your How Dance EncouragesCreativity In Children by Rae Pica (NAPS)—Children need to move: Not just for the sake of their physical selves but also for social, emotional and cognitive development. You can promote your child’s fitness, self-confidence, learning and much more—withoutspecialized knowledge, fancy equipment or money. All you haveto do is dance. Here are four great reasons why you and your child should spend time dancing together: 1. Dancing promotes creativity. Self-expression and divergent thinking (coming up with different possibilities) are major components of creativity, and dancing encourages both. Early childhoodis the best period for the developmentof creativity, and creative problem solving will serve yourchild for life. 2. Dancing strengthens social and emotional development. How children feel about other people and the way they express their feelings is a big part of social/emotional development. When your child experiences the joy of dancing, he learns about expressing himself and communi- cating with the world around him. 3. Children are active learners. When a child moves over, under, around, through, beside and near objects and others or takes on high, low, wide and narrow body shapes, she’ll have a greater understanding of these concepts. This is one way that literacy and numeracy are promoted in early childhood. 4. Dancing promotes fitness. Cardiovascular endurance, Children need to move. muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition—the five healthrelated fitness factors—are all developed when your child dances. Ready to get started? Make a gameoutof it. Put on a piece of music, inviting “players” to move in whatever way they want until the music stops (you press the pause button). Everyone freezes into a statue until the music starts again. Every time you play, use a piece of music with a different “feel” to it. Enter the Curious George Dance Contest. Visit http://curious georgedancecontest.com for more information. Ms. Pica is a children’s physical activity specialist and the author of 18 books for teachers and parents. You can hear her interviews with experts in the fields of education, child development, the neurosciences and more online at BAM! Radio Network. wo---------- eee QSL - oo ee == eee Note to Editors: CURIOUS GEORGEis a production of Imagine, WGBH, and Universal. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. Television series: 2012. Universal Studios. All rights reserved. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY. Proud sponsors of Curious George on PBS KIDS are Chuck E. Cheese’s, and Stride Rite Children’s Group, LLC. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers. Curious George, is seen on PBS KIDS!
