01/09/2026
⭐ My Magical Moment of Book Week: Becoming a Star⭐
Stepping into the children’s room during Book Week, I realised that every second spent with the children was magical.
As a UNE senior lecturer, I often find myself teaching future early childhood educators, discussing theories, pedagogies, and the importance of engaging children in meaningful learning. But during Book Week, my colleague Beth Boland invited me to join her in delivering activities for the children in early childhood education centres in Tamworth. This invitation gave me the opportunity to step away from my office and university role and step directly into the children’s world. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the joy of being with children, engaging in their learning, and experiencing their imagination and creativity firsthand.
And what a world it was!
As soon as I entered the room, surrounded by curious eyes, excited voices, books, costumes, colours, and creativity, something happened. I felt reconnected to my passion for teaching and, most importantly, to the joy of being with children and engaging in their learning.
Across four sessions, I had the opportunity to play, create, imagine, dance and learn alongside the children. At the end of the four sessions, I decided to call myself a “UNE Star.” And it was not only because I was wearing a star costume!
I called myself a UNE Star because I discovered that there is something truly special about being with children—getting down to their level, playing alongside them, listening to their ideas, and becoming part of their imaginative worlds. It felt very different from sitting in my office and talking with their teachers about children’s learning. Being there, experiencing their curiosity and creativity firsthand, was an amazing experience.
One moment, in particular, will stay with me.
During an activity inspired by the book My Pet Star, the children created their own stars using glitter, glue, and eyes. They carefully designed their stars, making each one unique. I watched their little hands work, their imaginations unfold, and their excitement grow as their creations began to take shape.
Then, one child finished their star, walked over to me, and said:
“This is you, and it’s for you.”
That simple sentence created a magical moment for me.
I looked at the star in the child’s hands and realised that the story we had shared had moved beyond the pages of the book. Through imagination and play, the child had transformed the idea of a pet star into something real—and had imagined me as that star.
For a moment, I was no longer just a lecturer visiting an early childhood service. I was part of the children’s story, their play, and their imagination.
That is the magic of early childhood education.
It reminded me that learning is not only something we teach; it is something we experience together. Sometimes, the most powerful learning happens when we put aside our adult roles, enter children’s worlds, and simply play, wonder, create, and imagine alongside them.
So, yes, for Book Week, I became a star.
Not just because I wore the costume, but because, for a little while, a child saw me as one.
And that was my magical moment.
- Somayeh Ba Akhlagh
