Education Technology is opening up new avenues to learning. Research in Neuroscience is starting to shift our perceptions on the best way to ‘teach’ and ‘learn’. The spotlight on health and wellbeing is at the top of government agenda, with maths anxiety in children becoming a big problem that needs addressing urgently.
Rebecca Hart, Founder and CEO of dance education company Dance Equation has been offering fun and educational school sessions online during lockdown. “these sessions were a way of helping children keep fit and have a bit of fun with maths whilst they were homeschooling”
Rebecca founded Dance Equation in 2001 and has since worked with over 40,000 children in 430 schools up and down the country. Rebecca has now created a learning programme for toddlers and preschoolers called Dancing Digits, where youngsters bounce around to music and learn the foundations of maths through active and creative experiences.
Rebecca said: “Our world is changing dramatically and education needs to keep up. In an attempt to equip our future skills force, society is putting more pressure on children. The unfortunate results of this include a rise in maths anxiety; childhood obesity and mental health.
“We help children become happy about Maths from the beginning with our fun and engaging movement, music and maths activities. Children become friends with numbers, they jump and count, they develop spatial awareness, make positive interaction with everyone in the class and bounce around to music!”
Children are encouraged to make number shapes with their bodies, shout out the maths in rhythm and rhyme, dance along a number line and lots more. Some of the classes are designed for parents to join in too get involved too - so there are no excuses not to get moving.
Rebecca said: “Dancing Digits helps children engage with learning the way they want to - through immersive, fun, physical, creative and multi-sensory activities. The give children a space to play, to engage with others and learn by ‘doing’. They practise things at their own pace and, most importantly, it is aligned with their natural instincts – to move, make a noise and connect their minds and bodies whilst learning.”
As a way to help parents support their children to get ‘school ready’ they are starting their real life, in-person classes for toddlers and preschoolers after Easter.
