The Teaching Experience of using Props in Creative Movements to

Develop Children’s Imagination

Muhammad Fazli Taib Saearani

, Nur Nabila Michael

, and Luang Abdullah

Sultan Idris Edcuation University,35900 Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia

{ fazli, mnurnabila}@ fmsp.upsi.edu.my

Keywords: Props, Creative Movements, Children, Imagination.

Abstract: This article explores how children’s imaginative abilities in creative movements can be developed by using

props. Props can be important tools to enable children to explore various ways in portraying their creative

ideas. Due to the children having individual ideas in creating movements, focus on kinaesthetic stimulation

to achieve series of movements is an important factor to develop the children’s imagination. The components

of creative movements such as body, space, time, and energy, are applied as the basis in the formation and

development of creative movements. In the beginning stages, diagnosis was carried out to determine what

was lacking in the imaginative aspects of the children. After that, the researcher conducted creative movement

activities for 18 weeks. As a result from the 18-week activities, a performance portfolio was developed.

Analysis by means of observation and checklist were done to evaluate and interpret the performance portfolio.

This article also discusses the implementation, researcher’s experiences, and challenges encountered in

conducting these activities. This helps to discover more useful alternatives in varying the teaching methods

based on imaginative exploration, for the children to portray more expressive communication through props

and movements.

1 INTRODUCTION

According to Salmah Ayob (1994), stimulation of

emotional exploration of children can be released

using creative movement activities. The key to

success in this activity is to provide fun in teaching

sessions. It is important in the growth process for it

provides the understanding on the meaning of life to

be fully appreciated by them. The researchers found

that focus in providing space for children to make

their activities expressive and creative is often

discussed. The major key is to provide fun and

enjoyment for the children in the teaching session.

The creative movement activity embraces the

process of creative imagination experience to explore

movements according to the movements that a person

wants to create. The mastery in creating a set of

movement movements is the core in interpretation to

regulate thinking operations into an active and

dynamic stage.

Stinson (1988) has expressed his opinion on the

value of creative movements related to the

movement's sense of consciousness through the

involvement of a new and exciting experience. Its

existence is able to develop an important value for

discovering the potential and talent to be developed

into expressive (Lloyd, 1998). Therefore, this

experience is not only for the children but also for the

teachers’ experience in carrying out this activity is

able to build imagination and detect the sense of joy

in designing movements for children.

Klein (1982) states that the learning process using

creative movements is not static for it provides the

child an opportunity to express their feelings.

Through an appealing and unique space preparation

application is the learning method that includes the

aspect of accepting new knowledge. It even covers

the channelling of experiences on various teaching

situations as a medium for the teachers to interact

with children in heading towards creative thinking

(Mayer, 1989).

Through this article, the experience that will be

discussed involves the researchers’ 18 weeks of

experience in conducting creative movement

activities in a kindergarten. The discussion includes

the use of five types of props such as: (1) Hula Hoop

- a circular shaped hoop made of plastic; (2) Pom-

pom - props made of plastic shredded to fine

streamers; (3) Handkerchiefs –fabrics cut into square

shapes; (4) Ribbon - colour papers cut into long

128

Saearani, M., Michael, N. and Abdullah, L.

The Teaching Experience of using Props in Creative Movements to Develop Children’s Imagination.

DOI: 10.5220/0008546801280134

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 128-134

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

streamers; (5) Hand Fan – folded semi-circular paper

or fabric with holder made of plastic.

This study also discusses several level of the

researcher’s experience in carrying out this activity:

(1) Method of playing with the children using

appropriate modules through elements (body, space,

time and force) and; (2) instructions when using

props.

2 METHODS OF PLAYING

In the first phase, the researchers started the day by

meeting up 16 children under 6 years old who are

following this activity. The researchers introduced

themselves as researchers who will be with them

every week. Then, the researcher instructed them to

introduce themselves in an ice-breaking session to

strengthen the relationship between researchers and

the children. The module started with giving a brief

explanation on breathing. Breathing is very important

in every activity. Breathing correctly is by using the

diaphragm. Proper breathing is very important before

doing movement activities. The researchers have

taught them to right techniques to inhale and exhale.

