New Pre-school Dance Curriculum: Dance to your Own Tune

‘Dance to your own Tune’ is a pre-school dance curriculum that tells you everything you need to know about teaching movement and dance to the very youngest of students. It is an invaluable resource for all teachers of Pre-school children, regardless of the education system they work within.

Movement plays an essential part in the development of young children. This Curriculum focuses on developing fundamental motor skills, spatial awareness and imagination and expression through movement. It is aimed at two specific age groups: Level One is for 2 to 3 year-olds and Level Two for 3 to 5 year-olds.

Created by the RAD, the Curriculum is firmly grounded in educational theory and is conveniently packaged as a resource tool containing a curriculum handbook, two music CDs and a DVD which features taught ‘work in progress’ classes that demonstrate how the suggested themes can be used to deliver the core learning activities in a fun and creative way.

Benefits to Teachers

• The curriculum is available to all dance teachers - RAD trained and others
• Its non-prescriptive nature gives teachers the freedom to adapt content to the needs of their own students
• It is available in a handy pack containing everything you need to teach the pre-school age group: curriculum content, information on planning and delivery, as well as a commissioned DVD containing sample Demonstration Classes footage and a CD of suitable music for use in class
• It is divided into two age groups so that its delivery is closely tailored to the needs of students
• It encourages a teaching style that is flexible and responsive
• Its Demonstration Classes provide excellent opportunities for developing customer relations with parents

Benefits to Students

• The curriculum's grounding in education and developmental theory ensures that it is developmentally appropriate to the pre-school age group
• It is relevant across cultures
• It expands movement vocabulary and co-ordination
• It develops self-esteem, self-confidence, social skills and body-awareness
• It provides an outlet for children's innate needs to move and opportunities for developing creative responses to music, sounds, poems and prose

Please contact the RAD office, email info@rad.org.nz or phone 04 382 8924 for further information or to purchase a curriculum pack.