River, birds, treetops, bended trees towards river, ducks by Sonia Chaudhary

sound, movement and drama

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 15:19:32 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SWlLChYBB0&t=21s

I am a little kookaburra sitting on the gum tree. Watching ducks playing hide and seek,chasing each other.

Look they are hiding now. I want to play with them, but I am little scare of water.

0hh!! Somebody is coming, I am going to play with her.

Hmmm!! She is clicking, my photo, lets play hide and seek. You can’t catch me. Look my peers are flying with me. Click now… if you can.

Come and see this tree, I am hiding here, find me.

Where are you going? Look here not on the floor. Hmmm.. you are looking at the ant house and broken tree branches. We are using them for making our nest/home.

Oh…, it is having a big cut on it. you know somebody tried to cut it. This tree is quite old, holding water under its roots and helping this river to overload.

Come here with me, can you hear all these sounds. They all are my friends. We talk, sing, dance, laugh, and stay together here.

Hey!! Are you going now? look my friends in the sky. They all are flying together and going to find some food.

Come again..

I tried to create a drama that revolved around a bird who welcomed me to the space and explained to me all the things that i was curious about. it was my perception and imagination as well. I tried to introduce my whole drama with music, sound, movement, emotions, and action which is a powerful resource to teach children and connect them with nature and the environment.

werribee river walk

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 15:42:49 UTC

Deep listening-dadirri

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 16:06:11 UTC

I went into the park and it was silent everywhere, reminding me of Dadirri. I could hear every sound from near and far.

I heard the jingling of my key ring, which i was holding while walking as I walked, and the sound of the wind and my breath. Different birds were singing and responding to each other. One bird seemed to be following me and welcoming me.

The quiet sound of the river and the ducks chasing each other reminded me of how children imitate each other. All these sounds gave me relaxation and peace of mind. I felt so free when I closed my eyes and listened deeply to these sounds for 5 minutes, reminding me of childhood memories. It connected me to the deep listening of Dadirri and how Aboriginal people are connected to nature and seek to preserve their heritage through it (YouTube, 2017).

Movement

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 16:24:06 UTC

Trees were falling in the river. some of them were laying in river like drinking water from the river and resting in water.

Ducks were chasing each other, were trying to hide, they were swimming long way back and still continued with the flow of water.

Leaves were moving with wind like they were dancing with the wind.

Water was having the reflection of light, trees and sky which made it beautiful and wind and flow of water continued and was making silent sound.

Birds were flying everywhere, it seems like they were welcoming me and excited to see me and were flying more faster.

My movement while walking and catching the movement of birds and other things support my physical well-being and health.

while watching water, green grass around me, the smell of the atmosphere, and the feeling of fresh air on my body gave me joy and pleasure for those moments.

Mystery, drama and story.

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 16:35:17 UTC

I noticed some broken little sticks on the ground that seemed broken off from a tree by the wind. When I approached them, the birds started chirping faster, as if they were trying to tell me that the sticks were for them to make their nest.

There were many gum trees and native trees around. I also noticed one tree with a big cut on it. It looked like someone had tried to cut it, or perhaps someone had made a symbol or sign on it to ward something off.

I observed a large hole in the ground that seemed like an ants' nest. I wanted to look inside, but I was too scared that something might come out of it.

these helped me to think critically, and ask question and use creative and imaginary thoughts and share them with you all. the same way nature helps children to develop their movements and develop their cognitive skills(chidren, creative play and the natural environment, wilson,2007).

connection through place

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 16:52:51 UTC

it was the first time, i went closer to the Werribee River. it reconnected me with memories of visiting the countryside in my childhood. My grandparents lived in a village whenever I went there, I felt so relaxed, they had big farms to play and explore. there was a big river near our town. we had to visit that river whenever we went there. I remember there was one boat in that river to sail from one edge to the other. we always sat on that boat for fun only. we listened to the sounds of waves and watched the colour of the water. my sibling used to afraid us by saying there was a big octopus in it which eats people.

I was able to explore my all senses while visiting the Werribee river walk. i sat there for 15 minutes. listens to all sounds and understands the drama, music, and movement of nature and my senses that gave me relaxation, awakened my senses, and helped me to connect me with my childhood memories.

it is really important children should explore the natural environment. In 20 minutes, i was able to experience lots of things. i develop my thinking, connect myself with my memories, relax my body, use my all senses to explore the environment. children can definitely learn and develop their cognitive, social, and interaction and create love and care for nature (Gano & krull, 2020).

children are free birds, they create their imaginary world with exploration and freedom and nature is a source to foster their holistic development and research showed that children with role play and dramatic play feel more confident and concentrate in their studies further in schools.

Children who can readily manipulate symbols in dramatic play are more likely to accept and use the symbols associated with mathematics, reading, and writing (Bilton, 2002).

References

s4607010 — 2024-09-05 17:35:14 UTC

Gano, D., & Krull, S. (2020, July 1). Natural Sensory Learning. Community Plaything.

Miriam Rose Foundation. (2017, November 29). Dadirri, Inner Deep Listening & Quiet Still Awareness [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tow2tR_ezL8

Wilson, R, 2007, Children, creative play, and the natural environment, in R. Wilson (edn) Nature and Young Children : Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environments, Routledge. Ch 1, pp 1-18. Children, creative play, and the natural environment