7 Creative Preschool Dance Themes (With Movement Activity Ideas)
One of my favorite things about teaching preschool dance is coming up with imaginative themes and stories to use in class. There are SO many possibilities! And while fairy tales are wonderful for young children, sometimes it's fun to explore something completely different. A trip to the beach, an adventure through the rainforest, or even a visit to an imaginary ice cream shop can provide plenty of opportunities for movement and creative play.
I originally put together this list while thinking about summer dance classes. Living in Colorado, where we can have beautiful, warm spring days followed by snow the very next week, I was ready to start dreaming about summer! But the more I thought about these themes, the more I realized that most of them work just as well throughout the year. Some would be wonderful for summer camps, while others could easily become a themed lesson during your regular preschool dance classes.
The thing I love about teaching with themes is that we can introduce real dance concepts through activities that make sense to young children. We can work on jumping, balancing, traveling movements, spatial awareness, and musicality while our students are imagining they're exploring a garden or swimming through the ocean. And when we plan those activities with a particular movement objective in mind, we're doing much more than simply keeping children entertained.
Today, I want to share seven of my favorite preschool dance themes, along with some ideas for how you can use them in your own classes. :-)
1. Garden Bugs
I love the versatility of a garden theme! You've got worms and bugs crawling underground, beautiful flying insects like butterflies and dragonflies, and all kinds of flowers, vegetables, and other plants growing above the soil. There's so much for children to explore, and you can take this theme in several different directions depending on the movement concepts you're teaching.
For example, you could begin with students pretending to be little seeds planted in the ground. As the music plays, they slowly grow into flowers, stretching their arms and bodies taller and taller until they're reaching toward the sun. This is a wonderful way to introduce different levels and encourage children to explore moving from a low position to a high one. You could then pretend that butterflies are visiting the garden, using soft, flowing arm movements as students travel around the room. Ladybugs might crawl along winding pathways, while grasshoppers give you an opportunity to practice jumping.
I especially like using gardens to explore the difference between moving above and below something. You could pretend your students are worms wriggling beneath the soil, then have them emerge as butterflies or dragonflies flying high above the flowers. Older preschoolers might enjoy helping you decide which insects live underground, which crawl on plants, and which fly through the air.
Fireflies can be fun, too! You might dim the lights slightly and let students dance with child-safe light-up props while pretending to be fireflies glowing in the garden. Just be sure you have enough light for children to see where they're going and use props appropriate for their ages.
If you enjoy incorporating children's literature into your lessons, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner is a beautifully illustrated book that works particularly well with this theme. You could read portions of the story over several classes as students explore the different creatures and plants found in a garden.
2. Oceans and Under the Sea
Did you know that when I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist? Yep! That was my career plan until I was about five years old and saw The Nutcracker. After that, marine science didn't stand a chance. :-)
I still love everything about the ocean, though, and I think it's a wonderful theme for preschool dance. You can focus on mermaids, tropical fish, sharks, dolphins, coral reefs, or even the icy waters of the Arctic. There are so many different animals and environments to explore that you could easily use this theme for several lessons without running out of ideas.
For younger preschoolers, you might begin by pretending to swim through the ocean, encouraging children to stretch their arms and move through the space with smooth, flowing movements. Then introduce different sea creatures and ask students to explore how each might move. They could glide gracefully like manta rays, move sideways like crabs, or make slow, gentle movements like sea turtles. If you're working on faster and slower movements, you could contrast a quickly swimming fish with a slowly drifting jellyfish.
The ocean is also wonderful for teaching pathways and levels. Students might swim in circles around a coral reef, travel in straight lines across the ocean floor, or explore moving high and low as they pretend to dive toward the bottom of the sea and return to the surface. Scarves can become flowing seaweed, while floor markers or hula hoops can represent coral reefs or underwater caves.
And don't forget about musicality! You might choose soft, flowing music for a peaceful underwater scene and then introduce something faster and more energetic as students pretend a school of fish is swimming through the ocean.
3. Ice Cream Shop
Here's one I think we can all scream for—ice cream!
