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References

ACECQA. (2018). Belonging, being & becoming: The early years learning framework for australia. In ACECQA. ACECQA. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

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

Imaginary friends. (2024, March 28). Raising Children Network. https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/behaviour/friends-siblings/imaginary-friends

Music matters - The Elizabeth Foundation for Preschool Deaf Children. (2023, March 28). Elizabeth-Foundation.org. https://elizabeth-foundation.org/services/foundations-for-communication/music-matters/

National Geographic Kids. (2014, March 1). Kangaroo facts and photos. Animals. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/kangaroo

Play and learning in early childhood. (2025). Vu.edu.au. https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1816406-ECE2008-1-2023-HWB-151670/the-sage-handbook-of-play-and-learning-in-early-childhood

Teal, N. (2021). Discover the remarkable world of wombats: Australia’s extraordinary ecosystem engineers | One Earth. One Earth; oneearth.org. https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-wombat/

the. (2022). Physical Characteristics of the Koala - Australian Koala Foundation. Www.google.com. https://share.google/images/V5To6XKwNBQNr0QVc

Wilson, R. (2018). Nature and Young Children. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315148533

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Children will have explore movement through imaginative game in “We are in the Jungle”. In this game, children will invites to act out animals like kangaroos, koalas and wombats while their peers guess. Through this activity children may encourage with their imagination, move their body and develop in their communication skill with peers.

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In this drama activity children will explore different types of weather such as sunshine, wind,storm and raindow. Children will acting out a short scene together and switch between different weather. After activity, children will share how each one made them feel.

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Children will explore music and movement with The Taba Naba Song. Children will begin by listen to the song with their eyes closed, then join hands in a circle to sing and move together. The teacher leads first, then children repeat and finally everyone will sing as group, hold hands into a circle and adding their own creative movements.

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After my experiences that Victoria University Yard, i feel and observed with the natural environment, the peaceful vibe, fresh air, wind, sound branch’s tree wave helps me to imagine the ocean world and inspired my lesson plan. After the experiences, i want to create a music and movement activity where children could freely express their movement and follow the rhythm flow with their bodies.In the **Sing and Move Your Body** activity with *The Taba Naba Song*, children had the opportunity to listen with their eyes closed to feel the stronger connect, sing, and add their own creative movements. This imaginative play not only supported their musical and bodily expression but also encouraged social interaction and a deeper connection to culture and the environment through movement and song.

Pedagogical Elements

- Listening and Attention: Children begin by closing their eyes and listening to *The Taba Naba Song*, which develops concentration with the place and auditory skills. This links to EYLF Learning Outcome 4: “Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials.”

- Children engaging in Collaboration and Belonging: By holding hands in a circle, singing, and moving together, children experience a sense of community and teamwork, supporting EYLF Learning Outcome 2: “Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities.”

- Children engage their confidence and Creativity: Children contribute their own unique movements, which encourages creativity, imagination, and selfexpression, accordig with EYLF Learning Outcome 4: “Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, creativity, confidence, and persistence.”

- Children will learn about the respect for Culture: As Taba Naba is a Torres Strait Islander song, engaging with it respectfully introduces children to Indigenous perspectives and fosters cultural awareness, linking to EYLF Learning Outcome 2: “Children respond to diversity with respect.”

Theoretical Elements

- Through my activity with the connection of movement and music, music is a powerful creative way for children to learning. According to Music-related experiences for children who are deaf or hoh :”Music training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul on which they mightily fasten.” Plato (The Republic, Book III). I agreed that music supports not just fun but s creativity key for chidlren’s development. As i have researched:”Music can help with early language development and can provide positive emotional experiences between you and your child from their earliest days.” Through music, children are easier to learn new words.

- By my engaging children through music, movement, and rhythm supports multiple areas of development. As highlighted in Sensory storytelling guide, a webinar for teachers and parents (sensorium theatre) shared: “These are the things, the little things, that make a big difference ”: Engaging young children with additional needs in story and nursery rhymes through an arts-based multi-sensory experience:”, arts based learning activity provides for children multi ensory opportunities that allow all children, including those with additional needs, to participate and thrive. Music and rhymes create familiarity, repetition, and rhythm, which enhance both language acquisition and social engagement.

- According to Wilson (2007) mention that :”Nature play provides young children with experiences that are rich in sensory stimulation, and such play supports creativity, curiosity and emotional well-being.” highlights that children’s innate connection to nature is strengthened through for their mutli sensory experiences that engage sound, movement, and imagination. The Taba Naba song reflects natural rhythms and cultural knowledge, giving children the chance to embody patterns and sounds that mirror the world around them. Singing and moving in a circle allows children to connect with both each other and the environment, while also building cultural awareness of Torres Strait Islander traditions.

