I went walk to my neighbourhood park in a bright sunny day.  After the cold winter, and rain over the last couple of days, the sunlight made me feel happy and fresh. I parked my car opposite the park and began to walk down the path. As I continued down the park, the traffic sounds were replaced by the sounds of various birds. The sounds of nature, the cool breeze, and the warm sunlight made me feel like I was far away from home by myself, relaxing in nature. Eventually I could see the wetlands, and crossed a bridge to get next to the main pond where I could sit and spend some time. While I was sitting down, I took in the movement and sounds of the tree branches in the wind. I heard the birds singing and swimming in the water. There were so many sights, smells, and sounds that allowed me to explore my imagination and create a story and bring me happiness and calmness. 

Reading all the unit materials, and experiencing this mindful walk with deep listening, I noticed, first-hand the positives of such an activity. As a pre-service teacher, I have been inspired to incorporate more natural materials within this indoor play space settings. Furthermore, I will encourage and support the children to explore the outdoor play space with natural loose parts. I will also provide the resources for the families so that they can also experience the benefits and importance of outdoor, natural play.  

I was encouraged by the positive effects of natural sounds, to implement these in my emerging teaching practice.  I will provide resources and opportunities for the children to create their music, in a natural way. Bush kinder, does this as we record the sounds of the environment and discuss the sounds we heard on the walk within the classroom.  By doing this the children can take in nature, and also reflect on their experience with nature later on. 

Within the creative dance play for early childhood, the unit materials described that children can dance-play themselves (Delafield-Butt, J. T., & Trevarthen, C, 2022). All they need is enough space, time, and freedom (Delafield-Butt, J. T., & Trevarthen, C, 2022). I could envision their interaction within this environment. As a pre-service teacher, I can provide the children with opportunities to dance indoor and outdoor. We can also make use of digital music and music made by themselves.

 

Delafield-Butt, J. T., & Trevarthen, C. (2022, April 4). Creative dance for early childhood |. | Creative Dance Teaching Ideas and Resources.  https://danceteachingideas.com/creative-dance-movement-for-toddlers/ 

The school without wall. (2018). YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2023, from https://youtu.be/vNAKhgATlAo. 

ungunmerr-Baumann, M.-R. ungunmerr. (2002). Dadirri - a reflection by Miriam - Rose  ungunmerr- Baumann. http://dadirri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dadirri-Inner-        Deep-Listening-M-R-Ungunmerr-Bauman-Refl1.pdf 

Wilson, R. A. (2018). Nature and young children: Encouraging creative play and learning in
     Natural Environments. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 

 

In my practice, I will provide opportunities for the children to explore their imagination according to their interest in an early childhood setting. As a pre-service teacher, I can create an environment that is as dynamic as the one in nature, or support them to explore nature. From my nature walk, I saw the amount of dramatic play that was occurring, and the endless imagination that can happen in nature and this encourages me to expose the children to the same drama.