Adance session with young children should focus on exploring and developing movement skills related to an idea to be expressed in dance. Discovering possible movement should not be compromised for the sake of rushing children into sequencing movements to create a dance. Instead, it is much better to work at the children's pace and carry planning over two or more sessions.
A dance session should have distinct stages. The one outlined below, based on hedgehogs and the Beatrix Potter character Mrs Tiggywinkle, can be carried out over three or four sessions.
Limit how much you cover in a single session, to allow children time to explore material in depth. At the end of the first three sessions, offer children the chance to sequence some of the movements explored, to prepare them for building up to making a dance in session 4. Don't forget that children will need warming up each week and the chance to reflect on what they did in the previous sessions.
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