Dear Readers,
If you have children or grandchildren who are about 7-11 years old, or if you know any children in this age range, then please consider a fun way for them to learn valuable physical and mental skills on demand at MarieKube.Zumba.com. The Zumba® Kids program inspires kids to express themselves through movement and play while improving their overall health and well-being. In addition, I, a licensed Zumba® Kids instructor, have teamed up with an expert in anatomy who has more than 10 years of experience teaching anatomy at a Community College, to create Zumba® Kids classes that make learning anatomy fun and easy.
Best of all, access is free right now at MarieKube.Zumba.com (donations are gratefully accepted, but not required). Each class includes warm-up, follow along dancing to popular rhythms (e.g., Merengue, Reggaeton, Flamenco and Cumbia), cultural exploration, dance breaking down steps to a popular rhythm, anatomy of movement game with special guests Dr. Michael and “The Skeleton,” and cool down stretching.
Did you know that children of ages 5-12 need at least 60 minutes, and up to several hours, of age-appropriate physical activity on all or most days of the week, according to the Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)?
Zumba® Kids classes are fun and entertaining, offering music along with movements that are easy to do to help achieve physical activity goals. Regular exercise provides many benefits. For example, exercising regularly can improve academic performance (Tomporowski PD, Davis CL, Miller PH, Naglieri JA. Exercise and Children’s Intelligence, Cognition, and Academic Achievement. Educ Psychol Rev. 2008;20(2):111-131. doi:10.1007/s10648-007-9057-0). In addition, regular exercise can increase metabolism resulting in a leaner body composition and a lower likelihood of being overweight. Exercise can improve self-confidence, memory, and ability to concentrate and focus. Regular exercise can also improve mood and posture. Kids who exercise regularly may sleep better and handle physical and emotional challenges better. A healthy lifestyle at a young age can promote continued good health and reduce the risks for chronic diseases. Physical activity can even be an alternative treatment for ADHD in children (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120518132812.htm).
In addition to movement and music, Zumba® Kids classes also offer education. In each class, a new culture is explored relating to a rhythm to which movements are being learned. Each class also includes a game, and I have teamed up with Dr. Michael Klug, Ph.D. to make anatomy of movement games.
Why should kids learn anatomy? Just as it is easier to learn languages when young, it is also much easier for young people to learn anatomy. Indeed, anatomy is a language of its own. Youth are like sponges eager to soak up new knowledge and vocabulary. Knowing anatomy is incredibly valuable for anyone who wants to work in the field of healthcare, and these are the jobs that are most in demand in the USA and elsewhere. Understanding anatomy of movement is also important for fitness professionals and can help to avoid injury. We all have bones and muscles, so why not know something about them?
Take advantage now of this unique opportunity to learn and have fun with two interesting Ph.D. biologists at MarieKube.Zumba.com! I have more than 20 years of dance training, mostly ballet and also social dancing and some ballroom dancing. I also have experience as a 5th grade substitute teacher. Especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zumba® Kids classes can complement home schooling to help meet physical activity goals and make up for the decline in physical education in the USA and elsewhere.
Please leave comments after the class to give us feedback. Below is a video preview of a Zumba Kids class with Dr. Marie.
Love, Marie
@MarieKubeZumba