How Toddler Ballet Classes Help Develop Motor Skills
Toddlerhood is an exciting time for children and their parents, as they begin to explore their surroundings and develop better coordination. Two-year-olds, in particular, begin learning new physical skills during this stage of life, such as how to run, throw a ball, climb on playground equipment, and going up and down the stairs without sliding on their stomach or bottom. Fine motor skills also begin to form during toddlerhood, which are actions that involve the smaller muscles in the hands and feet. At the age of two or three, your little one will be able to zip up their own jacket, hold a pencil correctly, open doors, and so on and so forth.
With so much to learn during toddlerhood, both mentally and physically, it is important to engage your child in activities that interest them while also challenging them developmentally. Introducing your child to a musical instrument, an art, or a sport is a great way to channel your child’s newfound curiosity and creative energy into something they enjoy. At Miss Colleen's Elite Dancentre in Rockville Centre, we highly recommend ballet classes for toddlers who are beginning to explore the world in a new way as they develop these gross and fine motor skills:
Coordination
Coordination is a new skill for toddlers, as they learn how to walk, run, skip, jump, and use their body in creative new ways while staying in control. Ballet, for toddlers in particular, is incredibly helpful for fine-tuning these skills through some of the main ballet positions: plié, etendré, and relevé. In a ballet class for kids, your child will learn how to balance, go onto their tiptoes, and flow gracefully through various movements and routines.
Responsiveness
With increased coordination comes improved response time, which toddlers begin to refine during the ages of two, three, and four. Just think about it — when you toss a foam baseball to your toddler, often they will swing the bat too late and miss. Activities like baseball, playing the piano, and ballet can improve hand-eye coordination, which helps your little one develop a sharper response time and greater timing accuracy.
Mind-Body Awareness
Central to gross and fine motor skills is an awareness of how the mind and body share a connectedness, which can be used in the real world a number of ways. Though toddlers are not aware of this on a deeper level, activities that exercise both the mind and body help to close any gaps in communication between their thoughts and actions. Take a plié, for example. When toddlers are asked to do a plié as part of a routine at their ballet studio, they take in that information, process it, and then join others in the plié. Then, when they are presented with other tasks in life, they have a greater understanding about how to make it happen.
Sign Up For Our Toddler Ballet Classes In Rockville Centre
There are many ways to help your child develop gross and fine motor skills during toddlerhood, and ballet lessons are a great option for youngsters who love to dance. Click here to learn more about our ballet classes for kids, and enroll your child today at Miss Colleen’s Elite Dancentre in Rockville Centre!