Eucalyptus Journals Term 3, Week 9 : 9 - 13 September 2019

Shadow Puppets – Wayang KulitShadow puppetry is a unique form of puppetry as the puppets themselves are not seen, just the effect they make as their shadows hit the screen. In Drama this week the children learnt about puppetry techniques and Wayang Kulit – the traditional form of shadow puppets from Indonesia. The children learnt about how they are made and how the puppeteer manipulates them behind the screen. We watched some videos of traditional shows and the children were asked to have a turn behind the screen. We made our puppets dance and interact to traditional music from Indonesia, and then had a turn of playing the gamelan, an instrument which makes up a part of the traditional music ensemble from Indonesia.

Victorian Early Years Development and Learning FrameworkVEYLDF Outcome 4: Children will manipulate objects and experiment with cause and effect, trial and error and motion.

Eucalyptus Journals Term 3, Week 9 : 9 - 13 September 2019

“If you work really well with puppets, they look like they’re real.” - Penelope

Eucalyptus Journals Term 3, Week 9 : 9 - 13 September 2019

To support our exploration of wellbeing we read the storybook, What are you Grateful for Little Bug?

At the time we got a little confused about the concept of gratitude, so to support their understanding of gratitude, we have since been questioning the children about what supports them to feel happy, or what they are thankful for. Nevertheless, it was nice for some of the children to reflect on their strengths after reading the story together!

What are you grateful for?Lila My family. Penelope I’m grateful for, because I’m great at writing names.Gonzalo That I can play. Charlie I’m grateful because I can do puzzles.Gavin For the sun. Fletcher For my family. MackenzieBecause I’m really good at colouring and sharing and I can play with people. Maya Sharing and caring of my friends because they will be very happy.Smilian For having my Mummy and Daddy. Robbie I’m grateful I rode the pony ride. Christine For cuddling my Mummy. Hudson I can do good building. Liam Painting and building blocks.

Expressing thanks may be one of the simplest ways to feel better. (Harvard Health, 2011)

Eucalyptus Journals Term 3, Week 9 : 9 - 13 September 2019

What does it mean to calm? Maya It means that when you calm your body down and slow down, you feel calm. Your body is calm. Mackenzie You have to be by yourself and when you see if your body is not distracted. Distracted means you’re doing something else. Gonzalo Demonstrates being calm. He sits with his hands on his knees and breaths slowly. Liam Shark Finn. How does it make you feel? Liam Happy. Does music make you happy? Liam Yes. Sings Happy (Pharrell Williams)Robbie I’m going to go in three weeks. I’m going on a plane to Japan. What about running around outside, does that make you happy? Hudson Yes. Some people go for a big run to feel calm. The children were shown the glitter jar. Ashton My head is fizzing! Charlie It’s moving slowly, down and down and down. Smilian It’s going sparkly down. Mackenzie The bubbles are floating to the top and the sparkles are going to the bottom. Liam It makes me feel calm.

Can Music Change how we Feel? To support the children in developing their conscious understanding of how music can impact their emotional state, we listened to two different types of music. We first listened to Metallica and were asked how they felt, or what they thought about. Mackenzie Worried. Maya It’s too loud.Fletcher It’s too noisy. Smilian It’s not loud. Ashton It makes me feel like racing cars around. Zooming around!

We then played Mozart…Fletcher It’s like soldiers doing trumpet walking.Maya It’s like Elsa using all her powers. It makes me feel like a queen. Gavin Like a truck, driving. Ashton Why is there siesta music on…?

To be continued…

Eucalyptus Journals Term 3, Week 9 : 9 - 13 September 2019

Music with Mr Browne In recent weeks we have been exploring rhythm and beat with our music teacher, Mr Browne. On Tuesday we integrated tempo interchanging between quick and slow movements using our musical instruments. We then took it in turns to play the various musical instruments on offer whilst pretending to be a marching band moving around our classroom.

My finger’s tapping, tapping, tapping… Put your finger up! Put your finger down… Put it on our head. Head! Put it on your knee. Knee! Put it on your nose. Nose!

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Outcome 5: Communication - Children are effective communicators Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes: The children enjoyed engaging in reciprocal interactions using verbal and non-verbal language as they responded to verbally and non-verbally to what they heard.