Performing Arts with Nursery Rhymes

Overview

 

Studying performing arts in early childhood education provides children with many benefits that have far reaching and positive effects upon children’s immediate development and future life outcomes (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs [MCEETYA], 2005).  Incorporating performing arts within early childhood education supports increased intelligence, concentration, creativity, social-emotional development and improvement within each of the other developmental domains (Hendy, 2008; Lorenzo-Lasa, Ideishi & Ideishi, 2007; Wright, 2012, p. 62).  Incorporating performing arts within an integrated curriculum supports children’s understandings; opportunities to collaborate and share ideas; and leads to increased achievement (Bullard, 2014; Wright, 2012, p. 62).  Performing arts experiences provide children with an appreciation of other points of view and cultural forms of expression; and allow children to communicate in ways that can be restricted through spoken language (Bullard, 2014, p. 302; Wright, 2012, p. 6).  Performing arts experiences allow children to communicate using visual, aural, verbal, aesthetic, emotive, and physical modes (Wright, 2012, p. 6).  Each of these forms of communication are equally important when forming understandings and educators should not neglect one in favour for another (Wright, 2012, p. 7). 

 

 

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