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A short teaching activity that resonates with the creative language of dance/sound/music, is called 'Clap, move, wave by using your body'. This activity is for teaching music to children, which requires children to use their body movements to display the bird sounds they are hearing. To start off, children may listen to some bird sounds and then they decide what is the best way to represent them using their body movements. For example: A nightingale bird can be depicted through the body movements of waves, where you wiggle your arms up and down. Therefore, the children's imagination can have their own interpretation and they can also have fun while doing this! After they have figured out which bird sound they desire, and which movement they want to do, they can come into a circle and present what they are doing together in the class.

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Learning Intention: To engage children with their body movement to communicate with the language of music found in nature.

Learning Outcome 1 : Express and share pleasure and pride in their own efforts, achievements and accomplishments through language, gestures, facial expressions and or/movements. (AGDE, 2022, p. 34)

Children are free to use their imagination, there is no correct way for children to interpret their sounds to movements.

Children are all unique, and have different ways of displaying movements

Children should show pride in what they have chosen to utilise.

Age group: 3-5 year olds

Activity Duration: 10-15 minutes.

Steps:

1. Children will watch this YouTube clip, which contains different bird sounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfFldO-B8vE&t=121s

2. Children will listen to which bird sounds they like.

3. Children will then make a body movement that resonates with the sound.

4. Come together as a class, every child will present which bird sound and what body movement resonates with the sound.

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This activity relates to my creative response as I love the sounds of birds chirping. When I would hear birds chirps, I feel at peace, comfortable and safe. Listening to bird sounds allowed me to appreciate nature, and what was created on Earth. Which is why I was inspired to create this activity. It's about getting out of your comfort zone. As Tania states, how we stay silent out of fear of criticism (Tedx Talks, 2014), it is important children build confidence in what they are doing, which is why as an educator I want to be able to accommodate to each and every child, whether they have a disability or not, I want every child to feel included , "everyone should be present fully in their bodies without any sort of restrictive devices" (A Special Workshop with the NYC Ballet, 2015). Which is why, I am motivated to create a Reggio Environment in my future practices as an Educator, so I am able to "follow student interest and inquiry and to prepare an environment that matches the zone of proximal development" Vygotsky (1978). Since every child learns differently and some prefer hands-on experience or the use of physical materials, I would like to try as an educator to cater to the needs of each individual student.

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What went as expected?

This activity was implemented on my little cousin, something that went well was when he watched the YouTube video I provided him with, and he was able to point of some bird names he knew, which came to a surprise for me, because I did not expect that. After listening to the some bird sounds, he was telling me about different bird sounds and what they mean. Such as when birds are chirping a lot they are protecting their territory, or when a robin's tut, this means danger is near. This shows that teaching can go both ways!

What did not go as expected?

Something that did not go as expected, was that he thought this was activity was quite funny, and he was not very willing to participate in the beginning. However, with some convincing and explaining to him why this activity was important as I figured he was a shy child, this helped him build his confidence. After a while, he decided to join in and create his own movements to the bird sounds. He was able to swing his arms in the air to represent the rhythm he was hearing.

What might you do differently next time?

A step I would like to do differently next time is to thoroughly explain myself to children what the activity is and give them more time to allow them to immerse in what they hearing, and connect with nature. Therefore, in the future, I aim to promote an environment that allows children to be confident.

How might you use this growth in your future practice of early childhood education?

By using these strategies, I hope to create an environment where children feel comfortable making connections with both themselves and the environment around them. I certainly want to widen my perspectives, inspire them to be creative, and let them make their own choices about what they want to learn.

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

A Special Workshop With The NYC Ballet. (2015). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp6LeOIkUuQ

Brooker, et al., (2014). Foundations of Play Theory. SAGE Knowledge; SAGE Publications Ltd. https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-handbook-of-play-and-learning-in-early-childhood/n2.xml

Edwards, C. P., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. E. (2011). The Atelier: A conversation with Vea Vecchi. The hundred languages of children : the Reggio Emilia experience in transformation. Praeger, Cop.

Gandini, L., & Forman, G. E. (2012). The hundred languages of children : the Reggio Emilia experience in transformation. Praeger.

Hanna, W. (2017). The childrens music studio : a Reggio-inspired approach. Oxford University Press.

How music affects your baby’s brain: Mini Parenting Master Class. (n.d.). Www.unicef.org. https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/how-music-affects-your-babys-brain-class#:~:text=Music%20at%20early%20ages%20helps

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This short teaching activity is called 'musical bottles', which aligns withs the creative language of sound/music, to engage children with the amount of water there is in each bottle. To begin this activity, there will be five bottles or glasses of water with varied amounts of water in each group, and then children will blow over the top of the bottle which can be half filled or full. When blowing across the top, it can create a steamship like sound. By doing this, it will allow children to ask open-ended questions, interact and communicate with one another and lastly have fun! After creating a sound they like, children can join a group that includes from 3-4 children, and they can come together to create a music piece, and it can be anything they interpret from these bottles. Lastly, they will present their music piece to the class!

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Learning Intention:

To engage children with the language of sound/music with homemade instruments.

