Regardless of where are we standing, there is always a surrounding place that affects us and vice versa. Spatial abilities don't develop on their own, so it is important that we give children enough experience early on. With this purpose, I wrote diploma thesis, based on importance of space in early childhood. In my study I included active teaching methods, which promote integrated development and enrich children with experience. I put creative movements in foreground and tried to connect dancing and architecture through entire diploma thesis.
In theoretical part I introduced Curriculum for kindergartens, which is a basis for working in a public kindergarten in Republic of Slovenia; modern concept Reggio Emilia, the Italian concept of founder Loris Malaguzzi; creative movement, method that promotes integrated development with movement; and architecture that deals with spatial planning. I researched the importance of space with the help of specialised literature and then connected architecture with dancing.
In empirical part, activities are presented on topic of house, in the age group of 4—5 years. Activities include dancing, creative movement and some other elements of concept Reggio Emilia, they connect with other parts of Curriculum for kindergarten. With evaluation of performed activities, I got an insight into the process of understanding the concept of house through creative dancing activities. I was finding out the connection between development of dance and specific space in children. I was interested in what ways the body of child helps with exploring the space. I focused on children’s response when they first encountered creative movement.
With this research I found out that children exploring dance floor made progress regarding the specific space. The response of children on creative movement was positive, they especially liked that they could move a lot between guided activities.
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