S U 2 Listening to and responding to music

For me music ignites all area of child development and skills for school readiness, including intellectual, motor, language, social-emotional and overall literacy. It helps the body and mind to work together. Dancing to songs during gumboots dance helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self- expression. Counting stomps and clapping is interacting with mathematics. Sing songs improves your speech and language development.

 Body percussion: It is producing sounds by using your body, through hand clapping, thigh-slapping, stomping, finger-snapping, inhaled and exhaled air. Traditionally the four main body percussion sounds: 1. Stomp: Striking left, right, or both feet against the floor or other resonant surface 2. Patsch: Patting either the left, right, or both thighs with hands; or patting cheeks 3. Clapping hands together 4. Snapping fingers

These activities also provide opportunities to foster learners’ concentration skills, creativity and improvisational skills as they can create their own body percussion patterns and write them down using iconic notation

coordination, balance and visual-spatial awareness. When learners are able to successfully participate in body percussion activities, they experience personal development by gaining confidence, becoming self-aware, experiencing a sense of achievement, pride and learning discipline