My Connection to Play

“Children's games are hardly games. Children are never more serious than when they play.”

MONTAIGNE, Essays

                            

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

Kay Redfield Jamison

Contemporary American professor of psychiatry

  From the age of at least three years old I can remember playing and having fun. I can remember my teacher in Headstart giving me toys to play with when I was upset that my mother was leaving me there.

The adults in my life encouraged play most of the time. Looking back now, it may have been more of a way for them to keep us busy while they did grown-up things, but nevertheless we still had fun and learned so much from so much play.

In my opinion, play is so much different today than it was when I was a child. Children today seem to only be concerned with video games, social media, and sports. Sports used to be a really good way for children to experience structured play but are now fierce competitions used to satisfy parental desires. The children aren’t being allowed to have fun when playing and have tremendous pressure on them to play hard to be future athletic celebrities.

When I was young there were video games out but we played them when we came in from a long day of playing outside. I know many of my students know nothing about playing cards. Me and my friends could take a deck of cards and play twenty different games with them.

I noticed that Target now has a section in their toy aisle of Retro toys that were out when I was growing up. I was as excited as I was at 5. I think this is awesome and bought some toys for my baby there. I hope that more parents will do so and introduce their children to some of the classic toys that allow children to build their intelligence and character through play.

I can definitely attest to how important play has been in my life. I played games that allowed me to use my imagination and intelligence. We played solitaire, speed, and 21 with cards and all of these games required logic, concentration, dexterity, and math skills. We played the Game of Life and never even realized how realistic it was. You had to spin the wheel to see how many kids you would have, what your occupation would be, and figure out if you made enough to support your family. How real is that? I always had a car full of kids in the game and swore I wouldn’t have any in real life. Irony at its best proved me wrong. I did however remember the lesson learned in the game by securing a career to support me and my family!

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they are the part of life that keeps you on touch with your emotions. They are never easy, but require constant give and take. As I get older, I am more aware of how past relationships have shaped my life both good and bad.

I currently have positive relationships with my female friends that I have known for a long time. We have our moments here and there, but we have never done anything to each other that has done harm to our relationships. Our relationships are based on mutual respect, caring, support, and interactions with each other. We share our ups and downs and try to find ways to lift each other up whenevr we can.

 I also have positive relationships with my children. They are complex and take alot out of me, but they are mine. I wouldn't trade any of them for the world. Just watching them grow and change is the biggest reward of this partnership. I can see something everyday that verifies the positive effects of our interactions.

My students and I have very positive relationships. I love the fact that I don't have to play "good or bad" teacher with them. I am always myself, let them know that every decision I make is based on my caring for them, and do not carry ill feelings towards them when they make mistakes.

Challenges I have found in developing and maintaining relationships are trusting and depending on people. I was raised to be very independent due to parents who were substance abusers. I learned to do for myself and not to depend on others because they may not do what they said they would regardless of how they feel about you. I took this into most of my relationships. The first time someone failed to meet my expectations, I bailed without looking back. As a result, I don't give people chances to recover from mistakes, I shut people out when I am angry at them, and I tend to avoid confrontation to keep from hurting the feelings of those I love. I developed many communication issues as I grew up.

I think my experience with relationships will make me a great early childhood provider. I can relate directly to children who may be living through some of the same horrors I did as a child. I can also relate and sympathize with parents who are unable to understand or help their child through troubled times.