Week 8 Reflection

I found the theories and ideas in this week’s reading really interesting and valuable. The concept raised in the readings is that children’s play and expression through the arts can be seen as their reflection or construction of reality. Through play, children represent and are able to express the realities that are true to them (Wright, 2011).


The activities we did in class today included a lot of free dance, free musical experimentation and singing where children can use and reflect on what they know and what they have seen and experience and reflect that through the way they move. For example one song/dance that we did was an Iranian middle eastern-style dance where we were able to dance however we like during parts of the song. A child participating in this dance is able to express themselves through movement and through singing. 

The reading also emphasized that the communicative and symbolic nature of exploratory play, dance and music is often not really considered or emphasized in schools. In class this week, we were asked to come up with a short melody on the marimbas using seven notes. Although this is a very basic musical task, through our 7 note melody it was possible to construct a melody that expressed happiness, joy, sadness or anger or perhaps contract a melody that reminds us of something familiar and communicates a message to others. The communicative and symbolic nature of the arts is so powerful and so important and simple activities like the one described allows students the opportunity to express themselves.

Art Experience:
Ages 2-4

Play varied types of music for children and let them dance freely, without instruction.
This can include classical, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, country, pop

Allow them to adapt their movements to the rhythm, feel and mood of the music and ask them how each type of music makes them feel and how their dance shows this.

This allows children to express the mood and feelings that different types of music evoke in them and allows them to freely express this in a comfortable environment.