Thida's Padlet by

1. Required text - Respond to Padlet

s8102654 — 2025-04-05 00:47:26 UTC

After reading this article, I could understand more about the importance of nature in a child's life, and the impact it would have on their growth, development and character. Nature and Young Children are link together, Playing is part of childhood, it's the curiosity of the child to know more of the world, to discover, to understand. According to Wilson (2018), what young children need most is the time, place, and materials to engage in authentic play. From an educator point of view, play is very important and should be incorporated into the daily task of the child, it's never "just playing", it has a tremendous impact on the child's development. We should remember that a child's imagination is limitless and that it shouldn't be limited. Wilson (2018) explains it's through play that children develop a sense of competence and valuable discoveries about their social, cultural, and physical environment. We also shouldn't is forget that play is adding joy and fun to our lives, and that why from such a young age we do it naturally. Nature is a special place to discover, because it can be unpredictable, real and sensory-rich. All of those are potential to children, inviting to play with their hands but to also engage with the mind and imagination too.

2. On Country Visit

s8102654 — 2025-04-05 01:30:27 UTC

3. Creative Response - Speech-video

s8102654 — 2025-04-05 01:31:58 UTC

Setting up selling stall pretend playing with friends

Subtitle of what I say in the video :

Creative respond to play I choose to pretend to have a selling stall at the park and collects leaves, sticks, flowers and anything that I can find there on the way. And I would have to find a cosy spot, and set up my merchandise selling stall that i would like to buy and sell with fake money that would be pretending of course, and up to my imagination. The sound of the bird chirping and the breeze of the wind through the leafs of the tree is the perfect place to set up my stall. There's people around, walking, talking and going on about their day but me and my friends are just staying here, very excited to play. It is outdoor and we have to consider the weather. Since today's a sunny day it's quite alright to play outside. I can smell the freshly cut grass and the bark of the tree. I felt transported to another place, I wasn't in the park anymore. I was playing with my friend, that's the best kind because imagination is limitless and it depends on the person. When it runs free it can be anything, playing, pretending, being in our head, using our imagination to create our own world is the best kind, and that's amazing. This is the place that I set up underneath this huge big tree.

4. Analytical response

s8102654 — 2025-04-05 03:07:58 UTC

My game/experience that I choose is to pretend to have a selling stall at the park, I can collect flowers, leaves, sticks and anything that I can find there, and to have a sort of merchant selling and buying stall. Where we pretend to buy and sell with fake money, up to imagination. This reflects the unit content because it connects to nature, the outdoors spaces. Children are engaging in play and uses their imagination. I remember when I was a child, I also did that, pretend to have a stall and selling to my friends, we would take turns, exchange what we had and play together for hours. This informs my future practice because I can use this type of play in my kindergarten, as educator I can set up a stall where my students can trade and play pretend, as the seller or customer. This can improve their communication skill, creating friendship, helping their problem-solving skills. “It’s through play that children learn about themselves and the world around them. It’s through play that they develop a sense of competence and make invaluable discoveries about their social, cultural, and physical environments.” (Wilson, R., 2018, p.2). As I was there, at the park, I can hear the birds chirping, feel the cold breeze through my skin, I can smell the freshly cut grass and tree barks, I can see people walking by, running, having conversation with one another. I felt like I was transported to another place, that somehow, I wasn’t at the park anymore, and into my own world. And I recall that when I was a kid, I felt the same way, one time I was playing at my friend’s house and we were pretending to play shop and, somehow for the amount of time that we were playing it I didn’t feel like we were at her house anymore, that is why imagination is limitless and is running free. “To benefit fully from opportunities, we need to ensure that our senses, and our curiosity, expectations, and interests, are kept constantly alive.” (Gandini, L., 2012, p.316). As we grow up, it’s harder to play pretend or tap into our imagination anymore. However, if from childhood, we remember playing, pretending, being in our head and using our imagination to create our own world, some of us might even had an imaginary friend, then even growing up, that part of us lives on, and that’s amazing.

References

s8102654 — 2025-04-05 03:27:01 UTC

Gandini, L. (2012). The atelier: A conversation with Vea Vecchi. C. Edwards, L. Gandini, & G. Forman (Eds.), The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed., pp. 303–316). ABC-CLIO, LLC. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=820317&ppg=330

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in natural environments (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/vu.edu.au?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2Fbooks%2Fmono%2F10.4324%2F9781315148533%2Fnature-young-children-ruth-wilson