At Little Ballerinas the carefully designed programs for the tiniest of ballerinas - our Petite Ballerinas {Dance with me} program is one that has been given great community support (THANK YOU!) and one that has allowed children aged 18 months to their 3rd birthday the opportunities to learn, engage, respond, work with other children and do all this whilst wriggling, giggling, exploring how their bodies move and when learning the very basics of ballet.
How do our classes work? Why is a parent/carer required to be an invaluable part of the class? How can you help your child get the most out of this program?
Petite Ballerinas {Dance with me} is an hour class that has very specific sections for different types of learning, with great changes in dynamics, music, props and how the children work in the space to keep them engaged and start to be familiar with the basic elements of composition.
Classes commence with "I'm here to dance" time, this is arrival time when parents bring their child to class dressed in their gorgeous pink tutus (please don't use the time at the start of class to dress them), with the kids very much beaming with smiles and excitement as they walk through the door knowing they are about to have a ball!
Why is arriving on time to class very important?
It can understandably be rather distracting for the children that have started class and are dancing in an exercise & listening to the teacher for the doors to then be continually opened with each late arrival.
As you can expect, little eager eyes zoom quicker than you can imagine to the new arrivals coming through the door and it also takes away from the very structured way we commence classes to focus the children in the first few exercises. Let's aim to give all attending the best chance at focussing.
Jumping back to how classes commence...roll stickers next to their name, much loved ballet shoes on and a delightful ballet wand passed to your little ballerina to twirl with. This first 5 minutes of class is also programmed specifically to allow for the children to become comfortable within the space, chat to their ballet friends (in their own way!) and for when we love parents to chat and catch up too.
Theme music finishes....and GO...The real lesson starts and the fun, magic & learning begins!
How do our classes work? Why is a parent/carer required to be an invaluable part of the class? How can you help your child get the most out of this program?
Petite Ballerinas {Dance with me} is an hour class that has very specific sections for different types of learning, with great changes in dynamics, music, props and how the children work in the space to keep them engaged and start to be familiar with the basic elements of composition.
Classes commence with "I'm here to dance" time, this is arrival time when parents bring their child to class dressed in their gorgeous pink tutus (please don't use the time at the start of class to dress them), with the kids very much beaming with smiles and excitement as they walk through the door knowing they are about to have a ball!
Why is arriving on time to class very important?
It can understandably be rather distracting for the children that have started class and are dancing in an exercise & listening to the teacher for the doors to then be continually opened with each late arrival.
As you can expect, little eager eyes zoom quicker than you can imagine to the new arrivals coming through the door and it also takes away from the very structured way we commence classes to focus the children in the first few exercises. Let's aim to give all attending the best chance at focussing.
Jumping back to how classes commence...roll stickers next to their name, much loved ballet shoes on and a delightful ballet wand passed to your little ballerina to twirl with. This first 5 minutes of class is also programmed specifically to allow for the children to become comfortable within the space, chat to their ballet friends (in their own way!) and for when we love parents to chat and catch up too.
Theme music finishes....and GO...The real lesson starts and the fun, magic & learning begins!
Parents/carers (*referred as 'adults' too from this point on) are an integral part of this program and imperative to the success of their child's learning & focus in class. Adults very much also contribute to the atmosphere of the class, the energy of the room and the flow of lesson.
Adults assist in this through actively assisting, guiding and encouraging their child right from the beginning of the class continually through to the end when the children get their end of class sticker that they all love! This is why we ask adults to be there at class for this younger age group in our preschool ballet classes for 18 months up and 2 years olds.
They naturally respond best when a loved one is by their side encouraging them.
As the teacher facilitates the class, it is naturally important for the children's benefit that adults are 100% focussed (or as close as possible!) as guidance will be given to parents, in terms of how to assist their child's learning and what & why we are doing things.
We'll be honest - teaching in front of adults isn't particularly the easiest of jobs (...we absolutely love PB classes...but it isn't easy for understandable reasons!)
Young children respond best when they know that their parent is very much focused on them - which is a big part of our program. They want to show you what they are doing, they adore sharing it with you and some of our biggest feedback is how much parents adore sharing in these moments with them and the 1 on 1 time. Simply precious.
Teachers try to keep transitions between exercises fairly quick, productive & clear.
Transitions are part of the lesson and vital that the children can hear the teacher and that the adults are listening too, as this is the "linking" part where the next exercise/activity is introduced.
Just because there's no music doesn't mean the learning has stopped - it's quite the opposite - it's when a lot of the learning and listening is and should be happening.
There are many different programs/activities for toddlers that parents may take their child to - many of which are great and all have different structures and expectations, whether it be gym classes, swimming, music, playgroups and all differ in how adults are a part of the classes/activities. Some are to simply be there and not be involved, some are a little involvement and some are a level of great involvement - which is what it is at Little Ballerinas.
At Little Ballerinas we encourage the following as we know it works best for the children with our programs:
Also know that children this age won't necessarily do everything in class - but it is amazing how much they absorb and when you least expect it ~ they start to execuute it in class or they may be more comfortable showing you at home...in the supermarket, when walking down the street either way they are learning and that is what it is all about.
