Good evening. This coming week is going to be very stressful, we have so many due dates and it really puts a lot of stress on me. I hope that I'll be able to make everything on time.

In the first part of this study unit, I definitely noticed that it is very important to once again include and make each and every child feel welcomed and loved and accepted. I already knew that music is a very important concept in the foundation phase and that singing and dancing to songs would be something important for me in the classroom. What I did not realize is that I need to make an effort to sing different songs, songs that the children currently want to listen to. Also I would love to one day teach my children songs from different cultures and religions even if there are no children from those cultures in my classroom. 

I also learnt a lot about music itself, tones, notes, sounds, everything. Its very nice for me to be able to learn this now, as I never learnt how to read notes when I was a child. I dont want to elaborate too much on the music part, as you already know everything! But I truely did enjoy it a lot. 

Also something that I found quite surprising is how many music activities there are for me to one day do with the learners in the classroom. I actually found it quite interesting. When I was in school I cant remember that we did even more that 3. So I'm very happy about the fact that we are able to learn more and teach in more ways. 

Introduction - Hi, my name is Kristen Tait. I'm a second year foundation phase student, but I guess you already know that! I come from Newcastle, but I now live and work in the Vaal triangle. I work as an office assistent/ au pair for two boys. I absolutely adore children. I would love to be a foundation phase teacher, because of my passion for children, and the feeling I get when working/playing with them. It brings me so much joy to see how little children develop, and I love seeing how passionate they are about their dreams and who they want to become one day. I'm passionate about working with children like I mentioned above, but I also enjoy working with art, or creating my own art! Painting, doing mosiac, or even makeup! It makes me feel like a true artist. I'm very excited about LSKM221, because I feel like this is one of the subjects that show exactly how theories become actions in the classroom. I feel like this is a subject that I would go back to a lot one day when I am a teacher and I'm in the classroom. I expect to enjoy this subject alot, and also to learn things that I can put into action when I'm a teacher. 

Part 1 - This past week has been quite hectic, my boyfriends brother is getting married at the end of the month and my sister is getting married at the beginning of next week. So we are planning weddings left right and centre! My studies has been going well. I write down all of my due dates for the semester and I take it week by week. 

Part 2 - 

First of all, I learned that the theories of Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky are very important in all round foundation phase teaching. They have resurfaced in every subject of teaching, and by now we all understand them well. I have also seen once again that these theories can be put into action when in the classroom. I’ve also learnt that the different phases (ages) of childrens development requires important uses of music and sounds. Not only does it “seem like” the right idea to play children music, but also has scientific effects on their development.

Part 3 – 1. Right now, my understanding of teaching with music through movement is limited. In my time where I was a school assistant for grade 1’s, I’ve learned and seen that teachers use music, songs and poems with movement on a weekly/daily bases. At the grade 1’s, I could already see improvements in childrens interactions in the classroom, the use of new words and also using the correct words in the correct context after learning about certain topics. The poems, songs and movements is also a fun activity for the younger learners.

2. I would choose musical education. Not only does it help the emotional, cognitive, and language development, but also by using music, we can accommodate physical education aswel, like dancing or using certain movements with poems like touching feet, shoulders, jumping, ducking, and more. I think with musical education we can accommodate physical education aswel.