Most of the time, teachers of other subjects might approach the music & drama teacher in a surprise and left them defensive.

Other subject teachers will want the music and drama teacher to teach certain topic to the students. However, the music & drama teacher doesn’t have any plan for those instead she already got her own lesson plans. It is not easy for her to come out with something immediately. There is no way to interrupt the planned activities of the music & drama teacher if there is no prior planning or arrangement.

To solve this problem, early planning in the school year with both teachers will solve this problem.

For example, the science teacher wants to teach the children about body parts, then the music & drama teacher found out that there’s body parts song that can be taught. At the same time, this song allow the children to do actions along with it. With early planning like this, it will ensure that children will get the best from both world.

There is also problem of getting suitable material to teach. In case there is no early planning and the other subject teachers need help from the music & drama teacher, the music & drama teacher can provide materials needed to the other subject teachers and they can use the material anyway they like to teach.

Early planning and communication is important for successful integration of drama & music across curriculum.

WOW! Time sure flies.

Semester 2 is ending really soon! Exam will be on 11th & 12th October. Very fast eh? One semester is only 7 weeks. It’s like just started not too long ago and then now it’s going to end.

Done both assignments, passed up one and need to pass up another one this Sunday. In the process of preparing for exams.

Children with learning difficulty have normal intelligence but hav significant difficulties in the acquisition nd use of language, listening, peaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical ailities.

How to teach them drama and music? Just some examples:

• Set up pretend environment
• Give “uncluttered” directions
• Repeat the activities
• Provide supportive and accepting environment
• Encourage and praise over and over again
• Practice instrument parts kinesthetically away from the instrument first
• Highlight visual using large print, color, frame and isolate pattern on overheads o in their books
• Slow down verbal input or recording

Guidelines for music and movement activities in pre-school

• Be knowledgeable with contents and teaching techniques
• Pay attention to festivals and annual fests that related closely to your community
• Choose topic and try to link it with other activities that are being carried out
• Prepare materials before teaching
• Understand the abilities and needs of the children. Do not compare the abilities of one child to another
• Each child are individual with different abilities and needs
• Get information of the experience of the child so that he/she can develop further
• Plan lessons based on child’s experience and expanding it from thereon
• Use simple to understand language
• Plan many types of activities so that they can learn in many ways
• Understand the child fully by observing and analysing the behaviou and performance of the child
• Plan activities which needs the use of different senses such as smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch
• Have positive attitude towards music and be interested and willing to learn and improve oneself

Principals of teaching singing in pre-school:

• Conduct singing activities informally so that it’s enjoyable and effective
• Plan activities which include movements, imaginations and creativities as children are naturaly very active
• Teacher should adapt to the language development level of the children so that they can understand
• Pre-schoolers’ attetion span is very short. They are unable to focus more than 10 to 15 minutes
• Give attention to quiet and shy children and don’t force them do the activities
• Should encourage the children to sing solo or in groups and appreciate their performance
• Group children according to gender will create opportunity to talk about boys and girls and their roles in community
• Feeling of harmony must be developed
• Teacher must assist in developing self-confidence
• Provide opportunities for children to choose songs, rhythm and musical instruments
• Start with simple songs then progress to difficult songs
• Provide oppotunities to explore fantasy world through singing, drama, pantomime, movement and so on
• Help children improve their voices by guiding them to sing according to appropriate tune, rhythm and pitch

How to choose songs?

• Short and simple repeated lyrics
• Words and sentence structure are simple and relevant to their age level and understanding
• Should reflect their world, experience, feelings and interest
• Choose songs that give training in good health practices and cleanliness, socialisation, manners and develop postitive attitude towards their own self and others
• Song should be a joy to sing and help in language development
• Theme song should be attractive and increase their knowledge
• Rhythm should be simple with clear beats and encourage children too move or do actions spontaneously

Pre-school percussion band helps children express their spiritual and physical feelings towards music. Through various music activities, they can gain knowledge, skills, and experience which continue to develop throughout the years. The fact that children feel happy when beating a musical instrument or anything around them make it even more important to have a percussion band in pre-school.

The 3 things to remember when organising a percussion band:

• The children must learn to start playing together
• The children must learn to stop playing together
• The children play musical instruments according to the tune, learn to recognise a loud, a soft or a medium sound.

When planning an activity, you must consider the children’s physical development, their age level, and their maturity. Movements, imaginations and creativities should be included.

The objective of having a percussion band in pre-school:

• Cultivate an interest in rhythm and be able to follow the rhythm
• Develop a co-ordination of harmonious and gentle movement
• Cultivate power of concentration and careful attention
• Produce creative ideas in various moods
• Experience the joy of responding in a group to musical stimulus
• Develop social relationships necessary for group appreciation of music.
• Listen and appreciate music
• Develop a good memory for various sounds and rhythms

Suitable percussion instruments for children:
Tambourine, triangle, clapper/castanet, ritomica, woodblock, sleigh bell, rhythm stick, maracas, drum

How to conduct percussion band activities:

1. Play in a bright and lively tune
2. Demonstrate body movements according to music
3. Let children imitate, all movement must be according to music
4. Use improvised instruments before giving them the real percussion instruments
5. Introduce percussion instruments and demonstrate how to play them
6. Take turns to play and do a number of rhythm training
7. All children play a new ryhthm together, then divide into groups
8. Rhythm should be simple and suitable
9. Musical accompaniment for the percussion instruments can be recorded or sung or played on a pianica, recorder and so on

What is childhood illness?
Relates to conditions where is the a marked declining of a child’s health status which is also an indicator of declining nutritional patterns.

