Week 12 Reflection

This week was our final week of classes, and we were able to finalise and perform our short productions for each other in groups of 3-5. It was incredible to watch what other groups had come up with, and see how different groups interpreted and addressed the criteria and how we all came up with something quite different, yet entertaining. Terry asked us to go around and say what we thought was a positive thing to take away from the experience of having little time, resources and planning to come up with a production for fellow classmates. Here are a few positive attributes that people shared/came to mind:

-       This activity allowed us to exercise team work, cooperation and delegating of tasks
- This activity pushed us out of our comfort zones in a safe and supportive environment with people we knew.

-       It gave us exposure to music from different genres that we would not of listened to/engaged with otherwise eg. Rococo, Baroque

-       Terry acted as more of a guide rather than a supervisor. He did not really give us set limits or guides as to how our performances were supposed to be and allowed us to exercise a lot of freedom and free choice when it came to our small productions.

There are a lot of benefits from this activity that we can take away and use as early childhood educators.

This week’s reading talks about the ‘being’ aspects and learning opportunities for young children through art experiences. Wright notes that childhood is a time to make meaning of one’s world, and children often take what they know and see in their world and incorporate this into their artistic doings. The text notes that children often make meaning of their world through “modeling, immersion, copying and visulaisation” (Wright, 2011, p40). The text also talks about the concept that art experiences are not about the finished product. It is isn’t about being able to perfectly play a piece of music, or dance perfectly to a song, rather, it is about the process of engaging, developing and growing through dance, music, drama etc… I thought that this is a really interesting point, as normally in school we focus on perfecting something so that the end product is the best it can be, rather than focusing on the journey we take and how we grow/develop as we reach there. This is something to really consider as a future educator, and a way of teaching and approaching learning about the arts.

Activity:
Ages 3-4

Break children up into groups of 3-4. Give each group a different story that they know well. For example, three little pigs, red riding hood, goldilocks and the three bears etc. 

Ask them to come up with a way of telling the rest of the children the story and let them know that they can use singing, drama, percussion instruments or simply narration.

Allow children a whole afternoon to decide/come up with a way to retell their well-known story and ask them to perform it for the class.

Given that the children are 3-4, assistance and guidance and support will be needed to be given to make sure they are on the right track! However, children shouldn't be told explicitly how to retell their story. Benefits of this include, creativity, play, freedom, teamwork, interpretation, developing confidence

Week 11 Reflection

This week’s class was full of new experiences involving drama and music. We made up songs with drama components, furthered are ukulele skills, learned how to juggle, choreographed a dance to music and took turns leading a song.

With regards to juggling, Terry taught us an important lesson about education, If you never give children the chance to learn something, you are limiting the scope or possibility of what they can be capable of. We need to give children a broader and more diverse array of chances of doing things with regards to the arts. This is something important to keep in mind as future teachers of young minds.

This weeks reading emphasised the importance of play, and the value of it. Play is often dismissed as non-educational, or nonsense work, but many theorists have argued the value of free play, particularly Vygostky, who supports the social benefits of play on one’s development. The reading noted that play is not simply busy work, and that “play is connected with children’s lives and their interests” (McArdle, 2012, p42). 

Play can be seen as a form of self-expression and enables curiosity and discovery. Many of the activities we did today in class allowed for a lot of freedom to experiment with play. Whether that meant being able to make up dances, having complete freedom about body movements, or making up songs, having freedom experimenting with percussion and non percussion instruments, and figuring out and making meaning of these forms of the arts themselves.

Although it is the teacher’s role to guide the group, teacher’s don’t always have to be task-masters and set out tasks for children that have specific answers or ways of doing. Especially when concerned with the arts, it is important that children are given freedom for self-expression, and are allowed to learn from that. 

Educational theorist John Dewey was very much supportive of the role of the teacher as more of a guide that facilitates growth through freedom, and not always considering only traditionally academic values or ways of teaching. A quote from his literature, Democracy and Education captures this notion, “Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.” Dewey, n.d., p154). 



Art Experience:



For children aged 3-5



Materials/Equipment: Costume box, bits and pieces of clothing that can be used as dress ups

Play a song for children with a lot of dynamic changes and changes that evoke strong feelings:

 Eg. Bizet - Overture 



Let children dance or act to this piece of music freely. 



