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Sound & Music Activity: Nature's Symphony

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Sound & Music Activity: Nature's Symphony

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In this activity the children will be shown sounds from nature, like birds chirping, trees swaying side to side, water flowing, leaves rustling, ducks waddling and quacking etc-. Once the children have listened to all these different sounds they will go outside and create their own music and sounds with the natural materials like sticks or leaves.

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Nature's Symphony: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience 

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Nature's Symphony: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience 

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This activity relates to my on country visit as whilst I was walking and wandering around I was deeply listening to the sounds around me. The birds chirping really stood out to me as they were chirping in a melodic way which made me start chirping with the birds. Hearing the tree branches and leaves rustling as they move against each other as it creates a whispering sound made me want to create the sounds because it was a beautiful, calming atmosphere which made me able to connect to nature and the land.

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Nature's Symphony: Links to Theoretical Perspectives 

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Nature's Symphony: Links to Theoretical Perspectives 

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This activity and my on country visit really resonated with Dadirri which is from aboriginal culture which means deep listening and reflection. This activity allows children to be mindful and feel the sense of community and understand and foster the connection to culture and land (Ungunmerr, 1988).

This activity also strongly resonates with Victor Wooten’s theory as Wooten states that “music is learned through experience and exploration rather than by instructions and theory,”(TED, 2013) which is what this activity emphasises on as the children are presented with sounds and are able to explore and create the sounds and music from their own experience and exploration.

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Movement & Dance Activity: Whispers of the Wind 

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Movement & Dance Activity: Whispers of the Wind 

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In this activity the children will be shown photos of different types of trees and videos of trees and animals outdoors. They will then pretend to be different animals or plants by using their body movements to present to the audience their interpretation of their chosen animal or plants. For example, they could waddle like a duck or sway from side to side like the trees in the wind.

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Whispers of the Wind: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience

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Whispers of the Wind: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience

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This activity relates to my on country visit experience as when I visited the nature park it was on a windy day and the night before it was raining and as it was a windy day the trees were swaying with the branches rustling against each other from tree to tree and branch to branch. I also saw a family of ducks waddling in a line trying to find a warm cozy spot to hide from the strong cold winds.

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Whispers of the Wind: Links to Theoretical Perspectives 

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Whispers of the Wind: Links to Theoretical Perspectives 

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This activity relates to the Ateliers Pedagogy which is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach and Howard Gardener’s Theory. This approach views every experience for an opportunity of creative expression and imaginative thinking for children(Edwards et al., 2011), which is a representation of this activity as the children are given the opportunity to use their imaginative thinking to creatively express themselves with their body movements how they imagine a tree swaying in the wind looks like.

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In this activity the children will be taken outside and will collect items they find in the nature like, leaves, sticks, flowers, rocks. For each item they find they will create a short dramatic scene with the item they find. For example if they find a stick they can create a dramatic scene where the stick is a magical wand which can make anything appear in front of them!

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The Great Adventure: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience

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The Great Adventure: Connections to Assessment 2 Experience

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This activity relates to my on country visit experience as when I was on my nature walk I had found a tree stump which had a hole which was like a nook and I instantly went inside it and imagined it to be a portal which could teleport me to anywhere. My experience flourished so much creativity and imaginative thinking which is what this activity is aimed to promote as well.

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The Great Adventure: Links to Theoretical Perspectives

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The Great Adventure: Links to Theoretical Perspectives

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This activity connects to Vygotsky’s theory as it highlights how make-believe and drama play is powerful and influential in children’s learning (Brooker et al., 2014) because it creates a space where children can use their imagination and explore different roles. It also allows children to develop understandings of the social norms and cultural practices.

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1- Educator will set up the speaker and connect it to a device

2- Educator will select a variety of videos which consist of different sounds of nature (birds chirping, trees swaying)

3- Children will sit down in front of the speaker to listen to each sound

4- Educator will then play each sound

5-  After each sound the educator will then ask children what they think the sound is

6- Educator explains they will create their own sounds and music with natural materials from outdoors

7- Educator provides scissors, glue and tape additionally so children are able to put together their own musical instruments out of the natural materials to create their own sound and music inspired to the sounds they were shown by the educator

8- Children are outdoors while educators observe the children’s exploration of different natural materials they find to create their own instrument

9- Once all children are finished with their creations they create a circle and share their creations with the class

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1- Educator will gather photos and videos of different types of trees and videos of trees and animals outdoors and then pretend to be different animals or plants

2- Educator will show these images on the interactive whiteboard to children

3- Educator then tells each child to choose which plant or animal from the whiteboard they would like to imitate with their body movements

4- After each child has chosen they are given 5 minutes to create their movements

5- Once 5 minutes are over children are then to go in the circle and share their movements they have created and children and educators are to guess what plant or animal they had chosen

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1- Educator will get children to go outside and collect natural items such as, sticks, leaves, flowers etc-

2- Educator will also find a natural item to use as an example to show the children

3- After each child has found an item each they are then to come back inside the classroom

4- All children are to sit all together

5- Educator then shows an example to the children of what they will be doing with the natural items they have collected

