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By Carol Link Movement is an early form of knowing. Through movement a child reaches out, explores and learns about the world. Through creative movement, children are encouraged to recall and to develop these impulses. Creative Movement activities provide an opportunity for exercising the body, as a whole, or in parts. Exercises can be designed to explore the concepts of space, time and force, while continuously offering the opportunity to develop imagination. Creative Movement can be a sensory- awakening experience. Discovery and exploration of the sensory characteristics of materials used in class helps children develop an awareness of the textures, colors, and sizes of other objects in their environment. The discrimination between objects and patterns of objects are basic skills, fundamental to further learning. Some examples of materials we may use in class are scarves, ribbon sticks, floor mats, balls hoops and stretchy bands. Creative Movement activities can provide an opportunity to stimulate vocalization. Speech and language can be promoted through the production of sounds during exercises. For example, the children can explore the different sounds they make. One child may suggest a sound and the others imitate while adding a movement to express that quality of sound. Creative Movement facilitates the development of a child's self-concept. Many of the activities in a movement session can be used to familiarize the child with his or her body, its' parts, and its relationship to the immediate environment. Self-confidence is molded as the child is challenged to solve problems, and is rewarded for expressing ideas to the group. (i.e. Sculptor Clay, a partner game where one child molds the other into a shape then switches partners).
Creative Movement activities offer an outlet
for the expression of many emotions. It encourages a child to discover ways
of moving that are unique or somehow special for him or her. (i.e. show me
how ...you move when: 1. you feel happy, sad, sleepy 2. Snow falling, clouds
floating. Creative Movement activities emphasize freedom of expression through inner direction and inner controls. A child learns this as he or she waits for a turn, watching others, while preparing his/her contribution to the group's dance. Through creative movement, a child develops a sense of trust that his or her special dance will soon be recognized. Each child can realize that group contribution has an impact on the direction of the group. Non-verbal physical closeness is a wonderful way of promoting sensitivity toward others. (i.e., group sculpture, where by everyone freezes into one connected shape, or circle dance with leader in the middle). "Creative Movement" is not simply "dance" in the sense currently understood. Rather, it is an exploration of space, time, force, and environment through the body, which allows the child, to learn and to develop in a personal and individualized way. It can be used to aid the child in developing sensory-motor abilities, language and cognitive skills, a positive self-concept, and the ability to express feelings and ideas, to interact socially, and to form and understand concepts of movement. All of these abilities play a part in helping the child to deal effectively with imagination and others in the environment. By exploring and experimenting together, the children gain both the physical exercise, and the opportunity to develop their own.
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