Classroom Management/Student Engagement
** For photos or graphics, we recommend using images that display the students interacting with their teachers and moments in class like praise, transitions and student engagement. You should also include students interacting with each other and their teachers. **
Caption 1: Classroom management - the secret weapon in every amazing preschool dance teacher's toolkit.
Leap 'N Learn teachers have an arsenal of strategies and tools at the ready to ensure their classes run smoothly and effectively. They don't just know how to teach dance. They understand child development and know how to keep little attention spans on task and loving it.
And while every preschool class has their moments (and that's kind of why we love this age so much!) we're all about maximising and encouraging our littlest dancers' learning.
#leapnlearn #preschooldance #preschooldanceeducation #danceeducation #dancecurriculum #balletcurriculum #balleteducation #creativedanceforkids #creativedance #balleteducation #studioowner #danceteacher #balletteacher #dancestudio #classroommanagement
Caption 2: Student engagement doesn't come from a bunch of strategies. Creating effective, engaging environments begins before you even step into the classroom. It starts with curriculum and planning. ✍🏼
Student engagement is embedded into every part of our Leap 'N Learn classes - from before a child steps into the studio door to their warmups, to transitions between exercises and dancing on stage. Our curriculum was created with careful consideration of children's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development... but we didn't stop there. We integrated it with on-the-ground knowledge of what sparks joy, excitement and curiosity for our littlest dancers.
This award winning combo means maximum student engagement, enjoyment and success! ❤️🍭
#leapnlearn #preschooldance #preschooldancecurriculum #dancecurriculum #danceeducation #preschooldanceeducation #preschoolballet #toddlerballet #toddlerdance #studentengagement #curriculum #dance #ballet
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Caption 3: "A good dancer is a quiet dancer".... ❌👎🏽🗑
Dance education commonly equates silence with success. In most ballet classes, quiet ballet dancers are praised. Silence is even used as a measure of a teacher's ability to control their classes... but why?
As Dr Elena Lambrinos, LNL's Director of Education, says, "Beware the silent dance class. Silence should not be a measure of discipline, concentration, or understanding.".
With our Leap 'N Learn curriculum, we encourage discussion and questions throughout our lessons. When students engage with lesson content by asking questions or sharing their ideas, they are actually strengthening connections, transferring knowledge, and building their own networks of meaning.
This is huge, powerful stuff. It's how we build knowledge.
Sure, there are times when we need to be quiet, for example, when listening to others. But otherwise, we love the sounds of students shrieking with delight, or explaining how the shape of their first position is the same shape as the fruit they ate on the way to dance, or telling us about the baby animal they're rescuing in their creative movement exercise.
This is the sound of a successful Leap 'N Learn dance class... and we wouldn't have it any other way 🌈
#leapnlearn #childhooddance #preschooldance #danceeducation #pretendplay #danceteacher #dancestudioowner #dancestudio #silentdanceclass
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Caption 4: It all begins and ends with the student experience.
At our studio, we focus on teaching first. With Leap 'N Learn, we help our teachers provide the most excellent, engaging and educational classes out there. When you refine the student experience, everything else falls into place.
When students are excited to come to class and leave feeling encouraged, excited and proud, you know you are doing dance education right.
#leapnlearn #danceeducation #dancestudio #dancecurriculum #danceteacher #dancestudioowner #studentexperience #preschooldance #toddlerdance
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Caption 5: Let's talk about praise.
There's a lot of research on the effects of praise on children, with a lot of differing views. Inspired by our Leap 'N Learn curriculum, this is what praise looks like in our studio:
🎈 We encourage effort rather than praising results/products. Instead of saying "you are such a good dancer" or "you are really good at skipping" say "I can see how much effort you have put into working on your skips. How does that make you feel?"
👉🏽 this valorises their effort, not their ability or the result.
👉🏽 it requires the student to reflect on the process, and places more value on their own perceptions and beliefs, rather than yours.
Parents can continue this at home, even after the class - Ask your children, "What do you feel you did really well today?", or "What was your favourite part about today's class?".
Together we can support student agency and autonomy through dance.
#leapnlearn #danceeducation #balleteducation #danceteacher #preschooldance #dancecurriculum #dancestudio #dancestudioowner #praisevsfeedback #praise #feedback
Caption 6: At our studio, every part of the class has intention behind it. And for us, transitions are oh-so crucial for a smooth and exciting dance class.
How do we get from one exercise to the next or get our students to pack away their props?
🐢 Do they crawl like turtles?
🍕 Maybe they're delivering pizzas?
Once we started using transitions in our classes, we discovered how easy and entertaining our classes can be, at every step of the way. With a Leap 'N Learn curriculum, our only limit is our creativity.
#leapnlearn #leapnlearndance #dancetips #dancertips #danceteachertips #danceteacher #dancestudioowner #dancetransitions #dancecurriculum #preschooldance #toddlerdance #babyballet
Caption 7: We start our classes with a Question of the Day and here's why...
This 2-minute activity helps us foster student engagement, build relationships, and create some hilarious moments that our kids look forward to each week.
We sit in a circle at the beginning of class, and let our creativity run wild with all sorts of 'would you rather...' questions. ⬆️
This gets our little dancers thinking and helps us get to know them and their personalities.
This is the Leap 'N Learn way ⭐️
#leapnlearn #kidsdance #kidsdanceclass #preschooldance #danceteacher #dancestduio #dancestudioowner #dancecurriuculum #danceteachertips #questionoftheday #qotd
Caption 8: At our studio, we're all about training our teachers to run efficient, effective and engaging dance classes.
That used to mean a real focus on classroom management. But we're moving away from that and reframing what it means to be a teacher.
Our teachers' jobs are not to 'manage' students. Children aren't things to be managed, organised, or categorised. Our students are unique individuals who have their own experience and knowledge of the world.
When we put the child at the center of the experience, prioritizing connection and building meaningful relationships - we don't even need classroom management!
This is what we do best – Our Leap 'N Learn curriculum helps us create powerful dance education experiences for all - where students feel like they belong, that their voice is heard, and their opinion matters.
#leapnlearn #dancestudio #dancestudioowner #danceteacher #kidsdance #preschooldance #babyballet #dancecurriculum #classroommanagement
Caption 9: Transitions are important and can make or break a successful class.
When we switch from one exercise to another, we give our students clear instructions on where to go next and how to get there.
The easiest way to do this is by using pretend play to keep our students engaged. Time to put away their mats? We like to have our little dancers place them on their backs and crawl over to pack them away. Keeping kids engaged doesn't have to be hard but it should be fun and simple!
Every part of the class can have intention behind it, we make sure that your kids are getting the most out of their dance education!
#leapnlearn #leapnlearndance #kidsdance #preschooldance #dancetips #danceteachertips #danceteacher #danceteachers #dancestudio #dancestudioowner