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Inspired by my explorations outlined in the journal, my invitation to play session is called ‘The Mini Film Set’. The play offers opportunities for children to develop their ‘literacy skills’ (Flint & Adams, 2018; pp. 23), ‘explore aspects of childhood and adult cultures as a way to interpret and understand the world(s) they live in’ (Flint & Adams, 2018; pp. 32), and communicate narratives through different materials (Edwards et al., 2011).

Picture books, paper, play dough, characters figures, props and tools are provided. Children are encouraged to make their own characters with play dough to tell the stories in the picture books or their own stories. They may also try to create props to act out the stories. There are many opportunities here for children to expand their play.

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‘Art a way of thinking, feeling, imagining, relating, and expressing. Art a way to be in the world.’ (Pelo, 2016; pp.1)

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After experimenting with different possible ‘languages’ that children can work with, I noticed that language is not only limited to spoken or written language. It can extend to all forms of expression which are all part of art. Art is expression. For young children, it is vital that they can have the opportunities to experiment with different forms of expression to find the one that they love, that they are good at. All of these explorations benefit their development in a wide range of areas including developing literacy, creativity, STEM skills, social skills, physical health, and many more.

I believe my implications for play have clearly outlined interesting and engaging activities for children to develop their own language and learn. And more importantly, the activities are there for children to have fun playing—which, as I’ve already mentioned, the value of play should be highlighted in early childhood settings.

My journal only covers six areas that can be explored by children but there are still many others. Children can also experiment with other different materials like paper, charcoal, or wood; they can also engage in other sensory play like ice play. There are infinite opportunities for children to learn and explore—I believe 100 languages of children are there.

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In an early childhood setting, this experience can translate to a clay play session. They are encouraged to think about where clay comes from and what clay is. They are invited to create and recreate shapes with clay to experience the material’s unpredictable properties.

Outcome:
the language of 3d forms, creativity, noticing, reflecting on nature and ecologies

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Clay is a sensory play, a form of art that requires imagination which I think is great for children to express themselves. I experimented with play dough (similar to clay. I don’t have access to a clay material.) to make different characters. I tried to mix them and created new colors. I also mix it with other materials to create something new.

In Encounter with Materials, clay is highlighted as a material that has its own properties and speaks back to people. ‘Clay responds to children’s movements as they work with it.’ (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & L. M. Kocher, 2016; pp. 72) Clay is part of the ecology so it invites children to think, feel, and question. Clay can ‘remind us that not everything is a human construction, that there is no norm, and that each piece of clay acts differently’ (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & L. M. Kocher, 2016; pp. 63).

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In an early childhood setting, this can possibly translate to an experience that invites children to act out the narrative from a picture book, depending on their interpretations of the story. The picture book that I’d like children to act out is called The Artist by Ed Vere. It’s a fun book that tells the story of a dragon artist who goes to the big city to become an artist. Children can make their own props and costumes to act them out.

Alternatively, they can act out daily events (eg. cooking) or a story they created.

Outcome:
literacy, acting, interpretation, creativity, social interactions

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Dramatic play is a great way to enhance children’s creativity, inviting them to create their own narratives. I experimented with drama and acting by repeating a line I liked in Shakespeare’s play. I tried different ways to act out the line to find the perfect way to say it.

I also went to the children’s book section in City Library in Melbourne to find books with narratives that can be acted out by children.

In Flint and Adams’ article, they highlighted the benefit of dramatic play. They quote Rowe’s study which found book-related dramatic play is a ‘context for literacy learning…and a process of comprehending books, expressing one’s reactions, experiencing books in affective and kinesthetic ways, as well as a means of inquiry, and participating in literacy events’ (Flint & Adams, 2018; pp. 23). Children can develop literacy skills though their interpretation of picture books, talking and acting them out.

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A possible experience in an early childhood setting can be setting up a dance session for the children where they are invited to come up with their own dance for songs and even a choreography themselves. It is encouraged to ask them what they are trying to express through the dance and allow them the space and time to explore dancing and movements.

Outcome:

the language of dance, physical benefits, creativity, sensitivity to music

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Dancing has always been a form of art which I don’t know how to appreciate. But I’ve always wanted to explore it further. So for dance and movements, I tried to learn the dance movements from the song and think of any type of dance I know. I explored the expressions of those movements and their possible meanings.

In The Move, dancing is seen as a type of ‘multimodel literate acts’ that is beneficial to children, where they can ‘express deep thinking and high-level meanings without words or print’ (Wood, Thall & Parnell, 2015; pp. 99). Therefore, I include dance as a language to explore in early childhood settings.

