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Light  is form of energy that we can see. There are many sources of light. The sun is the main source of light on earth. Our eyes are able to process this light and turn it into an image in our brain. To me light means festivals. Light means joy and safety. Light means the presence of shadow.
Enquiry with light- we can see light everywhere in the world we live in. In my lifetime I have seen so many kinds and sources of light .I have added a video of different lights in my light enquiry what I experienced in different times. Light gives us different illusion with different objects. I have visited a light show which was very exciting. In the show I saw different types of light plays .each light shows had different meaning such as light waves created in the sky to symbolise aurora, projection show to show different native animals.
creating different night creatures in the garden using different cellophane papers and lights. It was a great experience for me while visiting the light show I have engaged all my senses to understand the different meanings the lights are conveying through light show. I have also experienced the sources of light from nature such as sunrise and full moon night also fireworks which connects me to nature and my childhood. In my childhood we use to do fireworks to celebrate different festivals. While watching the fireworks during new year celebration it reminded me of my childhood very much. Light  is very important in our life light play is a form of holistic, educational activity which falls under what practitioners call Sensory Play. Light play is very important for children .exploring light .exploring with lights is another way of sensory play. Sensory play is the key to which children unlock their understanding of the world around them.

Research shows that sensory play helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which aids children in their ability to complete more complicated and complexing tasks.
According to the Reggio Emilia approach to Early Years Education, light and shadows are one of the “hundred languages of children” and play a vital role in early childhood development

Lights are also a fantastic source of visual sensory input, as an educator I often notice  a change in attention span in the children who learn and play with lights compared to those who don’t. Fascination in this magical world means that children are more likely to engage with activities which include lights compared to those which don’t.
Light play could also be a really useful tool for children who are sensitive to sensory stimulation. This form of play helps children learn to focus on specific sensory elements in their environment, which in turn helps to filter and block out those which may be causing distress.

Reflection on week 4 - in week 4 i have learned how to enquire with light and how children and adults benefits through exploring light. As I work as an educator while doing my constant enquiry about light I found connection to a Reggio inspired light play experience in my workplace. which is The child sorting the crystals by colour on the light table. I observed the children engaging in the experience with great enthusiasm while exploring all the sensory skills. I would try to create more opportunities for children to engage in light play. It was a great experience to engage with light and gain knowledge about light through my enquiry.

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Harwood, P 2021, The Benefits of Using Lights During Play, Polydron, viewed 16 April 2023,

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Kind, S & Kocher, LLM 2016a, Encounters with Materials in Early Childhood Education, Routledge, New York, p. 34.

University, R 2014, Geologist explains painting with soil at Rice Gallery’s ‘yamatane’, www.youtube.com, viewed 16 April 2023.

Wikipedia Contributors 2019, Paint, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 16 April 2023.

Weebly n.d., Children exploring Light/shadow/refelction, Constructivism Across Curriculum, viewed 16 April 2023.

― 2016c, Encounters with materials in early childhood education, Routledge, New York, pp. 45–54.

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Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals

Clays develop plasticity  when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay particles, but become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide.
Experiment & enquiry with clay - I have experimented with clay in our class with my peers. It was very exciting to play with the clay. Firstly I took some clay and it felt really cold on my hand when i touched it .slowly i started to creak the big chuck into small pieces. Then I rolled those small peace's just to see if it is soft or hard  it felt soft at the beginning after making small pieces the first thing I made out of clay was a penguin. I made the penguin because it resonated with my childhood memory in my young age I use to make penguin with putty. Next I decided to make a volcano and volcano and lava As I was always curious about volcanos ,lava and volcanic eruptions from my childhood. The next experiment was connecting to nature I made a forest and I used dried leaves to symbolise the trees in the forest I also made bied using clay and birds nest using a pinecone .Next I have made cloud and rainfall as I love rainy season and rain. to engage in all these experiences I have used my hand eye coordination,imagination and sensory skills.During my clay exploration I have rolled,patted,pinched used water to soften and moulded the clay which was great.In the book Encounter with materials in early childhood education in early childhood the author mentioned that The responses of clay and child are never predictable, because ecologies of practice are always emergent. Movements are not intentionally performed: They emerge. Clay responds to children’s movements as they work with it. Yet, sometimes it resists and refuses to stay still in one shape. It is impossible, though, to predict these resistances. Clay flows through the studio in rhythm malleability children canvas, to with and with the follow floor, children’s flexibility. with Clay movements.  I reasonate with authors statement and I have also experienced the unpredictable movemnt of clay during my clay enquiry
Reflection on session 5 & 6 - session 5 & 6 was very exciting and interactive for me as we gathered for our face to face class and did our clay enquiry together as a class.during the class we learned about different colours of clay in different parts of the world due to oxidation of the soil . I have also learnt what clay is capable of such as it can intrigue our thinking and it can also connect us with memories from past .while playing with clay I realised the texture and the mouldability of clay attracts me towards it and the dryness after washing repels me.As an educator I would try to encourage children to engage in clay experiences so that they can get an opportunity to explore the material clay and express their enquiry about the material.

