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Artefact: A magical exploration of a bushland creek

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Artefact: A magical exploration of a bushland creek

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The creek with stones, water, and wildlife - Nature is alive, magical, and full of hidden stories..

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A magical exploration of a bushland creek

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Creative response: Sound scape & Dance-The Whispering Creek Spirits

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Creative response: Sound scape & Dance-The Whispering Creek Spirits

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“Shhh… can you hear it? The creek is calling us. The birds are whispering secrets, and the trees are dancing with the wind. Today, we become creek spirits, ready to awaken the sleeping water.

Let’s follow the water’s path. Step gently, like raindrops. Flow like the river… arms waving, feet sliding, whispering ‘shhh… shhh…’ just like the stream.”

“Look! Magic stones! Only the glowing ones will take us across. Step… balance… don’t touch the sleeping stones or the creek might stay asleep.”

“The trees are swaying—let’s dance with them! Reach high… sway side to side… twist your roots into the earth… the wind is guiding us.”

“Listen! The creek is awake! The birds are singing their thanks. Place your stone gift by the water and whisper your creek name… I am Leaf Whisper… who are you?”

“Thank you, creek. Thank you, spirits. Until next time…bye

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1.      gather children outdoor near a natural space (creek, garden, or sensory corner with water bowl, stones, leaves).

Introduces the story: “The Water Spirit is sleeping beneath the stones. To wake it, we must listen to the birds, feel the wind, and move like the trees.”

2.      Awakening the Sounds (Sound/Music): children sit quietly, practicing deep listening, they mimic the sounds they hear (birdsong, water trickle, wind), play simple instruments (shakers, rain sticks, drums) or body percussion, they play sounds to “wake the creek.”

3.      Movement of the Elements (Movement/Dance): guides them to move like the dancing trees swaying with the wind, then flow like water between stones, Scarves or ribbons become “wind trails” to express different weather seasons.

4.      The Animal Footprints Quest (Drama/Roleplay) : Children discover or create animal footprints near the water (made with stencils or drawn in sand/mud), They take turns acting as the animals that came to drink (kangaroo, bird, possum) by adding their sounds and movements.

5.      The Water Spirit Appears: educator or a child becomes the Water Spirit (with a leaf crown or mossy stone prop), The Water Spirit thanks them: “You have protected the creek by listening, dancing, and caring. Now this land will stay strong through the seasons.”

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Bird song invites me to stretch to the sky

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Bird song invites me to stretch to the sky

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The pure cheeping of local birds is felt to me like coating a song blanket over the creek. This reminds me Dadirri’s practice of “inner deep listening and quiet still awareness” (Dadirri (Official Miriam-rose Ungunmerr video): 3-minute promo, 2017), which aligns with pausing to hear the birds. This is also aligned with Hanna (2013), where she explores how music ateliers allow children to respond musically to natural sounds.

Game: “Bird Song” represents “one of the agents of the spirits,” guiding children to listen and follow their calls. Each bird song is a clue to action: stretch arms to the sky or sing the sound, or flap arms and whisper the message back.

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The water flowing over stones gives texture, reflecting light and carrying the sound of movement, promotes calm and imaginative play, and offers life to the creek. Wilson (2018) also highlights how natural elements like water foster creative play and learning in early childhood.

The Reggio Emilia approach highlights the hundred languages, together with soundscapes, as expressive media. (Edwards et al., 2011, p. 14).

Game: flowing water over stones indicates the creek spirit’s “voice” whispering secrets, carrying messages, connecting the players. Children imitate flowing, swirling, or rippling movements and gurgles and ripples.

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“guardians of the creek” that dance and signal when the spirits are near.

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“guardians of the creek” that dance and signal when the spirits are near.

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When I step in to the creek, trees sway, spin and dance elegantly with the breeze. I felt like those are as the “guardians of the creek” that dance and signal when the spirits are near. This reminds me Dadirri’s (2002) video where tree dance as embodied listening, reflecting the spirit of quiet awareness . The wind rustling leaves adds a high-frequency whispering. It is Poorneet, Tadpole Season in Kulin when silver wattles open and life gently unfolds. Trees dance to honor the land and promise to keep its song alive.

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“guardians of the creek” that dance and signal when the spirits are near.

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I noticed few footprints towards to the water, I felt curiosity. Perhaps a kangaroo or wallaby that had come to drink before me. This moment connected me to my childhood memories of playing by small streams, collecting feathers and stones to build fairy villages, and inventing creatures that lived between the roots of trees. I wonder who else shares this space sparked the idea for the magical game. This experience align with Welch (2009) discovers storytelling as a form of ownership and meaning-making and Bond’s (2013) believes where we can facilitate children’s curiosity through story-rich play.

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mossy stones as beds for resting spirits

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I saw smooth stones with slippery green algae on top hinted at life below the surface. This offers tactile exploration, balance play, and a sense of natural texture. I noticed the stones glow with hidden paths stimulate my curiosity and imaginary story telling. Wind whispered the message of the creek “the stones are sleeping - tiptoe quietly!”. I saw those mossy stones as beds for resting spirits. As Wilson (2018) highlights, natural spaces provide children with “loose parts” that invite creativity and wonder, encouraging them to construct their own narratives and rituals of play.

