Music and Movement

Pre-Kindergarten

Once a week, Pre-K children enjoy music and movement classes with a CAIS specialist teacher. Through singing, dancing, and playing small percussion, they use their imaginations and interact with their classmates while learning the elements of music and dance.

Kindergarten to Third Grade

In Kindergarten through third grade, we teach music and movement based on an approach to music education known as Orff Schulwerk. As described by composer Carl Orff, the creator of the approach, Orff Schulwerk offers “A music exclusively for children that could be played, sung and danced by them, but that could also in a similar way be invented by them—a world of their own.” A music exclusively for children—”a world of their own”—means that this approach recognizes the child’s need to move, touch, explore, experiment, discover and make connections in a playful, risk-encouraging atmosphere. Playing, singing and dancing ensures multiple approaches to training the musical intelligence and honors the diverse needs of the students.

Music and movement classes at CAIS provide an active, hands-on approach to understanding, practicing and creating music and movement. Using the Orff Schulwerk approach, students sing, learn folk dances, explore with movement and play pitched and unpitched percussion instruments. Our classes emphasize working together as a group as students grow to understand the elements of music and movement, and apply their understanding through creative expression.

As the students progress through the grades they explore the music and dance of many world cultures. We teach using authentic percussion instruments from those cultures; which include China, Ghana, Indonesia and others. Traditional and historical songs, dances and instrumental pieces are taught and performed.

Fourth through Eighth Grade Dance & Movement  

Students experience a dance/creative movement program that is child-centered and developmentally appropriate. Through embodied experience they develop their tool (the body) for self expression.  Understanding dance elements, improvisation, and compositional tools and structures students communicate what is meaningful to them (in themselves and in the world).

Students come to value dance and creative movement as an important subject to be learned and find value in this form of expression.

The program is enhanced by live performance, guest dance workshops, exploration of dance in the San Francisco bay area and other parts of the world. Over time students gain both an experience and deep understanding of the social, cultural, and spiritual role that dance plays in their lives and in the world.