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Age group: 3 - 5 years

Material: Screen and Taba NAba audio song

1. Warm up: Listening with eyes closed**

- Gather children to sit on chairs and closed their eyes. Listen to the song quietly with their eye closed. Play the song once through.

- Teacher prompt after: “What sounds did you hear? How did the music make you feel?”

- Briefly name the activity: “Today we’ll sing and move your body along *Taba Naba*!”

Main Activity

- Teacher leads first

- Sing one line and show a simple movement (e.g., sway like the waves, step side-to-side, lift arms like sunshine).

- Children repeat.

Practice call-and-response

- Continue with 2–3 short phrases until children feel confident.

- Group singing and movement

- Teacher and children sing together in a circle.

- Move around the circle (walk, change direction).

- Encourage children to create their own movements for one phrase.

Closing Activity

- Slow the music, invite children to stop, hold hands, and take three deep breaths.

- Sit in a circle.

- Reflection questions:

- “What was your favourite movement?”

- “How did you feel singing together?”

- End with: “Thank you for sharing your voices and movements today.”

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What went as expected?

- During activity, children were commicate and engage about singing and moving together.

- children were follow educator’s movement then try to make their own movement ideas.

- Moving to circle worked well for group participation and also help to build relationships between children and educator.

- Children love to doing movement activity with peers and educator

What did not go as expected?

- Some children were look lost and shy to make their own movements at first

- Some children show their movement when the music just start → may cause hard for them to focus.

- Children create their own movement when run aroun the circle

What might you do differently next time? ( positive and negative)

- Educator may leads and clap their hands when they sing the first line so children can feel the rhythms of the song.

- Educator may model more movement clearly at the start so children can dance confidence

- This could be create as an outdoor activity, children can sing and running around during play, move their body as their feeling for the nature element and build a stronger connection with the land.

- Provide for children some music instruments or nature materials to guide creativity and engagement of children’s music.

- Educator could use the song’s rtryhms to create a new song with similar meaning.

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

- Through this activity, shows the value of music and movement for supporting’s children creativity, develop their social skills and gross motor development.

- In my future practice, i may add on some instrument so children can play along singing.

- I will also add on some culture movements that to promote inclusivity, cultural awareness and sense of belonging for children.

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My connection to assessment 2, during my experiences At Victoria University Yard, i have observed and engaged with the natural environment which is the fresh air, tree branches, sound of birds , which informed my lesson plan. In the Movement Activity “We are in the jungle” encouraged an imaginative animal play for children to native Australia’s famous animals, reflecting the cultural and environment knowledge from the animal of the Country. Through this activity, children not just engage in creative learning but also in a deeper understanding of the place they were stand on and the culture.

Pedagogical Elements

During game, children lead their own movement and drama pretend to be the animals which according to the EYLF Learning Outcome 1:”Children develop knowledgeable and confident self identities.”

Children and peers play and guessing with each other build a relationship between peers which related to the EYLF Learning outcome 2:” Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessaryfor active community participation.”

Children are confident show their action of the animal for other peers to guess, they create every movement they think of, use their body language, create new movement when peers didn’t get the movement, according to the EYLF Learning Outcome 5 :”Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes”

Children watching and respect to peers ideas, take turns to guess, according to the EYLF Learning Outcome 1 :”Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect”

Theoretical Elements:

During guessing game, children required to move their body to pretend to be an animal, related to according to Creative Dance -Play for Early Childhood & Movement in the Wild:”Sharing activities that are linked to actions, events and interesting objects give children a chance to experiment with language. Through this game, children will have a chance to learn new words such as :”Kangaroo, Koala and Wombat.”

According to Creative Dance -Play for Early Childhood & Movement in the Wild:”Moving with your child is a rewarding experience as you watch them explore and grow in confidence.” Which can be related when educator and children play together when children ask educator to b

Furthermore as Srijani Banerjee”The environment as a tool for patient-centred care: a bridge between physiotherapy and Dance Movement Therapy said :”The human body has forever moved in sync with nature” . This has highlights the importance of children connection with movement and the natural environment, support children development and theie awareness of the world around them.

