Dance, Freeze, Say Cheese!

Kids dance freely to music; when it stops, the teacher pulls out a pretend camera, says what the photo is (beach, birthday, superheroes), and everyone freezes in a pose on “Say cheese!” It builds stopping on a signal, attention, and expression.

How to play

1. Children spread out, each with their own space. Show your “camera” by making a frame with your hands (30 s).
2. Say: “When the music plays, dance any way you like. When it stops, I’ll tell you what the photo is, we count to three, and say cheese!” Play music for 20–30 seconds.
3. First stop: “Beach photo.” Count “one, two, three,” and everyone says “Cheese!” frozen in a pose: sunbathing, holding a bucket, swimming (30 s).
4. Keep alternating dance and photos: birthday blowing out candles, superheroes flying, sleeping in bed, freezing cold (3 min).
5. Every few rounds, change how they dance: very slowly, hopping, low to the ground, or spinning.
6. Final group photo: everyone gathers in front of you without pushing and poses together for “Cheese!” (1 min).

Rules

• Nobody is out: if you wiggle in the photo, you keep playing.
• Dance without touching anyone.
• When the music stops, stay where you are.
• For the group photo, come together slowly, no pushing.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: dance with arms and upper body and pose from a wheelchair or sitting.
• Autism or hearing loss: show each photo theme with a picture and signal the stop by lowering your hand.
• More skilled kids pose balancing on one foot; less skilled kids copy a classmate’s pose.

Learning goals

• Stop moving on a signal and hold still.
• Act out everyday situations with the body.
• Dance through space while respecting others.

Equipment for a class of 25

• music

Teacher tip

Always make the camera gesture the same way: it becomes a visual stop signal. If you like, show a real class photo on the screen at the end.

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