During my On Country visit, my senses were heightened because I allowed myself to be captivated by the atmosphere. I could hear the trams and their alert tone, the traffic and the people. I could smell and feel wet grass underneath and around me. I could see the magical sight of the sun going in and out of the trees and the beginning of autumn as the leaves were slowly falling to the ground. The whole scene was dramatic, and it all blended beautifully.

 

My artefact was taken from a “worm’s eye view”. In the video as i was walking, i wondered on how I would feel if I was little again, seeing those majestic trees from down low. I wondered how I would feel if all of a sudden I was alone in this vast space. What would I do? How would I find my way back to my grown up. How would I use my senses to find my way back to my grown up. All of a sudden, this vast open space swallowed me and I found myself feeling so small.

 

When I wrote about “The Girl who loved to twirl”, I wanted to use the language of poetry to convey meaning and to communicate my ideas about how the protagonist would have felt in this vast space on her own, whilst her wonder of the world transported her. How would she find her way back, if it wasn’t for her senses.

 

Children are busy people who love to venture, to touch, feel, smell and to hear. This is why we need to follow the children’s lead and as adults, value the children for who they are and how they see the world. It’s a time in their lives which they will never get back. 

Adults are constantly hurrying, not providing the children with time to just be, to explore and be imaginative. The role of the adult is often seen as the one who takes the children through natural environments, but do we stop and explore nature alongside them. Do we stop and listen, smell, feel our natural environment? Children are born creative and imaginative, a gift that should be nurtured.

 

Play is a sacred part of early childhood. Wilson (2017) reminds us that as adults we take away the children’s ownership of their play? We move them into different directions, ask them questions when they are engrossed, we take over their play. We mean well, we want to show an interest but what would be beneficial to the children is if we took a step back and just observed and listened until we are asked to enter the game. 

 

Carson (1956) states that children are naturally born with a sense of wonder, why do they lose it? Is it because of the fast paced and structured life that they must constantly keep up with? As Early Childhood educators we need to offer our children  more unstructured outdoor play space whilst providing them with uninterrupted time to play. Let them find their inner Pearl, as they wander and discover how beautiful their world is.