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My connection to assessment 2, during my experiences At Victoria University Yard, i have observed and engaged with the natural environment which is the fresh air, tree branches, sound of birds , which informed my lesson plan. With the experieneces with natural elements, i would love to create an activity where children feel free to create their own movemment of weather. Through the weather drama activity, children had the opportunity to embody and experience natural elements such as sunshine, wind, storm, and rainbow. This imaginative play not only supported their creativity and expression but also deepened their connection with the land and environment.

Pedagogical Elements

- During spend time with others peer children develop their social skills, this related to the EYLF Learning outcome 1:”Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect.” Children takes turn to guess, give ideas and show respect to friend’s idea.

- Through my activity, children will learn become more respect to the environment around them and develop a sense of belonging to groups and places, in, related to the EYLF Learning outcome 2:”Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment”

- Children engage their confident and involved learner, which related to to the EYLF Learning outcome 4:” Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.”

Theoretical elements:

- According to Brown and Sax (2013) in the “Creative Dance Play for Early Childhood”, for children’s development movement support for children develop body awereness,express their emotions and express their imagination. :”Young children will find the their own body language through their own exploration of movement.

Through the Drama activity, children pretend natural elements such as sunshine, wind and rainbow, allow children to experiment with their body in space and time while develop creativity.

- When listen to the scence, children use their own imagination to create their own movement. As i ask my children to create their favourite weather, its could be their imagination friends’s idea. According to Imaginary Friends (Raising Children Network):”Imaginary friends are pretend friends that children make up in their imagination.”Children could as their imagination friends to create the movement of they like. “Imaginary friends allow children to explore a make-believe world that they create all by themselves. “

- According Adena B.Meyers and Laura E.Berk (Make-Believe Play and Self-Regulation,2014):”While self-regulation is burgeoning, young children exhibit major transformations in imaginative play.”As during the Weather Drama activity, children practiced self-regulation by controlling their movements to represent different weather elements. For example gently swaying like the wind or stomping like thunder, while also taking turns, following group cues, and responding to peers’ ideas. This not only supported their emotional and cognitive development but also fostered social skills, patience, and respect for others’ contributions in a collaborative play environment.

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Lesson Plan: “Am my favourite weather!”

Age Group: 4 -5 years

1. Warm up activity:

- Ask children to create their favourite weather stretch

- Encourage them to move their bodies to show each type of weather.

1. Introduction

- Explain the activity: “We are going to act out a weather scene together!”

- Briefly describe the scene: sunshine in the park, wind between trees, a heavy storm, then a rainbow.

1. Main Activity - Weather Scene

- Educator will lead the drama scence and children will act out following a short “ Weather Scene”

“In a sunday early morning, sunshine at the park, windy with flying between trees, until the heavy storm come with thunder. After the rainbow come.”

- Encourage them to switch between different types of weather throughout the scene.

- Educator will let children make their own movement with the scence.

1. Closing activity:

Educator and children will discuss and share their favourite part of the activity:

- “How did it feel after the game?”

- “What did you feel when the storm came?”

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Lesson Plan: We are in the Jungle

Age group: 4-5 years

Materials: Photos of Kangaroo, Koala and Wombat

1. Warm up activity:

- In 3 seconds ask children have to pretend to be their favorite animal.

- Invite them to share their ideas about the animal

1. Introduction:

- Explain: “We are going to play guessing game with animals”

1. Main Activity - Guess the animal game

- One child is assigned an animal to act out

- Other children have to guess which animal it is

- When they guessed correctly, the child continues as pretending as the next animal.

- Rotate so each child gets a turn

1. Closing activity

Encourage children question to share their thoughts and feelings about the activity.

- “Which animal was the hardest to act?”

- “Which one was your favorite?”

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Through all of my experiences, now i believed that music main fun and joyful way for children’s learning, through music children can playing, learning, show their expression and build relationship with others. At my first unit content, i thought music are just singing but it is more than that, there are rthyms under that song and everything have its own sound.

Through my activity, i have see how music support children’s movement, when my children first listen with their eyes closed they already make their own movement. Through activity, singing and moving together, i could see my children encourages collaboration with others, build their social engagement by hold each others hands, while allow children epxress their emotions through every rhythm. With music, a opportunities for children to engagement with culture learning as they explore the songs from backgrounds and develop theirn sense of belonging.In my future practice, i would love to add on more playful instruments for children to play and move my activity to outdoor space. Instead of sing the writed lyrics, children and educator can create a new lyrics with the same rhythm.

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What went as expected?

