Today marked the beginning of our four week block of dance.
Our workshop showed us some small starter tasks which can be used in school. For example playing a variety of different music and setting the children in a line, with the person at the start beginning a dance for the first song, the second person starting a dance for the 
second song and so on. This was a very enjoyable task which helped to decrease the pressure on us to ‘choreograph’ and allowed us to do so without even realising it.
We then moved on to learning about the parts of the body we must warm up before dancing. We did this by drawing an outline of a body and placing the parts of the body/muscles inside the body were we thought they were. This is a picture of our outline and the body parts we need to warm up:
We then discussed some warms up we can do for each part of the body, starting from our head and working down to our feet. This was very helpful and I now know the importance of warm up’s when dancing.
Here is a just dance video which could be used for warm up’s in the classroom :
(Never fear gaming, 2012)
I look forward to next week and to developing my ability to both teach dancing and to feel confident when doing so.
Our next workshop took us to music. Here we had a very special visit from the children of a local primary school. They were a primary 7 
class who have been taught to play through school. They came to visit us today to teach us to play string instruments, my primary 7 buddy taught me how to hold and play the cello, the different parts of the instruments I was playing and how to hold the bow correctly.
This was a fantastic experience, to hear the importance of music from a child’s point of view really opened my eyes about just how important it is to include it in the curriculum. This school is from a deprived area in Ayrshire, without this programme they may never have came across any of these instruments, seeing the passion and love they have for playing highlighted just how worthwhile this programme is.
Here are some experiences and outcomes covered today :
- I can sing and play music from other styles and cultures, showing growing confidence and skill while learning about musical notation and performance directions. EXA 1-16a
- I can sing and play music from a range of styles and cultures, showing skill and using performance directions, and/or musical notation. EXA 2-16
(Scottish Government, 2008)
It is important to remember as a teacher, that not all children flourish within academic situations. Some children love nothing more than reading a good book, while others find the same satisfaction through playing an instrument or creating a dance. Our 
education system needs to begin to understand and celebrate the differences of our children, they are all magnificent in their own ways and we must develop their skills and passions.
References
Never fear gaming, (2012). Just Dance: Warm-Up [Online] Available : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlbCrGqToaw&t=24s [Accessed 5/11/19]
Scottish Government. (2008). Expressive Arts Experiences and Outcomes [online] available : https://education.gov.scot/documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [accessed 5/11/19]
