My Connections to Play

Play in My Childhood

Quotes about Play:

"Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold."- Joseph Chilton Pearce

"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."

 - Kay Redfield Jamison

I am an only child, so I spend a lot of time playing by myself. Some people saw this as a bad thing, I actually saw this as a good thing because I didn't have to share my toys and I could play whatever I wanted to. My mother allowed me to play as much as I wanted. We lived in a one bedroom until I was in middle school, and in the one bedroom there was a large walk-in closet. The walk-in closet could literally be another room. That closet was my play-room. What I thought was so nice of my mother, is that she didn't store our clothes in there or anything because that closet belonged to me. The three essential play items that I had as a child were,

When I was a child, I was very big on pretend play. I would spend hours playing with dolls, and now as an adult, I realized that is how I understood relationships between people, especially the different roles that people play in each other's lives. What is so interesting is that when I went to visit my grandma's house in the summer, she didn't allow me to play with dolls. Instead of playing with dolls, I had to play with my cousins. During the summers instead of playing with dolls, we spend almost all of our time exploring the outdoors. My grandmother lived on a ranch, and my cousins and I would go on "Adventures". When I was exploring with my cousins, the three essential play items were,

These items changes roles. The stick would sometimes be my cane, and then would become a shovel. The bucket would also change roles, from a bucket, to a chair, to a stage. 

My family supported play, but I believe it was for a different reason that I support play. For example, I believe that play is how children learn, and that children should have ample amount of time to play, but I believe my family took it as something for children to do, to stay out of the adults way. 

Play when I was a child vs. how play is now is really different. When I was a child, I wasn't allowed to watch T.V. unless it was a family movie. I didn't have a T.V. in my room until I was a junior in high school. My summer was spend outside playing with my cousins, or during the school year, I was playing with my barbie dolls. I didn't start playing video games until I was in middle school. These days it's not the same. I can be at a restaurant, and three year old children are playing a video game, or watching a movie at dinner. I remember coming home from school, and playing outside, then going inside before the street lights came on. When I drive home, there are no kids playing outside. Children now have access to the T.V. and games than before.  I hope that children can go back to play in it's purest form. I would love to see children playing outside, and if they are going to play inside, it is with toys and not a video game. 

I believe that play between children and adults is different. As an adult, I don't really play to learn, I play to have fun! I play as time to laugh and enjoy myself. What I notice is that without play as an adult, I can still learn things. But I don't think that is the same as children. In order for children to learn something, they have to be excited about it, and enjoy it.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are the fabric of who I am. I love people, and love being around them. I have many relationships, but my favorite are my relationship with my mother, family, my two bestfriends, and of course my child development peeps. All of these relationships are important to me, and add to who I am as a person. Without any of these people and the relationships I have with them, I would not be the same person

Relationship with my Mother

The relationship I have with my mother is the core of my existence. My mother is a single-parent, and it has always been just us two. This relationship is positive because she keeps me grounded. My mother is literally the fuel that keeps me going. When I am down or hurting, she is the first person I call, and somehow she makes it all better.

Relationship with my Friends

The relationship I have with my friends is very valuable to me, but it is also the relationship that has some difficulties. As much as I love my friends, we don't always communicate effectively with each other, and sometimes disputes can occur. What makes this relationship so special is that these ladies accept me for who I am. We have been through ups and downs, but we still get along, and learn something new about each other. The way we have to keep this relationship positive, is by being supportive of each other, communicating often with each other, being respectful of each other, and asking when opinions are wanted, instead of just giving them. 

Relationship with  Child Development Peeps

This relationship is one that I cherish. This relationships started back when we all used to work with one another. Now since we all are a different places, we meet up once a week and talk about all the child development news that is occurring in our community. What I love so much about this relationship, is that we all have the same passion, and careers in early childhood, so we speak each others's language when we talk about quality care. This relationship is positive, because there is a sense of belonging. We all want the best for children and are willing to advocate for them.

One thing that I have learned about any relationship in my life, is that all relationships require some level of work and reflection. Anytime you take two people who are different, and put them together, you have to work at it. I sustain the relationships and partnerships in my life by communicating, engaging them in any of my life events, and being supportive of their desires and goals.

I believe that "relationships" and "partnerships" are very important components in the early childhood profession. I have relationships with teachers, parents and children. In order to make these relationships and partnerships last and become healthy is by communicating often with them. I have made is a personal duty to always say, "Good-morning" and "How are you," and give them time to answer. When I learn something new about myself from my personal relationships, most likely I apply them to my work relationships as well. You can't have a healthy and quality child care program, without first having relationships with the people and families of the program.