Next, the activity is continued with a brief

exercise. This is to see the child’s ability to move and

the level of receiving the given instructions.

Additionally, researchers used previously

administered modules with the aim of bringing

themselves closer to the children and providing

comfort to them to move without stress. After that,

the "Walk and Think" module is conducted. This

module provides instruction for children to run

according to tempo 1, 2, 3 and spontaneously

positioned themselves to stop, sit or walk. This

module aims to see the child's sensitivity by listening

to instructions while thinking. After conducting the

"Walk and Think" module, the researchers found that

some of them could not follow the instructions given

by the researchers. The "Walk and Think" module

also found that children had sensitivity problems in

receiving instructions while remembering the

assigned position. However, three minutes after that

they were able to execute the task faster. Thinking

skills and co-operation with each other can be

nurtured and made the task easily solved by the

children.

In the fifth week of the same phase, the activity is

continued with a simple exercise with the children.

Researchers looked for abnormalities by the children

performed workouts with music. This is to see the

children’s tendency to follow movements through

music. For example, the children were given an

exercise known as "Chicken Dance". They look very

cheerful while doing this activity. Apart from that, the

exercise aims to provide early identification of an

animal, which is a chicken and imitate the chicken’s

movement while dancing with the music.

The activities are then continued with the

identification of animals and plants. The researchers

interacted with the children to mention the types of

animals and plants. The children were able to interact

with the researchers and imagine the respective

animal’s movements and sounds. They were also

playing cheerfully while improving their creativity.

Through the module, the researchers found that the

children were walking and creating children’s

movement exploration based on their chosen animal.

After that, a module called "Know ABC" is

conducted in class. This module is known as ABC

because through this module, the child remembers

and imagines each letter learned and then describes

the letter using movements involving small groups or

large groups. This is followed by another module

known as the "Toxic Flower”. This module is called

"Toxic flower" due to the existence of characters like

tigers and butterflies. The butterfly is assigned to

guard the flower so as not to be eaten by the tiger. The

children were very happy and excited about the

activity. They were also actively involved in this

module and asked for this activity to be continued the

next week.

Based on these activities, the children have

experience in blowing balloons. They were ecstatic

when they saw the researcher blowing a balloon.

They have excellently done the task and in fact, some

of them still wanted to continue this game. They have

fostered a high level of cooperation. The following is

the result of analysis from meeting up with the

children in carrying out the module activities to

enhance children’s creativity in the creative

movement. The children’s ability to perform

activities based on module 1 until the module 8

recorded by the researcher can be seen in the table.

Table 1: Schedule of activities with children in phase

one.

The Teaching Experience of using Props in Creative Movements to Develop Children’s Imagination

129

Notes based on the table above:

# Murid – Children

# Modul – The activity of creative movement

administered by the researcher using elements (body,

space, time and force).

Based on Table 1, the researcher found that at the

beginning of the first week, the children showed good

response during the ice-breaking session. This is

evidently shown because only 5 children were shy

when introducing themselves. For the breathing

module application session, the children were able to

execute the instructions given by the researcher. Only

3 out of 16 children were running and showing dislike

reaction during the activity. For "Walk and Think"

module, there were 8 out of 16 children who were

able to perform this activity. Almost half of the whole

can perform movements according to the tempo but

they cannot do two things at a time. The "Chicken

Dance" module revealed that 7 children still could not

perform the movement although the researcher has

shown repeated examples to the children before

starting activities. However, 9 children successfully

performed the movement until the activity ended.

