Minute Masterclass Episode 98

Welcome to your one-minute masterclass. I’m Andrea Trench, founder of DiscoverDance and creator of the Foundations Course for Early Childhood Dance Educators. Today in our Power of Props series, we are talking about management props. These props support our classroom management plan. When we have a classroom management plan, our classes run with greater ease, control, and flow. 

Here are some examples of management props. Use poly spots or floor marking tape for space markers. When you feel the excited energy in the class and you need to reel your dancers back in to move the lesson forward, give a little toot toot on a train whistle and say “All Aboard!”. Start moving like a train until you have all your students in a line. Using a tambourine, introduce a listening activity by having the dancers shake when the tambourine shakes and freeze when they hear the double beat. That double beat can be another way to grab your dancers’ attention when you need the energy in the room to freeze. 

Lastly, use a stuffed or inflatable campfire in the center of your circle to teach how to move in and out and around a circle by not being too close to the campfire, where it’s hot, or too far from the campfire, where it’s cold. Everyone needs to stay right in the middle of the circle where it’s nice and toasty. For more information, visit DiscoverDance.com.