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In the early childhood setting, this could translate to an experience that centers on using paint as an expression. Children are provided with paint in many different colors and painting tools. They are encouraged to paint whatever they want or feel. I think it would be interesting to provide a list of songs and play it as prompts for children to paint. They can listen to the song and paint what the song feels to them/what they think the song should look like. The song can be: ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’, ‘This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)’, ‘Home On The Range’, 'Vincent' (click to listen); and aboriginal songs like: ‘Ngaya Naba’; and the songs in other languages.

Outcome:
Paying attention to detail; translating between feeling, music, and language of painting; language in the songs; fun.

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I like to paint, but I was never very good at it. I’ve explored here the many possibilities of painting: using hand, diluting the paint, mixing the paint with other materials, and many more. It was an interesting sensation when I played with the paint: it simply had infinite possibilities.

Paint is a great material to play with and a great way of expression as well. In Encounters with Materials, paint is described as a material with a hundred possibilities. It involves improvisation and creation; it has a unique sensory touch; it is always becoming in the hands of a child (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & L. M. Kocher, 2016; pp. 54-61).

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In the early childhood setting, this could translate to an experience that invites children to play with shadows themselves. Tools and materials can be provided for children to create their own shapes to make shadows. Educators can also set up a big light/flashlight and a big piece of white cloth for children to play shadow puppets or simply walk around and see their shadows on the white cloth. Alternatively, this can also be extended to outdoor play on a sunny day where children chase each other’s shadows.

Outcome:
STEM, physical health, fine motor skills, creativity

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I’ve always found shadows quite fascinating. Inspired by this video (click to watch) tried to make a variety of shadows with my hands: a dog’s head, a dove, a person, and many more. I also made several shapes using paper to create specifically shaped shadows. I’ve always liked shadow puppets, so I tried to do some of that as well.

Shadow play shows that children are curious and are tempted to explore the world around them. They usually would ask what is a shadow and why can a shadow appear. I think shadow play can be a type of dramatic play where children make up their own stories. It can also be a type of play that involves science inquiry for children to develop their STEM learning. This can link to Lotto’s belief that children’s curiosity are strongly connected to play and science, which involves uncertainty, intrinsic motivation and intentional action, openness to possibility, and cooperation (Worth, 2020; pp. 6).

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In the early childhood setting, this could translate to an experience that involves both indoor and outdoor activities where children are encouraged to create and notice sounds around them. Educators can provide a variety of everyday objects for them to play with and make sounds, or small instruments like an ocarina or a harmonica for them to pay attention to the different quality of the sounds. Educators can also bring the children outside to experience sounds in nature and ask them to distinguish and notice the sounds that have been overlooked.

Outcome:
Art of noticing; creative thinking

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This can link to the idea of ‘deep listening’ defined by Pauline Oliveros.  In ‘Quantum Listening’, she emphasized deep listening as a way to connect with the world, with the acoustic environment around a person (Oliveros, 2002; pp. 27). It involves not only listening to songs and music, but also the sounds that everyday objects made, that are constantly present. I believe young children are naturally curious about different sounds and able to learn and express themselves through the sounds.

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The other day I watched this video on Instagram and found it really interesting. The guy created sound and music for the short excerpt of the gameplay video from Zelda only with everyday objects. The magic of sound design is an area that I can explore here as one possible play for children.

For my own exploration, I begin by making sounds with different items. As I made the sounds, I think of what possible situation can use that particular sound, which I’ve recorded here.

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'The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.'

—Loris Malaguzzi (Incirci, 2022; pp. 47)

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Inspired by Loris Malaguzzi's educational philosophy and his poem '100 Languages' (Incirci, 2022; pp. 47), I wish to explore further on his concept and come up with play set-up ideas.

'100 languages of children' means that children are viewed as engaged and capable learners who can construct new knowledge on their own and are able to express themselves in infinite ways through different mediums (Nolan & Raban, 2015; pp. 38). Malaguzzi believes that the environment is the third teacher for children, which can be intentionally designed to support their learning (Nolan & Raban, 2015; pp. 38). In my journal, I will unpack this further and design play sessions for children to engage with independently – ones that can be meaningful for children’s development. This also speaks to Malaguzzi’s idea that the role of the teacher is the facilitator (Nolan & Raban 2015, p. 38).

'100 languages of children' also means that children have a hundred ways to understand and learn things. Children in a class come from different cultural backgrounds and different types of competency. So they naturally pick up different ideas and learnings from what is taught by the teacher (Edwards et al., 2011; pp. 44).

I’d also like to mention the idea of the ‘value of play’ from Peter Gray, which justifies my type of play sessions. I agree with him that play is fantastic for children as it is an imaginative, self-initiated, and stress-free activity (Gray, 2008) which encourage children’s development in both physical and intellectual area.