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I was working in an inclusive school a few years ago, as a part of my curriculum. ‘Inclusive’ means a school that involves special children as well. While I was studying and working at this school, I was also learning music as a hobby.
Once in class, a boy came up and sat in front of me. He was colouring on a piece of paper with crayons. He was a special child, autistic, to be precise. A few minutes into colouring and he sprang up. He was irritated and frustrated. He kept hitting himself and making loud noises. But that did not suffice his frustration. He came up to me and scratched my hand. All of this was new to me as well and I had only read this in theory.
But I tried to follow my instincts. I held his hand and started humming a random tune close to his ear. Then I started tapping on his leg in sync to the tune. Within a minute, this child started to cool down and eventually stopped hitting, scratching and screaming. He picked up a crayon, sat down and started colouring again. As if nothing just happened.
This is when I realized that working with children and music go hand in hand and that I could do this well. I also realized that every child is unique and has a different way of understanding things, but once they understand it, they succeed with flying colours. This interests me a lot and hence I started contributing in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
Me and my colleagues have an account on Instagram and Facebook, with the same name, i.e., Creativekid_and_more. We share fun learning activities for children and also provide parenting tips. Have a look at our account. Please follow, like, share and support.
See you until the next blog.
-Mrunmayi Kanitkar
Great initiative taken. Good work keep it up 👍☺️