My students have always loved pretending to visit an ice cream shop, particularly when we're imagining a hot summer day. You can set up an imaginary ice cream stand, truck, or shop at one end of the classroom and have students travel across the floor to order their favorite flavors. This works wonderfully for traveling exercises because it gives children a reason to move from one place to another.
For example, students might march, skip, or practice picked-up runs as they travel to the ice cream shop. When they arrive, they can tell you which flavor they'd like. You could have them return to their starting places using a different traveling movement before the next group takes a turn. This is also a fun opportunity to work on classroom routines and turn-taking, provided the activity is organized so children aren't waiting in line for too long.
Another idea is to have students pretend to be the ice cream! They could begin curled up like little scoops, then grow taller as more scoops are added to their imaginary cones. You might have them balance on one foot while pretending to hold a giant ice cream cone or practice jumps as they become scoops bouncing into a sundae dish.
Circle spot markers make wonderful imaginary scoops of ice cream and can be used for jumping, traveling pathways, or counting activities. Ask students how many scoops they want, then have them jump from one scoop to the next. You can easily introduce colors and counting along with the movement concepts you're teaching.
And if you like incorporating stories, I love Ice Cream from Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel. My boys thought this story was SO funny, especially when Toad's ice cream begins melting all over him and he ends up covered in sticks and other things from the woods! It's such a sweet story and would be a fun addition to an ice cream-themed lesson.
4. Lemonade Stand
Piggybacking on the ice cream shop theme, another favorite is a lemonade stand! This is particularly fun for summer dance camps because you can incorporate decorations, crafts, and even a little pretend business into your activities. But there's no reason you couldn't use it during a regular preschool dance class, too.
Imagine beginning your lesson with students traveling to a lemon grove to pick lemons. They might reach high into imaginary trees, rise onto relevé to reach the tallest branches, and bend their knees to gather lemons that have fallen onto the ground. You could use yellow floor markers or soft pretend lemons as props, then have students carry their lemons carefully back to the lemonade stand.
Once they've collected their lemons, it's time to make lemonade! Students could practice stirring giant pitchers with circular arm movements, stretch tall as they pour their pretend lemonade, or use different movement qualities as they imagine squeezing lemons and adding water. There's also plenty of opportunity to practice counting as children decide how many lemons they need for each pitcher.
If you're teaching a camp, I think this theme could be especially fun for a short parent demonstration. You might set up a pretend lemonade stand, use bright yellow and pink decorations, and have students perform a few of the movement activities they've learned during the week.
And what better way to finish a summer camp than with a glass of lemonade? Maybe even pink lemonade! Of course, if you're serving anything to students, you'll want to check with parents about allergies and your studio's food policies beforehand.
5. Beach Day
What would summer be without a trip to the beach? Even if your studio is nowhere near the ocean, your students can enjoy an imaginary beach day during dance class.
There are several ways you could approach this theme. You might focus on the natural environment, exploring waves, sand dunes, seashells, and animals that live along the shore. Or you could plan an entire day at the beach, from packing a beach bag and traveling to the shore to swimming, building sandcastles, and playing in the waves.
One of my favorite things about a beach theme is that there are so many opportunities to introduce different movement qualities. Students might move slowly and gently as they pretend to be small waves rolling onto the shore, then explore larger, more energetic movements as the waves grow. They could jump over imaginary waves, balance while walking along a narrow path through the sand dunes, or travel across the room as crabs moving sideways along the beach.
You could also use the theme to explore different pathways. Perhaps students follow a winding trail to collect seashells, then travel in straight lines back to their beach blankets. Hula hoops can become imaginary pools of water, while scarves might represent waves or beach towels blowing in the breeze.
If you're planning a beach lesson a few weeks in advance, try asking your students what they enjoy doing at the beach. Have any of them visited the ocean? What did they see? Did they build sandcastles, collect seashells, or jump over waves? Their answers may give you some wonderful ideas for activities that will be particularly meaningful to your class.
And if your students haven't been to the beach, that's perfectly fine! Photographs, storybooks, and a little imagination can help introduce them to a place they may never have visited.
6. Let's Go Camping!
Living in Colorado, I couldn't leave camping off this list! And even if your students have never spent a night in a tent, most preschoolers will enjoy pretending to head into the mountains or forest for an outdoor adventure.
