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To introduce a picture of outdoor nature to children through different senses. From there, help children form their awareness of nature and create a connection with the subject. Thereby assisting children in developing soft skills such as observation, creative thinking, and the ability to adapt to the surrounding environment but also fostering essential factors such as the ability to calm down and handle situations like in today's vibrant life. In addition, increases children's physical ability through the inconveniences of nature, thereby increasing gross motor skills as well as fine motor skills in the development journey.

The three activities are designed using elements of sound, movement and drama to create the deepest connection between nature and each individual because all involve body parts.

Note: Due to a position as an international student, I did not have access to children, I would pretend to be children and discover the experience through the lens of a child by myself with an awareness of all possible struggles and challenges when introduced to a child.

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Summary:

The teacher collects materials from different sources to create a shelter. Allows children to stand under the shelter of each source of material and ask them to be quiet and listen. The activity allows children to practice their auditory and analytical skills needed to distinguish the differences between materials.

Inspiration and theoretical perspectives:

The activity was inspired by the sound made when raindrops fall on the surface of an umbrella. This activity also metaphorically represents the image of drumsticks hitting the drum surface to create resonance. The question was asked how the sound would be on other surfaces with different materials.

Reflection:

Children felt the sound of rain falling on an umbrella. They also distinguished the difference between the sound of rain falling on an umbrella and a corrugated iron roof. Children commented that the sound of rain falling on an umbrella was soft and not as loud and reverberating as the sound of rain falling on a corrugated iron roof. However, this comment only appeared when I asked children directly and in detail about the loudness of the sound of rain. There was no direct response after the first question about the comment on the sound of rain.

As a teacher, I have not been successful in finding diverse materials for children to experience all the different sounds of rain falling on different materials. Moreover, designing to hang the shields is also a time-consuming task. Choosing a rainy day to carry out the activity is also a factor that needs to be noted in terms of both parents' concerns and how to organize it properly. Therefore, I think we can change the activity a bit instead of creating a roof, we can use pots and pans with a cylindrical shape like drums, or items with a drum-like shape. That is, with a surface on the top and a hollow inside, so that when raindrops fall on them, they can create sounds. And children can start experiencing sounds from there.

In the future, I would like to explore with children many different forms of sounds created by nature. Partly to create a connection between children and nature, which is also a place. And to let children feel the most original sounds from nature without being processed like music. I can introduce wind chimes as a form of sound created from the natural element of wind.

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Experience 2 - Moving with natural friends

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Experience 2 - Moving with natural friends

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Summary:

Asking students to act out the movements of animals during an outdoor excursion. Together asking open-ended questions to get students to look more closely at how the environment influences the animals' movements.

Inspiration and theoretical perspectives:

From my own experience and my view of nature as a dance partner (The Earthbody Institute, n.d), I wanted to create an activity that would help students connect with nature by observing how natural elements influence the movements of animals. In addition, playing outdoors is believed to help children lessen aggressive behaviour and accidents (Wilson, 2007). When children observe and recognise dangers in the natural world, especially in the early stages of life, they develop the ability to observe and judge and take similar actions to avoid those dangers in a prepared manner. Above all, when considering the importance of play for children, ensuring the quality of play should also be considered and outdoor play is believed to be enriched when children are immersed in the natural world (Greenman, 2005, as cited in Wilson, 2007). With the availability of open-ended materials, children will be able to be creative with their thoughts and movements to make the play interesting.

Reflection:

Children can easily imitate when asked to act out the actions of ducks swimming in a pond and standing still like snails on grass. However, I expect that some children will notice that the snails are not standing still but are moving slowly. Therefore, the next experience needs a list of open-ended questions as well as time for children to observe these slow movements more carefully. In addition, the intention to stimulate children's observation and curiosity about the impact of the surrounding environment on the movement of animals has not yet reached the depth I expected. Comparative questions should be asked to stimulate children as follows:

Why can chickens run fast on the ground while snails move slowly on the grass?

Why do birds and ducks run away when we approach them?

In a growing topic lens, these questions not only help children observe the movements of the surrounding environment but also introduce children to the basic knowledge of reciprocate relationships in the natural environment. The change of each movement is formed when the nature of the surrounding environment changes. This topic will help expand on educating children about the impact of humans on the surrounding environment as well as the topic of environmental protection in general. Showing how Indigenous people have practised for thousands of years in conserving and respecting the land should also be introduced on this occasion as an example of how to protect the environment for the children. This also avoids the invisible pressure placed on the shoulders of young citizens by placing an indirect approach such as the responsibility to save the earth which is believed to be inappropriate for the early years (Wilson, 2007).

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Summary:

Children are given the task of imagining themselves as a person walking in a deep forest with dangers and a wild world.

