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Karkarook Park is a peaceful and charming natural area located within the confines of Melbourne. It is a perfect space where families can meet, discover, and relax in nature. It accommodates various kinds of wildlife. The park also features open grassy areas, picturesque lakes, and meandering tracks creating an irresistible temptation for kids to run, jump, and make noise while playing, engaging in physical activities, and indulging in sensory stimulation.   Many families take their outdoor activities, such as shared picnics and walks around the lake. However, Karkarook Park is freely allowed for children to run and play in its grounds, where they will inevitably interact with other children and the animals, which is good for their physical and social development.   Karkarook Park, for families, is much more than a place of repose; it is a place of memory-making, an establishment where children will learn about the natural world and nurture a sense of community in shared experiences outside.

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Ungunmerr, M.-R. (n.d.). Dadirri – Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/about-dadirri/

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/vu.edu.au?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2Fbooks%2Fmono%2F10.4324%2F9781315148533%2Fnature-young-children-ruth-wilson

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On a quiet visit to Karkarook Park, I found myself deeply immersed in a natural world that sparked all my senses. I wasn't just visiting the park - I was entering an imaginary play, a unique and creative experience. This reflection explores that moment and how it connects to early childhood education through the artistic language of sound, dance and drama. My creative response - a short podcast - captures this experience in audio form, combining sound and storytelling.

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Spending time in nature allows adults and children alike to slow down, notice their surroundings, and imagine freely. Wilson (2018) explains that natural environments support creative play by providing open-ended materials, free movement, and opportunities for calm reflection. At Kakarook Park, the wind, rocks, birds, and rainbows all become part of a flexible “play environment” where I can use my senses and my imagination. For children, these same elements can inspire similar responses. A rainbow becomes a bridge of clouds; a branch becomes a wand; a bird becomes a character in a story. The language of time art—sound, movement, and drama—all come alive in this kind of play, even when the play is quiet or imagined in the mind.

My experience is also closely linked to the concept of Dadirri shared by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr. Dadirri describes a way of life that includes deep listening, meditation, and connection to the land. That's exactly what I felt at the lake. I didn't rush or try to "do" anything - I just stood on the field and let the circumstances speak for themselves. I believe this slow sensory experience is essential for the creative development of children. It teaches patience, observation and feeling.

In early childhood education, we often focus on fast-paced activities and learning outcomes. But this experience reminded me that children also need spaces for imagination without pressure. Since this would be a way to honor children's complex inner worlds and their delicate feelings and highly intellectual ideas, it could take place through the means of sounds, movements, and drama. They would pretend to be birds telling their stories. Moving forward to my future practice of art as a means, I also want to promote children's open and creative interaction with nature.This may include going to the park lying on the grass, listening and imagining, and recording the sounds birds make while asking the children what they think the birds are saying. It might involves collecting stones and sticks to use in dramatic storytelling or movement play. I would also like to create a place in my class that allows for quiet, deep listening. Inspired by Dadirri, I would propose the idea that giving children time to be quiet and aware of their environment is fundamental to creative and emotionally healthy development. All of these ideas have been important and will really guide me on how to support children to explore the world with their senses and stories. To further embrace nature and art, I hope my invitation is also meaningful, knowing this connection, creativity and exploration.

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In the first photo, I captured a shallow rainbow looming over the lake and falling between the floating clouds. Bring some color to the dreary clouds. Although the rainbow is not obvious, but because of its short and hazy, more precious.I imagine the rainbow as a bridge connecting the sky and the land, and birds can fly higher on the bridge. The transition between light and shadow, and the interaction among natural elements bring us many different visual experiences.

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A family stood on the shore of a peaceful lake. The breeze gently blew the lake water, and ripples appeared on the surface of the water, as if responding to this gentle scene. The ducks also swam slowly closer, as if greeting the child. This moment is full of childlike interest and tenderness, just like what is written in fairy books - there is no distance between people and nature, only pure communication.The parents held their children with smiles on their faces, without too many words, but full of the power of companionship.The world became quiet, as if time also slowed down by the lake, just to record the good times shared by this family.

This picture does not need words. It reminds us: natural space is not only a place for children to explore, but also a cradle for family emotional communication.

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On the soft grass, a group of black birds quietly lowered their heads to look for food, lined up in a row, as if they were tacitly performing a silent stage rehearsal. Their movements were in unison, like a slow-motion performance in progress, with no dialogue or lighting, but exuding natural tension. The birds lowered their heads to look for "gifts on the ground."