- After activity, my children engaged passionately with game and very enjoyed pretending to be different types of weather. They especially love to acting out in their own way, show their excitement and creativity in their movement. Children also engage drama through their facial express and emotional express such as their faces and movement were soft when it’s sunshine and their movement were strong and agressive when the storm come.

What did not go as expected?

- As my children love to acting, may became overly excited during the storm scence, which made it challenging to bring the group back to calmness for the rainbow.

- Each children saw their own movement in the same weather, which saw their differences ideas of the weather

What might you do different next time? (positive or negative)

- Next time, i would make the scene at outdoour environment where children can feel the fresh air, sunshine and let’s see how children act at the storm in a beautiful weather.

- I could also add music or even sound effects to help guide the transitions between weather scenes.

- Provide for children some loose parts or natural materials so they can dress up as their weather.

How might you use this growth in your future pratice of early childhood education.

- Through this experience, showed me the value of using drama to support children’s imagination, movement,creativity, and emotional expression.

- In my future practice, i will also be more prepare for planning strategies such as materials, sound and create outdoor setting. For develop children’s learning through scaffold, manage their energy levels, and create meaningful, engaging learning experiences.

- Through this drama lesson about weather, children could also develop a deeper connection with the land. By pretending to natural elements such as sunshine, wind, storm, and rainbow, they begin to understand the power, beauty, and rhythm of the natural world. This fosters respect for the environment and helps children recognise their place within it, supporting their sense of belonging and connection to Country.

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What went as expected?

The children enjoyed pretending to be animals and were very engaged in guessing during play. Most children were eager to participate and took turns well. Children were very active, move their body and communicate with others. The joyful environment when educator and children play together. Use their hold body language to show their animal movement

What did not go as expected?

- Some children found it challenging to act out the animal clearly which is wombat in Yim turns.

- Children want to play again, discuss about their turns and actions with peers and educator have to guess about the animals. (positive)

What might you do different next time? (positive or negative)

- In my next time, i would show children an video intro to help children model each animal movement before start the game to give children more confidence.

- I will also provide some materials for children to make the game even more interesting and children also develop in their creativity.

- Create an outdoor activity so children can also have strong connect to the land, also an good opportunities to improve in outdoor activity

- Clear the space so children can move around, i saw some children hit their legs because of chairs

How might you use this growth in your future pratice of early childhood education.

- Through this activity, showed me how importance of scaffolding children’s play with clear demonstration and options. In the future, will provide visual aids, show model actions and encourage creativity so all of my children would feel comfortable participating with peers.

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Through my lesson pland and engaging with unit content, i think my view of drama has change my point of understand in early learning education. At the start, i thought drama was just a role play game but now i has seen drama in another way. Drama is a creative way for children to explore their emotions, show their ideas to action, a joyful way for children to build elationships in a safe and imaginative space. Through my activity, children are not just develop in their creativity but their communication skills, empathy and taking risk.

My perspective has also grown to recognise drama as a bridge between the body, mind, and environment. For example, by acting out weather scenes helps children connect to the natural world around them and develop respect for land and Country. Drama is a meaningful learning supports children’s development, children show their imagination through their facial express and movement of body. In my future practice, i would bring my activity to outdoor space, where children feel free to use nature elements as their materials, support emotional expression ,helps to build stronger connection to land

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Through my engagement with unit content and required tasks has changed my understand of movement in early childhood education. In my way of understand, movement is an active way for children to release their energy such as running, jumping, chasing,…But after this unit i have understand that movement is a powerful form to help for children development in self expression, communication, creativity, learning and imagination.

Through my movement activity experiences, as an imaginative play i have seen my children use their bodies to express emotions,their imagination and use their body language to pretend to be the animal.Movement allows children to experiment with others, taking risks, build their confidence and physical skills. For example, children acting out animals in their on way helps children to create their on imagine of animal in their mind. Also other peers guessing the animal connect with others through shared ideas.In my activity, children and educator has buil a deeply social which is take turn,change role and educator join to activity . This also help children to build their sense of belonging and connection with peers.

My perspective has changed as movement is a powerful way for children to deeply connected to children’s wellbeing and their sense of belonging. Through my experiences, i realised that children will develop their full potential when they get the chance to move their body. And in a joyful and positive environment, children will be more express their ideas, show their confident and build their social connection with peers. Through movement, i can recognised when children show their feeling such as soft movement when they are calm and relax or strong movement when they are uncomfortable.

In my future practice, i would like to plan more movement activities connect with essential learning opportunitites. I believed that by incorporating movement into my lesson daily and learning experiences, i can create an inclusive and development space for support children’s development.