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Analytical Response - Magical River Spirit Game

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Analytical Response - Magical River Spirit Game

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1. Reflection on my On Country Visit experience and Game

Through my artefact I see a living creek environment embedded with calm flow of silvery water over mossy stones, the rustle of trees, leaves dancing in the wind, the footprints of animals who came to drink, and the repetition of birdsong. These sensation sensory experiences stimulated my imaginary game where I can turn out to be a river spirits, protectors of the land, guided by the voices of birds and the whispers of trees.

Sound/Music: The coated soundscape of water falling over stones, wind, and birdsongs formed a natural rock band, made me a calm and mystery feeling.

Movement/Dance: dancing trees inspired me to move myself slowly, swaying motions arms extended like branches reaching to the sky reflecting the Wurundjeri season of Poorneet, Tadpole Season, a time of gentle renewal.

Drama: I was invited to take the role of forest guardian, move silently not to disturb the resting land, and whisper secrets through the wind.

I smelled the moist earth and eucalyptus leaves, saw the sunlight, and shadows dancing on the water, mossy stones, and rainbow color birds playing at tree tops. I heard the birds singing, rolling water over rocks, and the wind whispering through the trees. I felt the cool breeze on my skin, tasted the freshness of the air, and sensed a deep stillness that connected me to the land. I felt calm, curiosity and a touch of remind my childhood days playing by creeks with my sister.
I felt now a days how rear the children become to slow down and listen this deeply to the land.

2. Connection with Readings

Hundred Languages of Children (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2011)

My new game embodied multiple expressive languages including sound, movement, and dramatic role-play. This reflects the Reggio Emilia philosophy that children express meaning through not only words but also, many modes - hundreds of languages.

Dadirri: Deep Listening (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 2002)

Slowdown and silent observation of trees, water, and animal tracks simulated the Indigenous practice of deep listening to the land, fostering respect and patience.

Nature Play (Wilson, 2018)

The creek turn into a living classroom that provided unlimited opportunities for sensory exploration and creative expression, supporting children’s holistic development.

Hamm (2015) - Walking with Place

My game involved reconciliation pedagogies by incorporating Wurundjeri seasonal knowledge and acknowledging the land’s rhythms as Environment as the third teacher.

3. Interpretation

The River Spirit temporal arts experience Game combines three languages:

Sound/music: “natural soundscape including birdsong, wind, water flow became both inspiration and background.”

Movement/dance: “trees and seasons guided the dance routine - Using scarves or ribbons, children mimic the swaying of trees during different weather seasons. “

Drama: “Children act as guardians of the creek, creating footprints like the animals they observed, moving like flowing water, and speaking as spirits of the stones or trees. Props: moss-covered stones, water jars, and leaf crowns to represent connection to nature.

By integrating these temporal arts, children will learn to care for the land, listen to themselves and nature, to move gently with the seasons, and to create their own imaginary games and stories with nature.

4. Implications for Future Early Childhood Practice

In my future practice, I would create open-ended, child-led explorations where natural elements become substances for creative play such as water flow inspiring rhythm games, dancing trees guiding movement improvisation, and birdsong shaping soundscapes. This aligns with Wilson (2018), who emphasizes the value of natural play spaces in promoting creativity, wellbeing, and ecological awareness.

“Additionally, I will use pedagogical documentation (Dahlberg, 2012) to capture children’s expressions in multiple languages, drawing, music, movements. Capture children’s drawings of the creek, their soundscapes, and movements.Display this in a shared space for families and the community to reflect on their engagement. This supports Reggio Emilia’s philosophy that children communicate through a hundred languages (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2011). Through these practices, children not only develop sensory and artistic skills but also build empathy for the environment and cultural respect for Indigenous knowledge systems.”

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1. Dadirri (Official Miriam-rose Ungunmerr video) :: 3 minute promo [Video]. (2017, November 28). YouTube. https://youtu.be/tow2tR_ezL8

2. Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (2011). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation. Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Hanna, W. (2013, September 28). A Reggio-inspired music atelier: Opening the door between visual arts and music. SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0610-9

3. Seasons in the sky - The seven Wurundjeri seasons. (2025, September 2). The Royal Society of Victoria | Science, Technology & Society. https://www.rsv.org.au/articles/seasons-in-the-sky?srsltid=AfmBOoonW_a3sQwhV8QotYh0WHDtLAmCyWqyF84buHx5qDU8BE7JvapR

4. Welch, W. (2009). Storytelling, Self, Society. Who Owns the Story?, 5, 1-22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41943296

5. Wilson, R. (2018). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments.

6. Wilson, R. A. (2007). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (5th ed.). Routledge. https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/content/enforced/1816406-ECE2008-1-2023-HWB-151670/Nature_and_Young_Children_Encouraging_Creative_Pla..._----_(Chpater_1_Children_creative_play_and_the_natural_environment)2.pdf?ou=2253578