Move, Groove, and Learn!

Music and dance strategies can unlock learning across domains in the early childhood classroom in a playful way that captures a child’s attention and taps into their creativity.

Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artists like Valerie Branch use movement-based experiences like “Personal Space Bubble” to help children move through spaces safely while encouraging them to make choices; Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Wincey Terry-Bryant develops experiences like “Pipe Cleaner Shapes” that use music to help children articulate the differences between sizes and shapes.

The following four activities use dance, music, and rhythm to support cognitive, motor, and social-emotional development. They also build skills in areas such as phonological awareness and early STEM concepts like patterning and sequencing.

Community of Movers: Personal Space Bubble

In this video, Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Valerie Branch shares a dance and movement readiness strategy for supporting children’s exploration and understanding of personal space. Using imagination, Branch creates an opportunity for children to explore self and personal space, for themselves and with others.

Musical Moments: The Name Clap Game 

In this short video, Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Wincey Terry-Bryant explores syllables using names, rhythmic clapping, and drumming, demonstrating an experience that integrates literacy and STEM with elements of music. Using instruments and a visual chart, Ms. Wincey taps into children’s love of music while supporting learning about phonological awareness, categorization, and comparison skills.

Musical Moments: Pipe Cleaner Shapes

In this arts experience, Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Wincey Terry-Bryant sings a playful shape song and invites children to use pipe cleaners to create each shape. This experience provides children with an opportunity, grounded in music elements, to explore shapes and their attributes and use their growing fine motor skills, supporting early math and cognitive and motor skills development.

Community of Movers: Freeze Dance

Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Valerie Branch shares an adaptation of the popular children’s game “Freeze Dance” to help children explore personal and shared space, practice self-regulation and listening skills, and express their creativity.

Try one of these experiences or explore them all: see how they work for your class!

Find more free resources like these in Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts’ Digital Resource Library.