My name is Refilwe Nechipal. I stay in Mafikeng. I am currently studying to be a foundation phase teacher because I am passionate about teaching and I look forward to being a teacher. I decided to teach small children because I would like to contribute in the Educational foundation of children. I know that I can make a good impact and difference when it comes to this.What I have learnt thus far in the LSKM 221 Module is interesting, learning the impact of music on children.

Before moving on to writing about my individual reflection on Study Unit 1, I just want to share that this week has been a good and productive week for me. I am busy most of the time as I work full time and also have to ensure that I stay up to date with my studies. Today I created a study plan based on the module plans we have received for each module and looking at the work ahead of me for the semester, it does make me feel a little overwhelmed because there are a lot of assignments and their due dates are close together, with some assessments being due on the same date. It is a lot, but I know that I can make it work with proper organization.

Moving on to the individual reflection, I would like to start by saying that I have a musical background, I have been involved with music for many years. I am a Music Team leader at church and I also play an instrument (the keyboard). I also danced professionally when I was in high school, but I did not pursue this long term. This I would say gives me the right amount of confidence when I think about integrating music into my lessons, be it in terms of movement or singing. I am of course open to learning more, especially regards integrating music in the classroom as I imagine doing it myself will be a bit different from doing it with children.

If I had to choose between Physical Education and Music Education, I would choose to incorporate Music Education because it can be used for the holistic development of the child. It can also be used to add to the Physical Education of the child. Music Education has been proven to aid the cognitive growth of children such that they do better in their tests than those who have not been involved with Music Education. It helps children develop emotionally as they learn different kinds of emotions and how to express them appropriately, it also helps them understand the emotions of others. It sharpens their motor skills, helps them build social relationships and helps them gain self confidence as they continually complete music tasks successfully. Looking at these reasons, I would say Music Education is a better option to incorporate in educating children than Physical Education, as the development of Physical Education itself can be helped by Music Education.