Learning Outcome: Allows children freedom and creativity, whilst giving them a song to which they will match their movement/drama etc… to some extent

  

Week 10 Reflection

This week's class was again filled with many fun activities. One activity that I really enjoyed was using percussion instruments to play the traditional nursery rhyme, the Incy Wincy Spider. Terry asked us to play the instruments during the part of the song where we felt the instruments should be played. Again this style of instruction by a teacher is more of a guide rather than a task master, which supports John Dewey's educational theory which believes that teachers should offer guidance rather than set limits through constricting instructions and rules. This allows children greater freedom to express themselves and engage on their own terms with the activity which allows them to thrive through free play.

Terry also got us to listen to a lycra song which included us engaging with some lycra and interacting with the tactile material which was an interesting activity that I think small children would really enjoy. Young children can be seen to progress through three stages of social development according to educational theorist Sara Smilansky, who based these stages on Piaget's Theory of Development. The stages include; Functional Play, Constructive Play and Dramatic Play. Songs that involve the senses, like the lycra song, are a type of constructive play, that encourage children to manipulate and engage with materials in order to produce an effect. Dramatic play is the stage after constructive, and utilises children's cooperative skills to dramatise different scenarios that express their world (Nixon and Gould, 1999). This stage is very important, and there are many ways that dramatic play can be encouraged in an early childhood setting. For example, having a 'dress-up' box, or asking children to perform or act out different parts of a story that is being read etc.

Activity:
For 3-4 year olds

Ask children to re-inact in small groups of 5 the favourite part of their day or week. For example, this might include them playing ball with their mum or dad,  cuddling their puppy, being read to by a family member etc..

This engages children's 'Dramatic Play' stage in a simple, yet meaningful way, and allows them to express themselves and their world in a safe and welcoming environment.

Week 9 Reflection

This week was full of exciting and engaging activities. We made sock puppets, learned an Israeli dance, learnt a song about lycra and played more music on the marimbas.

McArdle discussed about the concept that students are cultural citizens and are very much consumers and creators in a culturally diverse society. It is so important that places of education and teachers recognize the importance of engaging children in culturally stimulating activities. This can be done in early childhood settings by playing music from another culture and allowing children to dance to it, like we did in class with the Israeli dance. This can include some guided movement, with a bit of free movement as well, or allow for completely unguided dance! Furthermore, children can learn to play music on percussion and non percussion instruments from different cultures, for example Latino or African music. Or even simply play instruments while a singing a song from a different culture.

This week’s reading was also about how children have the right to a school or educational environment that fosters a “culture of creativity and innovation” (MCEETYA, 2005), according to the MCEETYA National Framework for Australia.  The text talked about the need for children to learn traditional art practices, and also invent new ideas to express themselves through song, dance, music, and visual arts. The idea of asking children to create little sock puppets, which is what we did in class this week, can be a great idea to allow children to innovate and create. It also creates a platform for further involvement with the arts, as not only children are creating sock puppets, but they can exercise their drama and play abilities by putting on different shows or experimenting with their sock puppet characters!

 
It is important that we remember that teachers have the responsibility to expose children to culturally stimulating activities, and the creative arts is a perfect platform to do this through. There are many opportunities for children to expand their cultural horizons within the classroom!

Activity:

Children aged 3-5

Let children listen to this mix of traditional Spanish folk songs:

(instrumental only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mqr8ZIWv8s

Give children percussion instruments such as maracas, castanets and tambourines, and ask them to play those instruments along to the music.

We could also ask children to do different dance movements, and ask children to make up movements to the song, and take turns copying different people.

Week 8 Reflection

I found the theories and ideas in this week’s reading really interesting and valuable. The concept raised in the readings is that children’s play and expression through the arts can be seen as their reflection or construction of reality. Through play, children represent and are able to express the realities that are true to them (Wright, 2011).


The activities we did in class today included a lot of free dance, free musical experimentation and singing where children can use and reflect on what they know and what they have seen and experience and reflect that through the way they move. For example one song/dance that we did was an Iranian middle eastern-style dance where we were able to dance however we like during parts of the song. A child participating in this dance is able to express themselves through movement and through singing. 

