Suuny Ray and the Shield of trees.

It was a sunny, cozy afternoon in my university. The season of autumn, trees moving softly and their leaves whispering as if they were telling stories. Birds chirping sweet songs roaming through the open spaces.

Cheep-Cheep!

In one of the rooms of the school, Miss Sneha-an early childhood educator was getting ready for her day of working with children in an early childhood centre. She saw the weather was perfect, sunlight dancing through the trees as trees were moving even the clouds were a bit cloudy so, she decided to take the children out in the park to explore.

“This is something we rarely see so I need to take my students out.” Came into her head silently.

Bright Ray, a warm and welcoming ray of sunlight, was floating high in the sky and enjoyed going to observe the kids. She had no patience for the summer heat or beautiful coloured blue skies! Her appearance was peaceful, with her falling straight through the windows, hitting concrete, and passing across clouds.

But

Sunny Ray laughing behind the trees,” Here I come, here I come”

Children start arriving in the classroom. Some of them were excited to start the day whereas others were not ready to start the day and felt irritated.

Miss Sneha shouted excitedly,” Okay class, we are going to the park today because the sun is very good and rare.”

Students got excited and they happily agreed with happy feet, curious minds grabbing their notebooks and heading towards the park.

Miss Sneha smiled and excitedly clapped her hands gently saying,” Before we go, I have a important thing we need before going.”

“Sunscreen everyone” holding the sunscreen bottle.

“It’s very important and protects our skin from a sneaky bad friend UVA. So, we should wear sunscreen to keep our skin safe.” She explained.

The children smiling and laughing.

“We should stay away from bad friends and is sunscreen like our guardian?”

She replied,” Exactly students.”

Students rubbing the sunscreen all over their arms and legs giggling, excitedly listening to the birds chirping outside and the sound of leaves whispering.

“Everyone went outside in the park, sat in the shade and started drawing their thoughts in the notebook.”

And in that moment, Miss Sneha and the students shared a quite wisdom and connection remembering caring for one another doesn’t always need to be loud and obvious. It is caring for our bodies and teaching one another to care for their bodies too. It’s the small things, gestures and happiness that can be shared among everyone.

Sunny Ray glowed with joy and happiness seeing everyone enjoy the sun.

The End!

I stood in a peaceful outdoor space during the on country visit in my university surrounded by beautiful big trees in autumn season and the sound of birds singing with beautiful sunrays around the trees. I could hear the leaves rustling softly and the fresh air. Sun wasn’t fully shining, cloudy days but the sun still reaching the ground with the shield of trees. This made me realise how UVA can still reach our skin even the sun is not totally shown and how it is important to educate everyone that it is important to wear sunscreen and model sun-safe activities. This on country visit made me feel more connected to the place and environment. I got to know about how sun can still harm the body in the cloudy days. Being there for a while made me realise that how every small details is important in early childhood. “Play helps prepare children for what they may do and experience later in life.”  (Wilson, 2018) Through imaginative experiences, children will learn how to navigate and explore the ideas, navigate the emotions, relationships. Children express through the play so letting them explore the nature, make them listen the wind and teaching them about how beautiful caring for one another can be. Letting children engage in these activities by themselves can help children understand the environment and world around them. “It supports a conceptual change that comes from looking through a poetic lens at everyday reality.” (ProQuest Ebook Central, 2021) This is a beautiful way of seeing and teaching students about learning and experience. This approach transforms both learning and teaching so this will help both students and educators connect to place and the environment. This will also help us understand that play is always not just an activity, but it is also the form of exploration and understanding. I can connect to this approach because children have a deep sense of understanding and curiosity as we educators. The time I was there I was very curious about the UVAs and how the sun was shielding through the tree even with the cloudy sky. The sound of birds chirping made me connect to nature even more. It was a beautiful reminder and understanding that care can go hand on hand and both ways. It depends on how you express, think and learn.

ProQuest Ebook Central. (2021). Proquest.com. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=820317