Student ID: s4657187

Edwards, C. P., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. E. (Eds.). (2011). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed.). ABC-CLIO. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=820317

Ungunmerr, M.-R. (n.d.). Dadirri: Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. Miriam Rose Foundation. https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/dadirri

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315148533

Wooten, V. (2013, May 30). Music as a language [Video]. TEDxGabriolaIsland. TEDx Talks. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvjW9arAZ0

During my On Country visit, I was able to engage with the three temporal art languages: music, movement, and drama. I decided to choose my backyard as the setting because I always hear sounds outside my house, but I never stopped to pay attention to them. With all my senses, I was able to notice the creative potential the outdoors has. My artefact captures two birds sitting on the rooftop of a house, the sound of wind rushing past, and plants swaying back and forth. This became my inspiration for my creative response, a poem titled As the Sun Goes Down.

In my video, the two birds were sitting still as the wind was growing stronger. I heard the wind rush past me as I was walking around. I spotted multiple birds flying across the sky and heard them as they chirped. As I was standing there, I took a moment to pause and listen deeply. I became fully present in that moment. In doing so, it reminded me of Dadirri, the practice of deep listening and quiet stillness. I connected with the environment, noticing the rhythm of the wind and the sounds of the birds, listening not just with my ears but with all my senses as "to listen deeply, is to connect" (Ungunmerr, 2017, 0:53).

Walking around, I saw the plants shifting and moving as if they were dancing with the wind. The plants embodied the idea that "natural phenomena (e.g., movement of clouds, singing of birds, effects of the wind and rain)" (Wilson, 2007, p. 15) are central to children’s enjoyment of being outdoors. In that moment, the movement of the plants was more than just a reaction to the wind; it was a performance, an illustration of the temporal arts language of movement/dance. This highlighted how place communicates through movement, offering children opportunities to notice the small things. As a future educator, I will offer children the opportunity to step outdoors and notice and see the trees move and watch as the grass bends with every step they take. Observing the winds which "challenge {children, giving them} the opportunity to exercise their imagination" (Wilson, 2007, p. 19).

I realised how the environment itself contained drama, as the sun fades, the grey clouds form, and the moon gets ready to arrive. This set the scene of my poem, creating a dramatic effect as something was approaching. I gave the sun a voice "The sun says bye to the trees, the plants, and birds," and by doing so, I was humanizing nature, turning an everyday cycle of the sun rising into a character. This links to the temporal arts, language, and drama, where emotions are explored through storytelling. Children should be given the opportunities to express their emotions, feelings, and thoughts through their imaginations. Through their environments, they will be able to transform everyday encounters into stories, "children represent the drama of their experience{s}" with props such as "hats with headlights, boxes, passages, pretending stalactites and stalagmites, surprise puddles, and even a friendly bat” (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2011, p. 25).

In my poem, I transformed what I observed on my On Country visit into a narrative. I played for my nieces and nephews, and they loved it. The part where I added sounds from my visit to the wind and birds they particularly enjoyed, they got up and started running around as if they were the birds. Their responses showed me how children naturally engage with the temporal arts, whether it's sounds, movement, or drama. This reminded me of Victor Wooten's TED talk Music as a Language, where he discusses how music is like our first language. My nieces and nephews weren't told to get up and move around; I simply told them that I had something to show them, which was the video of my poem. They engaged and instinctively moved with the sounds, just as Wooten described how children are born musical; they use sounds, rhythm, and movement to express their ideas and bring their imaginations to life.

My visit emphasised the importance of encouraging children to go outdoors and connect with nature. The possibilities for play and movement in nature are endless. They will be able to experiment with sound, movement, and drama, as nature comes with many elements. In my future teaching practice, I aim to provide children opportunities to explore nature and connect with it. I will encourage children to use their bodies to move in response to the outdoor environment. In doing so, I hope to support children's deep listening, creativity, confidence, and an understanding of a sense of belonging with place.