Singing in the cobweb of existence: sustainability learning in Early Childhood Education

The singing body is a tangible evocation of the resonant energetic connection between human and Earth, elemental practice uniting inhabitants of the natural world. The singing body, derived from Grosz (2008), acts as a theoretical starting point for thinking about the significance of singing as a real and embodied act of children’s becoming-with the Earth. A young child’s song-video offers insight into the deep and multi-faceted expression of being that characterises young children’s knowledge and being in a form of existential practice and materialisation, which has the potential to change the way sustainability learning is perceived and enacted. The fundamental significance of singing is exemplified by the practices of Indigenous Aboriginal peoples of Australia and Wachiperi people of Peru, who sing to connect, create, and heal. This profound relationship between human and Earth offers an ineluctable challenge to rethink current western early childhood sustainability learning practices and beliefs.