I often get asked about the music I use for therapeutic dance/movement
groups and about what music I use for teaching preschoolers and young children.
Throughout the years, I have had children ask me for music with song content
well beyond their years. Often, songs on the radio are not meant for young
ears. While songs on the radio are “clean” edits with no coarse language, it
does not necessarily mean the language is not sexually explicit.
Movies and television shows have ratings with cautions like
“sexual language and violence,” but songs usually do not come with the same
advisories. At most, the word explicit is written beside the song title or on the
album cover, but no details are given. I have always been extremely meticulous
in choosing music for my classes with children, usually taking hours to create
a playlist. I’m happy to curate music and am thrilled to share what keeps me
moving.
I used to help parents create playlists on CDs for their
children and made my own mixtapes on cassettes (yes, I’m that old). Now that
music is digital, I can easily share a song by sending a link to a video or a
song.
We have multiple dance parties in my home during the week. My girls and I love
gettin’ down to the latest beats. There are only so many times I can listen to
Baby Shark or ABCs before my ears need a break. Below you’ll find some of our
favourite songs to dance to (both new and old school) that adults can enjoy too.
I have also given each song a rating so you can further screen the song lyrics if
you wish.
Click here to listen to Dancing With Littles Vol. 1 directly on Spotify.
Song: Motownphilly Artist: Boyz II Men Rating: G
Song: Doesn’t Mean Anything Artist: Alicia Keys Rating: G
Song: Baby Artist: Justin Bieber, Ludacris Rating: G
Song: Someone You Loved Artist: Lewis Capaldi, Future Humans Rating: G
Song: Better When I’m Dancin’ Artist: Meghan Trainor Rating: G
Song: Don’t Start Now Artist: Dua Lipa Rating: G
Song: Let’s Groove Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire Rating: G
Song: Happy Artist: Pharrell Williams Rating: G
Song: Let’s Get Loud Artist: Jennifer Lopez Rating: G
Song: Move Your Feet Artist: Junior Senior Rating: G
Song: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) Artist: Whitney Houston Rating: G
Song: Viva La Vida Artist: Cold Play Rating: PG, poetic language about the rise and fall of kingdoms
Song: Love You Like A Love Song Artist: Selena Gomez Rating: G
Song: Latch Artist: Disclosure, Sam Smith Rating: G
Song: I’ve Got That Feeling Artist: Greg Sczebel Rating: G
Song: Done For Me Artist: Charlie Puth, Kehlani Rating: PG, describes feeling unappreciated in a relationship
Let me know if you have a favourite song on the list. I’ll be working on another mix to share this coming week. Enjoy dancing with your little ones!
In Movement,
Join me on Instagram for movement and play invitations.
I’m looking for a volunteer to help me with my upcoming Spring Break Camps. If you want to learn about therapeutic dance/movement while working with children, I’d love to have you join me.
Therapeutic Dance/Movement Camp Volunteer
Description: Therapeutic dance/movement is the use of movement to support the growth, development, and integration of an individual’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive wellbeing. The Dance/Movement Volunteer will perform a variety of tasks to support children ages 3-5 and 6-9. Under the supervision of the Dance/Movement Practitioner, the volunteer will help children with special needs participate in daily activities during camp.
Duties and Responsibilities: – Daily set/up and take/down of the room. – Help children with self-help skill such as opening lunches and getting dressed to go outside. – Fully participate in camp activities (music, dance, art, outdoors, etc.), acting as role model for children. – Use positive language and demonstrate empathy to help children with socialization skills. – Assist children in getting to and from the bathroom. – Ensure safety of the children at all times. – Report any health and safety concerns to the Dance/Movement Practitioner.
Requirements: – Minimum of 15 years old. – Experience working with children ages 3-10. – Criminal record check clearance including vulnerable sectors. – Dance, gymnastics, or artistic movement background is an asset, but not required.
Time Commitment: Week 1: Ages 3-5 Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20 9:15am-12:15pm daily
Week 2: Ages 6-9 Monday, March 23 to Friday, March 27 9:15am – 1:45pm daily
October is
pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. Pregnancy loss occurs in one of
every four pregnancies, though is still not often spoken about. Having experienced
two miscarriages myself, I can attest to the toll pregnancy loss takes on the
body. Unlike how miscarriages are portrayed in the movies, where the character is rushed to the hospital and the scene ends in 10 seconds, a miscarriage can take weeks to complete. Not only can the physical pain be paralyzing, but the emotional pain is equally as immobilizing.
Recent research is revealing that experiencing a miscarriage can cause PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Dr. John Mayer claims, “Miscarriage is an extreme trauma…breaking that trauma down even further, it is physical, emotional, and social” (Mayer, 2016 as cited in Miller, 2016). I agree miscarriage is a multi-layered, complex trauma. Levine (1997) describes PTSD symptoms as “fundamentally, incomplete physiological response suspended in fear” (p. 34). How do we begin to heal when we are feeling suspended, frozen, or trapped within our own bodies? In my experience, healing begins by moving through the pain and fear.
Unfortunately,
pregnancy loss and infant loss is still a taboo subject. As a society, we find
it difficult to talk about death, especially the death of a child. The societal
norm of minimizing pregnancy loss contributes to the lack of movement required
in healing. After my first miscarriage, I had no idea what to do with myself. I
was in complete shock and felt numb, yet I went to work and carried on with
life because I thought I was “supposed” to. In reality, I was experiencing many
symptoms other women experience during pregnancy loss:
fatigue
lack
of concentration
lack
of interest in daily activities
loss
of appetite
isolation
low
mood/depression
anxiety
Miscarriage is hollowing – physically,
emotionally, and socially.
