DANCE!

I really loved ready this section of our text. I love to move and dance, and I think that creativity through dance can really engage your students in learning. I remember when I was in elementary school every week we had wacky Wednesday and they would play music over the intercom and we would all dance, my teachers would even get up on the tables and dance and just make us all laugh. When we played getting to know you games we would create a dance move that defines us and we would go around and all do them to help help us remember each others names. Just like singing sometimes you can only express feelings through dance. Especially emotions because a figure or shape can stand for so much more then just a word.

So many parents enroll their children in dance classes, and I feel that any sort of extra-curricular activities help children learn how to work together and teach them discipline. But with so many of these classes they are so organized and structured so children lose that creative flow. They are a group and not an individual any more. Dance in the classroom doesn't mean that you need to have a routine, dance is the BEST! Body, energy, space, and time, and that means that you are teaching your students how to use their body and the space around them to tell a story. So much of our culture is based on dance and with our growing diversity I can't imagine a funner way to share a personal part of your culture with your fellow peers then through dance.

School should integrate as much creative arts as possible. If we want our children to be well rounded then they should be given the opportunities to try new things and stretch outside their comfort zone. Dance is not just for girls and that stereotype needs to be broken. By teaching the students that it is ok to express themselves can you imagine the classroom synergy that will follow! They will become a family and learning will become easier because they will work well together.

The old school form of teaching is changing and teachers are starting to see how important it is to break up the direct teaching and adding more creativity into the classroom. Even though the there is so much curriculum that you have to cover throughout the year you have to remember that if your students are comfortable with you and their peers and are not being challenged or reaching outside their comfort zones, learning will stop and they will lose the love of education. I plan on integrating dance and all the creative arts into almost everyday of teaching. I want to break up the dance by fun brain teasers and activities. Putting on plays and dancing out scenes from books. I am already envisioning dancing out the water cycle with my class. Dance has been around since the beginning of time and that is how people passed down their stories and came together to celebrate life. Why would we take that out of our classrooms? Creativity will blossom and Friendships will begin, trust will follow and then we can have the true love for learning!