Preschool Tap Class: 3 Fresh Ideas For Keeping Your Kiddos Engaged

Keep the kids engaged during tap class!

Okay, so you have flaps, heel toe walks, shuffles. But as every dance teacher knows, you need something pretty powerful to grab your kids’ attention in preschool tap class.

So, is is possible to keep those little ones engaged in preschool tap class while still teaching them the fundamentals? Of course! More than likely, you’ve developed a few activities of your own. However, you can never have too many options when it comes to great class ideas. 

But perhaps the ones that have become you’re go-tos need a break. Something can be fun and diverting to kids for a while. However, eventually the kids will grow tired of it if repeated too many times. Their little brains are like sponges. Although some repetition is awesome since it allows them to develop the skills being taught by the activity, it can get boring after a while. 

When it comes to choosing new games and activities to present to my tap kiddos, here are the aspects I consider most crucial. The activity’s ability to increase technical skill, keep the children’s attention, portray a concept, and ensure that my little half-pint dancers have fun. 

I am so excited to share a few great activities and games with you today that accomplish everything on this list. Are you ready to discover these new exercises and games that will keep “Squirrel!” moments from happening in the middle of your lesson? Wait no longer because here they are: 

Baby Shark

My preschool tap class kids go crazy over this song. Apart from the joy this song is met with whenever it reaches a child’s ears, the structure of the verses lends itself to having each part assigned to a particular step. It may be played everywhere, but it was just made for tap class! Here is how I do it:

• Baby Shark: Tip toes in place. Remember, no heels on the ground! *Bonus: putting the hands on hips and alternating which shoulder is forward is also a mini coordination lesson that eliminates arms swinging out of control.
• Mommy Shark: Toe taps to the front. Like piques, but of course they are in tap shoes. 
• Daddy Shark: Flaps
• Grandma Shark: Heel toe walks around their dot.
• Grandpa Shark: Big stamps or marching, both the heel and the toe on the ground. This is generally my kids’ favorite as it gives them permission to be noisy.
• Let’s Go Hunt: Heel to the side and stamp.
• Run Away: Skips. Another chance to be noisy and can be done all over the room to give the kiddos a moment of freedom. 
• Safe At Last: Alternating side toe taps. Heels remain on the ground while the students focus only one foot at a time.

Besides the fact that this dance gets multiple tap dancing skills all into one exercise, it also doubles as a memory game. I like to say the names of the sharks once or twice through in a random order before we start the music to see which child can show me the tap step that goes with that shark first. 

A new spin on this song makes it a fresh idea for your next class while the wild success of the tune guarantees enthusiasm. 

Check out the Baby Shark song on Spotify! While you’re at it, set up tons of playlists that make navigating any type of dance class easy with Spotify Premium! It’s seriously a dance teacher’s best friend. 

Heel Toe Walks Around the Parachute

I have found that though heel toe walks seem to be a fairly easy concept, it’s a hard thing for a number of my kiddos to grasp. Then, if you add the challenge of walking on the music and keeping arms under control (I usually do hands on hips), it takes even more practice. 

Therefore, I found that I needed an alternative to just doing heel toe walks across the floor or toward the mirror and back. This led me to combine this exercise with something that receives squeals of delight no matter how many times it has been used in the past: the parachute. 

For this exercise I have the students help me stretch out the parachute until it’s flat, ensuring that each child has a handle to hold. Once everyone is set, I tell them a secret word. Perhaps elephant or butterfly or Frozen. The deal is that once we start our heel toe walks around the parachute, I will say a series of words and they are only allowed to stop and grab a handle when they hear that magic word. 

Then, we all stand up and start doing our heel toe walks around the parachute, making sure that our hands are on our hips and we are listening to the music. 

Once we’ve done a couple 8 counts of heel toe walks, I start saying random words like “Elsa!” or “Unicorn!” or “Cookies!”–anything but the magic word, keeping them in suspense. 

When I say the magic word, all the kids grab their handles, we count to three together and lift the parachute in unison, going underneath and sitting down, creating a tent. I call it something different depending on what theme I am using. For example, I might say it’s the ocean if we are doing a Little Mermaid themed class or a rabbit hole if we are pretending to be Alice in Wonderland. I love that it fits any theme!

HELPFUL HINT

I’ve found it helpful to remind the kids to hold tight to their handle even once they are underneath the parachute. If one lets go the whole thing deflates!

Tap War

Remember how much fun it was to do thumb wars with your friends in school? Well, now you can bring the same excitement to tap class! 

Have the children make a circle. Everyone should be facing in toward each other. I find it easiest to have everyone’s hands on their hips. 

While singing the song “One, two, three, four, I declare a tap war. Five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your toes awake!” the kids taps their toes in toward the circle. I stand in the middle and spin slowly with my eyes shut. 

On the word “Awake! That’s when I open my eyes. The child I’m pointing to gets to do whatever tap move I tell him or her. If the student does it correctly, he or she gets to take my place in the middle. He or she spins and chooses a tap move for his or her friend the next time around. If the child chosen does not do it correctly, the child beside him or her is given a chance. 

This is another great way to review moves and practice vocabulary, but still change things up. 

Liven things up a little next week in tap class by trying out one of these fresh ideas.

Like these ideas and want more? Take a look at:

Teaching Preschool Ballet and Tap Classes

3 Tips for Keeping Preschool Tap Class Under Control

Teaching Preschool Ballet and Tap.

What are your go-to 4-5 year old tap class activities! Please share in the comments!