3 Easy Peasy Tips for Keeping Preschool Tap Class Under Control

So you have a roomful of girls dressed in pink leotards and boys in black stretchy pants ready for preschool tap class.

It’s adorable. 

Then you put tap shoes on all of their feet. 

The noise escalates. It just gets louder and louder…..

So what’s to keep a teacher from going mad from all the chaos that comes with pairing 4-5 year olds with tap shoes? 

Here are a few ideas that will help you keep your tap class attentive and under control.

Quiet Mice

I find the metaphor of “tiptoeing quietly like mice” especially helpful during times of transition in class. In order to keep the kiddos from thundering like baby elephants through the studio in their exhilaration to have sound machines finally attached to their feet, you’ve got to get creative. If you don’t, the temptation for them to go wild is simply too great. All you teachers are surely nodding your heads in agreement along with me right now. 

So, when my young students are coming back into the classroom after switching out their ballet shoes for tap shoes, this is what I say to them before they even walk through the door: “Okay, tip toe like quiet little mice to your spot. Remember, mice don’t make a single sound.”

I’m sure you all know as well as I how important it is for us teachers to keep things imaginative when we’re in class with kiddos. For more ideas on how to do this, take a look at 3 Fresh Ideas That Make Preschool Tap Class Fun.

Speaking to them before they have the chance to start stomping around gives me a chance to get the idea that their tap shoes are required to remain quiet even upon reaching their place. So much easier than trying to yell it after things have gotten noisy. We all know teachers develop pretty great lungs due to the need for speaking loudly, but there’s no need to use it when you can gain control of your class’ noisiness before it gets to the point where the teacher voice is required. Do yourself a favor and save your voice.

One, Two, Ssshhh

Make a game out of all being silent at the same time. Even though I use this trick in order to teach basic steps, I really play up the idea of it being a game. I start by saying “Do you all want to play a game? Let’s see if on the third part of a flap we can all be totally quiet.”

For example, when you execute a shuffle step say “One, two, sssh.” The ‘one’ is the sound going out. ‘Two’ is the sound coming in. ‘Sssh’ is the working foot going back into place beside the supporting foot.

I also add hands over the mouth to add dramatic effect. It really creates the feeling of needing to be very quiet and the kids love it. 

Hiding From the Monsters

Is it possible to making not tapping out of turn fun? Yes, absolutely!

They love when I form my lesson plan around a story. I’ve therefore found it effective to extend the story telling element to keeping taps quiet between steps. Here’s what I mean: Say that we are doing a Rapunzel-themed class that day. I will say “Okay, now we need to stay nice and quiet. If we’re noisy with our tap shoes, Mother Gothel is going to find us and we’ll never make it to the floating lanterns!”

This works great if you are having the kids go across the floor while the others wait their turn. This will help to keep things nice and quiet! 

I hope these ideas will help to eliminate a little of the inherent chaos that comes along with littles tap.

For more tips, take a look at Teaching Preschool Ballet and Tap.

What are your tips for keeping the noise levels low in your tap classes? Feel free to put them in the comments!