Learning Outcome: Approach and initiate interactions with other children to form or be part of a group. (AGDE, 2022, p. 36)

To ask open-ended questions and be able to interact with one another

Children can interpret sounds, and create a music out of the water bottles.

Children are all different and can compose songs based on what they desire.

Steps:

1. Recycle as many water bottles, whether that be from home or in the classroom environment.

2. Ask children to fill the water bottles, in varied amounts of water.

3. Start blowing across the top of the bottle to create a sound they like.

4. Form a group, 3-4 children and make a song they like.

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This short teaching activity relates to my creative response, as I was captivated by the sounds of water in the lake. To me, water portrays tranquility, the sounds of water soothes everyone, that can be rain, waves crashing at the beach or simply by sitting there and watching the water move. I was inspired to create this activity where children can use their problem-solving skills to create music. By this I mean, the varied amounts of water. How much water do they need to create a specific sound or how much water they need to pour out to reach their desired sounds, as "children are left to their own devices to explore the materials, and the teacher's role shifts to documenting their work" (Hanna, 2017, p. 39). Meaning as a future educator, I am there to guide them when they are in need of help, and I stand back and observe what they are doing. The studio approach is something I aspire to incorporate into my future classroom, as "schools should be made of spaces where the hands of children could be active for messing about" (Hanna, 2017, p. 3). This is said by Loris Malaguzzi, the philosophical founder of the Reggio approach, and I agree with this statement as each children learn differently and "music at early ages helps children express themselves and share feelings." (UNICEF, 2019). Lastly, by forming groups, and being able to interact with each other can allow children to empathise and work together as a team to create a music piece.

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This short teaching activity that I have created is called "shadowing within nature" which resonates with the creative language of drama, to engage children to manipulate objects to create different shapes and figures. This can done by waiting for the sun to shine, children can play and learn with them in immense ways. Children can physically use their body to create and manipulate it into any shadow they like or by utilising sticks, stones and leaves, to trail shadows. This an activity which is great for learning independence, each children get to do their own thing. This is an open-ended activity that is carried out outside in a setting where children can play with natural materials and be inspired by sounds and movements that spark their imaginations.

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Learning Intention:

To engage children with the creative language of drama within nature.

Learning Outcome:

Use play to investigate and explore nature and the natural environment. (AGDE, 2022, p. 43)

Children can express their emotions through the shadowing of light

Children can choose a shadow that has a meaning towards for them.

Age group: 3-8 year olds

Activity Duration: 20-30 mins

Steps:

1. Go to an outdoor environment, this should be conducted on a sunny day.

2. Collect rocks, sticks, and leaves to trace their shadows

3. Or use their body to create an illusion within the shadow.

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This short activity relates to my creative response as the, in my assessment 2, I was using a stick as magic wand to pretend play with my dog, showing that anyone can use their imaginations with natural resources to whatever they like. Which is why I was inspired to create this activity as children can use natural resources such as sticks, rocks and leaves to trace or manipulating shadows to express how they are feeling. This activity relates to Lev Vygotsky's theory, while he believes that "make believe play is influential in children's learning and development particularly in advancing self-regulation" (Brooker et al., 2014). This activity shows that "expressive languages are just as essential as the academic disciplines and should not be considered optional and marginal" (Gandini, 2012, p. 306). Therefore, Drama is an another way of children telling us, educators, how they are feeling. It is another way for children to express their emotions through pretend play.

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What went as expected?

This activity was went better than I expected, my cousin was ready to participate in this activity, he was able to manipulate his shadow against the sun. He was dancing and making silly moves while looking at his shadow. This was a way of him expressing his emotions, which was clear, he was happy and enjoying what he was doing during this activity.

What did not go as expected?

Everything went well, however, with more time given, I think he would have been able to do more elements that was part of this activity such as using rocks, sticks and leaves to trace a trail he desired. This activity showed that children have their own thinking and should not restricted to do what they like.

What might you do differently next time?

Something I might do differently, is to organise materials, have them prepared for children to use, such as the rocks, sticks, and leaves. So that would leave children with more time to shadow or use the natural resources to trail a trace. Therefore, in the future, I aim to be more efficient with my time.

How might you use this growth in your future practice of early childhood education?

In my future practice, I am determined to provide children with opportunity to engage in creative play with adult interference, as well as providing an environment where they are free to express their emotions

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How has your perspective of music, movement and drama changed as a result of engaging with the unit content and required tasks?

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How has your perspective of music, movement and drama changed as a result of engaging with the unit content and required tasks?

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Before starting this unit, my initial thought was that the creative, language of music, dance and drama was only about learning how to play instruments, learn typical dancing and how to act. However, after finishing this unit, my perspectives have changed. There is more to the creative languages and how we can utilise them to the fullest in the classroom, with the help of nature, we can create a deeper connection and understanding of the environment around us. Something that has stuck to me throughout this unit was session eight, where I learnt about how I should cater to special needs children, and make them feel included in the classroom without any restrictive devices. Therefore, in the future I am to accommodate to every child, through their wants and needs.