Just What are Gross Motor Skills and How Do the Mommy and Me Dance Classes Teach Them?
Gross motor skills refers to movements of the body that use the larger muscles. So running, jumping, rolling, crawling and walking all fall into this category. Compare this to fine motor skills that involve smaller muscles. Picking up small objects and holding a spoon fall into the fine motor skills group.
Building Strength and Agility
Much of a toddler’s time is spent learning to move that body around and control it with those larger muscles. They climb on the couch, dash across the living room and crawl on all fours. Every day, their movements build a little more agility and strength. Those movements are, day by day, laying the foundation for that child’s future grace, speed and athletic ability.
In our Mommy and Me classes, every child will receive instruction in jumping, rolling, swaying, and swinging their little hips and arms from side to side. They may dance in a circle or run from one side of the room to the other with mommy. They may high-step all around the room or crawl on all fours. They may be on the floor, getting mommy’s help while they roll from one side to the other or they may be holding mommy’s hands while they go through a series of stretches. It’s all done to dance music, so they are also getting experience timing their movements to the beat of the music. Whatever movements the teacher calls for, it will be a new experience for these, our youngest students.
And what makes this so much fun for everyone is that mommy gets to move along with the little one! This limbers up mom and gets her blood flowing, too.
A Child’s Athletic Ability is Linked to Mastery of Gross Motor Skills
The child’s later athletic ability depends on their gradual mastery of the gross motor skills. Is he or she destined for t-ball, soccer, ballet or tap classes? Every Mommy and Me class will help develop those motor skills a little more, building in competence, strength and grace from these early beginnings. Of course we keep it all simple so everyone gets to enjoy themselves in an undemanding, encouraging environment.
On another level, it’s a chance to get out of the house, let the errands go for a little while and just have fun in time to the music.
For our schedule of Mommy and Me classes, call the DK Dance Productions studio at 314-921-5800. We’ve got multiple time slots for you to choose from, so call to register yourself and your son or daughter. We’re looking forward to making better dancers out of you and your little one! Classes are offered to children between 18 months and three years and their moms.
