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  • Who are you? Where are you from?

I am Marné Nieuwoudt, I am from Paarl in the Western Cape but I work in Cape Town.

• • Why do you want to be a foundation phase teacher?

I have a passion to work with children. I believe that everyone needs to get a chance in life and I would like to be the one to make a change in a child’s life I chose foundation phase because it is a very rewarding phase, you see the learners grow each day.

• • What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about a lot of things. I like sports. I coach hockey, athletics, mini-cricket and tennis. I also like making new resources and to make worksheets for the learners. I like to be creative and to make my lessons as interesting as possible. I love to teach mathematics and I love it to read with the learners.

• • How do you feel about LSKM 221 now, at the start of the semester?

I am a bit nervous if I have to be honest. I don’t know anything about music, so I need to learn extra hard.

• • What are your expectations for this module?

I am not really sure what my expectations is. I am sure that I will learn about music and how to teach it.

• Please note that you will be required to post at least once per study unit to diarise your journey throughout this semester (you can include these three parts in one blog post per unit or separate them depending on your personal preference). Please take time to write detailed answers to the reflective questions and to reflect on your learning critically.

Part 1:

• • How are you feeling; how has your week been? – in general or just with regard to your studies

I am quite exhausted with working and learning. The learning feels so confusing I am still getting used to the studying. I am sure everything will fall in place soon. All my assignments are up to date and I always give in my work on time.

• • What inhibited your learning this week? Would you care to elaborate?

I am very exhausted from working, learning and coaching sport at school. I am going to work very hard and make sure my planning is up-to-date.

Part 2:

• • What new things did you become aware of when working through this study unit’s content?

To be honest everything is new. But the musical development is the thing that is new for me.

• • What concept/element/idea was most significant for you in this study unit?

Musical development in the foundation phase.

Part 3:

Individual reflection

1. Would you please describe your confidence in your current knowledge and skills to teach music through movement in the Foundation Phase as you start your LSKM 221 journey? In your answer, please also refer to your confidence to integrate music into your teaching practice currently.

I really don’t know anything about teaching it or even anything of the content of music.

2. When thinking about facilitating holistic development in the Foundation Phase, we need to consider, for example, cognitive development, personal development, social development, emotional development and physical development. We also need to consider literacy and numeracy skills, language acquisition, creativity, problem solving and midline crossing.

Both music and physical education play important roles in the holistic development of the young learner. However, if you have to choose between incorporating Music education OR Physical education in the Foundation Phase curriculum to meet the holistic development needs of learners, which would you choose? In your answer, please explain which would be the best choice to ensure the opportunity for the holistic development of the learner and motivate your answer.

I would rather choose physical education. I really like interacting with the learners

• • What is your opinion about the value of the content of this study unit for your teaching practise?

It makes me very excited for the semester and I can’t wait to learn all about music.