You could begin by having students pack their imaginary backpacks, then set off on a hike around the classroom. This works especially well as a follow-the-leader activity, allowing you to incorporate different traveling movements as students explore the forest. They might march along a trail, step over fallen branches, climb an imaginary hill, or jump across a stream.
Along the way, you can introduce animals they might encounter. Perhaps they see deer moving quietly through the trees, squirrels scampering along branches, or bears walking through the forest. Ask students how each animal moves and encourage them to explore those movements themselves. You can also practice changing directions or moving through different pathways as the hiking trail winds through the woods.
Once you've arrived at your campsite, it's time to set up camp! Students might stretch tall as they raise their imaginary tents, bend down to collect firewood, or balance carefully while carrying supplies. A pretend campfire makes a fun centerpiece for a creative movement activity, and there are some adorable toy campfires available if you'd like to use one as a prop.
And of course, you can't forget the s'mores! Students can pretend to roast marshmallows over the fire, then enjoy their imaginary treats before settling down to watch the stars. If you're using this theme for a summer camp, you could even end the week with real s'mores, provided you have an appropriate food activity planned and have checked for allergies.
This is another theme that works beautifully for teaching levels, pathways, balance, and a variety of traveling movements, all within one continuous story.
7. Rainforest Adventure
Finally, a rainforest adventure is another theme with SO many possibilities! Between the beautiful plants, exotic animals, and different layers of the rainforest, you have plenty of material for imaginative movement activities.
One of my favorite things about this theme is how naturally it lends itself to exploring levels. Rainforests have different layers, from the forest floor to the canopy high above. You can use those layers to encourage students to explore moving low, medium, and high. They might begin as insects crawling along the forest floor, grow tall like trees reaching toward the canopy, and then pretend to be birds flying high above the rainforest.
You can also use the different animals to explore speed and movement qualities. Students might fly quickly like macaws, move slowly like sloths, swing and sway like monkeys, or slither along the ground like snakes. Ask students to think about how each animal moves and what makes its movements different from the others.
For traveling exercises, you might lead students on an imaginary expedition through the rainforest. They'll need to step over fallen branches, jump across streams, and follow winding pathways through the trees. Perhaps they discover a waterfall and take a refreshing swim before continuing their adventure!
I also love the idea of incorporating music with different tempos and qualities throughout the lesson. You might use gentle, slower music for sloths and snakes, then introduce something more energetic for birds flying through the canopy.
And if you're teaching older preschoolers, you can introduce a little information about the rainforest itself along the way. Where are rainforests found? Why do they receive so much rain? What kinds of animals live there? You don't need to turn dance class into a science lesson, but it's always fun when movement activities give children opportunities to learn about the world around them.
Making the Most of Your Preschool Dance Themes
One thing I want to emphasize is that a theme alone doesn't make a good preschool dance lesson. You can have the most wonderful story, adorable props, and beautiful music, but you still need to think about what you're teaching.
Before planning your activities, consider the movement concepts and skills you want students to work on. Are you introducing levels, pathways, balance, jumping, or musicality? Are you reinforcing a particular dance step? Do you want students to practice moving in different directions or responding to changes in music?
Then choose activities within your theme that help accomplish those objectives. For example, if you're teaching a garden theme and want to focus on levels, you might have students begin as seeds growing into flowers. If you're working on traveling movements, perhaps they'll become butterflies flying through the garden. And if your goal is jumping, grasshoppers or rabbits might be a better choice.
You can also use the same theme with different age groups by changing the complexity of the activities. A class of two-year-olds may enjoy simple animal movements and following along with the teacher, while older preschoolers may be ready to explore more specific pathways, movement qualities, and sequences.
And remember, you don't need a huge collection of props or elaborate decorations to make these themes work. Sometimes a few carefully chosen items can help bring a story to life, but often your students' imaginations are all you need.
These are just seven of the many themes you can use in preschool dance classes. I love how much variety they provide, and how easily they can be adapted to different movement objectives and age groups.
What about you? Have you used any of these themes in your own classes? Do you have a favorite preschool dance theme that your students absolutely love?
