If you are finding it harder to get your kids to move anymore, finding some fun dance games for kids is exactly what you need. They will have an absolute blast playing and you can even join in to burn a few calories if you choose.
11 Dance Games For Kids
Ever since I was little I have loved to dance, although I am not very good at it. Over the years I have used dance as a stress reliever especially when times seem a little more stressful than normal. One of my favorite things to do is dancing in the kitchen while making dinner. My kids normally join in with me and we have such a fun time laughing and playing.
We use dance as a way to have fun! I love it because it is essentially free, perfect exercise for the kids, and is a great way to bond with one another. We have played so many fun dance games in our house that is why I am super excited to have some fun dance games for kids with you so you can have fun moving and grooving too!
#1. Follow the Leader
Everyone loves a good game of follow the leader so why not carry this into a fun dance game!
To play you will have one person who is it. That person will then create a fun dance move. For younger kids, you can have it be a simple dance move, but for older kids, it can be pretty complex. Once the person who is it has shown us all how to do the dance move we must do our best to recreate it on our own. We each go separately so that the leader can watch. The person that does it the best, wins.
Here is an insider tip for playing this game, going last does not help because you just overanalyze everyone else doing it (probably wrong) so you pick up on their mistakes as well.
With this fun game, you are pretty much guaranteed a million laughs trying to recreate some pretty fantastic dance moves.
2. Spotlight Dancing
Your kids are absolutely going to love spotlight dancing. This game is pretty similar to musical chairs. All you need is some music, a flashlight, and a place to dance.
To begin you are going to need a DJ, the person who controls the music, and a spotlight person, and a bunch of kids ready to dance.
When the music begins all the kids will begin dancing on the floor. As they dance the person with the spotlight will be blindfolded and moving the spotlight around the room. Once the music stops all the dancers freeze, and whoever the spotlight is shining on they are out. This continues until there is only one dancer left standing who is the winner. The kids will love playing this over and over again.
If you find yourself without enough people to play you can always play music and have one person control a bunch of flashlights and make a really cool dance floor!
#3. Hula Hoop Dance
The hula is a tradition from Hawaii. It is absolutely amazing how they can hula for such a long time! Bring that same excitement for the hula with this fun hula dance game. You will want to get a hula hoop for every child who will be playing. If you don’t have enough hula hoops for everyone, you want to make sure you have at least 3-4 so the kids can compete against one another.
Turn on some fun hula music and everyone begins hula hooping. The person that can hula hoop the longest wins and stays in for the next round.
If you are playing with younger kids it may be difficult for them to hula hoop so you might want to modify it so they can hula hoop on their arm as well if needed.
4. Hula Dance
While you are playing your fun hula hoop dance game why not end with a fun hula. Teach the kids the beauty and art of hula and how the hula dance actually tells a story. Create a story with the kids through hula and share it with friends and family.
#5. Body Part Dancing
In this game, you will want to get everyone in a circle and start some music. The leader of the game will start dancing a certain body part, say their right leg. Everyone in the group will follow them and dance their right leg the same way. After a few seconds (usually about 10-15) they will pass the dance to someone else who has to pick something else to do with their right leg that everyone will follow. The whole group follows this before it is passed to someone else. Play continues until everyone has had the chance to lead that same body part before moving on to another part of your body, but here’s the catch! You can’t repeat a dance move or you are out! Kids love this dance game and beg to play it over and over again.
#6. Balloon Dance
Everyone loves a good balloon game, so why not create a fun balloon dance game! Turn on the music, dance around and see how long you can keep the balloon in the air without it touching the ground. The person who can keep the balloon from touching the ground the longest wins.
#7. Shake a Leg
If you are looking for a fun dance game for kids that helps them interact then this is the game for you!
To play this game you will want to write everyone’s name on a separate piece of paper. Then you will draw two names out of the hat who now become partners. Do this until there are no more names in the hat. Tell them that they have 5 minutes to create a fun dance and pick the music to it so they have to be fast.
Once the 5 minutes are up everyone will present their dance to the judges where they are given a score. The team with the highest score wins. This is one of those fun dance games you can play over and over again.
#8. Emotions Dance
If you want to teach kids to listen to music and interpret the music that they hear this emotions dance game is great. You will want to create a playlist of all kinds of different genres of music.
Once you have your playlist made explain to the kids that they want to listen to the music and create a dance by how they feel when they hear the music.
As you turn on the first song watch the kids listen and become one with music. After the music has played for a bit pause it and have the kids shout out what emotion they are feeling.
This is a great game to help kids start to understand emotions on a deeper level.
#9. Freeze Dance
I think when kids hear the word freeze they naturally get excited! In our house, we love freeze dance. To play this game you will need to have a DJ (this can switch after each game) and then you will have a bunch of dancers. When the music is on everyone is dancing, but as soon as the music stops you must freeze. If you are caught still moving then you are out until the next round. Although this may seem easy to freeze at any moment it is much harder than you think because freezing in the middle of a dance move is pretty tricky!
#10. Beat Jump
If your kids are full of energy all the time you will want to introduce them to beat jump! This game is perfect for the most active child in the room and even the shyest child in the room.
To begin you will want to find some music that has a really good beat. Then you will start the music each time your child hears the beat they must jump. This may require them to patiently wait or figure out how to quickly jump without missing a beat on a fast song.
You are guaranteed with beat jump that your kids will be laughing, having fun, and exhausted by the time the song is over.
11. Ribbon Dance
Gran some dowel sticks and tie some really long ribbons to them for this dance game. Once you have created your dance ribbons the music will begin. As you listen to the music you will dance twirl, and move all while moving your ribbons all about. Your kids will love the beautiful patterns the ribbons make as they spin around the room. This is perfect for kids to do on their own to get some energy out.
What fun dance games for kids do you love? Share in the comments so we can add it to the list!