Creative Exploration and Improvisation Through Music and Movement

Music and movement specialist leading movement activities.

By Mara Beckerman, Music and Movement Specialist 

It certainly has been one very strange year. During most of the pandemic, I had the opportunity to offer music and movement sessions remotely via Zoom in order to work with all children in the nursery program (3- to 5-year-olds) in the school. In May, I was excited to return to the classroom in person to elicit songs and movements through books and stories—and the children were equally as excited to dance and sing together.

Dance and movement in person provide rich and meaningful experiences. We all dance in our own way, so seeing each other’s interpretations of dance and sharing feedback can inspire new movements, expanding everyone’s movement vocabulary. This not only awakens new options for dance but also enlarges a child’s toolbox for communicating with and understanding the world around them nonverbally.

Here are some of the highlights over our first few weeks back:

Everyday Items, Interpretations and Instruments 
After placing a small box of pencils onto her back, Kaitlyn crawled over to me, fulfilling her duties as a self-proclaimed worker ant. We had just learned a song that included the movements of a penguin, gorilla, tiger and ant. The other children scanned for items to put on their backs too, and soon a group of worker ants was marching around with an amusing collection of computer keyboards and phones balancing on their backs. Focused intently on holding up the items while crawling forward, the children soon realized that they could not scurry along as fast as before. They needed to slow down and focus on their body’s fine movements and balance, important elements of dance and movement. They transported the items across the patio and made a large pile. Thinking of something constructive to do with the items, I suggested building a sculpture. The worker ants soon began to construct an elaborate tower out of the materials they had gathered.


I picked up an unused pair of binoculars from the pile. “Oh, an instrument!” I exclaimed, pretending to blow into one side of it to produce a tone. Rebeca asked if she could do it too. Suddenly the children disassembled the sculpture and transformed every keyboard and phone into a musical instrument. Contemplating how they could produce music from these everyday items, the children soon began to bang the objects joyfully while I played conductor. Later, they delighted in taking turns conducting their friends with fast, slow and stop hand signals. 


Collaborative Movement and Improvisation
“Polly Put the Kettle On” was a popular song activity. It involves a kettle and a metal plate acting as a stove top. As I sang, the children took turns walking to the plate and putting the kettle on or taking it off, pretending to heat water for tea. What children found most enjoyable was that they had the opportunity to design their own walk to and from the stovetop, expressing their own unique movement to the world. We called these “Silly Walks,” named for a Monty Python comedy sketch featuring the “Ministry of Silly Walks.” Inspired by their peers, the children soon changed and incorporated different ideas into their movements, creating a wonderful environment for collaborative movement, improvisation and self-expression.


After observing some of his friends’ silly walks en route to and from the kettle, Teo decided to do a “lizard walk.” He dropped to the ground and slithered on his belly while pushing himself forward with one leg. The other children were fascinated by this unique and interesting movement and began incorporating elements of Teo’s walk into their own moves. Later, Alia, who had walked as if the rest of her body was being led by her belly, changed her movements to involve turns. This novel movement soon became a part of the group’s movement vocabulary. Children began to twist and turn in all directions as they meandered to and from the stovetop.


Sometimes the game, as well as the children’s movements, shifted in response to an unexpected outside influence. As the children continued to do their silly walks, two new friends joined the game, not by lining up to walk to the kettle but by sitting next to the stove. These new participants took turns removing the kettle from the stove and holding it in their lap. Flexible in their play and movements, the earlier participants readily incorporated this new element into the game, allowing the new friends to take the kettle off the stove and handing it to the next walking person to replace it. 


Children learn from interactive, hands-on experiences with their peers and an attentive, knowing adult. Music and movement are two areas that invite creative exploration and improvisation. This helps them to feel more secure and grounded in their own bodies, make confident choices, and improve their ability to communicate in verbal and non-verbal ways. More examples of songs and movement activities are available at musicwithmara.blogspot.com.  


MAKING VIRTUAL MUSIC AND MOVEMENT CLASSES INTERACTIVE

Teaching music and movement on Zoom was very different than teaching in person. Although we could all see each other, a fourth wall—the digital screen—separated us further. I had three goals:

1. Break the fourth wall to create truly interactive lessons. 
2. Assure children they are seen and heard.
3. Find ways for children to make music and play using household items and a little imagination.


Break the fourth wall
• I greeted each child by name with a “hello” song; each child responded with a dance using only their hands within their small Zoom window. (This became the catalyst for exploring whole body movements.)
• We sang a song while children danced—and then dashed off screen. They returned using varied movements: fast, slow, jumping and reaching.
• We sang and drew together and then shared our creations. I made a video of the song with their drawings and posted it on my blog. 


Assure children they are seen and heard
• To minimize chatter, I held up a poster showing different movements, moving a pointer from one image to another. When the pointer reached the movement that a child wanted to do, he or she would raise a hand.
• We sang a color scavenger hunt song and encouraged children to search for specific colors in their room.


Make music, play games
• Children made instruments out of objects they might have at home. Plastic containers, boxes or tabletops became drums. An empty soup can and a pencil became a guiro.  
• We scrunched up paper into snowballs, then tossed them at our screens in a virtual snow fight.