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Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. Painting is one of the ancient arts of humanity. In ancient times paint was used to make cave paintings ,Buddhist murals, wall paintings etc. Paint is a very commonly used material to create art till the date.
Experiment with paint - as I was completing week 2 I was excited to do an experiment with paint. To explore the Material paint I did a painting of a flower using many different colour. This abstract painting resonated with colours of harmony. To do this experiment I used Acrylic paint and synthetic brush .I mixed primary colours to make different cool tone colours such as ocean blue, teal etc. I used different colour for every stroke and kept rotating the angles as I was continuing. The  artwork shows the versatility of paint how it can create an art at the same time it can convey the message of harmony and unity through colours. The material used in the painting has displayed the visual art through exploration of paint. The idea of making this creative art and exploring paint was derived from Chapter 4 - Paint: Assemblage of encounter with materials in early childhood education where Pacini -Ketchabaw ,Sylvia kind and Lurie L.M  kocher  has narrated the materials and methods used to create and display work. As narrated by the authors, the children utilizing different tools to bring together their artwork inspired me to experiment with and explore paints. The Authors explained various techniques such as blending and merging motions to study paints which motivated me to explore them along with its intensity and versatility.
How paint connects to people and world - paint connects people with visual arts .when people visits art gallery they connects to the material (paint) as well as the art. Painting is an important form of visual art. Painting can be narrative, photographic, symbolistic, abstract  or historic but to bring all this meaning in painting only material we need is paint. paint is an important material of our material enquiry.
Reflection on session 3 & 4-  Session 3  & 4 has  taught me to explore the material paint i have experimented with paint and learnt how it can create meaningful art to connect with peoples thought. I have also learned that paint is capable of conveying messages and also it can connect the community through art. as an educator I would always try to create opportunities for children to explore colours such as letting them feel the texture of colour let them get messy with paint let them engage in free painting experience so that they can also do material enquiry about paint and also learns from  the experiences.

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Paper is one of the versatile materials that can be used to learn about the concept of movement in early childhood setting.
paper is a Material which can evoke memories, narrate stories, invite actions, and communicate  ideas.  Materials live in the world in multiple ways (Bennett, 2004).Paper is a material which is often regarded as a surface which we use to hold messages, lists, marks, drawing, painting, news etc.
Experiment with paper - After finishing week 1  (paper)I was really curious to do some experiments with paper to see the rhythm and movement of paper so I decided to make a paper boat while making the boat every steps had its own rhythm, while folding the paper I used my sensory feelings and felt the smooth texture of the paper I heard the crunching sound it made while folding and moving. After making the paper boat I felt very nostalgic and it reminded me of my childhood as I always use to float paper boats in rain water during rainy season. During my experiment with paper I found connection with paper movement ,Encounters with materials in early childhood education(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher 2016) In paper movement the author mentioned Paper has its own inclinations. It acts on and with the water, with the walls, the floors, the door. It becomes known by how it floats; how it gets slimy; how it attaches under different conditions to walls, windows, and legs; how it feels; how it slips off; what it does; how it moves.(Ingold, 2013),
I also connected with it when I did the experiment and I connected well with authors statement from the book because after making the boat I connected with my childhood memory and how the boat has added a meaning in my paper exploration is great to connect with the material.
How paper makes connection with world Children and Myself -I believe paper is a material which help to express our feelings everywhere. In ancient time there was no way of digital communication we use to write letters on papers I believe this is how people connected to paper during ancient times .in present time paper we use paper to draw paint write even we make things out of paper which we use in our day to day life such as paper bags ,paper plates etc and I believe this is how paper is making connection with whole world. As an educator I often see children exploring paper such as drawing on paper ,ripping paper, recycling paper, writing on paper etc this is how children expresses their feelings through paper .When a child draws or paints on the paper they expresses their feelings through it. When a child rips the paper they are using their senses to exlore their sensory feelings and this is how they connect to paper in their learning spaces.
Reflection on session 1 & 2 - During session 1 and 2 I have learned how to explore the material paper. On session 1 as a class activity we drew our peers without looking in the paper which has given me a different experience where I learned how we can draw anything on paper but it could hold a meaning for us. Paper is a medium to express our thoughts and feelings. From the session I brainstormed some questions and answered them such as

What is paper capable of?  What can paper do?

answer - paper can show movement  paper is capable of conveying history or any meaning through its movements.

How paper interacts with me, with other materials

Answer - paper interacts with me by meaning making such as while I am drawing on a paper using pencil. In session 2 I have  learned how to find art in the community and how these arts are important in our life and what messages can this arts convey to us. The arts I found in the community surprised me as it had connected so many different community through art.in the session I have also learned about arts in early childhood setting which has caught my attention. we can find 3 different kind of art styles in an early childhood setting

Progressive

Discipline based

Contemporary Each approach offers very different views of young children and the place art has within their communities. Throughout this whole session I have also prepared myself to explore with paper on my own and after finishing the session my experiment with paper was a great experience for me as an educator I would try to create opportunities for children so that they can explore the material paper in their learning.