6- Educator shows a stick and explains to the children: ( I chose this stick and it is my magical wand)

7- Educator then tells children they have 20 minutes to imagine and create a story/ dramatic scene with their chosen item

8- Children are allowed to work in groups and combine their natural items to create a story/ dramatic scene together

9- After 20 minutes are over children are then sat all together

10- One by one each child/group is to present their story/ dramatic scene to the class

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The child is recreating a big wide tree he saw in an image which had a one big branch oddly sticking out of the tree

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Image shown to the children of different types of trees

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Image shown to the children of different types of trees

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Video shown to children on the interactive whiteboard

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Birds Chirping - 24 Hour Bird Sounds Relaxation, Soothing Nature Sounds, Birds Chirping

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The child has used leaves and flowers they have found and created a dramatic scene of her being a famous artist painting with her paint brushes

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The children were really engaged when listening to all the different nature sounds. They were all excited to listen to the different sounds and when they heard the water flowing and the trees swaying and rustling in the wind it set a calming mood for the activity which is what I expected as in my experience when listening to the different sounds it also set a relaxing calm mood for me too. When it came to creating their own music and instruments out of natural items each child’s creativity shone through as they explored different sounds and it was amazing to see them collaborate and build off each other’s ideas. I was not expecting the children to create their own little band and give each other ideas as I didn’t communicate to them that they were all able to work together, they came together as a team on their own which was beautiful to see. At times it did get a bit chaotic with the levels of noise getting a bit too loud which made it a bit difficult for some children to concentrate and create their instruments and their music sounds so for next time when I bring the children outside, instead of them straight away searching for their natural items I will first create a “quiet listening” for 2 minutes where they focus on the sounds of nature which they are surrounded by and gradually build up to making their own music.

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I will definitely use this growth to enhance my future practice in early childhood education because as Victor Wooten highlights how learning music is a natural and an enjoyable process similar to how we learn our first language which is how I would like class activities to be in my future classroom as an educator. I will be implementing my growth and understanding of how music can be incorporated in children’s learning  because it is important children are given opportunities to express themselves and communicate with different forms such as music. As an educator in integrating music into learning as it supports children’s creativity and a safe environment for children to be able to learn by exploration and experiences

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In this activity the children really enjoyed the activity and participated in the activity with lots of enthusiasm and really got into character. As expected the children used their imagination and expressed themselves through their own unique movements. There were a few children who were a bit hesitant in participating as they were shy at first but after they saw the other children fully embracing their dance moves and expressing themselves alongside with educators also joining in they felt safe and comfortable in the environment and also then participated which I was not expecting which was surprising. Next time, I will do the activity outdoors instead of indoors so the children are able to also be inspired by their surroundings. Having it outdoors can allow the children to connect with their environment more and enhance their creativity and engagement. The activity will feel more immersive and enjoyable and it gives more room to move freely.

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I will use this growth to enhance my future practices as an educator in early childhood by implementing movement and dance activities in my future class activities. I will create engaging and interactive lessons which incorporate movement which will promote self- expression and creativity. I will implement activities which promote aboriginal practices integrated with dance, movement and storytelling which will connect children with cultural heritage and the natural environment. The Mutton Bird performance by BANGARRA EDUCATION RESOURCES had really inspired me for my future practices on how they showed their culture through movement and story.

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The activity went how I expected it to go, with children all participating and exploring their environment with the nature around them that they never realised was around them. They were all so excited they all collected a handful of natural items each showcasing their curiosity and connection to the environment. When they created their dramatic scenes just as expected they collaborated as a team of those who shared and worked together. Each child  brought their unique perspective to the activity. Although some children struggled to come up with ideas and felt shy about performing, what took me by surprise is the children who had the confidence to perform helped those who were shy which I was so proud of. Next time, I would create small groups mixed with children who are shy and those who are more outgoing and confident so they are able to create a safe and inviting environment for the children who are shy.

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Overall, my perspective of music, movement and drama changed as a result of engaging with the unit content and required tasks as now I have a deeper understanding and importance of incorporating music, dance and drama in children’s learning and development. My perspective has also shifted as I never saw these different forms are all connected to one another in creating this holistic approach. I feel more confident in using these elements in creating an inclusive and engaging environment for children as I now understand how to integrate it in my future practices.

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I will use my growth and understanding of drama in children's learning in my future practices in early childhood by creating activities that emphasise on exploration and creativity and the freedom of every child to be able to express themselves. From this activity I will observe how children respond to the different types of activities and refine my approach to ensure each child feels included and valued.

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Bangarra Education Resources Mutton Bird. (2015, May 20). Www.youtube.com. https://youtu.be/o-PV98Oshkc

Brooker, L., Blaise, M., & Edwards, S. (2014). The SAGE handbook of play and learning in early childhood. Sage Reference. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/edgehill/reader.action?docID=1712668

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

TED. (2013, May 30). Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland

[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0?si=mNWvIylIq8m59aTd

Ungunmerr, M.-R. (1988). Dadirri. Miriam Rose Foundation. https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/dadirri/