In addition, the fifth module known as the animals

and plants identification module has shown that only

2 out of 16 children were unable to imitate the animal

movement. For the plant identification, a total of 5 out

of 16 children cannot execute plant’s movement. The

researchers noticed that the children were more likely

to be attracted to the "Discover Animals" module than

the "Discover the Plant" module. Through "Discover

the Plant" module, the children were asked to imagine

movements made by a tree. The children were able to

show how a tree moves when it is hit by a storm. Next,

the "Know ABC" module conducted in the seventh

week revealed that the children can create movements

based on the letters given by the researcher. They

tried their best and only 4 children were unable to

perform the activity. The researchers found that they

were able to perform the activity only as an individual

but not as a pair or in a group.

3 TEACHING EXPERIENCES

USING PROPS

3.1 Hula Hoop

Based on the use of hand props that is the Hula Hoop,

the data revealed that 8 children were not able execute

the movement tasks using the Hula Hoop. From the

observation, it can be seen that the children only used

the Hula Hoop by simply turning the hoop using their

hands while the researcher is with them during the

activity. There were 8 children who were able to

manipulate movements by using the hoop. These

children were the ones who were excited and

scrambled to get the Hula Hoop when it hoops were

distributed the first time. During the second week, a

total of 5 out of 8 children’s who were unable to

perform this activity in the previous week have

successfully done the task. However, 3 children were

still unable to do it.

3.2 Pom-pom

The session using pom-pom revealed that during the

introduction of the props by the researchers, the

children have never seen a pom-pom. This clearly

revealed that they never held the props at all. During

the distribution of the pom-pom, the researchers

found that the children only move the pom-pom using

their wrists either in a circular motion, up and down

or sideways. This can be seen in the early stage of

movement exploration. In this activity, there were

only 7 children who were able to perform the

movements required. The rest of the 9 children were

making fun of each other and doing their own things.

3.3 Handkerchief

The children also did exercises such as jumping,

running, and walking. They used the existing space

and it appeared that some children did not follow the

instructions given. The researchers gave directions to

make a circle by holding the corner of each other’s

handkerchief. Through this activity, a total of 14

children have demonstrated that they understood the

instructions easily and performed these activities.

Only 2 children seemed quiet and unable to carry out

this task. This is evidently shown because they placed

their handkerchief on their shoulders.

3.4 Ribbon

The use of ribbon as props revealed that the children

have shown their likes and interest in the ribbons.

They were excited to get their own ribbons during the

distribution and immediately explored the ribbon

using their own movements. The researchers felt that

these props were easy for them to carry out the

activities. 3 out of 16 children’s were not able to

perform the activity but were able to do so in other

activities probably because they have the tendency to

have more fun with the other props.

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3.5 Hand Fan

The researchers distributed the hand fans to children.

It was difficult for them to open and close the fan.

This may be due to their small hands. However, 6

children showed that they seemed to have normally

played and used the hand fan before. The researchers

demonstrated several simple movements using the

fan among which were swivels and flicking left and

right. These 6 children seemed to be interested in the

activity. In fact, they were also able to do the

movement easily. However, 10 children’s were still

hesitant to move, changed the movements and did not

pay attention.

4 IMPLICATIONS TO THE

TEACHING EXPERIENCE OF

IMAGINATION TO CHILDREN

Through the philosophy proposed by Laban (1975),

the structure of motion construction is based on the

forms of experience present. This experience is

thought to be a form of taste that can be interpreted

by the unique idea of an individual creating

movement. These forms include physical, mental and

emotional controls that generate imagination for

creative movement outcomes.

The process emphasizes on the development of

communication interactions in student's way of

thinking through creative movement (Joyce, 1973).

Fleming (1976) also supports creative movements as

a framework for children’s to develop an

understanding of expression and interaction. This is

to create an expression of inner feelings when

meeting the demands of school activities as a medium

to release stress. Interacting with creative expressions

generates the development of thinking ideas that will

shape the imagination of the mind. The movements

carried out in the activities functions to fulfill the

values that reinforced the unique thinking style.

Through the activities carried out, the effort to

understand the nature of children in person is very

challenging. This is not an easy matter. However,

giving them experience about movement expressions

is an act of forming values that are likely to give a

positive impression on their cognitive development.

