Creative Kids Movement Network Makes Room For Family Wellness
Creative Kids Movement Network brings dance, yoga, and fitness into schools and homes to support family wellness and connection.
Between school drop-offs, work commitments, household responsibilities, and family time, finding room for wellness can be a challenge for parents. Children may benefit from opportunities to move, play, and explore, yet adding another extracurricular activity can mean reorganizing an already full day.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Children, preschoolers benefit from physical activity throughout the day, while children ages 6–17 should aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily. These recommendations offer a useful starting point for considering how movement might become part of everyday family life.
Making Movement Part Of The School Day
Creative Kids Movement Network (CKMN), a children’s enrichment and wellness company founded by Kate DeBiase in 1998, brings dance, yoga, and fitness programs directly to daycares, nursery schools, and elementary schools. Serving children ages 2–10, the organization offers structured activities during the school day, giving families additional opportunities to incorporate movement into existing routines. Its developing digital platform, Moms & Kids Fitness, extends these opportunities into the home, with classes designed for children, mothers, and families who want to move together.
The idea behind this model is practical. Kate says, “Wellness may be easier to maintain when it fits into the life a family already leads. On-site classes allow children to explore movement during childcare hours, while parents can consider their evening time for other priorities.” She notes that for children, these experiences can introduce physical activity as an opportunity to learn, create, and connect with others.
Kate’s experience building CKMN reflects this perspective. Her curriculum combines structured instruction with imaginative activities, introducing children to movement through different forms of expression. Dance classes incorporate ballet, jazz, tap, and creative movement, helping participants explore coordination, musicality, and collaboration. Yoga classes use songs, games, and props to introduce breathing exercises, concentration, and self-regulation. Mini Movers, designed for younger children, combines storytelling, stretching, and playful exercises to encourage balance, agility, and gross motor development.
Each class offers a different opportunity for discovery. Learning a dance sequence can encourage memory and coordination, while practicing a yoga pose may help children develop body awareness and explore ways to regulate their emotions. Group activities also create opportunities to listen, take turns, and cooperate with peers. “Through this combination of physical and imaginative learning, we want to make movement a meaningful part of early childhood development,” Kate states.
Bringing Family Fitness Home
The Moms & Kids Fitness app brings together dance, yoga, and fitness videos for different ages, alongside dedicated classes for mothers lasting 20 minutes or less. Children can explore movement independently, mothers can find time for a short workout, and families can choose activities to enjoy together. The format offers flexibility for parents who want additional wellness resources that accommodate the time available in their day.
The app also extends the relationship between local instructors and the families they serve. Children may recognize instructors from their in-person classes, allowing familiar activities to continue at home. With new videos planned monthly, families can explore additional content, while CKMN’s online community shares wellness tips, recipes, and activity ideas through initiatives such as Movement Mondays and Wisdom Wednesdays.
Building Connections Through Local Partnerships
For Alex DeBiase, CKMN’s vice president of business development, community relationships are an important part of the organization’s work. Drawing on his experience in sales and operations, he helps develop partnerships with childcare providers and resources that support franchise owners.
“There’s something powerful about building a business that connects directly with communities,” Alex explains. “It creates an opportunity to support children, partner with educators, and help others step into business ownership with a clear framework.”
That connection extends to the company’s franchise model, which enables entrepreneurs to deliver programs at childcare centers and schools. Franchisees receive curriculum materials, training, marketing resources, registration tools, and ongoing coaching. The mobile format allows them to work with local institutions while building relationships with families and educators in their territories.
For Kate, sharing the business model also reflects lessons from her own entrepreneurial experience. After developing CKMN over many years, she established a framework intended to help others bring movement-based enrichment to their communities.
“I can only imagine how invaluable it would have been to have everything clearly laid out for me from the start of CKMN,” Kate says. “I’d love to work with you and help put you on the right path to building a successful business doing what you love.”
Her perspective highlights another dimension of family wellness: the people who make opportunities for movement possible. Local franchise owners can introduce programs to childcare providers, while schools gain additional options for enriching children’s daily experiences. For entrepreneurs, the model may also offer a way to combine business ownership with community involvement.
Essentially, CKMN’s work explores how wellness can become part of family life through accessible, everyday opportunities. A dance class at daycare, a short yoga session at home, or a shared fitness activity can give children and parents another way to connect through movement. By bringing programming into familiar settings and extending it through digital resources, Kate and Alex DeBiase are developing a model built around a simple aspiration: helping children move, families find opportunities for well-being, and communities create more space for both.
BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