Most frequent dietary problems in children:

• Underweight/poor growth/failure to thrive
  Causes:
  - Medical reason
  - Diet too high in fibre or too low in fat
  - Insufficient vitamins and minerals
  Management:
  - Provide nutrient rich food(full cream milk, cheese, meat, eggs…)
  - Increase frequency of eating
• Overweight/Obesity
  Causes:
  - Too many fat-rich and sugar-rich food
  Management:
  - Provide balanced diet
  - provide fulling snacks of fruits and sandwiches
  - Establish regular pattern of meals & snacks
• Poor formation of teeth, bones, and dental disease
  Causes:
  - Lack of calcium and flouride
  - Too many sugar-rich or acid-rich food
  Management:
  - Consult dentist
  - Increase high calcium-rich food
• Lack of iron/anaemia/lethargy
  Causes:
  - Vegetarian or non-red meat eater
  - Insufficient intake of iron-rich food
  - lack of vitamin C
  Management:
  - Increase red meat intake
  - Increase vitamin C intake
  - Increase food intake
• Constipation
  Causes:
  - Insufficient natural sugars
  - Insufficient liquid intake
  - Insufficient fruit and vegetable intake
  Management:
  - Increase range and quantity of fruits, vegetables
  - Increase fluid intake
• Mild diarrhoea
  Causes:
  - Due to high intake of sugard or fruit juices
  Management:
  - Limit sugar consumption
  - monitor intake of fruits and high fibre food
  - Ensure high intake of water
• Food fads/food refusal
  Causes:
  - Dislike certain food or refuse to try new food
  Management:
  - Prevent any form of conflict
  - Remove offending food without fuss, do not offer alternative
  - Ensure snacks are not low nutrient, high sugar or high fat
  - Do not fill up with other food

If there are children that require special diet attention due to certain medical conditions, care details must be obtained from medical specialist on details and implications of dietary provision, likely reactions, emergency procedures. Example od physical distree and illness:

• Food intolerance such as lactose intolerance
• Food allergy
• Gastro-intestinal disorder
• Coeliac disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• Phenylketnuria(PKU)
• Diabetes
• Tooth decay

Common illness in children:
- Cold/flur
- Chicken pox
- Dry mouth
- Painful throat/sore mouth

Teachers need theory to teach music and drama to children because:

• Can describe factors related to the teacher, the children, the family, social, and cultural influences, and class room environment
• 3 components: instructions, learning processes, learning outcomes
• Directs teacher in providing sequential experiences for understanding a rhytmic pattern or gain techniques
• Describe child’s need
• Demonstrate learning outcome
• Thoughtful guide to what they do
• Lead children to their maximal musical development

Facets of a child-centred curriculum in music

• Knowing the children’s knowledge level, skills, interests, learning styles, developmental stage, culture and family background. There should not be generalization.
• Beginning where the children are by providing lessons that kead children from familiar to the unfamiliar, let children participate actively, offer variety of lesons.
• Allow time for musical play and exploration such as discover musical sound, play instruments, experimentation, and personal expression through music.
• Integrate music into other parts of a child’s life such as stories, movements, language arts, maths, science etc.

What is food safety?
Food safety deals with the practices and strategies of preventing foodborne illness where it involves proper food purchasing, food storage, handling and cooking.

Food Purchasing
- only buy good quality, fresh and undamaged food
- buy from sources that are inspected for health and sanitation
- do not buy expired food
- if food requires refrigeration, make sure buy it refrigerated
- avoid buying fish and poultry that labels with “frozen, defrosted”, as you have no idea about the freshness
- do not buy dented canned food
- only food with proper packaging
- check food label to ensure buying the right food, with the right ingredients and before the expiry date

Food Storage
- proper warpping
- proper labelling
- proper temperature
- proper arrangement
- protection from contamination

Refrigerated Food
- meat and poultry should be well wrapped to avoid contaminate other food
- freezer bag/aluminium foil can help to prevent freezer burn and quality loss
- label with date of purchase for easy tracking to prevent wastage
- frozen food must be refrigerated quickly
- thawed food should be used within 24 hours
- eggs should be store in refrigerator intheir cartons
- clean utensils must be used
- cooked food to be dated
- reheat food at minimum of 160 degree fereignheit
- store cooked food in covered container less ths 2″ high
- full refrigerator may have contamination risk

Unrefrigerated Food
- store in clean rodent-free areas with doors to cover the storage area
- store at a height of minimum 8″ above the floor
- first in first out
- non-perishable items(flour, sugar, salt) to be stored in air tight container once it’s opened

Food Handling
- anyone with illness, injuries, sores or infections should handle food
- food handle should not be in charge of diaper changing
- wash hands with right techniques
- never thaw food in room temperature but in the refrigerator, microwave oven, or placing water proof plastic bag and submerge into cold water and water to be changed every 30 minutes
- wash hands before handle food
- apron must be clean
- take food handler course
- do not use the same chopping board and knife for vegetable and poultry/seafood
- trim nails, tie back hair
- always reheat food with a minimum of 160 degree fereignheit and soup until rolling boil

Environment Care
- ensure work surface/area is clean
- wash top of tins before opening
- waste bin must be tightly covered
- utensils must be clean
- clean towers and cloths
- keep animals and insects away

Food Poisoining
Infection of gastro-intestinal tract caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or water by bacteria, viruses, toxic, chemicals, metals, or poisonous plants. Symptoms can be vomitting, nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever. It can cause severe dehydration and life threatening.

OH MY! This term is really heavy! We have four assignments for two subjects. Two given yesterday and two given today.

They are pretty heavy type summore. Not like in the first term which is quite OK. We only have four weeks to get all four assignments done. Each asignment is only given 2 weeks to do -.-” Basically, it’s only one week for each assignment.

NUTSSS!!! Better go bury myself in doing them. Have to work summore.