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This is why now I plan to continue filming myself or myself and children performing songs we practice for families to access. Continuing these partnerships with families. I would also continue introducing new songs, dances, movement patterns and ways of connecting with media. This could be with puppets, felt board props, books, different music genres, movement-based activities such as yoga, musical instruments, play experiences related to songs (provocation pictures of song lyrics and visuals can be added to prompt children and educators). I will also be sharing my findings and related readings with my fellow educators to inspire deeper team understandings and cohesive approaches to children’s communication efforts.

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To continue to support this kind of learning and connecting with music to make meaning and strengthen relationships, I would continue being responsive, and actively involved in children’s play. Through the Covid pandemic lockdown periods, we had many children staying home, only able to connect with us through virtual resources. I created many virtual resources involving songs I’d usually sing with children at the centre. This received great feedback from families, who reported being pleased that they now had an understanding of how some of their child’s favourite songs from care actually went, or that they now knew what their child was trying to do when enacting certain song actions. I loved that these special educator child understandings were then more easily transferred into the child’s home life too.

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In my practice, I constantly find myself connecting, responding and communicating with this group of very young children without extensive or any verbal language needed. I think I find children’s understandings and connection to our shared knowledge especially evident and visible through the medium of song. Be it through singing (even if it’s just murmuring a vague tune), movement (attempting actions that go along with a song or dancing freely). It is so evident to me children have absorbed knowledge through our sing-along interactions and can express and transfer this knowledge later on. All of the songs that were introduced here by children into their play are songs I have sat and sang with them, many of which they did not know before these interactions, some of which may be part of their life experiences, such as ‘happy birthday’.

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While Vygotsky (Nolan & Raban 2015) has placed strong importance on verbal language, and I do believe as an educator I can ‘scaffold’ children’s knowledge by sharing my own and modelling language. Canella (Nolan & Raban 2015) draws me to further reflect on whether “we are judging children’s differences from us as adults as inadequacies or weaknesses rather than as alternative ways of knowing and thinking about the world”. I feel then that just because most children will grow to become confident in their verbal speech, this does not mean they should be rushed into this form of communication, or that their other forms are less remarkable.

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I found reading Fincham, E. N. (2016). Words and bodies: reimagining narrative date in a toddler classroom very thought provoking when considering these moments and the competent and diverse ways children communicate. I was intrigued by the concept presented that we have such a heavy focus and importance placed on the spoken word in western education that we may be devaluing “declarations of the body”.

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Department of Education and Training 2016, Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) Department of Education and Training, Melbourne

<https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf>

Fincham, E. N. (2016). Words and bodies: reimagining narrative date in a toddler classroom. In W. Parnell & J. M. Lorio (Eds.), Disrupting early childhood education research: imagining new possibilities (pp. 107–123). Taylor and Francis. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4219220&ppg=107

EISBN: 9781317558521

Nolan, A. and Raban, B. (2015) Theories into Practice. Blairgowrie: Teaching Solutions

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What I noticed through these moments is that children are making meaningful connections to songs that I teach them. This is evident as they are exploring this in their play, making connections between songs and their experiences with materials and interactions in their play.

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"Children begin
by using gestures, movement, visual and non-verbal cues, sounds, language and assisted communication
to engage in the world and form relationships. Fundamental to this development is the understanding of how symbols and pattern systems work, and how they can be used to engage others. From birth, intentional communication is strengthened and broadened. Children learn to take turns in communication exchanges through their relationships with responsive adults, exploring sound and movement patterns, singing songs, reading stories, playing games and recording their thoughts and ideas" (VEYLDF pp 22)

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I can request a song about bodies by using my body!

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I can request a song about bodies by using my body!

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They all smiled and giggled as we interacted. Sol stood back looking at me eyes wide, he touched his head, knees then toes a couple of times in that order. I thought he might have been thinking of of the song "heads, shoulders, knees and toes. so I asked if he was and he gave me a big smile and a nod. "Yay!" agreed the others. I quizzed them where each of the parts in the song were and they pointed them out on their bodies along with me. I sang the song for them and they performed the actions with me. When I finished they all clapped "Yay" they cheered. "chelsea more singing" Theo requested when the song was done.

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Theo, Sol and Alex were playing with the baby dolls. "Bubby!" Said Alex.  Sol pointed to the nose on the baby "nose" he said. "Yes that's baby's nose" I responded. The children all began pointing out body parts on the dolls and saying them if they could or looking to me to label them and then they'd have a go at repeating the word. We began also pointing out our own and each others body parts. "Chelsea's nose!" Said Theo pointing to my nose.

