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I had to cancel my outdoor trip one day due to the rain, so I created an outdoor landscape using paper to ease the sadness and the desire for a sunny day. I collected different colours and textures of paper and crafted a paper airplane, rainbows, clouds, sun and flowers. The landscape is animated by an electric fan, which makes the airplane and clouds fly steadily indoors, creating a more realistic outdoor experience.

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When listening to music, I often can't help but clap my hands on the table or stamp my feet on the ground to the rhythm. Especially while listening to some ethnic music, I felt that the simple sound of tapping was not enough to express the life force and the power of nature contained in their music. So I thought of making a simple beat instrument with sand and a bottle. I filled the bottle with some sand and shook it up and down with different frequencies. The sound it made reminded me of the desert, the falling rain, the sound of stepping on thick snow and other natural sound. I paired the music 'Circle of Life' from 'The Lion King' movie (DisneyMusicVEVO, 2014), and they complemented each other very well.

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I have a couple of indoor plants. To be honest, I'm not a good plant keeper, although I put a lot of effort into it.

I tried my best to take care of this bamboo and conducted many controlled experiments to find the best way to water it. I measured 50 ml of water in a graduated cup, and tested watering once a day, two days, three days and even five days, observing the state of the bamboo and testing the moisture level of the soil by hand. Unfortunately despite my efforts to find the best solution, the leaves gradually began to wither.

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Pictures and signs convey a wealth of information. When I came across this bookstore, the text alone didn't tell me what kind of store it was. However, its book-shaped logo immediately made me realize that it was a bookstore.

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Charcoal is a pitch-black material commonly used in painting. I use it for sketching, adding shadows to create contrast with light. However, its applications go beyond art. When I was a kid, I enjoyed playing puzzles, and a common trick was to reveal hidden words by scratching charcoal on paper.

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While working part-time, I got injured and had a very noticeable scar on my arm. It's still a little sad when I notice it sometimes. So I picked up watercolour brush pens and transformed my scars and negativity into a beautiful painting. The scar was long and striped, so I traced it and painted the branches with a green colour. I love the lily of the valley, so I painted its flowers in various colours. The brush tickled gently against my skin, leaving the colour and comfort to soothe my pain.

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During this process, I could observe the concept of movement. I realized the reason why Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher (2016) connect paper with the concept of movement, as paper allows the visualization of the flow and intensity of air.

In the meantime, I learned about the properties of paper and expanded its uses. For example, I used lightweight paper for making the airplane; I used tissue paper to mimic the colour and ‘softness’ of clouds. Encountering with materials allows people to better understand the characteristics of materials and extend their functions (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016).

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This bookstore trip embodies multiliteracy, expressing literacy through various forms like symbols and pictures rather than traditional reading and writing (Hannan, 2023). These forms enhance the process of exploration and learning by observing the characteristics of things, allowing pre-schoolers, who are not yet familiar with words. Additionally, non-literal forms can capture children's attention and explain complex concepts through visual means (Hannan, 2023).

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This experience can be applied to future activities in early childhood education. I would prepare paper of different colours and textures for the children, encouraging them to associate and create objects they would like to see floating in the air. I would tie the children's finished creations to a net in front of a fan and adjust the intensity of the wind so that the children can experiment and observe how the paper behaves in varying wind conditions.

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Music is one of the most important forms of personal expression and communication, serving as a symbol of culture (Neely, 2018). Creators observe the vibrations of things around them and express their feelings in the language of music (Neely, 2018). Ethnic music is often inspired by nature. For example, Dadirri is created by deep listening to nature (Ungunmerr, 1988). I accompanied the ethnic music ‘Cycle of Life’ with sand, creating a connection between clay, music and nature. The clay flowed in rhythm with my movements.

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This experience can be incorporated into teaching. Children's unexpected movements will express their unique understanding of music and nature (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016). I will prepare sand, stones, branches, bottles, etc., allowing children to create and choose their own instruments. I will select music from the country where my organization is located. For example, I live in Kew, and I will choose music from Woi-wurrung traditional music, Yidaki (Traditional Music (Yidiki), 2023), and encourage the children to join in with the music and add their own accompaniment.

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However, I have found a routine for my pick splash. I water 50ml every three days and it grows very lush and beautiful. Interestingly, I went out on a week-long trip and didn't water, causing it to have many dead leaves. But after a night of watering, it miraculously came back to life. This plant species is incredibly resilient.

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By raising plants and watching them grow, I feel the connection between clay and water. Clay contains a lot of ecological information (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016). By observing and touching the soil, I can feel its moisture and softness, allowing me to judge the environment in which the plants are growing. Clay can stimulate and exercise perspectives on how to maintain a multispecies community (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016).

