Locomotor Movement for Toddlers

Parenting Tip: Travel through space to music with your toddler

 

Why?

Along with developing physical fitness, sensory components of balance, coordination, spatial awareness, directionality, and visual literacy are also developed [when your child moves to music].  These components are developed as children roll, creep, crawl, spin, twirl, bounce, balance, walk, jump, juggle, and support their weight in space.  Self-awareness, self-esteem, and social skills are also enhanced through movement (Lengel & Kuczala 2010).  Traveling through space to music, also gives your toddler early experience at internalizing musical concepts like loud & quiet, smooth & bumpy, and the steady beat.

 

How?

Travel through space in different ways as you go on a Listening Walk!  Enjoy the e-book, then go on a walk of your own!  How many different ways can you travel?

Play the BINGO song (from Kindermusik's Down on the Ground CD), and make up a circle dance!  Maybe you will travel around the circle?  Maybe you will travel 'in' to the center, or 'out' to make a bigger circle?

Move through space like the animals do, as you play the Bears & Bunnies game!

 

Want to Learn More?

On our blog:  Find new ideas for locomotor and non-locomotor movement games!

 

Kindermusik 7-year Continuum:

As an infant, your child depended on YOU to move her in ways that she was not yet able to.  Now, as a toddler, he can move to the music on his own, with you as a model, as we add general terminology to the movements (like 'smooth' and 'bumpy').  As a Kindermusik preschooler, your child will decide which movements to use, based on an imaginary story or a musical articulation – and he will begin to learn specific MUSICAL terminology (like 'piano' and 'forte').  Kindermusik big kids in Young Child classes use their movement experiences to internalize the beat, and to build musical expression as they play instruments and sing together.