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I never thought of play as just fun activities. As a mother, I've always known play to be a solid process of learning, where problem-solving, questioning, and imagination naturally grow. This unit has further strengthened the idea and readings and theories have offered me more knowledge and insight, enabling me to view play as not only important but also intellectually rich.

Peter Gray's (2008) definition of play, as self-directed, process-oriented, and intrinsically motivated, has changed the idea of play is separate from learning. Instead, it suggests that the play is the foundation of explorative learning and effective problem solving. This perception strongly aligned with my idea of play, but it also prompted me to pay attention to the subtle moments in which play informs thinking in low-key, taken-for-granted ways.

What particularly strikes me now is how play demonstrates agency and questioning. I have started to notice more how individuals (including myself) experiment playfully, through problem-solving, trying out ideas, or just noticing the world. As Davis (2020) describes it, science and learning arise from "ways of noticing" the relationships and systems in the world around us.

With this vision, I now recognize play woven into everyday life, in cooking, gardening, the use of tools, or using technology. In this journal, I call on actual experience and consider how the play languages, especially in science, maths, and technology, are brought into relationship with the everyday. These entries are not just observations, but its invitations to see how learning happens through play subtly, intuitively and meaningfully.

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Removing weed from the flower bed while exploring growing patterns and different formations of plants

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After learning this unit I understood Gardening also can become a reflective and playful moment of scientific engagement. While I was removing weeds out of my flower bed, what felt like a routine task became an investigation of the ways plants behave in different environments. Some of the weeds had grown wrapped tightly around the roots of my flower plants or cuddled up against rocks, while others had spread flat along the surface of the soil.

I felt, I knew that the pressure needed to pull out each weed varied significantly according to its position and depth. Some required two hands and more force, while others came out easily. I found myself trying things out, adjusting my grip and posture, or pulling at a different angle. The decisions were instinctive but also thoughtful, based on tactile data and careful observation.

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Vibrant colours of flowers and small living beings in that bio system

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I also paid attention to the little wonders surrounding me, a spider escaping the disturbing environment, the bright colours of blooming flowers, and the various textures of the leaves of the aloe vera and lavender.

This activity resonates with the view of Davis (2020) that we are scientific thinkers when we observe connections and patterns in the world around us and do something about them. I was doing casual experimentation, testing with pressure, observing outcomes, and drawing conclusions. Science, Natural Learning (n.d.) states, is not limited to the official laboratory; it is also in the everyday experiences that involve observing, comparing, wondering, and physically engaging with the environment.

Furthermore, play was implicit in my curiosity, flexibility, and problem-solving, in the way I modified strategies, found patterns, and adapted to change. Also, biology (biodiversity, root structure), physics (force, leverage), and environmental observation were all present in the moment, though informally investigated.

This moment made me think of my theory that play is not only fun, it's active, experimental learning, usually disguised in ordinary tasks. Being an outdoor person and a doer, this opened my eyes to how much science is involved in daily activities if examined through the lens of a playful and thoughtful eye.

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Exploring maths while enjoying my holiday vaccation

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On our holiday trip to Mirboo today, to see Agnes Falls, I was engaged in mathematical thinking in unexpected ways. As we drove on the curvy, twisty roads along mountain ranges and valleys, I observed the way the landscape itself had a language of shape, distance, and direction. The falls, which drop a height of 59 metres, were a dramatic vertical measurement that I visualised instinctively. As I entered, I noticed a local map nearby that indicated walkways and landmarks and started reading it in spatial awareness terms and directional relationships. Those tasks that we normally do, I now see associate with the math lens offered in this unit.

While the trip was meant to be leisurely, I found myself actively seeking out mathematical patterns, angles of roads, elevation of hills, gradient of slopes, and distances between points. In a small shed where we breakfasted, I noticed how the octagon layout of the room and symmetrical benches also facilitated spatial thinking. I was impressed with how naturally mathematical thinking arose in such a commonplace setting.

This experience supports the idea of mathematics is in daily experience if viewed as a play-oriented, exploratory structure (Thomson, 2018). In real world, orientation, and looking, measurement, spatial sense, and problem-solving are generally made apparent, as Hekupu (n.d.) intimates. My internal engagement of distances, heights, and spatial configurations aligns with this broader mathematical play concept.

I experience maths in our whole journey, in the curiosity of reading the map, the problem-solving of navigating roads, and the spontaneous observations of heights and directions. Mathematics inherent in the moment Measure (59m drop), spatial awareness (road curves, hut positioning), mapping, direction, and pattern recognition.

This scenario proves my knowledge that math is not a world of just numbers, it is felt through space, movements, and environment. Relevance to my learning and routine this heightened my tendency to find learning everywhere, particularly in environment and movement, and confirmed my developing capacity to read everyday life mathematically.

