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Creative flow in motion, exploring the language of movement (Rationale)

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Creative flow in motion, exploring the language of movement (Rationale)

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This activity connects with my On Country visit, as when I embedded myself in my surroundings, I could imagine physically becoming one with the environment. Doing this deepened my understanding of movement in relation to the world around me. By encouraging the children to physically transform into elements of nature, such as swaying trees, leaves detaching from branches, and animals or insects, they can relate to and connect with the Aboriginal perspective of nature as living entities.

This experience links with play-based learning and Reggio Emilia’s Hundred Languages of Children, highlighting the value of movement as a form of communication. Encouraging children to movements of others helps develop social connections and a sense of community.

I find it difficult to see challenges arising from this experience, as children have incredible imaginations, and it will be beautiful to witness them transforming into various aspects of nature.

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Activity Drama

Gather the children outside under a tree. If this isn’t possible, use vivid descriptions to help them imagine the experience. Encourage them to look up through the branches or, if indoors, close their eyes and picture the scene in their minds.

Ask open-ended questions to initiate their imagination, What can you see?, What animals might live in this tree?, How old do you think this tree is?, What might it have been through?, What would life be like for a tiny bug living in this tree?

Encourage the children to share their thoughts and ideas. As they listen to one another, invite them to build on each other’s ideas, creating and describing the story of the tree together.

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I expected different ideas, sounds, and thoughts from my own experience during my visit to country. From this, I was shown different results, although similar in some respects. In my experience, I didn’t have many animals physically present, just their distant sounds. In the activity I created, there were dogs running around, which added layers of sound, movement, and ideas. I expected more variety in movements and thought they might be more animal directed, so it was exciting and interesting to see a different perspective when my dad tried to resemble a dried-up tree in the hot sun. Doing this experience again, I think having a larger group would help provoke new and different ideas as they can bounce off one another and include and add to one another’s thoughts.

From this unit and the experiences I have taken part in throughout it, I have gained a better understanding of the connections between music, movement, and drama, as well as the importance of each aspect individually and how crucial it is to implement them in an early childhood setting. I now better appreciate how these languages come together to help tell stories and provide another way of communication, while promoting creativity and expression. At the beginning, I only considered each on a surface level, but with this deeper understanding, I can implement them more effectively in my practice.

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As I engaged with my On Country visit, I found myself imagining stories and ideas as I became one with the world around me. Embedded in Aboriginal traditions is storytelling, and therefore, this activity helps children see the tree as a living entity and imagine its life story. The open-ended questions and children expressing their different ideas help bring the children together to create an imaginative story of the tree’s life. A challenge I may face during this experience is children shutting down other children’s ideas, if this were to occur, I will need to jump in and help redirect children to value everyone’s thoughts and ideas.

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Activity sound and music (a sound adventure)

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Activity sound and music (a sound adventure)

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Activity, Sound and music

Begin by inviting the children to sit in silence for a minute, allowing them to listen and embrace the sounds around them in an outdoor environment. After this, engage the children in a conversation using open-ended questions, such as what they felt during this time and what sounds they heard.

Next, ask the children to choose a sound they noticed and see if they can recreate it. Encourage them to experiment with different ways to mimic the sounds they heard.

Then, have the children lie down again, this time focusing on recreating a sound they heard the first time. Support them in exploring a variety of sounds, such as animals, the wind, distant noises, or insects.

Finally, engage the children in another discussion, using open-ended questions to reflect on their experience the second time around. Ask how it felt, whether they noticed new sounds, and how their ideas may have changed.

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This activity strongly aligns with my On Country visit, where I experienced the benefits of sitting quietly and engaging with the world around me, emphasizing the importance of deep listening and Dadirri (Ungunmerr, 1988). By encouraging children to sit in silence and connect with their surroundings, the experience fosters an awareness of the living world. As children sit quietly and take in the sounds, it gives them the freedom to imagine and develop their own ideas, embracing all the different things they hear and how they interpret them.

Asking open-ended questions helps children reflect on their experience. This activity also aligns with Dewey’s belief that learning is most meaningful when it stems from real-life experiences.

Some challenges that may arise during this activity include children struggling to remain calm, relax, and fully embrace their surroundings, as they may be more inclined to run around and play. However, even if children engage in deep listening for a short time, they will still benefit and make connections to their world.

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becoming one with nature, Mum becoming a dog based off observing her surroundings. Dad being a tree drying up in the heat of the hot sun.

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Part two, after sitting in silence and participating in deep listening, mimicking sounds heard or/and ideas.

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Activity movement and dance (creative flow in motion)

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Activity movement and dance (creative flow in motion)

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Activity Movement and dance

Begin this activity by inviting the children to an outdoor environment, ideally surrounded by nature. If this isn’t possible, encourage them to close their eyes while you vividly describe a flourishing natural setting filled with animals, trees, plants, and insects.

Start with a short discussion about the animals they can see or imagine in this environment. What creatures might be nearby? What types of trees, plants, and bugs could be present? Encourage the children to share their thoughts and observations.

Next, invite the children to become one with nature. They can take on different elements of the environment, perhaps swaying like a tree in the wind, drifting like a falling leaf, or slithering like a snake through the grass on a hot day.

After they've had the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature, encourage them to observe and try out their peers movements. Can they replicate someone else's motions? Can they explore new ways to move like different parts of nature?