With the continuous development of education in China, preschool education is also constantly improving. Nowadays, preschool education is gradually improving in curriculum, teaching staff construction, teaching software and hardware equipment, which provides more possibilities for children's development. Dance class provides a space for some children who have the potential to dance and love art since childhood, and plays an important role in early childhood education. This paper will discuss the importance of children's dance in early childhood education, hoping to further enhance the attention of front-line teachers to dance education and improve the educational effect.

Keywords: children dance; Early childhood education; meaning

Dance is a form of artistic expression. For preschool children, dancing can exercise their bodies and temper their will, which plays an important role in actively cultivating their hobbies and establishing their character. Preschool teachers should re-recognize dance teaching, give full play to the multi-faceted role of education, and lay a good foundation for the all-round development of children. Specifically, the importance of children's dance education is reflected in the following aspects.

First, children's dance helps to improve children's physical fitness.

Children dance is a kind of dance created according to the behavioral and psychological characteristics of preschool children, which has the characteristics of cheerfulness and strong sense of rhythm. In the teaching process, whether it is the training of basic skills or participating in group dance performances, it is the exercise of children's physical function. For young children, they are at an important stage of growth and bone development. Participating in dance exercises can promote their muscle and bone development, improve their health, and have stronger physique and higher physical quality. In the process of dancing, the child's limbs are in an active state, the heartbeat is accelerated, and blood circulation is promoted. At the same time, dance needs the coordination ability of children's limbs, hands and brain, and will correct some bad behavior habits and incorrect walking, walking and sitting posture from an early age, such as walking "straight turn" and "O-leg", so that children can have a strong body shape in the future.

Secondly, children dance helps to promote children's mental health.

Undoubtedly, dance is an active sport, and all participants will get physical and mental pleasure and spiritual enjoyment in this process. Nowadays, under the influence of parents, some children have been exposed to some electronic devices since childhood, and tablets and games have become their entertainment. The establishment of these hobbies makes it easy for them not to play with things, which is not conducive to children's eyesight health. Dance, an educational activity that helps children's physical and mental health development and integrates entertainment, exercise and education functions, has an inestimable impact on children's mental health. While dancing, with the music playing, children are in such a positive mood that they will naturally be exposed and bathed in their hearts. For example, when the teacher plays the song "Where is Spring?". Children dance in the background of music, imagine the revival of everything in spring, and express their pleasant experience in the form of body movements, realizing the unity of soul and dance and successfully realizing a profound ideological education and mental health education.