First of all, I want to start out by saying how much the subject Music, excites me. Often, schools and teachers (not teaching this subject) see it as unimportant, because there are other work in students' lives that need more attention, such as Maths and Languages. I say this with confidence, as I am currently employed as a Grade 4 -7 music teacher.

This subject makes such a difference in the lives of these children's attention span and creative flow. It is really important to stimulate the creative side of the student. Music teaches an individual to have a colourful imagination and understand their own emotions as well as their own.  It teaches children the ability to listen. To truly and deeply listen. It teaches young ones to feel and understand different beats and rhythms. To understand pitch. Not only is it a necessary skill, but also a coping mechanism.

In study unit 1, we discuss the different theories of Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky. Out of all of these theories I always find myself enjoying Piaget's cognitive development theory. I am very interested in the different stages of a child and have been observing children with this knowledge since starting to learn more about the theory in my first year of studies. In the Foundational Phase educators have to have to skills to work with children in the Concrete Operational Stage, a stage where  musical notation, locomotor and non-locomotor movements can be practised and listening exercises start to surface. 

"Where words fail, music speaks." - Hans Christian Andersen