Danceplay: Creative Movement for Very Young Children - Softcover

The creation of a professional therapist and former dancer, Danceplay brings to parents a new and wonderful way for interacting with their very young children--even before verbal exchange has fully begun. Designed for eighteen-month--to four-year-olds--and their mothers and fathers--it is a stimulating approach to fostering a child's social and intellectual growth through creative physical play. The exercises, based on the insights and knowledge of developmental psychologists, progress from simple movements suitable for the eighteen-month-old, to sequences involving complex ideas and actions for the four-year-old. Levell One begins with stretching adn limbering and gradually moves to an exploration of the body and its parts. In Level Two the child learns to distinguish self from environment through a variety of danceplays. And the focus of Level Three is integration, as games, music, and movement develop the ability to percieve a situation as a complex experience. Touching is emphasized throughout, and the fun and sharing add immeasurably to the everyday interaction between parent and child. Charming line drawings illustrate an easy-to-follow text, and necessary equipment is limited to simple household items. It is difficult to imagine an easier, more pleasurable way to help your child develop as he or she grows.

A former professional dancer, Dr. Diane Lynch Fraser has worked as a therapist for young children and their families for more than twenty years. She is the author of eight books on human development, four of which detail the power of nonverbal communication with young children. A frequent television guest and lecturer, Dr. Fraser lives in Cedarhurst, New York and Ganties, France with her new husband, fine artist, Guido Goedheer, and her two children, Skye and Jared.