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It would be a good idea to create a plant corner indoors. I will collect containers such as milk cartons and bottles, gather some common wildflowers and plants from the roadside, or buy some seeds, and witness and record the growing process of the plants together with the children.

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Upon entering, there were plenty of books being categorized. Finding children's storybooks was easy because their covers usually feature cartoons. These illustrations visually depict the contents of the book without the need to read through the text.

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For example, one book's cover showcased a giant pumpkin, spider webs and a night-time background, clearly indicating it was about Halloween.

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A particular storybook, Baby Touch: Farm Animals (2023), inspired me. It introduces children to the farm by combining tactile materials with relevant pictures. For example, the body parts of the sheep are represented with real white wool. Children can feel it by themselves through touch and corresponding pictures, while adults provide explanations that can deepen the impact. I believe we can learn from this book by asking children about their interests, creating immersive scenes, gathering materials and collaboratively crafting interactive storybooks with children.

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By attaching a piece of paper to an object and drawing its outline, shape and protruding parts, I could still define the object by thinking of this limit and simple information.

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Charcoal is able to open our minds to experimentation and offers a unique perspective on the world (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016). When confronted with an object, it can be challenging to remember all its features, like colours and specific details. Charcoal simplifies things by turning them into an outline like a shadow. These simplified forms are easy to memorize and enhance associative skills.

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This experience can be applied to teaching. I would provide paper and charcoal pencils for the children to explore in nature. After collecting the children's work, we can have a guessing game to identify the items and let the children find their locations. This activity allows the children to explore nature and familiarize themselves with the environment, objects, and understand the concept of shapes.

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Painting is one of the most important aspects of my life. In the process, my body connects with the painting; I feel the soft sensation of the brush and the paint of flowers blooming on my skin. My emotions were released through the creation of the painting. Painting erases the boundaries of expression and allows personal emotions to blend with non-human elements (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2016). It enables me to convey the feeling of my body connecting with the world in a non-verbal way.

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In my teaching approach, I will provide the children with a variety of colours of chalk and bring them out into an open space that is large enough to create freely. Not only is the space less restrictive, but the children are better able to feel nature and express their emotions, their own understanding of aesthetics and their desire to create with non-adult intervention (Roy, Baker & Hamilton, 2015). It also offers an opportunity for children to collaborate and feel each other's emotions and aesthetics. I will document their creative process and work through photographs, as well as listen to and record the stories they create for their work.

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Adults express their thoughts through language speaking, writing or art. How do children, especially those who have not systematically learned these skills, express themselves?

Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind and Kocher (2016) propose using common materials that are easily found in daily life, allowing children to explore. The shared characteristics of these materials are that they are easy for children to move, simple, sensory and open-ended. These features enable children to think, familiarize themselves with the functions of the objects around them, make connections with the environment and then develop an interest in experiment and exploration. It is the stage from exploration to expression. Children will utilize the materials to convey their ideas and subjectivity. Additionally, there should be less adult intervention when children play with the materials, allowing children to explore and collaborate spontaneously.

The following content is the journals that I explore with paper, clay, charcoal and paint. Through these experiences, I discovered new methods to express myself instead of traditional forms such as writing and reading. I connect these materials to some abstract concepts, which helps deepen my understanding of movement, ecologies etc. Based on these experiences, I have designed relevant activities to apply the theory to early childhood education activities.

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In this article, I explored four materials which are paper, clay, charcoal and paint. By encountering these materials, I expressed my creative ideas through artwork and deepened my understanding of movement, assemblage, encountering and ecologies. These experiences inspired me to develop ideas for early childhood education activity design. These activities utilize the materials mentioned above to create a learning environment where children can freely explore on their own, rather than imposing specific learning goals. My hope is that children will learn through play, establish connections with nature and the environment through self-exploration, and discover their own interests and favourite ways of expressing themselves.

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DisneyMusicVEVO. (2014). Carmen Twillie, Lebo M. - The Lion King - Circle Of Life. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibiNy4d4gc

Hannan, S (2023) Multiliteracies in early childhood education - Reading the Room.pdf

Ladybird. (2023). Baby Touch: Farm Animals. Ladybird.

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S. & Kocher, LLM. (2016). Encounters with materials in early childhood education, Routledge.

ISBN: 9781317588573

Roy, D., Baker, W., & Hamilton, A. (2015). ‘Excerpt from: A vision for the arts in education’, Teaching the arts: Early childhood and primary education, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, VIC, pp.11-13.

ISBN 9781107433670

Traditional music (yidiki). (2023). Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. https://www.wurundjeri.com.au/services/cultural-practices-for-events/traditional-music-yidiki/

Ungunmerr, M.-R. (1988). Dadirri. Miriam Rose Foundation. https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/dadirri/