I have a vague idea of what a creative movement class should be like but Im still kind of hazy. Starting in september I will be teaching two creative movement classes. I dont want to be sound like an idiot but can someone just explain to me EXACTLY what creative movement is? Thank you so much.

Well, I don't know if I am explaining this correctly or not....but I would say that you mostly want to work on the motor skills of the very young children in your class. Creative movement is doing this in a fun and creative way. Fun music to go along with your very simple steps (for ballet and tap). Ballet, I start in a circle. We gallop while holding hands. We stay holding hands and pretend that we are a big hot air balloon. We close it (making the sound of the air going out)and all huddling in together, then we blow it back up again, count to three and pop the balloon by dropping our arms (letting go of hands). Make sure you have a helper teacher or assistant!!! Stay in a circle and have them connect their feet in a straddle. Get a little ball and have them roll it to each other and when the person grabs the ball, they can state their favorite color. This teaches them to listen and cooperate by not throwing the ball. This may be difficult, but try having them tickle the persons foot to their right and to their left, while keeping their legs straight in a straddle. They can pretend to tickle the person in front of them by reaching forward in a straddle. This is where your helper will be helpful in keeping their legs straight.

Then I play the princess fairy game where I have them lay on the ground to sleep, when the music starts they wake up ( u can use scarfs ),stretch and dance like a princess. I guide them by showing them how to walk on their tip toes and turn, galloping, using their scarves in a fun way. You can stop the music too and they can freeze. Good for listening!!

Well, those are a few ideas. If you need more please let me know. It will definitly be trial and error, depending on the nature of your students. Good luck!!

visit abcfordance.com and check out the samples listed under the years one and two creative movement. There are several full exercises that you can download the pdfs of and that may help you to get started

So, how did you make out teaching this class?

One thing my little 3 year olds love is at the end we dance to a song called Animal Action by Greg and Steve. They absolutely love it and by the time i put it in, they dance, and we bow, it takes up the last five minutes of class.
For the structured part of class, we stretch and then we do bounce and stretch. We crouch and bounce while we count to 8 in englich, spanish, and french then we strretch to touch our toes and they love that as well.
When going across the flooor try to make stories out of it, if i tell them we are jumping over the shapes to get to ice cream island they seem to be engaged much more.
Hope those few ideas help you vary the class more!