Reflection
Music
On Friday 22nd, March I noticed D and L both three
years old on the side of the mat and they were singing and doing the actions to
the song Mrs. Bunny looks funny when she twitches her nose, Mrs. Bunny looks
funny when she wriggles her toes, two floppy ears and two big feet. I love Mrs.
Bunny ‘cause She’s so neat. Mrs. Bunny stretches, Mrs. Bunny flops, Mrs. Bunny
hops and hops and Mrs. Bunny hops and stops.
By Janet Channong.
They were both singing this song but not keeping in time and
having a lot of fun doing the actions. The music to the song was not playing
and they were recalling the song from their memory. At mat time in the centre
we have been singing the song over the last couple of weeks. ”By making,
sharing and responding to music, students contribute to the cultural life of
their school, whānau, peer groups, and communities”
(Ministry of Education, 2007, p.21).
D and L are cooperating and helping each other,” Children
experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside
others” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.64). They are also learning language skills and
physical development while they sing the song and do the actions. “Children
develop an ability to express themselves through movement and gesture”
(Ministry of Education, 1996, p.97).
The teaching I used was to observe, listen “Staff can learn a
great deal about preschool children’s social, emotional and cognitive
development interests and needs by listening to what they say” (MacNaugton
& Williams, 2009, p.121). Then I joined in with the children singing their
song which gave them encouragement and they gained more confidence and sang
louder. I then suggested to the children that we can get out our musical
instruments to make some music while we sing songs. The children loved making their
own music as we sang. “As children engage with and develop knowledge and deeper
understandings of music, they draw on cultural practices and on histories,
theories, structures, technologies and personal experiences” (Ministry of
Education, 2007, p.21).ā
I feel D and L listened and recalled different songs we have
been singing in the preschool. They cooperated, worked together have responded
to the encouragement I gave them and were enthusiastic when they played their
instruments. “In music education, students work individually and
collaboratively to explore the potential of sounds and technologies for
creating, interpreting, and representing music ideas” (Ministry of Education,
2007. p.21).
D and L are listening, observing is very important as the
children are expressing their ideas and knowledge on different songs and how to
play the music instruments. They are communicating, sharing and working
together which is social interaction.
When I was a child I did not have the confidence to get up
and sing a song as well as play an instrument like D and L did together. I
would sing at mat time with a group of people, very quietly.
Letting children develop their own ideas and knowledge
through communication and listening is very important for their social
development and relationship with their teachers and peers. “Te Whāraki states that in order to participate in this world our
children will need the confidence to develop their own perspectives as well as
the capacity to continue acquiring new knowledge and skills” ( Smorti,1999,
p.5).
To extend on the children’s interest and learning in music
and dance I would get the children involved in performing a small music
production. I would get the children to sing five of their favorite songs while
they are playing instruments or doing actions with the songs. After we had
repeated the performance in the centre a few times we would invite their
parents, family and whānau to come and watch the children
perform.
Reference List
MacNaughton.
G., & Willams, G. (2009). Techniques
for teaching young children: Choices
in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.
in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ministry
of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o
Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum.Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum.Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry
of Education. (2007). The New Zealand
Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand:
Learning Media.
Learning Media.
Smorti,
s. (1999) Technology in early childhood.
Early Education, 1, 5-10.
I was impressed by Denise' deep understanding of benefits of music in children's lives. Denise seemed encouraging children to get involved with music so that they not only can enjoy music but also further develop other knowledge and skills such as language, physical development, and social confidence. I also often see children singing and listening to music in my centre. I believe children love music. It is very common to see children singing along to the music at mat times or any other occasions. As Denise noticed, I believe when children shout out to the music, they seem enjoying the moment. Kemple, Batey, and Hartle (2004) claim that “music certainly is present in the lives of many young children” (p. 30).
ReplyDeleteEspecially when children enjoy music at early years, they are developing skills in language, cognition and physical movement (Talay-Ongan & Ap, 2005).
Although I was able to see Denise provided meaningful experience in which children enjoy music and at the same time they develop skills in language, memory, creativity, and social confidence, I found it hard how it could be connected to the nature of technology and technological education in early childhood. I wish she would clarify clearly the meaning of technological education and technological activity in her reflection.
Reference
Kemple, K., Batey, J., & Hartle, L. (2004). Music play: Creating centres for musical play and exploration. Young Children, 59(4), 30-35.
Talay-Ongan, A., & Cooke, S. (2005). Young children with additional support needs: Early intervention and inclusion. In Talay-Ongan, A., & Ap, E. A. (Eds.), Child Development and Teaching Young Children (1st ed., pp.234-253). Southbank, Victoria, Australia: Thompson Social Science Press.
It is great to see how strong your knowledge of the benefits of children’s experiences with music is Denise! I feel that in this experience you have seen music used as a way that has helped the children to express themselves, meeting the need to communicate with others. Technology involves helping people and using knowledge, skills and resources to meet needs (Smorti, 1999). This experience drew my mind to think of the visit we had from B.G from B. Kindergarten where she talked about using technology in early childhood centres. Perhaps you could use digital technology to extend on the children’s musical experiences further by taking photos to display, or even filming the children’s performances which they could then show their families, teachers and peers. This will enable children to develop the confidence and ability to express themselves as they see their contribution is appreciated and valued (Ministry of Education, 1996). Ka pai Denise, what a great experience you have shared with the children at your centre.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Denise, I really enjoyed reading your reflection on your perspectives of technology. You focused on music, singing and dancing with the children, I wasn’t very sure how this aligns with technology at first but then I read one of your statements “In music education, students work individually and collaboratively to explore the potential of sounds and technologies for creating, interpreting, and representing music ideas” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.21). I believe a successful and an informative technological environment is when children and teachers thinking and practices are supported and enhanced, the environment involves the importance of critical thinking such as problem solving, collaboration and being creative (Ministry of Education, 2007). I believe your music experience aligns with that statement and you provided an “environment where children use a variety of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p,98). Next time you could maybe show the children a YouTube clip on the computer that involves children following actions and singing to the song, this could encourage the less confident children to join in. I found a useful YouTube clip that you might be interested in, it shows a clip of young children singing and doing the actions to ‘the wheel on the bus…’ Using technological tools such as displaying the YouTube clip on the computer or projector, could inspire children to want to learn about finding songs or music on the computer to support their interests. YouTube clip attached: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvzk5jkrEkM
ReplyDeleteReference List:
Childrenlovetosing. (2010). The Wheels on the Bus - Children Love to Sing & Dance Action Kids Songs. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvzk5jkrEkM
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o
Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). Technology. Retrieved from: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Learning-areas/Technology.