Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
Benny and Bjorn summed it up, as without music and movement what are we? So, with this in mind why not use music and movement as part of your team’s 2022 development plan.
Music and movement are such key areas to children’s learning, but do you know anything about your team’s prior music and movement educational experience as a child or as a teacher and their view of that experience?
As a child, I loved music and movement sessions but as an adult learning to teach ballet I really must admit I was terrified despite all my years as a vocational dance student. Musicality was ingrained in my body and yet as an adult I was made to feel, by the teacher, unmusical and totally useless just because I couldn’t remember the exact way of counting specific rhythms as 1 & a, 2 & a or a 1 & 2 or 1,2 ..... grrrr! I can assure you that your team’s prior experience will impact how they feel when they put on music or get the children to dance. So, now is your chance to change any negative experiences they may have had, as a child or adult, by including music and movement in their personal development plan.
Before you start it is worth thinking about the benefits of your investment in your team’s individual development as this will spur you on.
Implementing and maintaining this support will not only build your team’s confidence in their own abilities but boost morale, create a culture of excellence and improve staff retention. They will feel confident and happy in delivering amazing learning experiences for your children.
Your checklist:
1: Understanding your team’s individual needs
Understand their individual needs by finding out what their prior experiences have been of music and movement. What would have made it better?
Do they understand the benefits to the children with their development in this area?
What do they need to help motivate them to succeed?
How can you help them achieve their goals?
Once you know where they are, and where they want to be, you can start sourcing the best training available for them. Remember one size doesn’t fit all!
2: Make their learning fun
We all know children learn best when they are playing and having fun. Adults are just the same. We also need to enjoy our learning. Otherwise, we are not motivated to learn, let alone implement our new knowledge.
Find a course that will engage and spark their imagination. The enrichment of your team will ultimately, improve the educational provision for all children in your setting.
3: Keep supporting them
Don’t just tick the box and forget about it once the training is over. Keep checking in with your team and watching the children. The children will let you know if things are going well.
Happy children = happy motivated team and vice versa!
Remember your team’s development needs will continue to change as they progress or when new members join the team.
Music, movement, and emotions
Music strikes a chord in everyone’s emotional development as it sparks creativity, expression, and confidence to lead you through life. Movement and music are truly the universal languages of emotion.
Jeanette Bicknell and a group of researchers at Dartmouth College decided to explore the connection between emotion, music, and movement. They started their research with the view that music and movement both share a dynamic structure, and their results strongly suggest that there really is a common structure linking expressive music and movements.
A big question that has been raised from their research is how might the common structure between expressive movement and music have affected human evolution?
Music and movement have played a big part in our evolution as humans not just our own personal development. So, the question I put to you is, what are you are waiting for?
Now is the time to find the music to spark their imagination and motivate them in 2022 and beyond as we all know it’s not just the children who love role-play. Be honest don’t you secretly want to fling on a feather boa, light up the glitter ball and become the Dancing Queen?
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
References
Thank you for the Music
Performed by Abba. Lyrics by Benny Goran Bror Andersson/Bjoern K. Ulvaeus/Stig Erik Leopold Anderson
J. Bicknell. (2013). “Music, Movement and Emotion”, Psychology Today.
Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/why-music-moves-us/201306/music-movement-and-emotion
Dancing Queen
Performed by Abba. Lyrics by Benny Goran Bror Andersson/Bjoern K. Ulvaeus/Stig Erik Leopold Anderson
About the author:
Gina is a dynamic and accomplished educator with a rich background in movement and dance. Initially trained in ballet, she has dedicated the past 27 years to imparting her passion for movement and dance across various educational settings, ranging from mainstream to early years and SEND environments, as well as esteemed dance schools.
About the author:
Gina is a dynamic and accomplished educator with a rich background in movement and dance. Initially trained in ballet, she has dedicated the past 27 years to imparting her passion for movement and dance across various educational settings, ranging from mainstream to early years and SEND environments, as well as esteemed dance schools.
About the author:
Gina is a dynamic and accomplished educator with a rich background in movement and dance. Initially trained in ballet, she has dedicated the past 27 years to imparting her passion for movement and dance across various educational settings, ranging from mainstream to early years and SEND environments, as well as esteemed dance schools.