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Relationships

The EYLF uses the words ‘relationships/relationship’ 47 times, and community/communities 68 times. This reflects the social constructivist theory which underpins the learning framework. Simply put EYLF recognises that children learn through the social interactions and relationships they form with other children and adults from their family or community, including at your service. Objects don’t teach you much when you are by yourself. When we form relationships with others we learn and teach in a social way.

Music guides and encourages children to engage with their world. It can help build relationships through shared experiences. When groups of children are involved in musical activities, the positive effects from the release of the brain chemical oxytocin helps children build trust and therefore promotes positive relationships.

In early childhood, and throughout life, relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging. EYLF p 7

Tips

try singing a familiar song and inserting a silly word in the place of the correct word, like “Mary had a little spider” instead of lamb. Silly songs make children laugh and encourage positive relationships and collaboration

Today Adrian and Eli both wanted to play the drums. The boys were arguing over who was to play with the drums first.

Sam showed the boys how with some team work and sharing they could use one drumstick each and play the drums together.

Adrian and Eli found that this was a fun activity as they developed a new friendship through playing music which caused them to giggle and smile with each other.

Culture

Music is a part of a culture’s narrative or story, and as we’ve discussed it’s an integral part of all children’s culture. It’s often used to help communicate stories and emotions by way of chanting, rhyming, singing, dancing or playing musical instruments. We see this in modern cultures as well as traditional cultures which have existed for thousands of years. For example, Indigenous Australians often use chants and dance to tell Dreamtime stories. There are also certain instruments that are associated with particular cultures eg didgeridoo (Australia), bagpipes (Scotland) and sitar (India). Music can help children understand diversity – that there are many ways of living, being and knowing (EYLF p 13).

Tips

• explore songs, music and dance in other languages and from other cultures
• investigate culturally specific musical instruments

Learning Outcomes include 2 Children are connected and contribute to the world

Identity

Music contributes to young children’s understanding of relationships, and strengthens their growing sense of identity and sense of belonging, particularly where educators celebrate children’s culture and heritage through musical activities. Rhymes, simple songs and lullabies, for example, support a baby’s first communication in babbling and gestures. For generations music has been an important way that culture has been passed from adult to child. Children come to the service having experienced music in various forms with their family and community eg through songs, rhymes and games.

‘Being’ involves children developing an awareness of their social and cultural heritage, of gender and their significance in their world. EYLF p 20

Tips

The following activities all help a child create a picture of their uniqueness and inclusion:

• play games like peekaboo, bouncing on a lap to rhymes
• rock a baby while singing or humming
• sing songs and play touch and tickle games to teach body parts
• sing songs that include a child’s name and greeting songs

Learning Outcomes 1 Children have a strong sense of identity

Today, to provide the children with rich and diverse resources that reflect children’s social worlds, the Pre-schoolers went on an excursion to the Masonic Retirement Village. Before we attended our excursion, we talked about what a Retirement Village is, and explained it is a large home where lots of nannies and poppies live.

When we arrived at the village we were introduced to all the residents. We performed some dancing and singing including Baby Shark, A Tooty Ta, The Wombat Wobble, and Ellie’s Elephants performed a debut performance of One Call Away. The residents of Masonic Retirement Village were all very impressed by our singing and dancing.

After our performance, we were treated to some fruit and cake, before we sat and talked to the residents. Annabelle and Lydia confidently communicated and participated in reciprocal relationships with the residents, giving out beautiful hugs.

We plan on extending on our visit to the Masonic Retirement Village by sending and exchanging letters and drawings to the residents and visiting again on a regular basis with more songs and dances to perform.

Tara

Emotions

Because music affects the way we feel, educators can also use it to enhance learning about emotions. For example, educators could play a piece of music and ask children how they feel, or to point to the emotion face that describes how they feel, and then engage in activities or discussion with children to extend learning about the emotion.

The ability of music to change our mood seems to be related to the production of different chemicals in the brain. Endorphins triggered by listening to and making music provide a kind of natural pain relief, where dopamine leads to feelings of buoyancy, optimism, energy and power.

