As we wind down our Zumbatomic summer program for kids, we'll make sure they remember some of the steps so when they take the music with them, they can practice on their own.

 

I want to make sure they know that playing games and having fun is really what it's all about.  

Did I mention we play games while we take breaks?

We play dancing games like Conga lines after we've learned our new routines.

We congratulate each other on the great job we did.

We show off our skills!

We love to make monster faces!

And we love "rewards" for our hard work and participation. We love Zumbatomic!

We shall see you at our next class!

When we do Zumbatomic with the kids, we sweat, we take breaks, but most of all, we have lots and lots of fun! 

 
We play the freezer game where we punch the snow.  

We have penguin parties!

 

We play games while we take breaks--so we can do it again!

After doing our Zumbatomic routines specifically for kids, we make sure we play a game at the end of our day.  When kids play and have fun, they are healthier and happier!  They are more confident!  They are less likely to be obese, get diabetes, and they build self-esteem.

 

Our kids in Big Bear loved the conga line!

 

We even chased each other in our conga lines!

 

We chased and chased until we got tired and it was time to go!

I'm not sure who has more fun doing Zumbatomic, me or the kids!  We'll see you next week!

I am learning so much teaching Zumbatomic! With little kids, you really have to be animated and focus all your attention on encouraging the kids any way you can. And yet, these kids have taught me sooo much! They really like it, every week they come and join in, shy or not. They like playing the games; they like using the jingly belts, and so on. 

I have also established a little "rewards" system where I've told them if I see that they are "sweating", they may get a "prize" at the end of class.  So far, so good!

Of course, we never "reward" with food or candy.

As we move past the first days of summer, I must tell you how much of a joy it is teaching Zumbatomic for kids in Big Bear! Some of our kids are barely or not quite 4 years old so any encouragement I can give them, I will! I make sure to bring jingling belts to every class which inspires the kids to move and shake.  I also make sure we keep moving throughout the hour we spend together. Time truly flies when we're having fun and playing games together! An hour goes by so fast!