand up.

This activity is used to transition from rigorous activity such as playing in the gym, outside,  dancing or any where they have been exerting themselves and need to take a rest. Although children have a lot of energy, their energy is spurts and they need rest periods in between.  In can be used any time you want the children to settle down and be still. Don’t worry about whether or not the children can count up to a certain number because in this exercise they are listening for the magic number. In time they will learn the correct sequence of counting.

I use dance as a media for learning. In addition to learning dance moves from Classical Ballet, or Hip Hop we also do a lot of running, skipping, galloping, jumping and hopping so this exercise works very nicely as a way to give them a rest and still have learning and skill building take place. Focusing and listening are two essential skills that children will need for school and life.

Healthy eating is another component of health. You can get a free report on healthy eating for kids at http://www.healthykidsweightloss.com.