I could hear birds chirping and tiny insects buzzing around. All those sounds the wind, the cars, the birds, and the bugs came together and made a kind of natural music. It reminded me of when I was a child. We used to make music while playing outside, using our voices or clapping our hands.

The trees were moving with the wind like they were dancing. Their branches looked like arms stretching out and having fun. It felt like the trees were playing a game with the wind. When I looked up at the sky, the clouds were moving. One looked like a ghost riding a dragon, and another one looked like a girl with long hair sliding on the snow. That made me think of when I was a child, lying outside with my family and looking up at the sky. We used to find shapes in the clouds and make up magical stories.

With all the sounds around me the wind, traffic, birds, and insects, it felt like I was part of the music. I started whistling along with them. It was like I was joining in, playing along with nature’s music.

My time in nature was filled with all kinds of sensory experiences. The wind was strong and loud, mixing with the sounds of traffic, which made it feel like the waves crashing on the shore. I could feel the cold, fresh wind on my skin, which was energizing. The birds were chirping, and I could hear insects buzzing around me. All of these sounds together created a kind of natural music, which made me think back to my childhood. I remembered playing outside, clapping and using our voices to make music while we played.

This experience ties into what we’ve learned in our unit, especially Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann’s video on Dadirri: Inner Deep Listening and Still Awareness. In her video, she talks about being deeply aware of the world around you and really listening to nature. My experience was similar to this because I was very present, noticing the wind, the sounds, and everything around me. It reminded me that children, too, can learn to listen closely to nature through their senses. This is something Ungunmerr-Baumann highlights in her work.

As I stood there, I noticed the trees moving in the wind. It was almost like they were playing with the wind, swaying back and forth. The clouds were moving quickly across the sky, changing shapes—sometimes they looked like a ghost riding a dragon or a girl sliding on snow. This took me back to when I was a child, lying outside with my family and imagining shapes in the clouds. This experience showed me how important imagination and creativity are for children, especially when they are playing outside. In his work, Hamm (2015) also talks about how storytelling and connecting to nature can help children grow and learn. My experience showed me how nature can be a great place for storytelling, where children can connect with the environment and with each other through their imaginations.

As I moved through the natural environment, I was inspired by my son’s playful movements. I walked on the rocks with him, balancing myself by stretching my arms, just like the trees in the wind. The trees were stretching and moving with the wind, and I tried to mimic their movements to balance myself. It felt like a fun game, just like how children explore balance and movement when they are playing in nature. This connects to what Wilson (2007) talks about in her work on outdoor play. She explains that outdoor environments encourage children to use their bodies in fun and creative ways, helping them to develop balance and coordination. When I balanced on the rocks, it was similar to how children learn to stretch, balance, and use their bodies creatively when they play outside.

Thinking about this experience made me realize how important it is to create environments that allow children to connect with nature. Nature offers so many opportunities for children to use their senses, explore, and be creative. For example, when children play outside, they can listen to the sounds of nature, move with the wind, and use their imagination in dramatic play. This is something we can apply to our practice by encouraging more outdoor play, where children can experience these kinds of sensory and creative moments.

Right now, many indoor play activities are focused on structured games and tasks. By adding more outdoor, sensory-rich experiences, we can help children grow in a more holistic way. Outdoor play offers children the chance to connect deeply with the natural world and develop creativity, sensory awareness, and balance. This would be a great way to support their overall development, encouraging them to engage with the world in new and meaningful ways.

• Listen to sounds and create music with their bodies or instruments

• Move like trees, birds, or clouds

• Tell stories about what they see around them

• Feel connected to their memories and cultures

This goes beyond traditional classroom learning. It supports the whole child—emotionally, physically, socially, and creatively.

Ungunmerr-Baumann, M. R. (n.d.). Dadirri: Inner Deep Listening and Still Awareness [Video, 3:42]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tow2tR_ezL8

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.