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Experiencing the language of technology while baking

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Baking a cake at the weekend, I found myself having an unexpectedly enjoyable time with everyday technologies. The recipe I was using was for a 1kg cake, and I was attempting to make a 2kg one. This involved recalculating proportions of ingredients and adjusting the procedure, which transformed the routine task into a moment of creative problem-solving.

In this moment, I weighed out each ingredient, 250g of butter to 500g, 250g of sugar to 500g. Seeing the readings shift as I poured, I noticed how responsive I became to feedback from the scale. I adjusted my actions intuitively, adding ingredients slowly, checking, then adjusting. When the butter was too cold to whisk, I used the microwave in small increments to melt it, testing timing and texture.

Then, I whisked the ingredients with a hand whisk, connecting with the mixture on a physical level.

This scenario recalled Fleer's (2016) idea of conceptual play, where actions and tools are infused in imaginative problem-solving. Boulder Journey School (n.d.) also recognizes the technology, as any tool that supports thinking, making, and changing. In this senario, the scale, microwave, and whisk were not merely practical—but thinking companions, inviting curiosity, experimentation, and reflection (Fleer et al., 2020).

I witnessed play in my intuitive adjustments, testing microwave times, attempting weight measurements, and enjoying the process of "figuring it out." I was not just cooking by recipe, I was engaging dynamically with the equipment.

The digital scale, microwave, and hand whisk were at the forefront of the experience. These technologies mediated my activity and helped me cope with complexity through iterative, tangible learning.

This experience enriched my understanding of play as active, reflective, and tool-mediated, not confined to recreation or fantasy, but rooted in practical, reflective action. Relevance to learning, identity, or habits. As a cooking hobbyist, this activity reminded me of how my daily routines can be transformed into areas of learning and leisure technological experimentation.

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I am living in Dandenong North, which means on the unceded territory of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. I had not until recently come to the acknowledged the the idea of what it is to live on stolen land, land that was never ceded, sovereignty never given up, and colonisation brutally interrupted thousands of years of continuous culture.

What I have taken away from this unit, and specifically from the readings, is that acknowledgment of Aboriginal ownership is beyond symbolic. It is a call to truth-telling, respect, and action. As Nayuka Gorrie (2022) says, "we must not teach our children a 'thanks for the land' version of history." These words had a great impact on me. I understood that without truth, we remain silent, and silence permits injustice to persist.

Learning Dadirri, Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr's deep inner listening, was a empowering way of being, a way that honours stillness, presence, and belonging to Country (Miriam Rose Foundation, n.d.). It has changed my attachment to place. I no longer see the landscape as empty but rather as full of story, culture, and meaning.

This knowledge made me feel the responsibility. To be mindful of Country when I'm attending events, to buy from local Aboriginal businesses and artists, to attend community events, and to keep learning myself and the kids are small but significant things that I can do. To listen more, too. I'll try Dadirri in my own life, and not look away from the truths of colonisation, dispossession, and resilience. I cannot reconcile passively. I must get involved in a more equal and truthful future because I live on occupied land.

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Davis, J. (2020). Science learning through daily experience: Tuning into patterns and connections. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1108468

Gorrie, N. (2022, July 2). We must not teach our children a “thanks for the land” version of Australian history. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/02/we-must-not-teach-our-children-a-thanks-for-the-land-version-of-australian-history

Hekupu. (n.d.). STEM learning through the lens of Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa. https://www.hekupu.ac.nz/article/science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-learning-through-lens-te-whariki-he-whariki

Fleer, M., van Oers, B., & Veresov, N. (2020). Playworlds as a model for understanding early STEM learning. In M. Fleer & B. van Oers (Eds.), International handbook of early childhood education (pp. 423–437). Springer.

Boulder Journey School. (n.d.). Technology. https://www.boulderjourneyschool.com/technology.html

KG Learning. (n.d.). Documentation tensions and truths. https://www.kglearning.com.au/post/documentation-tensions-truths

Miriam Rose Foundation. (n.d.). Dadirri: Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/dadirri/

Natural Learning. (n.d.). STEM learning through the lens of Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa. https://www.naturallearning.net.au/uploads/6/9/3/6/69366275/sp_asow.pdf

Spodek, B., & Saracho, O. N. (2017). Play as a context for learning. In O. Saracho (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on research in creativity in early childhood education (pp. 45–60). Information Age Publishing.

Thomson, S. (2018). Literacy and numeracy: Building good practice resources. https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1761401-ECE6002-2-2023-H1B2-149064/ed13-0077_ec_literacy_and_numeracy_building_good_practice_resources_literacy_and_numeracy_cards_acc.pdf