Self Esteem Booster!!

"In a successful kinesthetic lesson, children are learning to make use of their own experiences and observations as a foundation for knowledge. This nurtures self-affirmation and self-esteem because the children's natural resource, their own bodies, are bringing them to a place of understanding." (Griss, S. (1998). Minds in Motion. NH:Heinemann.)

Many children find school as a stressful environment, it is our jobs as educators to make school a safe place for students come to learn and grow. With so much pressure on performance and test scores, students are feeling stressed and developing low self worth. By including the arts, especially movement, teachers give their students and opportunity to use something natural to them, their bodies, as a tool to connect with what they are learning in school.

In addition to using movement as an outlet for students creativity that will deepen their understanding, and therefore boost their confidence and self-esteem, there are other ways to use movement to help with affective education. By connecting other art forms, such as poetry, too movement, children can explore their bodies in a positive way.

For example, the poem "Hello World" by Dan Coppersmith, can be used by students to explore various ways to to move and dance in a positive way.

Children can create a dance or movement to depict each of the words to the song that go along with the video. It will help them to see their bodies in a positive way, and explore ways that show the different phrases. The full poem can be found here.

Here are a few more links and articles to find ideas and information how movement can help with stress and self esteem:

Children and Dance Meditation

The Effects of the Creative Movement Teaching Method and the Traditional Teaching Method on Elementary School Children's Self-esteem.

Dance - A Path to Self-Esteem