For example, physical exposure is related to body

awareness, physical growth, and physical appearance.

This ability provides a good response to the

mechanisms of the body to build confidence in

children.

In addition, the teaching style in providing skills

includes the exploration and imagination process. The

process is not merely teaching, explaining, clarifying

solely but taking into account the method of forming

a goal based on the structure of teaching in providing

the challenge of experience so that the foundation of

the potential self-development is achieved. The

children have different tastes, the expressing aspect is

the content used in the creative movement activities

as a process for experiencing and deepening the sense

of presence as well as the desire to do. Through

movement, feel and feeling is a form of expression as

well as creative imagination through the movement

created. This process is seen as a creative form of

mental digestion in producing cheerfulness in

children's emotions. Here is an example of activity

being handled.

Table 2: Explanation of activity 1.

ACTIVITY

DETAILS OF ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTION:

Expressions through

command that has been

instructed should be made

by the children to look for

an action and facial mimic

for them to imagine and

then to be demonstrated in

front of their friends using

the props given.

1. Sit down (squatting)

with action and

mimicking face (angry,

sad, furious and happy)

by using a handkerchief

2. Kick forcefully and

voice up while moving

with your pom pom.

Table 3: Explanation of activity 2.

ACTIVITY

DETAILS OF ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTIONS:

Children need to display

acts that give them fun to

play with what they want to

create. Physical assisted

care is a way for them to find

what they think can be done

as directed.

1. You are like a tall

Giraffe and keep

walking by jumping on

the Hula Hoop you see

in front of you.

2. You are a mouse

looking for food in the

Hula Hoop circle while

eating very fast.

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131

Table 4: Explanation of activity 3.

ACTIVITY

DETAILS OF ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTIONS:

Need to be in good body

position as a pathway to

create a steady and vibrant

body shape

1.INSTRUCTIONS:

In a low position, hold

the ribbon while

walking and pose

(pause and show the

action)

2. Hold the ribbon and

pose with the ribbon on

the floor surface.

Table 5: Explanation of activity 4.

ACTIVITY

DETAILS OF

ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTIONS:

Feeling the impact from

creating how much is felt

by varying the sense of

body drop or fallen with

effective physical

controls and should be

felt by the children.

1. ACTIVITY:

Use your handkerchief

and drop yourself on the

floor

2. ACTIVITY:

Swinging both

handkerchiefs to the right

and left then jump and

sing

Based on these four tables, each has a diverse

range of experience sharing pattern for the children.

The instructions in Table 2 focus more on facial

expression with the addition of the pom pom as

props.The use of this pom pom is actually giving the

children an opportunity to prepare the right moves.

For Tables 3 to 5, each provides a rich form of

expression experience to prevent the children from

getting bored. In addition, these props have made

them more active because they are able to use them in

a variety of exciting action. This situation can be

considered as interesting for it has led the children to

a creative exploration experience through creative

movement activity that uses props.

Based on the above description, the effect of this

experience has given the connection between

generating the children to think of an exciting action

and the experience of the researchers giving whatever

space so that the children can explore. They are

required to show a wide range of movements while

the researchers look for the presence of creative

movements that can bring out the fun while the kids

are playing. It is important for the researchers to be

more actively in looking for whatever desire they

want in the movement.

The desire and meaning in the form of movements

that the body delivers intends to shape, accept and

present movement through the experience. According

to Fraleigh (1987) states that the unity between the

mind and body also helps to provide the experience

of building a form of movement. The process of

growth from each level leads to the experience of

forming feelings through the various channels that

give stimulus to the thinking process. Transmission

of various forms provides space for the children to

express their inner feelings or ideas and feeling is a

useful tool to ensure that the need for emotions and

feelings is highlighted in the perfect space. Methods

helps to express the children’s inner feelings and

shape the sense of interpretation of activities of

exciting and fun movements.

