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Experience - Inanay

This activity involves a small group of children listening to audio of a familiar song in which they all love. This song is called 'Inanay' and is an Aborgional lullaby. The children first heard it through a music incursion and we now implement this into our program on a regular basis. The children sat in a yarning circle on group time mat inside our 3 year old kinder room. They then followed to use their hands and arms to create common movements.

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Experience - ME!

This activity involved the children finding their own place comfortably on our group time mat. They then followed to listen to a song about their body parts and watch myself point to the places on the body that are being stated in the song. I followed to replay the song for the children point to their own body parts as they follow the song. This activity includes both movement, music and dance as the children have to not only point to body parts but also dance and mimic the movements to the music.

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Experience - We're going on a bear hunt

This activity involved a small group of children from my 3 year old kinder room then gradually grew as other children joined in. We began by sitting in a group in our outdoor space (on country land) and reading 'We're going on a bear hunt' by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, then I explained to the children that it was their turn to use our large yard to recreate their own bear hunt.

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A2 -

In reference to my A2 walk through. All of these three activities include a mixture of music/sound, movement and drama. Within my A2 experience I used sounds from the outdoor environment which were more visible within our dramatic experience of the bear hunt outdoors. Children are still able to tap into their senses. For example in the first activity (Music & Sound - Inanay) the children first closed their eyes and listened to the song before then singing along. In all three activities the children matched actions to their sounds, singing or other supported language, in my A2 I was able to use my senses along side actions to create my story.

Theoretical Perspectives -

Drama:

For my dramatic experience I found that it worked extremely well outdoors on our country land.

"When allowed more flexibility with materials in spaces with more affordance (i.e in natural outdoor spaces), children tend to engage in more complex pretend play". (Wallin 2019).

The development of learning through play, especially stories increases both memory and language skills. The children were able to reference the story through physical movements and verbal language.

"Studies have shown play is crucial for many areas of children’s development—from physical strength to cognitive and linguistic growth". (Wallin, 2019).

Movement & Dance

This activity was aimed at our current program. It was a mix between movement, music and dance whilst the children were also currently learning about the body parts. This particular song is more advanced than 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' yet also provides that repetition through repeating the words after the children have already sang them once.

"Repeating similar activities often encourages children to remember their ideas about the activity and then build on them". (Dance teaching ideas, 2024).

Music & Sound

I chose to use a familiar song that the children in my room love. They have learnt movements from other peers over the past few months that they have incorporated alongside their singing. Throughout this activity the children were smiling with happiness and enjoyment demonstrating their engagement and liking for musical based activities.

"When singing the right part of the brain is tapped into which enhanced learning, language and other skills which elevates levels of oxytocin". (TEDx Talks, 2014).

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What went as expected?

When I asked the children of they could sit in a yarning circle they understood and remembered what that meant. We have been gradually incorporating indigenous language into our daily practices.

What did not go as expected?

One of the children felt overwhelmed and didn't participate when he didn't have an educator by there side to assist with prompting.

What might you do different next time?

Next time I would try this activity in a larger group and in a different setting (maybe outdoors) doing it outdoors gives the children natural resources around them to incorporate and support the music and sounds.

Future practices?

I would like to incorporate more indigenous music into our daily practices across the whole centre not just my room. The children love music and we have learnt about incorporating it across our program, learning through music, sounds and songs can increase their understanding.

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What went as expected?

The children enjoyed this activity which is a great outcome. Some of the children who were unsure of the movements or which body part to point to

What did not go as expected?

Some of the children mixed up the body parts during the song. Another child got bored and left the group.

What might you do different next time?

Next time I would take this activity outdoors where there is more room/area/space for the children to jump and dance around. Inside they bumped into each other and knocked each other over a few times. Other then that I wouldn't change anything.

Future practices?

For future practices I would like to incorporate some follow up activities to this music and movement to solidify understanding. Using puzzles, flash cards and matching activities with the body parts in the song will assist with repetition for the children. I would also like to use more music and movement whilst the children are learning new topics to keep engagements and have fun whilst participating.

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What went as expected?

The children used a large part of the yard especially the rocky, climbing steps to create the 'we can't go over it' and 'we can't go under it' parts of the story. The children also able to remember the words as they marched and ran around the yard and obstacles.

What did not go as expected?

I didn't expect as many children to join in as they did.

What might you do different next time?

I might have chosen a different time to run this experience. we had an incursion of elderly age care residents and the children weren't as spatially aware of their surroundings during this time.

Future practices?

I would like to implement and encourage more dramatic play through natural resources. The children were bale to support their play and story with sticks, branches, tanbark and water.

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As an overall reflection learning more about music, movement and drama I have come to learn that these things especially music and sounds can enhance the chemicals in the brain, specifically oxytocin resulting in happiness and good mood from the enjoyment. As educators we can provide opportunities through movement and and dramatic experiences in both our indoor and outdoor environments. These type of experiences allow children to tap into their senses and create using their mind, body and imagination.

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Wallen, Marisa. (2019, June). Session 6 presentation. ECE2008 Music, Movement and Dramatic Arts. [Course presentation]. Victoria University. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/the-importance-of-pretend-play-in-natural-settings#:~:text=When%20children%20are%20given%20the%20time%20and%20space%20to%20play,to%20cognitive%20and%20linguistic%20growth.

Dance teaching ideas. (2024).  Session 5 presentation. ECE2008 Music, Movement and Dramatic Arts. [Course Presentation]. Victoria University. https://danceteachingideas.com/creative-dance-movement-for-toddlers/

TEDx Talks. (2014). Session 4 presentation. ECE2008 Music, Movement and Dramatic Arts. [Course presentation]. Victoria University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_HOBr8H9EM