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Dance like Bunjil

Children are shown the above video. They are then invited to move the way they think bunjil would move as he is flying over country.

The following prompts are shared with the group.

What would he sound like?

What would he see?

How would he feel (happy, excited, calm)?

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Bunjil Creation Cinema is a First People's exhibit in the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum. Bunjil Creation Cinema is an immersive experience that invites visitors to share a moment of spiritual and sensory awakening. Sound, visual art, technology and storytelling come together to represent the essence of creation for Victorian Aboriginal people and shares insight into their spiritual connection to country.

The centrepiece of this experience is a large kinetic sculpture inspired by the notion of continuity and the omnipresent nature of creation. The kinetic form symbolises Bunjil the Creator, a Wedge-tailed Eagle in flight. Spanning 2.2 metres, the structure (in constant motion), mirrors the size and majesty of a mature Wedge-tailed Eagle.

The moving form shows the wings of a bird in flight and reflects a universal motion seen throughout nature - the movement of a wave, the lines of a mountain range, a manta ray moving through water, a snake moving across the land. Visitors are invited into this spiritual experience to see, to feel, creation in motion - past, present and future.

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BUNJIL | Kinetic Art Sculpture | ENESS - ENESS

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Bunjil Is A Kinetic Art Experience And The First People's Exhibit In The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre At Melbourne Museum. View This And More Art Installations Online.

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Deep listening activity

Children are invited to sit or lay still and quite in an outdoor setting, listening to Dadjirri. After listening childern are emcoraged to close their eyes and listen to nature. Notice what we can hear.

Remind children when playing to notice these sounds and stop and listen.

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DADIRRI (Official Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Video) :: 3 minute promo

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Yoga session (small group activity) My background music is Wala is Life.

Children follow me in a yoga flow themed to my game and some of the natural environment we could see on our adventure.

The order of the flow is as follows

Starting from a seated position with our yoga password, Namaste.

Mountain pose

stalk pose

bird pose

tree pose

waterfall pose

Boat pose

Children are then encouraged to make up their own nature pose.

We then return to our seated position to seal our session with our yoga password, Namaste.

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I have incorporated most aspects from my Assessment 2 and the leaf game in my three teaching activities.

Activity one focuses on intertwining First Nations perspectives in my everyday teaching. I have also incorporated movement and given the children freedom to interpret the different questions in their own unique way. I think back to Mutton bird. The dancers used movement in a unique way to tell a story of a living animal just like in my game where I was imagining all types of scenarios about creatures I would meet on the river.

Activity two involves children immersing themselves in the sounds of nature. Using the guidance of Dadirri and drawing the attention to the sounds around them. Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr tells us "The contemplative way of dadirri spreads over our whole life. It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again… In our Aboriginal way, we learnt to listen from our earliest days. We could not live good and useful lives unless we listened. This was the normal way for us to learn - not by asking questions. We learnt by watching and listening, waiting and then acting. Our people have passed on this way of listening for over 40,000 years… There is no need to reflect too much and to do a lot of thinking. It is just being aware". While taking part in the activity children can engage directly with the natural world just as I do in my game. Ruth Wilson writes, "Play in the natural environment promotes the holistic development of children and it fosters growth in all of the developmental domains"(Wilson, 2018).

Activity three Is a dramatical movement activity using yoga to act out aspects of nature. I chose to do this to the song Wala Is Life for the dramatic sounds in the song and also the lyrics, message and language. Children could be inspired by the yoga poses and music to come up with their own original pose.

This activity was inspired from the river and surrounding environment I imagined when floating along the river on my leaf as a boat.

Linking theorists to VEYLDF outcomes for my experiences.

Outcome 5 supported by Vygotsky ZPD.

Outcome 4 supported by Maria Montessori in regards to the prepared environment and absorbent mind.

Outcome 1and 2 supported by Piaget, children are active learners.

Outcome 3 supported by Froebel, Self expression, creativity and social partisapation.

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This reflection was made after my daughter (16) and her friend (15) participated in the activities. I was unable to cary out this assessment with children in my workplace as I am on school holidays. I do not know anyone with young children that live close to me.

Activity one

What went as expected: The children watched the video quietly, when asked the prompting questions the engaged by moving around the lounge room in very different ways.

What did not go as expected: That they participated with interest and respected the material shown to them. I didn't think this would happen due to their age.

What might you do different next time: Implement this experience with kindergarten age children in my workplace. I will need to keep in mind inclusivity for children with learning delay or behavioural complexities.

Future practice: This has given me a base to work from when implementing with young children. seeing how older children embraced the material. Seeing children as capable learners no matter their age.

Activity two

What went as expected: The children lay engaged in the outdoor environment and listened to the video. I would expect children their age can sustain this level of concentration.

What did not go as expected: The video may be a little long for some younger children to listen to. Again I will need to keep in mind inclusivity for children with learning delay or behavioural complexities. These children may need additional support to engage in the experience.

What might you do different next time: Do this activity with a small group of young children not as a whole group activity. This will allow children the time, space and atmosphere to connect to the activity.

Future practice: To keep intertwining First Nations perspectives into my daily program. Educating other educators and families of the importance of deep listening and slowing down.

Activity three

What went as expected: This activity was the most well received of the three. The children really go involved in the background music by moving their bodies in time with the beat. The children seemed to enjoy the yoga component of the experience and there was lots of laughter when coming up with their own poses, a rock and the sun.

What did not go as expected: I am finding it hard to find something that didn't go well. I could say again that they participated with interest and respected the material shown to them. I didn't think this would happen due to their age.

What might you do different next time: Use less poses in my yoga flow to adapt to younger children in my group.

Future practice: Explore the song Wala is life in more depth with the children. This could include intentional teaching on climate change and how this affects First Nations culture and the environment.

Overall reflection

This unit has deepened my understanding of how important Music, dance and drama are to children's overall development, engagement and wellbeing. I now understand music as a language after listening to Victor Wooten speak. I also reflect on how movement and music based experiences ether intentional or child lead, lead to positive outcomes for children developmentally, cognitively and socially. Moving forward I will be using these art forms more intentionally in my program and also educating other educators and families on the importance of Dance, music and drama in their children's lives.

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Bangarra Education Resources Mutton Bird. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://youtu.be/o-PV98Oshkc

2022 VIC Weekly Programming and Reflection Diary. (2022).

Wooten, V. (2013, May 29). Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0

BUNJIL | Kinetic Art Sculpture | ENESS. (n.d.). ENESS. https://www.eness.com/permanent/bunjil

MiriamRoseFoundation. (2017). DADIRRI (Official Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Video) :: 3 minute promo. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tow2tR_ezL8

Wala Is Life. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XACgej9L80&t=2s

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children : encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments. Routledge.