Nature Orchestra - Documentation Panel - Assessment 3 by

Acknowledgement to Country

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 10:54:40 UTC

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the Kulin Nation land on which I am writing this assessment. I pay my respect to the Bunurong and Wadawurrung People ; present, past and emerging. Wominjeka!

Summary

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 10:58:02 UTC

When I made my original video for AT2, one of the main elements that I could see or hear was the honeybees sitting and playing around my basil plant. The first thing I thought about honeybees was the "bee-bee bumble bee" song as it is an everyday practice that I do at my work with my children. It was after nap time when I did this activity with my children for the afternoon tea. This activity was designed to prevent children from rushing around the tap to wash their hands.

The plan was the children will sit on the mat after packing up the room. I will sing the bee-bee bumble bee song and ask the children to tell their names one by one. After telling their names, the children will go to the sink, wash their hands, pick up their bottles and sit on the chairs for their afternoon tea.

Materials required - Ipad, mat

Summary

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 10:58:22 UTC

I planned this activity after seeing my own artefact video. I wanted to do something related to the butterflies as I had lots of butterflies during my video. I had planned this activity of children doing body movements like a butterfly on a song called "Fly like a butterfly" (YouTube). I planned for the children to sit on the mat during the group time. This is the time when the children engage in lots of movement while dancing and moving their bodies to lots of music and songs. As it was a little cold day, this was a perfect bend for relaxing the body and feeling a little warm because of this stretching. After the song is played, the children will sit and copy the dancer and me in the video and move their body just like we both do.

Materials required - Ipad, mat,

Summary

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 10:58:42 UTC

I had thought of doing this nature play activity when I was making my artefact for AT2. This was inspired from most of the things which I experienced in AT2. I wanted to include the trees, birds, butterflies, bees, leaves, wind - all in this activity with the children. I acted as the wind blowing. Some of the children acted like bees and some of them like butterflies. I brought some Manna Gum leaves from outside, which helped me to include Aboriginal plants in my planning. For making it a little real, I brought the blower which another educator was using for creating the wind effect. The leaves blew when the blower was on and it felt so real. The children were waving their dresses with the wind.

Materials used- leaves, blower, costumes

Rationale

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:14:18 UTC

As Wooten (2013) said "music is a language and a lifestyle", toddlers of this age group (2-3) do not really need to have proper words to say/talk something. They can express themselves with music. It does not implicate to only toddlers. It is for everybody. I made the video for AT2 in my backyard. I have been living in my home for about 3 years now. Every time, I used to be in my backyard, either I was with my family or if I were alone, I would always be on my phone. I never listened to what all I could hear during making that video. The chirping of the birds, the traffic sound, wind blowing, bees and butterflies dancing and singing... it all felt so surreal, and I felt ashamed that I used to go somewhere else when I wanted some peace or relaxation. It was always there in my backyard, but I never realized it. Therefore, I wanted my centre children also to feel nature close to themselves even if it was just a song. After the song and the afternoon tea, the children were more inclined towards nature-birds, bees, butterflies. Dr. Ibrahim H. Baltagi also shared in his video about how music helps in increasing children's cognitive development and their's overall development. Gandini (2012) also shares the importance of music for children's social and emotional intelligence.

Reflection

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:15:27 UTC

What went as expected - The activity went as I had thought it would go. I wanted this activity as a transition from the mat to the afternoon tea table. Most of the children were able to grasp the instructions of the activity and did what was expected from them at that time. They told their names and straight went for washing hands.

What did not go as expected: I did not expect all the children to sit on the mat. To my surprise, all of them were on the mat. Also, there were some children who came back again on the mat instead of going to the table as they wanted to do the activity again.

What might you do different next time- I will do the activity with more children next time. This time, the children were very less because of the term holidays. Also, I will have 1 more educator near the sink so that children do not come back on the mat and the transition runs smoothly.

In my future practice, I will continue to do this activity, as this activity will develop linguistic skills in children. Also, their social skills will improve if they talk in front of others.

Rationale

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:18:35 UTC

The main motive of this song was to link the butterflies from my artefact video with my childcare children. I knew the children would like it as they had never listened to this song. This song let the children explore their role-play, cognitive and dramatic skills as they explored and moved their bodies like butterflies. Also, the children got to know different body parts while acting on the song. Just like (Lake Cowal Bird Dance - Uncle Winnie), this song also lets the children let their bodies move and explore the magic of movement.

Reflection

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:18:53 UTC

What went well - Out of all the three activities, this was the activity which went very well and just as planned by me. The children listened to this song for the first time and loved it so much that now they want this song for every group time. The most lovable part for me was when one of the children stood and hugged me as he was so happy. He usually does not engage much in the group times, but this day was an exception.

What did not go well - Everything went well in this activity,

What to do next time - Next time, I plan to do this activity outdoors in the lap of nature. Maybe the children can see some butterflies while this song is being played.

Future practice - I will plan the 'life of a butterfly' activity in my next planning cycle where the children can learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Rationale

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:19:19 UTC

This activity linked with my AT2 in a manner that the children and I acted like all the elements from my previous assessment. The children created this whole drama and used their social, dramatic, cognitive, and linguistic skills. According to Wallin (2019), children gain collaboration, creativity, imagination and problem-solving skills during role-play activities. I wanted to create the same environment for all the children as I had during AT2. We all know that environment is the third teacher in early childhood education (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998), therefore, I tried to create the same elements in the room.

Reflection

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 11:19:33 UTC

What went well - The whole drama went well. The children loved the wind from the blower onto their faces. They enjoyed swaying to the wind and acting like birds, butterflies and bees. I had the butterfly and fairy dresses in the home corner which made another positive point to the activity.

What did not go as expected - I had thought of doing this activity outdoors as I had thought it would feel nicer. But unfortunately, the temperature was too high so I could not do it outside. Also, during AT2, the wind was blowing, but during this activity, there was no wind. Also, the children were very fascinated by the blower and the children, and at one time, they left the act and went to the blower instead.

What to do next time: I will do the same activity on a day when we have all the children present and outdoors where they would have more space to run around, and hopefully with natural wind.

Future practice - I will share the seasons and traits of all the weathers in the next coming days. Also, I will use Manna Gum leaves for painting with natural materials while using the bushes and leaves of Manna Gum tree.

Video

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 13:05:03 UTC

original artefact

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 13:30:17 UTC

This was my original video from AT2 from which I got inspired and took some elements for this AT3 for creating activities for music, movement and drama.

Video

ekam_522 — 2025-04-11 13:43:25 UTC

ekam_522 — 2025-04-12 04:35:18 UTC

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., Forman, G. (1998). The hundred languages of children. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.

Fly Like a Butterfly- Kids Yoga and Mindfulness with Bari Koral. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYI0TPJOuGk

Lake Cowal Bird Dance - Uncle Winnie (Winata Puru). (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVDh_Qev-yc

Wallin, M. (2019, June). The Importance of Pretend Play in Natural Settings. Www.communityplaythings.com. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/the-importance-of-pretend-play-in-natural-settings

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

ekam_522 — 2025-04-12 07:10:49 UTC

My overall reflection has changed on the concept of music, movement and drama after this unit. I was confused about the difference between music and movement. The videos on differently abled children made a huge impact on me. I feel so privileged to wake up with all my senses and all my body parts. Even though nature has not given them a sense, but science has progressed so well that any one can enjoy all the aspects of music, movement and drama. I will also try to implicate these ideas in my early childhood career.