Hope this helps and thank you in advance - as we as teachers, just like parents, want the best for their child. xx
Love this quote and I personally believe it applies to many aspects of life ~ outcomes are often the result of what we bring to things.
Adults assist in this through actively assisting, guiding and encouraging their child right from the beginning of the class continually through to the end when the children get their end of class sticker that they all love! This is why we ask adults to be there at class for this younger age group in our preschool ballet classes for 18 months up and 2 years olds.
They naturally respond best when a loved one is by their side encouraging them.
As the teacher facilitates the class, it is naturally important for the children's benefit that adults are 100% focussed (or as close as possible!) as guidance will be given to parents, in terms of how to assist their child's learning and what & why we are doing things.
We'll be honest - teaching in front of adults isn't particularly the easiest of jobs (...we absolutely love PB classes...but it isn't easy for understandable reasons!)
Young children respond best when they know that their parent is very much focused on them - which is a big part of our program. They want to show you what they are doing, they adore sharing it with you and some of our biggest feedback is how much parents adore sharing in these moments with them and the 1 on 1 time. Simply precious.
Teachers try to keep transitions between exercises fairly quick, productive & clear.
Transitions are part of the lesson and vital that the children can hear the teacher and that the adults are listening too, as this is the "linking" part where the next exercise/activity is introduced.
Just because there's no music doesn't mean the learning has stopped - it's quite the opposite - it's when a lot of the learning and listening is and should be happening.
There are many different programs/activities for toddlers that parents may take their child to - many of which are great and all have different structures and expectations, whether it be gym classes, swimming, music, playgroups and all differ in how adults are a part of the classes/activities. Some are to simply be there and not be involved, some are a little involvement and some are a level of great involvement - which is what it is at Little Ballerinas.
At Little Ballerinas we encourage the following as we know it works best for the children with our programs:
- Move with them, dance, be silly, be creative - the more they see, the more they do.
- Encourage, praise and get excited with them.
- We love parents becoming friends, we really do! We kindly ask for the benefit of the children and the classes that general chit chat between adults be kept for the intro/arrival of the class (first 5 mins), water breaks and end of class, so that the children can hear.
Yes Petite Ballerinas {Dance with me} classes can be a little noisy from time to time, of course they will be - that's to be expected! We do hope that the increased noise level is essentially just from the kids or parents reiterating the teaching guidance. We hope that the adult's focus is on their child and funny enough it makes it much easier for the teacher to teach too. When facing towards potentially 14 little kids and 14 adults each class to sometimes encounter 5 -7 different adult conversations happening in front of us as teachers (which even if quiet conversations can lead to a huge increase in the noise levels in the halls) when giving instructions to both kids & adults definitely can break down the flow of the lesson and it is not the learning environment that we strive for. Of course it makes it very tricky for the kids to hear the teacher too - so let's aim to help the children hear.
It could be likened to having a conversation or even giving a talk to a group of adults in close proximity, where the others may not be reciprocating eye contact to the person talking, by looking away or on their phones, or having their own conversations...in our case it can really throw the focus and also the confidence of the teacher affecting their ability to give their best lessons, which is what we want to do each and every week for the toddlers. - Repeat the movement terms/imagery we use in class - reiterate it to your child. Try explaining it in different ways too.
- Take in some of the movement terms/imagery we use and say them at home too with your child. Even find pictures related of what we are talking about.
- Children will respond to the music, movements, props and guidance in different ways - we encourage this and you should too!
- Talk about ballet day throughout the week. Make it exciting!
- Arrive on time too for when the doors open on the hour.
- During Petite Ballerinas {Dance with me} classes husbands/wives/partners/grandparents are allowed to watch should they wish (we do really like it to be kept for the "special watching day" at the end of each term ideally though, to allow for their progress to occur and a consistent styled learning environment for them too).
Should another family member be sharing in the joy of the class and have come along to watch, it is very important that the learning environment is respected. Whilst a class, treat it like you are at the Theatre for a performance. As there to watch your child in class, we ask that adults sitting at the side refrain from engaging in additional conversations with each other (which can add to the noise level) so that the children are able to get the most out of the actvity that parents have enrolled them for. Of course at the water breaks and when we all have the amazing moments that we praise the children and their progress, please join in praising them. Having entered the room, the family members are required to stay in the room for the hour. Exiting and re-entering throughout the hour class is not suitable for the learning environment, as this can be understandably extremely distracting to the young children.
- Enjoy the 1 on 1 time with your child and welcome their progress as you see your child blossom into a little ballerina.
Also know that children this age won't necessarily do everything in class - but it is amazing how much they absorb and when you least expect it ~ they start to execuute it in class or they may be more comfortable showing you at home...in the supermarket, when walking down the street either way they are learning and that is what it is all about.
Hope this helps and thank you in advance - as we as teachers, just like parents, want the best for their child. xx
Love this quote and I personally believe it applies to many aspects of life ~ outcomes are often the result of what we bring to things.
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