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In this activity, children will be making maracas with loose parts. We will use materials like toilet paper rolls, beans, tape and coloured pens. After making the instruments, we will start using our maracas with different rhythms. Afterwards we will be listening to the song five little ducks and implement the rhythm patterns we created into the song.

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In this activity, I will show different pictures to children and ask them to imitate how they would move. For example, they can flap their wings like a bird or waddle like a duck. a bird or a duck. After that, I will play  music in the background and they will be moving like the animal they choose and when the music stops they will freeze like a statue.

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In this activity, there will be an imaginary bridge, and when children crossed that bridge they will become fairies or wizards or anything they want and they will have the ability to do magic.They will be asked what superpower they have and what they want to do with it. For example, they will have magic wands and they will make beautiful flowers grow on the grass.

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My assessment 2 experience helped me to understand the opportunities in nature. if we focus on the voice of nature, it has so much to offer us. After watching the Dadirri video I realised if I spent more time immersing myself in nature, listening to the sounds, and embracing the experience, it would help me feel more at peace and live in the moment. According to Ungunmerr (1988),  there is no need to reflect too much and to do a lot of thinking. It is just about listening and being aware . Therefore I will be integrating activities that prioritise listening and thinking in my teaching practice.

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This activity relates to my Artefact because I saw plenty of ducks and listened to their voices on my visit. Therefore I wanted to incorporate that to my activities. Making maracas with loose parts will foster children’s creativity and fine motor skills.This is an activity that emphasises the importance of music as it benefits kids of all ages as well as impacting child development and improving social skills (Baltagi, n.d.). This relates to the EYLF Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators, as they listen and respond  to music and express how it makes them feel and they use language and representations from music and art to communicate (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2022). Engaging in more experiences with the elements of music such as rhythm and pitch, students develop analytical skills and aesthetic understanding (ACARA, 2017). That’s why, we are focusing on slow and faster rhythms with the maracas in this activity. This will also promote their ability to listen and imitate musical patterns.

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This activity is related to my Artefact as I will ask children to imitate the things that captured my interest in that park. Moreover, this activity is planned to promote children’s physical development, creativity and social skills. Imitating animals will enhance their coordination, balance and physical development. Moreover, this activity is so beneficial for children’s physical and cognitive development because through dancing children learn about their bodies and begin to develop mindfulness and self-awareness (Dance Teaching Ideas, 2020). This relates to the EYLF Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators, as they use language and representations from music and art to communicate (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2022). Moreover, children find their own body language through exploring movement through dance play. This activity will help them to find what shapes or movements make them feel strong, safe and joyful (Dance Teaching Ideas, 2020).

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This activity is related to my Artefact because the bridge and the beautiful flowers on that park inspired me to create this game. The aim of this activity is to improve children’s imagination and creativity as well as promoting their social skills. Participating in pretend play has a positive impact on their cooperation, sharing and negotiating abilities (Wallin, 2019).Pretend play also aims to help them regulate their emotions and implement creative problem solving (Wallin, 2019).Therefore, in order to help children improve these skills they will be asked what superpower they have and what they want to do with these powers. Then we will let them use their imagination.  Drama not only promotes creativity it also has a great impact on other subjects. According to Wilson (2018) children who can manipulate symbols in dramatic play are more likely to be more successful in maths, reading and writing. Therefore, we act like the blanket is a bridge and the sticks are magical wands. Engaging in dramatic play gives children a sense of curiosity, aesthetic knowledge and achievement through exploring and playing roles, and imagining situations and ideas as artists and audiences (VCAA, 2019).

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1. The teacher will ask questions like “ Do you know what maracas are? , Do you want to make one” to capture their interest.

2. The materials will be introduced: toilet toilet paper rolls, beans, tape, markers.

3. Then the teacher will demonstrate how to make them.

4. Firstly, bend and tape one end of the toilet paper roll to close the bottom.Then, pour beans into the roll.

5. The teacher will explain, "The fewer beans you put in, the louder the sound will be,", so that the children will decide the amount of beans accordingly.

