Artistic practices of dance, music and drama in Early Childhood Education- Let's Play! by Cristiene Carvalho

Story created with the activity... images selected by children and the dilemma of story.... where is the brave ant?

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:19:39 UTC

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:20:06 UTC

Orchestra of birds- audio we used in the activity!

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:21:06 UTC

Drama activity- Summary

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:24:39 UTC

During my country visit, I experienced a drama game that allowed me to go deeper into one provocation based on the old tree present in the park. For that, I sit close to the tree and observe each detail, trying to capture the essence of the story's drama. The presence of the old tree in connection with land and Ants as a way to understand this tree continuing to exercise a role were the elements/features of the environment, which led me to connect with the drama behind the tree.

Now, thinking about developing an experience based on my game with children in childcare, I would love to use photographs of different trees and small animals like bugs, ants and insects in a natural environment to show children the possibilities to interpret these elements and find a drama behind this. Also, I would love to show them some videos with images of nature in different seasons.

My experience with children will be a game of collective storytelling based on the observations of the photos of trees/animals. First, I will invite children to sit with me in a circle, and every child will choose a different picture. Then, I will ask them to look at the details of their photos, and we will create a collective story. Then, each child will contribute on their time by giving detail for the report based on the image, and after that, we will place the photos with short descriptions on the wall.

Dance activity- Summary

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:26:13 UTC

For the dance/movement, I experienced the game to observe the movement of water in connection with wind, and after that, I danced listening to nature's sounds and with my eyes closed. Then, I tried to make waves using my muscles of, arms, legs and starting from small movements to the most intense and big ones. The wind moved the water and arranged waves that were a great nature performance for me. These natural elements were the leads that connected my body to experience the dance/movement experience.

The possibility of creating an experience with children in a childcare environment based on my dance/movement game will include stimulating senses.

My experience with children will suggest a movement/dance in connection with the wind. We will go outside and bring some scarfs and ask them to see the movement of scarfs led by the wind, and after that, I would ask them to move their bodies freely, following the patterns from the wind. This simple exercise will allow them to connect with the wind, make movements and explore it freely.

Music activity- Summary

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:27:34 UTC

In the last experience related to music, I explored the observation of Birds orchestra exercising deep listening and my creation of sounds. I was able to feel these sounds as an incredible orchestra. I recognised different patterns and melodies that come on tunes that I could never say are out of tone. The sounds of birds and the wind giving some raining drops to the leaves were the elements that led me to fell the music in the environment.

To create an experience with children in childcare based on my Birds orchestra experience, I would like to ask children to close their eyes. Then, I will use audio-visual equipment to play many recordings of birds worldwide. The idea here is to create an immersive experience to connect their deep listening with nature.

First, I will ask the children to start one composition using a simple sound from their mouths. After that, I will provoke them to expand their body using some sounds using body percussion and exploring our environment from the room. What can we see that can be used to make sounds? This exploration will show them how natural the musical process is and how capable they can create and exploring it.

Drama activity- Rationale

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:29:51 UTC

This experience aligns with my country visit because I will provoke them to discover and think about the drama in the natural environment. More than just exercising the creative potential, the idea includes exploring and bonding with nature.

Cooper (2012) discussed the possibilities of educators connecting with children's understanding the world. (Cooper, 2012, p.295). In that way, enhancing the sensibility and giving space and observing moments when children explore their polysensorially. When I ask children express themselves to create the story collectively, I am creating a connection between their imagination and their mental operation of interpretation. Also, making a story based on nature is a way to promote an understanding of the cosmologies of the land, terminology that Hamm(2015) uses to talk about the deep connections that the Aboriginal People have. I saw a possibility the Aboriginal meaning behind this element.

Dance activity- Rationale

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:31:17 UTC

This experience connects with my game from assessment two because I will invite children to explore their bodies and create movements based on the observation of nature. In my game, I had an opportunity to observe waves and wind connected in reserve. For children, they could make their waves using scarfs following the lead of the wind.

My experience is also justified in accord with the article "Movement in the Wild: Nature as Dance Partner" by Candell(2013). For her, dancing outdoors and following the senses to connect with the environment is a new way to inspire people to dance and move without judgments about their performances. When we think about children, this opportunity is also a way to become conscious of the multiple possibilities to express using their bodies. So when I asked children to go outside and observe the wind using scarfs to dance/move together, I imagined the importance for them to explore their bodies in a perspective of expansion of imagination and connection with nature.

Music activity- Rationale

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:32:29 UTC

The experience connects with my experience in nature because I invited children to listen to birds/nature sound tracks and to produce sounds by exploring their bodies like the birds do. The critical element here is to provoke them to explore their bodies and create music/sounds in a free perspective inspired by nature.

I found the link in Hanna(2014) to create a rationale for this activity. In the article "A Reggio-Inspired Music Atelier: Opening the Door Between Visual Arts and Music" she discussed the aesthetic and cognitive value children could get from musical experiences in Early childhood Education. For her, play based music learning, like my experience of exploration of sounds/percussion, can also enhance social, affective and cognitive development (Hannah, 2014, p.288).

Drama activity- Reflection

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:33:57 UTC

In my experience, I expected the child that was participating to feel engaged in creating stories based on nature images, and it occurred was expected.

However, because I did not have many children, the story we made together was simple, and the activity lasted 6 minutes.

For the next time, I would expand the number of children and bring some elements like rocks, leaves and physical natural elements to help them have contact with nature in more developed ways than just photographs.

Dance activity- Reflection

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:34:47 UTC

In my experience, I expected that children could dance freely following the wind, and it went very well. The children were involved giving me clues about how this kind of activity allows them to express their bodies freely.

For my surprise, we stayed outside dancing for almost one hour. The wind was incredible, giving us a good immersion /body/sensory experience.

Next time I will invite more children to be part of the activity and also plan the activity for a long time. We finished it almost at lunchtime, and I felt the child was a bit tired after that, but they still talked about how it was fun.

Music activity- Reflection

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:35:23 UTC

I expected the experience could allow children to make sounds freely based on experimentation of bodies after listening to nature sounds.

It occurred well, but I could see that a particular child was trying to reproduce birds' sounds and ignoring the possibility of creating their own sounds. I showed her a video about corporal percussion, and she started to create and explore her body.

For next time I will prepare more materials in advance to provoke the experience and open possibilities of creation.

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:36:59 UTC

Candell, A. 2013. “Movement in the Wild: Nature as Dance Partner” Available in: Movement in the Wild: Nature as Dance Partner - The Earthbody Institute viewed in March 2023.

Cooper, M. 201., ‘Is beauty a way of knowing?’, in C Edwards, L Gandini & G Forman (eds), The hundred languages of children: the Reggio Emilia experience in transformation, 3rd edn, ABC-CLIO, LLC, pp. 295–302.

ISBN: 9780313359620

Hamm, C. 2015. ‘Walking with place: Storying reconciliation pedagogies in early childhood education’, Canadian Children, vol. 40, no. 2, Canadian Association for Young Children, Calgary, pp. 56–66, viewed .

ISSN: 0833-7519

Hanna, W. 2014. ‘A Reggio-inspired music atelier: opening the door between visual arts and music’, Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, Springer Netherlands, pp. 287–294, viewed .

ISSN: 10823301

Reference images and video

cristienecarvalho — 2023-03-09 05:37:26 UTC

#Brincar com: Lenços – Maria Bolota

13 of the Cutest Tree-Dwelling Animals in the World (treehugger.com)

Source of video:

(129) Pássaros cantando na natureza durante o amanhecer para estímulo de canto em diversas espécies!!!!! - YouTube