Four things to look out for in a preschool dance curriculum 💫

How do you distinguish a 'fluff-n-stuff' preschool dance curriculum from a high quality one?

It's no secret that a good preschool dance curriculum sets your students up for success. But the BEST curriculum enables your teachers and studio to thrive too!

You want the very best for your students, your teachers, and your studio. But there's a lot out there on the market.

So, how do you separate the rigorous from the riff-raff?

Read on to find out the four things that separates a high-quality preschool dance curriculum from the rest.

1) Is it developmentally appropriate?

The first indicator of a high-quality preschool dance curriculum is whether it keeps childhood development front of mind.

Leap 'N Learn was created to support young children's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. At this age, children are exploring the world around them, developing relationships between themselves and other things and people, and discovering new words, movements, and feelings all the time.

Quality preschool dance teaching should tap into children’s naturally occurring development… and then amplify it!

It's important to remember that children develop at different rates across different areas. While one student may enter class with strongly develope physical skills for their age, their language skills may be further behind. Alternatively, another student in the same class may have more developed cognitive and emotional skills, but not be as coordinated or strong as other children.

A good preschool program takes this into consideration and provides opportunities for students to learn and succeed across all these areas. It doesn’t place the same expectations on all students and allows each child’s unique strengths to shine through.

Oh, and it's also important to remember that a safe and effective preschool dance curriculum doesn't push little bodies into positions too soon. As master teacher (and co-creator of Leap 'N Learn) Beverly Spell says: "Ballet begins in parallel.”

2) Is there pretend play?

What separates an amazing preschool dance curriculum from the rest? Pretend play!

The most beneficial programs are those that allow students to make their own interpretations, connections and suggestions.

As psychologist (and co-creator of Leap 'N Learn) Dr Annie Spell says:

"The job of every 3 through 6 year old is pretend play. Pretend play is one of the most important aspects a teacher can bring into their early childhood class."

Dance classes for 3-6yr olds should be engaging, fun, and situate learning in playful, imaginative and creative settings.

Children should be encouraged to make their own movement choices and given the latitude to dream up ways of expressing movements in a way that's meaningful to them. As Leap 'N Learn's Director of Education, Dr Elena Lambrinos, says:

"Classes that incorporate pretend play ensure that children develop as individuals, not as clones."

3) Are props used as scaffolding tools?

Giving a kid a wand and telling them to run around is NOT creative dance.

A good preschool dance curriculum will show you how to use props as scaffolding tools.

Props should be used to support learning outcomes and amplify children's conceptual and physical skill development.

While kids see props as fun and playful, at Leap 'N Learn we know that they're one of the most powerful tools in a preschool dance teacher's toolkit.

If your preschool dance curriculum isn't showing you how to use props to build complex skills and support children's development, then you're missing out!

4) Does it teach you how to teach, not just what to teach?

We're finishing on a big one... Does your preschool dance curriculum just give you a bunch of exercises and steps? Or does it teach you and your team of teachers how to teach? Does it actually include teacher training?

As Dr Elena Lambrinos, dance education researcher and Director of Education at Leap 'N Learn, says:

"The best dance teachers are able to see past 'what is being done' to understand how the component parts come together. They understand how dance education develops ways of moving as well as ways of acting, thinking, feeling and being a dancer. But this is rarely taught in typical dance teacher training".

A truly comprehensive preschool dance curriculum has a team of experts on board to train and guide you and your team to teach, scaffold, connect, integrate and build knowledge. But more than that, teacher training instills your team with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to be the best teachers they can be.

Understanding how children learn and process information, and how we build and develop knowledge is a game changer. It makes for engaging and effective classes that are an absolute joy to teach! Happy students, happy parents, happy teachers... happy studio owner!

Setting students and studios up for success

Every studio owner wants the very best for their students, their team, and their studio.

Keeping these four questions in mind will help you make the right choice when it comes to investing in a high-quality curriculum.

At Leap 'N Learn, we're proud to say that we've got these four areas down pat - in fact, they're the very foundations of our program. For twenty years and counting, we've been supporting studio owners to grow their studios with safe, effective and progressive dance teaching that keeps kids coming back for more.

Want to know more about how we can help you achieve your goals and stand out for all the right reasons? Find out more about licensing with Leap ‘N Learn.