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Nature orchestra Artefact Video and Link

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Nature orchestra Artefact Video and Link

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https://youtu.be/kqqoJh6wbA0?si=mUU9sm_ichjZCOtT

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 Creative Response                                                     Poem - Exploration of Mother Nature

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 Creative Response                                                     Poem - Exploration of Mother Nature

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https://youtu.be/mZTYnGadOVo?si=d0KGpNEyMr6Vv_-g

Walking near the creek in a dark night.

Listening to the swishy trees, swinging side to side.

Looking at the shadows of the trees, dancing side by side.

Watching rustling leaves whispering to the wind.

Singing in chorus, the frog sounds croak-croak-croak.

Crickets sitting in a creek, making chirping sounds chirp-chirp-chirp.

Inviting everyone, let’s sing together with swaying trees,

And dance under disco flashing lights.

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ECE 2008 - Creative Reflection.                           Poem: Exploration of Mother Nature

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My ‘on country visit’ has given me a new understanding of exploring music, movement and Drama in natural environment. This experience has taken me back to my childhood memories when I went for school camping and explored the bush area. At that time, I enjoyed singing in a chorus along with peers, dancing in a rain and listening to the sound of different creatures- insects, birds and engaged in drama by responding to creatures using different sounds.

While walking on the creek, I closed my eyes, and I was imagining myself to be a part of my natural orchestra team. My fingers were fluttering while listening to the soundscapes of wind, frog, crickets and my tapping sounds of feet makes me feel dancing on natural beats. This drew my attention to Victor Wooten video that states ‘we sing because we feel good. A person must be a good listener if wants to be a musician’ (Wooten, 2013). The fence around the creek drawn me to guitar strings and made me think of my childhood when my dad got me a guitar on my birthday. I realised that our imagination allows us to interpret the things in different ways. Similarly, exploring natural environment is like an open atelier room that provides endless opportunities to children and where children see the things from different perspectives and bring their unique ideas and thoughts to extend on their learning (The Atelier - the School without Walls, n.d.).

The shadow of the dancing trees and the flashing lights of car were highlighting the movements and drama. Through different movements and drama, adults and children, both learn the things from different perspectives. Music, movement and drama experiences in natural environment provides sense of wonder, creativity and invaluable opportunities among children (Wilson, 2007).

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My artefact has connected me to Parallaxis Games (Session 3) that provides an invitation to experience and explore the natural environment in different ways using our imagination. In our busy lives, we forgot about our connection to nature. We are always in a rush to finish our duties and responsibilities. But walking to creek has refreshed my mind and make me understand the importance of enjoying nature and listening to natural orchestra. This artefact inspires me to slow down, be calm, relax and enjoy the nature that further connects me to Dadirri, ‘Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness.’  We must slow down and do the things as it comes like season (Miriam Rose Foundation, 2017). My deep listening to the sound of wind, rustling leaves, frogs croak and cricket chirp has given me a new perspective of music. We don’t need the musical instruments and CD player for learning or listening to music.  This drew my attention to R. Murray Schafer’s video in which he stated ‘Music is not about an instrument. The person must be a good listener if wants to be a musician’ (National Film Board of Canada, 2009). Exploring sounds of natural elements itself is a music and our own language is also another form of music as stated by Victor Wooten in his video ‘Music as a language.’ (Wooten, 2013).

The dancing shadows of the trees reminded the video of Bangarra Mutton Bird dance. It has fascinated me how movement and dance is a form of storytelling and connects to First Nation culture (Bangarra Dance Theatre, 2015).

This artefact is adventurous for me, and I will implement this experience in my teaching practices to make children explore the natural environment in the form of music, movement and drama.

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Analytical Response Embedding into Early Childhood Settings.

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Analytical Response Embedding into Early Childhood Settings.

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My artefact ‘On country visit’ has given me a new insight of making children’s connection to nature in my early childhood teaching. In the article ‘Children, creative play and the natural environment’ it has been clearly mentioned that children use all their senses to explore the natural environment (Wilson, 2007). Exploring natural environment is like an open atelier room that provides endless opportunities to children and where children see the things from different perspectives and bring their unique ideas and thoughts to extend on their learning (The Atelier - the School without Walls, n.d.). I will organise different games for children in the outdoor area- like Simon says - close your eyes and listen to the sound of natural environment like wind, birds, own breathing and encourage them to dance or do different movements based on sound. I will set up the stretching and yoga sessions for children in outdoor environment to explore different movements and senses.

The humming sound of natural orchestra taught me to slow down, and I will implement this learning in my early childhood teaching by allowing children to slow down and enjoy the nature. This will help children to be still, and it won’t restrict children’s learning by time and space.

My deep listening to natural orchestra has fascinated me to allow children to make their own natural musical instruments. I will take children for nature walk where they will collect the natural treasure and make their masterpiece using their imagination. Children will get an understanding of how indigenous people were connected to nature.

The dancing shadows of trees inspired me to teach children music, movement and drama in the form of storytelling. This will encourage children to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings using their imagination. In the outdoor area, children will look at their own shadows while doing different dance movements like ‘Mutton Birds’ in Bangarra Educational Resources and express themselves in storytelling form.

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My artefact reflection has given me a new perception and made me responsive to connect children to natural environment and embed sound, music and movement, drama in my teaching practices to make children understand the natural world around them. I have interconnected the soundscapes of wind, frog, cricket to music, shadows of dancing trees to movement and drama in the form of storytelling. My analytical response connects to Dadirri video to slow down and enjoy the nature. The deep listening connects to R. Murray Schafer’s video, exploration of natural orchestra connects to Victor Wooten and shadows of dancing trees connects to Bangarra Mutton Birds.

I have used vocabulary to highlight temporal art languages: sound/music, movement and Drama. Children will make their own musical instruments to produce different sounds, dance or moves in different ways on musical beats, explore different shadows for storytelling using their imagination and creative thinking.

My practices of this artefact in Early childhood teaching will connect children to nature, music, movement, drama and also to First Nation people, their culture, sacrifices in the form of music and their  perspective to connect to the land they live in (Miriam Rose Foundation, 2017).

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Bangarra Dance Theatre. (2015). Bangarra Education Resources Mutton Bird. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-PV98Oshkc

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

National Film Board of Canada. (2009). Listen. Www.nfb.ca. https://www.nfb.ca/film/listen/

The Atelier - The school without walls. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNAKhgATlAo

The Parallaxis – A game of walking between worlds. (n.d.). The Parallaxis. https://www.the-parallaxis.com/

Wilson, R. (2007). Children, creative play and the natural environment, ch1 pp 1-18. Vu.edu.au. https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1783102-ECE2008-1-2023-H1B3-150037/Nature_and_Young_Children_Encouraging_Creative_Play.

Wooten, V. (2013). Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvjW9arAZ0