Tips

• ask children to make up dance steps which show how the music makes them feel eg happy, sad
• get children to complete artworks while listening to different types of music. How does their art change when the music changes?

Learning Outcomes include 3.1 Children develop a strong sense of well being

Behaviour

Music affects moods. It can make us feel happy, sad, angry, scared etc, and therefore can be used to help children manage their behaviour. For example, music can be used to energise children and prepare them for action.  One neuroscientist noted that “when children read words the language centres of the brain light up…but when they read music the entire brain lights up like a Christmas tree.” (Wilson cited in Beatty 2006). Research has shown that children learn best when music is at 60 beats per minute because it changes a child’s brain wave patterns to an optimal state for learning (Egle 2005).  Because music stimulates emotions, it also helps to synchronise the two hemispheres of the brain, which motivates children to explore and experiment.

Of course music can also be used to reduce stress and create a peaceful, calm environment. This type of music is often used to soothe babies, induce sleep and rest, and accompany restful or meditative activities like yoga.  A slow, repetitive musical beat can help to regulate our heart and breathing rates, while humming generates soothing vibrations similar to those the body produces naturally.

Tips

• create ‘progressive relaxation’ activities by telling a story using sounds and asking children to imagine the story
• sing simple, short songs to infants in a high, soft voice. Try making up one or two lines about bathing, dressing, or eating to sing to them while you do these activities.

Learning Outcomes include 3.1 Children develop a strong sense of well being, 4.1 Children develop learning dispositions and 4.2 Children develop a range of skills

Physical activity

Today Miss Eliza & Miss Rachel planned for & participated in energetic physical activity with the children (L.O 3.2) The children asked to dance this morning so during free play they danced, then we all sat down once everyone had finished morning tea. The children then got to use their physical skills to engage in musical statues (L.O 3.2).

The children had a great time doing this.

At our group time before lunch the children again used their physical skills for some stretching. Miss Rachel asked what type of music would be best for stretching?”

Chloe said “slow,” Jackson said “music with just sounds, no singing.”

During this activity, the children demonstrated their spatial awareness as they moved through the environment safely (L.O 3.2) in time with the music. Miss Rachele discussed how stretching before using our muscles for different things helps us not hurt our muscles.

Numeracy broadly includes understandings about numbers, patterns, measurement, spatial awareness and data as well as mathematical thinking, reasoning and counting (EYLF p 46). It’s characterised by inquiry and problems solving which begins from a very young age. You can see it when a baby follows a moving object with their eyes, looks you up and down, grabs their feet or an object, and moves them in different ways.

Teaching numeracy to young children involves activities which promote understanding about key mathematical concepts eg speed, direction, numbers, counting, mass, units, and shapes. Music and movement can be used to enhance this learning. Research shows, for example that learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical learning.

Tips

• review the literacy tips above – many of these can also be used to promote learning about numeracy eg those exploring the speed and rhythm of music
• sing songs which include numbers, sizes, textures etc
• offer babies a box of objects of different sizes, textures and shapes and encourage them to explore the different sounds the objects make
• include numeracy concepts in musical dramatic play

Today with Miss Danielle we played a game where the children listened to different sounds, where each sound corresponded with a different body movement. For example, the ‘shh’ sound related to walking on tippy toes. The children used memory of a sequence to complete the task and all enjoyed playing this physical form of Memory.

As part of our focus of recycling and reusing materials, Miss Tara provided a range of resources that enabled the children to express meaning using visual arts, using our donated pizza boxes, paper plates, paint and scrap paper. From these materials, we made our own pizzas and played “Pizza Shop”. Some of the children took on the role of shop assistant/pizza maker, while others were the customers.

Today toddler 2 had a great time-sharing happiness, humour and satisfaction while dancing to some music. The children demonstrated great trust and confidence in each other as they spun around dancing and jumping together as their favourite songs played.

All the children showed very creative dance movements and drama while acting out dance moves to the songs. Some of the children would lay down when the songs said, “time to go to sleep or one of the monkeys fell off the bed” and the children would lay there until the songs would go to the next verse.

It’s always great to see the children interact and contribute with each other in a positive and happy way, all faces smiling while they enjoy each other’s company.

(Cody)