Inspiration and theoretical perspectives:

Putting children in the position of participating in a play makes them develop their creativity. When having to put themselves in a state of imagination, children are put in a position to constantly ask questions about what will happen, and how to do it. And the special thing is that there will be illogical ideas formed but they will be connected according to the child's logic. Because children see things that adults don't see. Just like how I tried to ask if there were creatures hidden behind the moss when to the naked eye it was just moss and algae under the water. Moreover, imaginative play is known as a stage where major transformations in children are exhibited (Meyers & Berk, 2014). Twentieth-century theories address the contribution of pretence to young children's advancing mastery over their thinking, emotions, and behaviour, followed by a critical analysis of relevant evidence (Meyers & Berk, 2014). In addition, according to Erickson (1950), children gain an idea about their potential roles in their social world and social norms (Meyers & Berk, 2014). And implementing this in an outdoor environment would be more dramatic and sustained (Wallin, 2019).

Reflection:

The children seemed to be very interested in the theme of the play. With the space and endless natural objects, the children enjoyed and were able to create their own stories. This is understandable as children have to follow a certain routine every day and this was an opportunity for freedom.

This activity is carried out outdoors, so its nature is very open in both ideas and materials. However, because it is outdoors, it requires a lot of support from accompanying teachers, especially the need for enough teachers to the total number of students according to the ratio set by law.

In the worst-case scenario, if there are not enough teachers to support, the activity will probably take place in the classroom. And of course, teachers will need support such as sound, lighting, and props to add realism to the outdoor scenario.

This activity is very good and practical to help children develop their creativity. Therefore, I want to apply this activity more in similar contexts and stories. It can be used to connect the practices and lifestyles of the Australian Aborigines in the past to help children have a closer perspective and experience.

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Before starting the course, when I read the name of the course, I simply thought that I would learn about music and dance. Surely this subject will equip soft skills for each individual to have basic knowledge about movement, music and drama to convey that basic knowledge to children. Popular songs in preschool-age dances that young children can easily imitate, and how to organize a drama performance, I thought that this would be all the knowledge I would be equipped with. But everything changed as soon as I immersed myself in the materials and curriculum of the first session.

Being allowed to truly understand the definition of each art language originally and academically was the first step that made me erase all previous knowledge and rebuild from scratch. For example, originally understanding music as Wooten mentioned to know that music comes to each person in its simplest form. That is language (Wooten, 2013). This understanding is necessary to build a way to introduce and approach music to children that is not too academic like introducing music theory or the correct way to play musical instruments. Music is an everyday language, full of different high and low tones in conversations. And the ability to listen is the key to building the ability to feel music. Distinguishing between listening and hearing is the next knowledge that helps me understand how music is formed. From there, I realized that if I could stimulate deep listening in children in their early years, it would help them develop good auditory skills in the future when anxious thoughts have not yet surrounded those little brains. But looking at music from an academic perspective, I understood more clearly that music is a product of sound wave vibrations combined. This is the key point for me to look at an aspect of what it would be like if my students had no or impaired auditory ability and it is also a topic that is encouraged to delve deeper.

The same applies to movement and drama. Movement for me is initially a change from a static state to a dynamic state. But digging deeper into it, it is a way of expressing language without using words. It is also the way the body responds to changes in the surrounding environment. And understanding this topic, not only helps me convey it to my students but also helps me recognise each movement of the children when teaching to better understand and connect with them.

The best thing is that these artistic languages ​​can develop alone but can also be parallel and coordinated with each other to create unique effects, such as the way of storytelling combining sound and visual movements in sensory storytelling. In my future teaching practice, combining each element of music, movement and drama is the most effective way to reinforce the benefits of each element and bring the best experience to children.

Above all, from the perspective of conveying Indigenous content to children, the application of these art forms is also believed to be the easiest for the amount of content that is somewhat heavy on geopolitics. Using music, movement and drama to introduce basic knowledge about connecting with the place will be the simplest but most meaningful way for children. I feel that this way of introducing is close, practical and not too abstract when creating a connection between children and nature. Above all, nature is also considered to play an important role in the formation and development of children in terms of psychology and physical health throughout the first years of life. When we build an awareness of the benefits of nature or good initial impressions of nature in children's perception, the connection with the place is only a result of time.

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Meyers, A. B & Berk, L. E. (2014). The SAGE Handbook of Play and Learning in Early Childhood. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1816406-ECE2008-1-2023-HWB-151670/the-sage-handbook-of-play-and-learning-in-early-childhood%20(1)%20(1).pdf?ou=2040456

The Earthbody Institute. (n. d). Movement in the Wild: Nature as Dance Partner. https://www.theearthbodyinstitute.com/2017/03/movement-in-the-wild-nature-as-dance-partner/

Wallin, M. L. (2019). Let's Play Outside: The Importance of Pretend Play in Natural Settings. communityplayingthings. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/the-importance-of-pretend-play-in-natural-settings#:~:text=When%20children%20are%20given%20the%20time%20and%20space%20to%20play,to%20cognitive%20and%20linguistic%20growth

Wilson, R. (2007). Children, creative play, and the natural environment. Nature and Young Children: Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environments. Routledge.

Wooten, V. (2013). Music as a language. [Video]. TEDxTalk. https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0?si=WTvLvZEJ4PUYY2U8