When your students have mastered the 16 basic rhythmic motor skills of sliding, leaping, prancing, galloping, and skipping, challenge them with these combinations. It makes them seem like little dances and can be done in diagonal lines across the room, corner to corner. Arms stretched out to the sides help keep balance.

Rather than move across the room single file, I like to pair up a stronger with a weaker student. This can help your learning disabled students master these large rhythmic motor skills.

For descriptions and illustrations of how to do the motor skills click here:
Rhythmic Motor Skills for Preschoolers
Intermediate Rhythmic Motor Skills for School Age Children
Advanced Rhythmic Motor Skills for School Age Children

Combination 1.
slide, slide, slide, slide, & skip, skip, skip, skip,
& slide, slide, slide, slide, & skip, skip, skip, skip, &...
Clap: tum, tum, tum, tum, & tum ta, tum ta, tum ta, tum ta,
& tum, tum, tum, tum, & tum ta, tum ta, tum ta, tum ta, &...

Combination 2.
prance, prance, prance, prance, & gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,
& prance, prance, prance, prance, & gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop, &...
Clap: tum, tum, tum, tum, & ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, ta tum,
& tum, tum, tum, tum, & ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, &...

Combination 3.
leap, leap, leap, leap, & gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,
& leap, leap, leap, leap, & gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop, &...
Clap: tum, tum, tum, tum, & ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, ta tum,
& tum, tum, tum, tum, & ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, ta tum, &...

Recommended texts

Rhythms and Dances for School Age Kids
For grades K-12 in 100 pages, how to teach 16 rhythmic dance steps illustrated and described, plus 9 little dances, 18 ABA and other sequencing combinations, and 4 advanced group dances - for learning kinesthetically about math sets, sequencing, and language phrasing and rhythms. Can be adapted for special needs kids.


Rhythms and Dances for Toddlers and Preschoolers
How to teach toddlers and preschoolers rhythms, floor exercises, large motor skills, expressive dance, kinesthetic mini-lessons and full dances in a 98 pages including photos and illustrations.


Article by Susan Kramer