1. Some people might say that arts integration is a waste of time in Foundation Phase education. Please explain how you would respond to such a statement by explaining your view on arts integration in the Foundation Phase.

Arts integration is an approach to teaching and learning which is based on learning through the arts and with the arts; this is a process where art becomes the medium of teaching and learning serving as a key to understanding concepts within any subject of the curriculum.

Art integration in the Foundation Phase is no waste of time because it unleashes the creative minds of learners, it deepens their learning experiences in core academic subjects thus enhancing the knowledge and skills of both learners and teachers to meet high standards of teaching and learning. Arts integration engages multiple skills and abilities that nurtures the development of cognitive, social, and personal competencies of learners. Integrating art in the Foundation Phase gives learners the opportunity to take part in teaching and learning activities which encourage them to draw on their prior knowledge with the aim of discovering new concepts and skills and to demonstrate their understanding in a practical way through the arts (Silverstein & Layne, 2010). It tends to be difficult for kids to express their feelings but with arts integration they can illustrate how music makes them feel by drawing a picture or writing a story, its activities promote active learning experiences through which foundation phase learners can internalize new knowledge and skills by engaging in authentic activities which have real-life value.

2.1 What I found interesting:

What I found interesting about this study unit is that art can integrate multiple subjects to show how art can integrate multiple subjects to show how they are connected, it encourages teacher to draw links between various subjects in the curriculum. I believe that this is a great way of making the teaching and learning process much more interesting and fun, as it provides learners with opportunities to learn in creative ways making them more eager to learn.

2.2 what I found challenging:

What I think is challenging about art integration is that it seems to require a lot of planning and practice so am thinking, will there be enough time for all of that while teachers are expected to provide learning units with specific outcomes within a given timeframe?

Integration of arts is more important than we can think, integrating arts when teaching can help children with the development of language skills, motor skills, social skills amongst others, children also learn effectively through play so when teaching through games children are most likely to remember what was taught because they actively took part and enjoyed the lesson .