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On Country visit - Connecting with Place

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On Country visit - Connecting with Place

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Puddles and sticks in the Park

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https://youtu.be/_zQu6LOhYMA

This link for watching the video on Youtube.

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Analytical Response to the Playing with Puddle and Stick game.

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Analytical Response to the Playing with Puddle and Stick game.

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The reading titled “Dadirri – Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness” helped me gain a more profound understanding of the concept of Listening. According to the reading, deep listening can be practiced by focusing on something specific, such as a bird, a blade of grass, a clump of soil, cracked earth, a flower, bush or leaf, a cloud in the sky or a body of water (sea, river, lake…), or by being open to anything that may find us. By doing so, we allow ourselves to be still and present, enabling us to connect with our environment and become more aware of our focus. Furthermore, reflecting on our experience and expressing it in a way that feels comfortable may be beneficial (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 2002).

I practiced deep listening during my visit to a nearby park after reading about its importance. The day after two days of rain, the damp surroundings filled the air with the scents of wet leaves, moist grass, and damp tree barks. The Eucalyptus oil aroma was particularly strong, making me feel as though I was in a tropical forest. I walked towards the park centre, hearing sticks cracking and water splashing underfoot. Raindrops fell from the leaves above, and the rustling of leaves in the breeze added to the calming atmosphere. The natural environment left me feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

I noticed a small puddle on the ground. I felt a sudden urge to sit down beside it and explore the world of the tiny water body. I picked up a stick lying nearby and tapped its surface, causing droplets of water to splash everywhere. As I continued tapping, the splashes got bigger and bigger, and soon my face, clothes, and shoes were all drenched.

I stood up and began jumping up and down, filled with excitement. I let my feet dance freely in the puddle, splashing water all around me. The feeling of freedom and amazement was overwhelming. I felt the cool water droplets splashing against my skin, which was refreshing.

After a while, I sat down again and picked up the stick. This time, I stirred it around, making the water spin and dance in the puddle. As I swirled the stick around, mesmerizing ripples spread across the surface of the water, creating a beautiful sight.

Finally, I closed my eyes and deeply listened to the sound of the splashing water. I felt the refreshing coolness of the water around me, and it was a moment of pure bliss. It was an exhilarating experience that reminded me of my favourite childhood game, Muddy Puddle. Whenever it rained, my neighbourhood friends and I would run outside to play in the rain, sing and dance with water, and splash in the puddles while spraying water at each other. I remember how happy we were, laughing and having the great time of our lives. Those were unforgettable moments that I will always cherish.

While I was experimenting with a stick and a puddle on the ground and reminiscing about my childhood memories, I found myself drawn to the idea of Playing with the stick and puddle’s poem. It seemed to capture the joy and playfulness of childhood:

Tap the stick,

tap the stick.

Splash, slosh, split,

water on my cheek,

water on my feet,

water on my hands.

Wow, there are countless puddles in this land.

I wave the stick in my hands,

Yeah, the water starts to spin and dance.

During my On Country Visit, I fully agreed with Wilson's theory that a nature zone is an environment that usually consists of natural elements such as trees, water, boulders, bushes, and various plants. It also provides children with the opportunity to develop their creativity and imagination by designing their own play spaces. Moreover, it includes an earth mound that allows them to explore and connect freely with their natural surroundings (Wilson, 2018).

I think that music, dance, drama, and storytelling are great ways to help children learn. An approach called "The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation" used this idea to help children grow and learn in many ways. In Reggio Emilia, Italy, educators use a method that focuses on symbols to help children be happy and healthy. This method encourages kids from birth to age six to explore their world and express themselves in many ways, such as talking, moving, drawing, painting, and making music. This way of learning has been very successful. Children in Reggio Emilia are very good at using symbols and being creative (Edwards et al., 2011).

Music can significantly enhance a child's learning experience in any classroom. Incorporating music into teaching can create a supportive environment that caters to every child's unique learning style, fostering creativity and teamwork (Yusof, 2018). As an educator, after reading “Follow and Facilitate: What Music Educators Can Learn from the Reggio Emilia Approach” by Bond and “The Children's Music Studio: A Reggio-Inspired Approach” by Hanna, I firmly believe in the positive impact of music in children's education and plan to incorporate verbal communication/drama, singing/music, and movement/dancing in my teaching methods to promote children's well-being and intellectual development.

Bond's theory, based on Reggio Emilia's approach, guides music educators to teach by focusing on the child, being flexible, and responsive to their needs. It emphasizes creating an environment that supports innate musicality and implements several principles, including constructivist practices, questioning, enhancing adult behaviours, documentation, using the environment as the third teacher, and creating a community of learners. In the music classroom, open-ended instructional strategies and opportunities for free musical play and exploration help to follow the child (Bond, 2013).

Hanna, a music teacher, used the Reggio-inspired philosophy of teaching like Bond. This approach challenged her beliefs about teaching and learning in a positive way. She believed music learning should focus on developing skills, and after implementing Reggio-inspired ideas, she discovered that children were the experts in music learning, not her. Her role was to listen and follow their lead (Hanna, 2017).

References:

Ungunmerr-Baumann, M.R. (2002). Dadirri – Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness, 1 – 4. https://www.dadirri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dadirri-Inner-Deep-Listening-M-R-Ungunmerr-Bauman-Refl1.pdf

Wilson, R.A. (2018). Natural outdoor playspaces. Nature and young children: encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (3rd ed., pp. 18 – 32). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315148533-3/natural-outdoor-playspaces-ruth-wilson?context=ubx&refId=4c6f00ff-1624-4166-825c-1d53713eada5

Edwards, C.P., & Gandini, L., & Forman, G.E. (2011, December 13). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation (3rd ed.). ABC-CLIO, LLC. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=820317

Yusof, F.B., & Tan, A.G. (2018, December 18). Teaching Music in the Early Childhood Classroom for Convergent Creativity: Views from a Meta-synthesis. Creativity in music education, 245 – 266. Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-2749-0_18

Bond, V.L. (2013, October). Follow and Facilitate: What Music Educators Can Learn from the Reggio Emilia Approach. General Music Today. https://research.ebsco.com/c/6kr4lr/search/details/6bl77qri6b

Hanna, W. (2017, January 03). The Children's Music Studio: A Reggio-Inspired Approach. Oxford University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4747980