6. Afterwards, bend and tape the top part of the roll securely to seal the maraca.

7. Children will decorate their maracas using markers with whatever color they like.

8. The teacher will start shaking the maraca and create a rhythm and then ask the children to imitate it.

9. Then each children will create a rhythm and other children will imitate it

10. After everyone has had a turn, the teacher will play the song "Five Little Ducks."

11. Children will sing along and play their maracas, applying the rhythm patterns they practiced.

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1. The teacher will demonstrate the pictures and ask children to imitate how it would move and the sound it makes.

2. For example, they can flap their wings like a bird or waddle like a duck. a bird or a duck.

3. After they imitated all the pictures the teacher will play music.

4. The teacher will ask children to pick a favourite from the pictures they imitated.

5. When the music is playing they will imitate and when it stops they will freeze like a statue.

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1. This is an outdoor activity so the students will be prepared to go outside

2. Children will be introduced to the bridge

3. The teacher will explain that when they cross the bridge, they will have superpowers. They can be a fairy or any magical creature they want.

4. They will be asked what superpower they want to have. However, they will not share it with their peers.

5. After they decide, it's time for performing. Each child will cross the bridge one by one and pretend to do magic.

6. After performing, their peers will try to guess which superpower the performer had. For example, growing beautiful flowers.

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Reflection

Children were so excited and engaged in doing the maracas. Some were able to do it by themselves. However some of them were struggling with bending and taping the bottom part. Therefore, I can do the bending and taping part beforehand next time. They had so much fun decorating it and the decorating part took longer than expected. While singing along, instead of singing they were more focused on playing the maracas. Therefore, I might use a different song, which has no lyrics next time. Also, I can add more things to decorate such as stickers.

Future Practice in Early Childhood Education

Through this activity, I realised that play enables expression and communication in different ways that are impossible to convey through language alone (Roy et al., 2015). Therefore, I will implement more activities like these into my future practice, where children can express their feelings freely. For example, each child can write a sentence of lyrics, and we can then connect all of the phrases to build a song that we can perform together with instruments.

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Five Little Ducks | Kids Songs | Super Simple Songs

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Reflection

Children were so excited to do this activity. They had so much fun imitating the animals. Their favourite one was the wind. I can extend this activity by adding more pictures to imitate.

Future Practice in Early Childhood Education

This experience made me realise how important dance and movement is in education. Children can learn many things through movement, such as mathematical shapes or how natural elements move. It is also an amazing way to help them improve their physical skills like fine motor skills and balance (Dance Teaching Ideas, 2020). Therefore, I will incorporate dance and movement into my teaching in the future with different resources and activities.

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Party Freeze Dance Song - THE KIBOOMERS Preschool Songs for Circle Time

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Reflection

Children were so excited to do this activity. Some pretended to be a fairy and put flowers on the ground and played with their magical wand. Some said their superpower is flying and moved their arms like wings. I can extend this activity by adding superhero costumes or other resources next time.

Future Practice in Early Childhood Education

I am planning to incorporate drama activities into my classroom. I will find different resources and materials in order to make it more appealing. Drama promotes their social skills and imagination and creativity. Also, it helps them with their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Therefore incorporating drama activities like these are so essential for children’s overall development.

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Bridge and flowers

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Magic wands

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ACARA. (2017). Structure. Australiancurriculum.edu.au. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/music/structure/

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE]. (2022). Belonging, Being and becoming: the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). In ACECQA. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Baltagi, I. (n.d.). How music affects your baby’s brain: Mini parenting master class. Www.unicef.org. https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/how-music-affects-your-babys-brain-class

Dance Teaching Ideas. (2020, June 7). Creative Dance for Early Childhood |. Dance Teaching Ideas. https://danceteachingideas.com/creative-dance-movement-for-toddlers/

Roy, D., Baker, W., & Hamilton, A. (2015). What are the Arts and what do they 'do'? Teaching the arts: Early childhood and primary education (2nd ed., pp. 11-13). Cambridge University Press.

Ungunmerr, M.-R. (1988). Dadirri Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness. www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au

VCAA. (2019). Victorian Curriculum. Vic.edu.au. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au

Wallin, M. L. (2019, June). The Importance of Pretend Play in Natural Settings. Www.communityplaythings.com. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/the-importance-of-pretend-play-in-natural-settings

Wilson, Ruth, and Ruth Wilson. Nature and Young Children : Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environments, Routledge, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=324894.