Music, Creative Movement, and Drama

Critical Thinking Question

1. What songs or nursery rhymes you might use for this purpose?

Music, creative movement or dance activities, and experiences with drama provide natural support for both physical development and aesthetic awareness while simultaneously fostering critical thinking and problem solving through mind-body connections. (Marigliano & Russo, 2011) Listening to music, whether to classical works like Rimsky-Korsakoffs The Flight of the Bumblebee or folk tunes like Shell be Coming Round the Mountain, produces a range of emotional responses. Creative music and movement activities require the child to make perceptual/motor connections in order to move, balance, and develop awareness of space, time, and rhythm (Hendrick & Weissman, 2007).

Extending childrens love of dramatic play to creating or acting out stories provides them with confidence and opportunities for personal expression and communication (Edwards, 2009). Attending musical, dance, or theatrical performances gives children the chance to enjoy and respond to the ways others interpret these artistic disciplines. Creative activities that promote the expression of ideas and feelings are preferable for young children over teaching them prescribed dances, steps, or memorizing/rehearsing lines to perform a scripted play (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009; Hendrick & Weissman, 2007).