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Ray and Jay then approached us holding out their cake like creations, a little stick poking out the top of each. “Jay?” Jay asked dancing his body about slightly. “ok should we sing Jay happy birthday now?” I asked. “Yeah!” they all said. We all took turns of being sung to. Ray and Jay didn’t quite verbalise the words but bobbed along to the tune as Sid and I sung. And we did all have a giggle went Ray and Jay shouted “Hip, Hip Hooray!” at the end of each turn. “I had my birthday and I was 2 and I had a Lorax cake!” Sid shared with us. We continue making, pretend tasting and singing over the cakes!

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Sid came closer to me. “Chelsea, this can be your happy birthday cake now” she told me. “Oh, it’s my birthday? Thanks for this lovely cake it looks delicious!” I said. “how many candles does it have” I wondered. “One, two, three four!” Sid counted. “Happy birthday to Chelsea, happy birthday to Chelsea, happy birthday to Chelsea happy birthday to you!” Sid sang to me as we both held the little cake together in our hands, we both danced our bodies about as we sung. I blew out my pretend candles and Sid giggled with delight.

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I came to play by some children in the sandpit. Sid had some sand in a little cup and was finding tiny sticks to poke into it. She held her creation out in front of her gently smiling down at it. “happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Siddy, happy birthday to Sid” she sang dreamily to the well-known melody of happy birthday. “HIP, HIP, Hooray!” Ray shouted looking to Sid and sharing a smile. “Ray?” he seemed to ask. “No” Sis responded. “could we sing happy birthday for Ray now Sid? Or maybe we could help him make another cake?” I suggested. Ray seemed to take that idea upon himself busily working on filling his own container of sand with some help from Jay.

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“Poppy in the boat!” Grace said. “No in the bus!” Poppy said introducing a new idea. “Yeah the wheels on the bus!” Grace agreed pointing out another related song we often sing. “Round round!” Ray sang out moving his arms around (the action that goes with the song). We sang the song together, the children joining in for bits they knew. “what else happens on the bus?” I’d ask at the end of each verse. Poppy, Grace and Ray would tell me verbally or through the correlating bodily action. For example Ray began bobbing his body up and down, throwing his arms up and down, “the people on the bus bounce up and down?” I responded. “Yeah!” he smiled. We did this for a little while longer before we began dispersing into other play. I noticed that Grace and Ray both individually sat in a crate later that day quietly singing songs to themselves.

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They all negotiated their way into a crate and then looking at each other and myself with grins on their faces. “we all in the boat Chelsea!” George said. “Row, row, row” Ray sang. Grace looked at him her eyes lighting up. “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream!” she sang. “If you see a crocodile don’t forget to scream!” George joined Grace in finishing the tune. “Yay!” Ray clapped, and they all giggled. “Chelsea you the crocodile!” George proposed. I crept about the on the grass near them, “snap… snap…snap!” I said snapping with my two hands. They all squealed and laughed. “let’s do row row again!” Grace exclaimed. And so we all sang the song together and this time I acted out the crocodile. Soon the children began moving in and out of the crates, George went to play elsewhere, and Poppy took over the third crate.

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We have some crates in the yard, some used for storage others for seats or as part of the climbing equipment. George decided to play in one of the crates, turning it over to sit inside. Ray observed him and found a crate as well, bringing it over next to George and sitting in it as well. The two of them smiled and each other and began rocking their bodies from side to side. Grace payed attention to this, “What George doing?” she wondered. “I don’t know should we ask him?” I said, “what are you doing George?” I asked. “We in the boat” He responded with a smile. “Grace’s turn?” Grace asked pointing to the crates. “Where’s another boat?” George wondered. Ray held out his hands palms up and shrugged, his eyebrows frowning. “You could use the one with the sandpit toys in it Grace” I suggested. “Yeah” they all said smiling. So together we emptied out the sandpit toys and lined the crates up, side by side. “Wow!” Ray said pointing at our work.

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This question was inspired by 3 moments I documented in the early stages of placement. I decided to explore this further as I reflected on the ways children make meaning and communicate through songs and actions. I wanted to explore and document any evidence of this learning being integrated into children's play.

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Do children connect songs with their play? Are they making meaning through music beyond educator lead experiences? 

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Do children connect songs with their play? Are they making meaning through music beyond educator lead experiences? 

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I work part time in the infant/toddler room this means I have the preexisting relationships with the team, children and families here. The infant toddler space is separate to the rest of the center with it's own large room, sleep room, bathroom and yard. The program caters for 14 children per day with 5 educators. The program consists of lots of indoor/outdoor play and warm interactions with educators.

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From the 26th of October to the 13th of November I conducted three weeks of placement in the Infant/toddler Room at my workplace at Dawson Street Children’s Co-operative (DSCC). DSCC is situated on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation I would like to acknowledge them as the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay my respects to elders, past, present and emerging. DSCC is a small 56 place community run centre situated in Brunswick.