Warden, C 2012, Nature Kindergartens and Forest Schools, Mindstretchers Ltd, United Kingdom.

Wilson, RA 2018, ‘Nature play’, Nature and young children: encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments, 3^rd ed, Routledge, London, p. 5-17.

 

What is nature? Why so important for children to involve more time playing with nature? As an adult, I lost connection with nature as a child, when I was a child, I dug in the dirt and ran without shoes on the soil, and sand. I didn’t have many toys, I played with rocks, and sticks and catch bugs. I still had a lot of fun, just being outside. 

Children like to touch, taste, shake, push, dig and climb. They are very curious and eager to follow the path of curiosity (2018, p. 6). They are observant and imaginative through their eyes to see the world, they see the world differently than what adults see. 

Claire Warden (2012) stated that young children have a natural connection to nature and will seek and find nature in even the most unlikely places. Educators who know the natural space and how to be in, it will transfer the knowledge and experience to the children. 

Nature got full of potential, unpredictable, real and sensory-rich (2018, p. 10), it opens door to special play for children to explore and discover with imagination. Children can play with leaves, sticks, and stones and also climb trees, jump in the puddle and collect objects for their imaginary and pretend role play.  

The Imaginary world helps children to learn many critical concepts about the world (2018, p.7). Through pretend play, children understand that one thing can represent something else. For example, a child who likes to play as a pirate, through this imaginary play, can learn essential skills in writing, drawing map, express ideas such as what he needs to be as a pirate, a hat, look out, treasure chest, a big ship, and pirate crews. Children need to discover ad experiment with the concept of representation on their own with appropriate mediums (20118, p. 7).

Children also develop social skills and language skills as play different roles with other peer groups. During this time, educators can introduce some more props and ideas (2012, p. 8), and children should lead their play.

Rachel Carson (2012) stated that the child knows the world as being fresh and new and beautiful full of wonder and excitement. Children’s way of knowing or seeing the world differs from that of adults so educators should give more opportunities for playing and exploring in a natural environment 2012, p. 9).

Nature play has so many benefits that research has supported. 

·       Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness.

·       When children play in a natural environment their play is more diverse with an imaginative and creative play that fosters language and collaborative skills

·       Exposure to natural environments improves children’s cognitive development

·       Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and benefit the treatment of numerous health conditions

·       Nature buffers the impact of life’s stresses on children and helps them deal with adversity

·       Children with Attention Deficit Disorder are positively affected by the calmness of natural playscapes

·       Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with the development of imagination and the sense of wonder

·       Wonder is an important motivator for life-long learning

·       Children who play in nature have more positive feelings about each other

·       Natural environments stimulate social interaction between children

(Warden 2012)

Johann Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel and Maria Montessori emphasized that children learn best in natural, exploratory and playful ways (2018, p. 10). According to John Dewey, the teacher’s role is to create a stimulating play environment for children to flourish mentally and morally (2018, p. 10). Educators should encourage children to collect natural materials such as seeds, stones, leaves and flowers, and closely observe the different types of plants, and animals in the yard to build a strong bond to connect with nature (2012, p.15). Frobel (2012) suggested a ‘children’s garden’ as an appropriate setting for education to build interaction with the natural world. Children can learn to think about the place in different ways (2015, p. 64). To embed Catherine Hamm’s Walking with place: Storying Reconciliation Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education, I will raise curiosity about the place around us to provide the opportunity to think about the place in different ways (2015, p. 64) as learning from music, movement and drama unit such as inner deep listening, Dadirri, Pauline Oiveros’s deep listening to focus the sound of the environment. 

 

I stay still and listen to my surrounding in the middle of this woodland. 

What are those sounds and where do they come from? 

Are they crickets, birds and winds? 

They are loudly singing that I am a stranger and not belonging in this place. 

How to be a part of this place? How do I understand them? 

I pay attention to the place in a different way. Deep listening! Deep listening!

Cricket’s crying fills the space.

Bird’s crying fades away as echoing.

The water is so calm and flows down, the wind is hard to shake. 

Tree’s branch is waving to me to say “Come back again!”. It stands to put root deeply in this play over the years and say that “Don’t hurry! Wait for the right moment!” "Just listen, feel with all your senses."