The reading also emphasized that the communicative and symbolic nature of exploratory play, dance and music is often not really considered or emphasized in schools. In class this week, we were asked to come up with a short melody on the marimbas using seven notes. Although this is a very basic musical task, through our 7 note melody it was possible to construct a melody that expressed happiness, joy, sadness or anger or perhaps contract a melody that reminds us of something familiar and communicates a message to others. The communicative and symbolic nature of the arts is so powerful and so important and simple activities like the one described allows students the opportunity to express themselves.

Art Experience:
Ages 2-4

Play varied types of music for children and let them dance freely, without instruction.
This can include classical, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, country, pop

Allow them to adapt their movements to the rhythm, feel and mood of the music and ask them how each type of music makes them feel and how their dance shows this.

This allows children to express the mood and feelings that different types of music evoke in them and allows them to freely express this in a comfortable environment.

Week 7 Reflection

I really enjoyed experimenting with different instruments this week and learning the names of and how to play new instruments.

Games and songs that we played and sung included the Kye Kye Kule African song, music on marimba’s by John Madin and The Welcome Song, which we sung with an ostinato, creating a musical canon.

The songs and games we played have many benefits, both musical and non-musical for children. The musical learning from these games is plentiful and rich. By experimenting with non-tuned percussion like triangles, woodblocks and maracas that have a fixed pitch, like we did in class this week, children are able to learn basic percussion elements and focus on creating beats and maintaining rhythm. Contrastingly, by using tuned percussion such as marimbas, children can learn how they can create different pitches, and use notes to create melodies. The songs and games we played have many benefits, both musical and non-musical for children.

The non-musical learning from these games are plentiful as well. Children learn how to take turn sharing instruments, how to share instruments and turns, how to count (for example counting the beats, or counting people), and learn confidence from being allowed to play or sing by themselves, and learn to listen to other’s when it is their turn to stand out. These are important, essential life skills that can be taught and strengthened through musical games.

There were lots of opportunities to be creative and experiment with the instruments and while singing the songs in class this week. Allowing children creativity with music making and experiment is extremely important. According to developmental psychologists Malloch and Trevarthen allowing children to make music supports their ability to communicate with others (Wright, 2011). The music and musical games played in class this week are great ways of allowing children creativity and allow them to better communicate with others.

Art Experience:
2-4 year olds.

Take out an array of percussion instruments for children in a circle: Eg, tambourines, triangles, maracas, castanets etc.

Also include some tuned-percussino instruments including glockenspiel, chime bar, wood block.

Children can rotate around the circle and experiment with the different instruments. We can ask them questions such as what sort of noise does that make? what does that instrument remind you of? how does that sound make you feel? have you heard that instrument before?

Children will be let to experiment and 'play' freely with their instruments to explore and familiarise themselves with them. The teacher might show children how some instruments are played, or show them an example of a melody, or a rhythm that can be created on an instrument and ask children to make up their own!

Reference List and Further Links TO learnfor Weeks 1-6

Research Resources:
Fleming, M. (2008). Arts in Education and Creativity. [online] Creative Culture and Education. Available at: http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/arts-in-education-and-creativity-2nd-edition-91.pdf

Garrison, J. (2012). John Dewey's Philosophy of Education An Introduction and Recontextualization for Our Times (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan.

Wright, S. (2012). Ways of knowing in the arts. In S. Wright (Ed.), Children, Meaning-Making and the Arts. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Australia

Hyperlinks to refer to artwork by famous artists discussed:

Week 6:
To explore work by Kandinsky and learn more about the artist: Click Here

Week 5:
To explore work by local Mexican potters and sculptures as discussed in Week 5's responding activity.  Click Here

Week 4:
To explore Steve McCurry's photography collection and learn more about his photography style and career: Click Here

Week 3:
To learn more about Australian artist Tom Robert's and to explore more of his artwork: Click Here

Week 2:
To learn more about watercolour painter Alvaro Castagnet and see more of his works, Click Here

Week 1:
No specific artist focused on this week.