Word-play and musike -: Young children learning literacies while communicating playfully

THIS PAPER EXPLORES YOUNG children's rhythmic, musical, humorous and playful communication in the context of empowering themselves to create meaningful curriculum during teacher-controlled routine morning tea times in an early childhood education centre. The data, presented as 'events', formed part of an interpretive qualitative study exploring young children's experience of humour and playfulness in their communication. The ethnographic-inspired research methods included the researcher as a participant observer. Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) framed the methodology, and mediated activity was the unit of analysis. CHAT illuminated the tensions, contradictions and power patterns inherent in communicative activity. This paper illustrates how young children's rhythmic musicality serves both communicative and enjoyable functions, and argues that rhythm also forms the basis for young children's developing verbal communication and early literacy learning. The 'events' make visible literacy as social practice (Hamilton, 1999).