“Whispers of the Playground: Nature’s Symphony” by Neeral Sandhu

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE COUNTRY

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 01:25:11 UTC

I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which this community playground stands, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and I honour the stories, songs, and dances that have always belonged to this Country. Long before swings and slides, this land was already a place of learning, gathering, and play for Aboriginal children and families. Today, as I explore this playground, I remember that my footsteps join a much older tradition of movement, imagination, and connection to Country.

On Country Visit

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 01:46:50 UTC

My On Country visit took place at the community playground in Cranbourne East, Victoria. This space combines natural and built elements — balancing logs, carved stone birds, a spiral slide, and tall grasses moving in the wind. I engaged with the playground by listening closely to its sounds, moving my body through its pathways, and imagining new stories within it. These experiences became the foundation of my creative response, where I used the languages of sound, movement, and drama to show how play connects children with place, imagination, and Country.

Creative Response

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 04:26:05 UTC

In this creative response, I balanced on logs, pretended to fly with the carved stone birds, spiralled like the slide, swayed with the grasses, and paused under the sky. I finish with a short dance and a big jump to celebrate the joy of play. Through these actions I used the languages of sound, movement, and drama to reimagine the playground as a living stage, showing how play connects children to place, imagination, and Country.

Analytical Response

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 04:58:27 UTC

My On Country creative response was filmed at the community playground in Cranbourne East, Victoria. This playground combines natural and built elements such as logs, carved stone birds, a spiral slide, grasses, and wide open sky. During my experience, I engaged each of the temporal arts languages—sound/music, movement/dance, and drama—sometimes separately and sometimes in unison.

I remember the crunch of gravel underfoot, which became a steady rhythm guiding my walk. I felt the breeze against my skin and heard birds calling, as though they were part of my performance. My senses of balance and touch were engaged as I walked heel-to-toe across the logs. Visually, the carved birds on the rocks sparked my imagination, leading me to flap my arms and pretend to fly. The smell of grass and the cool air created an atmosphere of freshness and calm.

Emotionally, the experience brought both excitement and stillness. Wobbling across the logs made me laugh, spiralling like the slide made me feel playful and free, while pausing under the sky filled me with a sense of wonder. These moments reminded me of my own childhood, where playgrounds were not only about equipment but also about inventing stories and characters with friends. I realised that children naturally use sound, movement, and drama together, weaving imagination into physical play. The Language of Music/Sound

The crunch of gravel, the whisper of wind through grasses, and the calls of birds shaped my experience, turning the playground into a soundscape. As Wooten (2012) suggests, music is a language learned by immersion, and everyday sounds can become creative expression. The practice of Dadirri (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 1993) also influenced my response. When I paused under the open sky with arms stretched, I was listening deeply to Country. For children, such pauses nurture patience, respect, and awareness of place.

The Language of Movement/Dance

Movement was central to my creative work. Balancing on the logs, wobbling playfully, flapping beside the carved birds, and spinning like the slide all became choreography, ending with a joyful dance and jump. This echoes the Mutton Bird Dance, where performers embody birds in flight. As Wilson (2007) explains, natural environments afford both physical and imaginative play. Logs, rocks, and slides became prompts for storytelling through movement. In ECE, encouraging children to “move like the wind” or “spiral like the slide” supports both motor skills and creative imagination.

The Language of Drama

Drama emerged as I turned logs into bridges, rocks into castle guards, and carved birds into companions. Spreading my arms beside the rocks, I role-played as a bird, blurring imagination and reality. This reflects the Reggio Emilia philosophy of the Hundred Languages (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2012), where children express meaning through symbolic forms. My response showed how drama transforms equipment into a stage for story-making. In ECE, educators can extend this by asking open questions like “What is the log protecting?” to spark narrative play.

Implications for Future ECE Practice and Conclusion

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 05:05:03 UTC

Encouraging deep listening: Educators can begin outdoor play with a Dadirri-inspired moment of quiet listening, where children close their eyes and notice sounds.
Designing environments with affordances: Logs, rocks, and uneven surfaces should be included, as they provide opportunities for balance, rhythm, and imaginative movement (Wilson, 2007).
Integrating symbolic movement: Activities can encourage children to “move like the slide” or “fly like the bird,” linking physical exploration with creativity and cultural storytelling.
Supporting dramatic roleplay: Educators can ask open-ended questions that invite children to create narratives with their environment.
CONCLUSION
My playground performance showed how sound, movement, and drama can transform ordinary space into a creative stage. Linking personal reflection with theory—Wilson’s natural affordances, Carson’s wonder, Dadirri’s deep listening, and the Mutton Bird Dance—I highlighted how these arts languages foster imagination and respect for Country. In ECE, the challenge is to design spaces that let children experience play as song, dance, and story.

References

sandhuneeral — 2025-09-07 05:24:46 UTC

Carson, R. (2017). The sense of wonder: A celebration of nature for parents and children. Harper Perennial.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds.). (2012). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed.). Praeger.

Ungunmerr-Baumann, M. R. (1993). Dadirri: Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. https://www.dadirri.org.au/

Wilson, R. (2007). Children, creative play, and the natural environment. In R. Wilson (Ed.), Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (pp. 1–18). Routledge.

Wooten, V. (2013, May 29). Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDx Talks. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0

Bangarra Dance Theatre. (2015). Bangarra Education Resources Mutton Bird.www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-PV98Oshkc