Every child has its potential. The essence of their

souls is that diverse talents may be easily displayed or

vice versa. The task of the researchers is to provide

how to develop the children’s potential in this

activity. How can the application of the props in the

activities provide the experience of the feelings they

that they have to be processed and freed using the

space for them to express themselves. This is a

process of movement creation to produce

explorations which involve what needs to be done,

what is seen and what is preferred to be the foundation

of the construction of various movements.

Encouragement is crucial to providing space for

children to find and demonstrate the potentiality that

is present within them. Every child has a unique talent

and has different backgrounds, physical and tendency

of interests, how far their creativity is developed

depending on the experience, feelings and

encouragement in participating in creative movement

activities. The conclusions of this discussion can be

seen in the following table:

Table 6: Summary of implications to the teaching

experience of imagination to children.

Creative Movement

Activities

Props Application

EXPERIENCE

Interaction

(Researchers) + (Children)

Physical

Playing

Self-Potential

Trying out new

things

Desire

Fun

Exploration

Create unique

movements

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5 CONCLUSIONS

Through this article, the conclusions give an

overview that the experience in improving the

performance of a child through creative movement

activities using props is reviewed in terms of how the

exploration activity can provide them an active

stimulus to think of finding and displaying the skills

available to be performed through the movement:

• Develop the skills present in the children in

order to develop and expand their experience

in movement creation.

• The passion and activeness of body parts

exploration.

• The use of energy practiced with various

feelings to be released.

• Play with space as the process of enjoying the

surroundings around the children.

• Improvement in the children’s self-confidence

for they are able to present their creative ideas

together with their friends.

The researchers suggested that such teaching

elements can highlight awareness about activities that

can provide experience to help in bringing out the

children’s potential and uniqueness. The experience

felt, is a recognition of new links that is capable of

detecting ways of thinking, responding and

communicating about ideas and feelings. These

implications provide opportunities for solving

problems, exploring, taking risk, forming abilities,

finding answers based on decision-making to prepare

the children heading towards critical thinking. This

refers to the development of thinking power for

constructing the emotional processes to attain a high

level of attainment in the children’s achievement.

This article suggests that creative movement

activities need to be enhanced by using tools such as

props as well as activity instructions that will help

teachers to provide experience opportunities in the

creation of space for expressions towards exploring a

more creative imagination for children.

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Muhammad Fazli Taib Saearani, graduated summa

cum laude from Universitas Gadjah Mada with a

Doctorate in Performing Art and Visual Art Studies

in the field of dance education in the classical court

dance heritage of Yogyakarta. He received his

Master’s degree (Drama & Theatre) in creative

movement education at Universiti Sains Malaysia,

Penang in 2014, Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Arts

with dance concentration at University Malaysia

Sabah in 2007 and Diploma in Performing Arts

(Acting) in 2004. His research focuses on dance

education, dance heritage through non-formal

education, creative movement education and

sociology of dance. Currently, he is the Deputy Dean

of Academic and Internationalization at the Faculty

of Music and Performing Arts in Sultan Idris

University of Education.

Nur Nabila Michael Luang Abdullah went to the

Centre of Preparatory Studies, MARA Institute of

Technology, Shah Alam, Selangor for her Teaching

English As A Second Language (TESL)

Matriculation Programme before graduating with a

Bachelor of Education (TESL) with honours degree

at the National University of Malaysia in 1996. After

completing her MA in Dance Studies: Dance in

Education, Choreological Studies and Sociology of

Dance from City University, London in 1997, she

dedicated 20 years of teaching at Universiti Malaysia

Sabah (1997-2010) and Sultan Idris Education

University (2010 till present). Her research interest

includes dance ethnography and dance costume

design. She has co-authored a book entitled

‘Inventory of Traditional Games and Sports’ in 1998.

She has also made contributions as panel members to

the development of dance curriculum for the

Malaysian School of Arts. She is also the advisor for

Kelab Warisan Tari UPSI (WARIS), the dance club

in the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is funded by University Research Grant

(2017-0293-107-01) from Universiti Pendidikan

Sultan Idris (UPSI). We would like our thanks to

National Children Development Research Center,

UPSI.

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