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Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council.

Dennis, Jr. S. F., Wells, A., & Bishop, C. (2014). A Post-Occupancy Study of Nature-Based Outdoor Classrooms in Early Childhood Education. Children, Youth and Environments, 24(2), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.24.2.0035

Kemple, K. M., Oh, J., Kenney, E., & Smith-Bonahue, T. (2016). The Power of Outdoor Play and Play in Natural Environments. Childhood Education, 92(6), 446–454. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2016.1251793

Loebach, J., & Cox, A. (2022). Playing in ’ The Backyard  ’: Environmental Features and Conditions of a Natural Playspace Which Support Diverse Outdoor Play Activities among Younger Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12661–. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912661

Robinson, C. E., Treasure, T., O’Connor, D., Neylon, G., Harrison, C., & Wynne, S. (2018). Learning through play: creating a play-based approach within early childhood contexts. Oxford University Press.

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social interactions
- imitative interaction among several children

Giske, R., Ugelstad, I. B., Torill Meland, A., Helen Kaltvedt, E., Eikeland, S., Egil Tønnessen, F., & Lie Reikerås, E. K. (2018). Toddlers’ social competence, play, movement skills and well-being: an analysis of their relationship based on authentic assessment in kindergarten. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 26(3), 362–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2018.1463904

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A comparative study conducted by Kemple (2016) examined the behaviour of children in natural and less natural play environments. The findings of this study indicate that children not only show an increased preference to spend more time engaging in play activities inside natural places but also demonstrate a higher frequency of social connections (Kemple, 2016). <-- so interesting!! And very useful for you! Besides, numerous social and personal benefits of natural play could be found in the research <-- what research? Ah I see, you explain it in the next sentence - so then delete this first sentence, because it's not really giving me any unique information. This is petty of me, but just giving you some advice to help you reduce words and have more quality writing for your professional article. According to research, children who spend time in nature have higher self-worth and a stronger self-concept (Robinson et al., 2018). Engaging in nature play in an area that children frequent on a regular basis also encourages belonging, which strengthens their sense of effectiveness in the space (Robinson et al., 2018). These emotional and personal benefits exhibit themselves in the social domain, where children's behaviour is markedly more positive in a natural play environment (Robinson et al., 2018).

The social advantages of this well-being include increased friendship interchange quantity and quality in outdoor play settings as well as increased levels of cooperation, communication, and collaboration (Robinson et al., 2018). The children's confidence is positively impacted by these improvements in well-being and interpersonal relationships (Robinson et al., 2018). The two research fully demonstrated the benefits of natural play and how children's socio-emotional skills could be developed during play.

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I will use the technique of questioning to guide or support children's social behaviour and connection with peers. For instance,
- "How about letting your friends have a turn to go?"
- "Can you use these leaves to make an apple pie with xx together or for xx?"
- "What do you wanna make for xx?"
- "Is it fun to play with xx?"

Children's social skills could also be demonstrated in their social interactions. For example,
- "How do they treat their friends when taking turns and sharing toys?"
- "Are they good at active listening when educators talk to them?"
- "Are they attentive when listening to someone's speaking?",
- "Are they more patient in waiting?", "Does the child gradually work or play with their peers?"

I will use the technique of documenting to record children's social connections with their peers.

FROM ERIN: I want to see some references here - why are you looking for 'active listening', 'patience', etc. I want you to do some research on what social skills children at this age typically have/develop, and then use that to inform what you'll be looking for.

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Hi Erin, I wonder if all of my thoughts and ideas are on track and logically making sense to you. I also wonder if data collection techniques like questioning and documenting are effective. Please let me know if my research questions need to be modified. Thanks so much.

FROM ERIN: Yes, I agree - I think less questioning, maybe even no questioning at all. Take a look at this link: https://www.tonguetwisters.co.nz/the-power-of-commenting-rather-than-questioning/#:~:text=Comments%20mean%20children%20hear%20good,in%20response%20to%20a%20question.
There are definitely more 'academic' sources than this one, but this a good starting point to get you moving away from so much questioning. In particular, some of the questions you've identified seem to be quite leading.

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The Power of Commenting Rather than Questioning

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I'm a fan of making comments to children rather than asking questions. I call it 'teaching' (commenting) rather than 'testing' (questioning). By commenting, I mean making statements. It could be ...

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- Natural based outdoor environment

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The natural-based outdoor classroom is a distinctive setting for education that emphasises the integration of learning and play within a natural environment. This environment is set up with materials obtained from nature, such as wood, stone, plants, and water (Dennis et al., 2014)

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Based on my observation in the workplace, I found children enjoy spending time on some activities that integrate natural resources and constructed tools. Some of the children even stayed in the same spot for a long time exploring the natural resources such as flowers, wood and sticks, and constructed kitchen cookers like wooden spoons, knives and bowls. Besides, I noticed that the frequency of peer interactions increased. Children are more likely to share their materials in some natural-based activities.

After seeing children can enjoy and benefit from natural play, I aim to extend the programs by combining more diverse and various natural resources and elements into play to see any anticipated behaviour or changes children might have.

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Natural outdoor resources and activities  

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Natural outdoor resources and activities  

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Using natural resources
Natural materials such as sticks, sand, stones, seashells, pine cones, leaves, soil, feathers, flowers (or dry flowers), and seaweed. Numerous natural resources can be found in our every day to be added to our outdoor activities to vary children's play and promote their social skills.

Direct experience of nature (Dennis et al., 2014).
- get up very close with plant and animal life cycles
- to notice how plants change with the seasons
- to interact with plant materials directly as play materials
- observing the living elements in the playspace, with an emphasis on wildlife (Leobach and Cox, 2022)

These experiences could support children with longer engagement and more cooperation (Dennis et al., 2014).

Combing natural resources into
- Pretend play
- Imaginative play

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How children could develop their social skills in imaginary play?

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How children could develop their social skills in imaginary play?

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Imaginary play: symbol representation
According to Robinson et al. (2018), children have the ability to incorporate open-ended natural elements into their imaginative play. For instance, they may utilise a stick as a wizard's cape or use leaves and sand as pretend meals (Robinson et al., 2018). Behaviour could be observed during the imaginary play, such as turn-taking, exchange of tools, sharing and collaboration. Even this particular form of play fosters and enhances children's engagement with their peers (Robinson et al., 2018). My research will focus more on how children's social behaviours improved and what language they may use with peers in some social behaviours like sharing and collaboration.

Imaginary play holds considerable importance in fostering the social well-being of children, as it provides a way through which children seek to comprehend their surroundings (Robinson et al., 2018).

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AGDE (2022) states that providing children with the opportunities to access the natural environment including plants, mud, water, rocks and other elements from nature could support children in building connection with and knowing about the natural world.

LO 1.3: develop negotiation and sharing skills
LO 2.1: develop a sense of connectedness among groups
LO 2.4: participate in helping others in social groupings
LO 3.1: become strong in their social and emotional well-being

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- How do children use resources from the natural environment in their play to support social skills?

- How are children's social skills enacted when they incorporate resources from the natural environment into their play?

FROM ERIN: How does play with natural materials support children's social skills? <-- be sure to add the age of the children, is it 4-5s?

- How does playing with natural materials support a group of toddlers' social skills?