The below are 3 creative learning experiences that I did with my own child using sound, movement, and drama. All the experiences were stimulated by my visit to Ringwood Lake Park. I sat near to the water and stayed still. I was able to hear birds, ducks splashing water, leaves moving, and the wind. All this gave me ideas on how to come up with simple and meaningful play experiences using natural materials.

These experiences helped the child connect with nature and use her imagination. I was also inspired by Dadirri, as explained by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr (2017) which is the Indigenous way of listening deeply to nature and being still.

What we did together:

I played a short audio recording from my lake visit. It had sounds like birds, water, and wind. She listened and used two stones to make tapping sounds. She tried to copy the rhythm of the natural sounds.

I provided some scarves, and she used the scarves to make “wind sounds.” She waved the scarves in the air. and also I hold the scarves bit higher than her, and she ran underneath them pretending the wind was blowing.

She said, “It's like a wind and it's talking to me”

What didn’t work: She lost focus when there was nothing to look at.

Next time: I will use pictures or animal visual cards to help her connect sound with meaning.

This experience connects to the Reggio Emilia idea of the “hundred languages” of children, which includes sound, movement, gesture, and sensory play as ways of learning and expression (Gandini, 2012). In this experience, sound was the main “language” the child used to engage with the environment.

The experience also illustrates the Reggio Emilia that the environment as a teacher (The Atelier, 2018). By listening to the lake sounds and using nature materials like stones and scarves, the child could explore sound in a way that was tangible and meaningful to her.

From an Indigenous perspective, this experience also connects to Dadirri, as explained by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr (2017), deep listening and respect for nature. As the child sat and listened to the soundscape before responding, she was learning to slow down and attune herself to her world in a thoughtful and peaceful way something I also experienced on my lake visit.

What we did together:

I invited my child to move like different things from the lake. She picked a scarf from the table and began to wave it around slowly, she pretending to be the wind, and she swirls with the scarf . After she stretched her arms as long as she can and moved them gently, like water waves.

At one point, she sat down and said, “Now I’m a rock. The water goes around me can you hear the water sound.”
She used her body to show the difference between moving water and stillness. Her movements were calm and free, like how the lake felt during my visit.

What didn’t work: She needed help when changing from one type of movement to another.

Next time: I’ll play soft lake or wind sounds in the background to guide her movement.

This experience reminds me of Banerjee (2021), who explains that movement can be healing when we connect with nature in peaceful ways. The calm, thoughtful movements the child made showed how she was beginning to feel the lake through her body not just see it.

Indigenous Perspective Connection:

This experience connects with First Nations beliefs that we can learn from nature by watching and copying its rhythms. Movement is more than just exercise it’s a way of understanding and respecting Country. The child used her body to move like water and wind, and even chose stillness to represent a rock. This shows the kind of deep observation and connection that Indigenous cultures value.

What we did together:

I told my child a story using my imagination based on my visit to Ringwood Lake:

"One morning, the lake whispered a secret to me. A child like you leaned close to the water and found a shiny stone under the surface". She showed her curiosity and joined in and acted out the story. She bend her knees near our pretend “lake” made with blue scarves on the ground. When I asked, “What does the lake say?”, she whispered, “A story.”

Later, she started telling a story using her imagination: “I saw a lake and there was mum duck and baby duck.” She continued her story.

What didn’t work: When the story went a bit longer, she started to get distracted. She needed more visuals or props to keep her attention.

Next time: I will bring simple props like a toy duck, a shiny stone, or a blue cloth to help her stay focused and bring her story to life more easily.

This experience links to the Reggio Emilia approach. In Reggio, children are seen as strong, capable thinkers who use many “languages” like movement, sound, and story to understand the world (Gandini, 2012). My child used story and role-play as her language to explore the lake. The materials we used (scarves, floor space, our voices, chalk for drawings) acted like the environment, helping her learn. This shows how the environment can be a teacher when it supports imagination (The Atelier, 2018).

Indigenous Perspective Connection:

This experience made me think about Dadirri, as explained by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr (2002) which is an Indigenous way of listening deeply, and respectfully. Before telling the story, we both sat calmly and looked at the scarves and imagined the lake. This quiet moment helped her feel connected and ready to listen.

The child used her body, voice, and imagination to explore what she heard and saw. Simple things like scarves, stones, and stories helped her learn in a creative way.

This reminds me of Reggio Emilia that children have many ways to learn and the environment can teach them (Gandini, 2012), (The Atelier, 2018).

It also connects to Dadirri, as explained by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr (2002) the Indigenous idea of deep listening. I learned to slow down, listen to nature.

I will keep using nature in my teaching because it helps children feel calm, curious, and connected.

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

ISBN: 9780313359620

Miriam Rose Foundation. (2017). DADIRRI (Official Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Video) :: 3 minute promo. In MiriamRoseFoundation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tow2tR_ezL8

The Atelier. (2018, January 8). The Atelier - The school without walls. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vNAKhgATlAo

Ungunmerr-Baumann, M.-R. (2002). Dadirri: Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness (pp. 1–4). Emmaus Productions. http://www.dadirri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dadirri-Inner-Deep-Listening-M-R-Ungunmerr-Bauman-Refl1.pdf