I now see that my thinking was very shallow. I had very little exposure to any creative endeavours when I was a child, I always thought they weren’t for me. Now, as an artist, singer, and musician, I realise just how wrong I was about it all.

After watching (), it dawned on me that dance is movement; music is sound; and drama is play. When I consider movement, sound, and play, I think of fun and a lack of pressure. I believe that these things can be done by anyone. This thinking took dance, music and drama off their pedestals and made them accessible to me and everyone else.

Through the assessments in this unit, I have appreciated the creative languages in new way. I saw boats dancing, heard water singing and watched the theatrics of nature fighting back against the changes man has made to the environment. The things that I thought were only able to be reached by the talented or lucky, were all around me. They were hidden in plain sight. The experiences I implemented were inspired by my on-Country walk by being an extension of what these things that I discovered under my nose.

The dancing of the boats on the water, the endless possibilities of what lay beyond the doorway, the sounds that Nature makes around us. All three experiences were designed to make music, drama and dance visible. To entice children to see, hear and join in with Country.

When it came to the story, I could have read a book, but I believe it is important to forefront Indigenous voices, like that of Briggs (2022), and make their stories visible. Children can learn from the local Indigenous peoples and the land that we all live on.

In my future practice, I plan to do Place walks with children, to show them these possibilities that exist, hidden in plain sight. I want to immerse them in the languages of dance, music and drama, so they may learn them the same way as their native language, as seen in Wooten (2013). I learned English by my family talking around and to me. We can learn music, dance and drama the same way. 

I will hand out pieces of fabric, different colours, textures and sizes, making sure there is enough for more than one each so children can experiment. Playing natural water sounds, I will encouraging children to deeply listen to the sounds and move in ways that mirror the feelings the sounds invoke. 

Activity will end with group time ending. Transition to washing hands by “flowing” to the sink.

Together, we will collect tree branches, gumnuts, stones, formula tins, egg cartons and containers. Listening to the sounds Nature makes and making music with Nature.

Talk about what sounds the resources make on their own, together and inside the containers. I plan for children to make their own musical instruments. 

Children have free access to the resources and the  activity will end organically.

 

Briggs, A 2022, Adam Briggs Reads Aloud Kids Book - 'Our Home Our Heartbeat' | Camp Quality, YouTube, viewed 17 November 2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKc7pZx5cXg>

 

Trivellato, G 2011, Didgeridoo Dreamtime with Gentle Healing Water Sound, Didjeridu Healing Water and Aboriginal Traditional Music for Massage Therapy, Meditation, Healing and Reiki Relaxing Spa Music MP3 Track · Didgeridoo Aboriginal Dreamtime, YouTube, viewed 19 November 2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy15mNS3z5g>

 

Wooten, V 2013, Music as a language, YouTube, TedEd, viewed 19 November 2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvjW9arAZ0>