The journey to healing has no timeline, nor is it linear. A realistic depiction of healing looks more like a rollercoaster – it goes up, down, around, upside-down, and starts again. Finding healing may be fast or it may be slow. Healing is not linear. Here are a few things I found helpful:
Finding Physical Movement Though it may be difficult to get physically moving, no movement is too small. While we may think of movement as a large gesture, movement can be as simple as breathing, talking, or writing.
Breathing may sound simple, but when we are in the midst of processing emotions, we often “forget” to breathe. The parasympathetic division of our nervous system helps slow our heart rate and allows the body to rest and heal. One way to activate the parasympathetic system is by intentionally extending your exhale. Box breathing is a technique I have used.
Taking breath-work one step further, you can intentionally send your breath to places in your body that may require breath (ie. ribs, shoulders, or specific organs). When I visualized my breath travelling through my body, the movement of breath is accentuated and tension begins to melt.
Sharing my story was by far the best way to create movement for my grief. Whether it was with friends or my care team, speaking about my experience helped me move through the pain and the fear I embodied. Sometimes it felt as if I was moving backwards, but moving was better than feeling stuck.
Finding Emotional Movement By allowing myself to talk about the miscarriages, all the emotions associated with the losses were free. I no longer had to suppress my feelings to fit the societal expectations I had imagined.
Dan Siegel claims we must “feel it to heal it.” When we can correctly name our emotions, we begin to calm both physiologically and psychologically. The irony of suppressing my grief, anger, confusion, and shame, was that I was suppressing my healing.
The grief of losing a child is unlike any grief I have ever experienced. Speaking to a professional supported the emotional processing that was too heavy to carry on my own. In addition to the support of a therapist, I was fortunate my doctor initiated regular appointments for miscarriage care and always included mental health as a priority.
Finding Social Movement Pregnancy loss can be incredibly isolating. Often, we wait until 12 weeks of pregnancy before sharing the news we are expecting. This often leaves women or couples feeling alone to battle the devastation of losing their child during the early stages of pregnancy. Unfortunately, I have learned the sad reality that there is no “safe” time during a pregnancy. The reality is pregnancy losses can happen at six weeks or 36 weeks.
Being supported by a community is what helped my husband and me through our losses. What I learned is people want to help, but don’t know how. When I found the courage to ask for help with a meal or a grocery run, I was overwhelmed by the support. We are thankful for friends and family who often left meals and goodies at our doorstep.
Finding a pregnancy loss support group let me know I was not alone. I met women who shared their losses that happened 20 years ago. It was healing for me to listen to how grief evolved for individuals and how each mother honoured their baby.
No matter where you are in your journey after pregnancy loss, know you are not alone. If you are supporting a loved one through pregnancy loss, know you are not alone. Whether you are taking your first breath to honour your angel baby or have been honouring your angel baby for 20 years, I hope that you make space to acknowledge the unique movement of your healing journey. May you continue to find gentleness and grace for yourself physically, emotionally, and socially.
References: Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma : the innate capacity to transform overwhelming experiences. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
Welcome to my corner of the web. I’m so glad you found your way here. If you have been following my stories for a while, I’m honoured you have continued to read along. As you can see, I’ve shifted over to a new website and I wanted to take the time to say welcome to my new space and introduce myself.
I began my dance journey in 2002 and have studied extensively in Hip Hop and street styles. Getting lost in a good beat is something that happens naturally for me (even if I’m in line at the grocery store. Ask my husband how many times I’ve embarrassed him). Dance has landed me some incredible opportunities such as performing at CFL half time shows, the 2010 Olympic Closing Ceremony, and internationally at the Macau Youth Dance Festival. I have had the privilege to learn from the pioneers of popping and locking. If you spend enough time with me, you will likely catch me moving to my internal rhythms. By nature I am a freestyler, moving to anything that compels me to move.
With Sho Tyme and Popping Pete (member of Electric Boogaloos, pioneers of Popping).With Greg Campbellock Jr (member of The Lockers, pioneers of Locking).
My experiences
as an early childhood educator began in 2005. I have worked with a large range
of families with diverse needs. Some areas I have supported families in are
developmental delays, early childhood mental health, family trauma, and
neurological differences (autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, etc.). My roles in the early years field have ranged
from working directly with children in programs, managing and coordinating
programs, consulting, and offering professional development. I have always had
a heart for programming and finding creative ways to support child growth and
development.
Professional development offering on the benefits of sensory play.
Nothing contributes to my work more than my experiences as a mom. When I became a parent, my work shifted and so did my empathy and understanding for families. Noticing more and more children requiring support with social and emotional development inspired me to return to school. I am currently working towards credentials to journey alongside families as a mental health clinician. I’m excited to combine my passions of early childhood development and dance as I work towards becoming a dance/movement therapist.
This new blog space will be a blend of me sharing my learning both personally and professionally. You can expect to read about where I’m offering therapeutic dance/movement sessions, how I’m implementing the mind-body connection with my daughters, and how the body plays a role in processing emotions and life events. In the past, I have also written about questions from the community, so feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or if you just want to say hi. I’d love to hear from you.
