“My Connection
to Play”
1. In our
play we reveal what kind of people we are.
Ovid
Roman poet
43 BC–17 or 18 AD
Roman poet
43 BC–17 or 18 AD
2. Play gives children a
chance to practice what they are learning.
Fred Rogers
American television personality
1928–2003
American television personality
1928–2003
3."Play is often
talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children
play is serious learning."
Mr. Rogers
“Play
Items”
“Supported
Play”
When I was a child,
play was supported just about by every adult whom I had contact with. Whether
by my parents, grandparents, or relatives, play was almost demanded by the
adults. I’m not sure if they wanted the children out of their way while they
cleaned the house or prepared meals, all children where encourage or told to
play outside. I can remember as early as 2 years old running and playing in my
huge backyard. By the time I would return back inside of our home, I was filthy
with mud, dirt, and dust. I consider these day by best days. I was free to be
messy and unclean and my mother did not mind at all. When I was old enough to
play outside alone, my mother would send my siblings and I outdoors for hours
at a time. We were encouraged to run and play with our friends. My mother and
father would purchase dolls, doll clothing, writing paper, pencils, crayons,
coloring books, bikes, balls, jump ropes , and so many more items to support
our play efforts. It seemed like every one of my birthday, I received some sort
of new play item.
I can remember playing
at my friend’s house next door. Her father worked for the train company and
always brought home big old tires, ropes, and many other strange looking items
for us children to engage in. We would play hide and seek inside of the tires.
We would play tug of war with the large ropes. WE had so much fun. My parents
and the other parents of my childhood somehow understood the importance of play
without having to study. They made sure that we all received plenty of outdoors
time for play and they supplied us with lots and lots of play materials tom
male our play experiences more enjoyable.
As a child, play helped
me to understand who I was and what I wanted to do as an adult. As a child I
did not realize but now I do. When I was a little girl, I always found myself playing
“teacher” with my siblings and friends. I would give each of my friends made of
assignments and I would even correct them when they were all done. I always wanted
to play house. Meaning, I would have myself be the mother of the children. I
would organize our child created playhouse area. Sometimes it would be made out
of an old sheet or blanket thrown across a couple of outdoor chairs. I would
sweep the dirt outside of the house. I would organize the dishes and other
household items that we had to play with. My mother would give me her old pots and
pans to keep outdoors for our play. Taking care of the children and nurturing
and feeding them. I believe that these play experiences directed me into the
field of child development. As a teenager, I started babysitting my neighbor’s younger
children on the weekends. My love and excitement of caring for others grew humongous.
“Play Today”
Play today is the same and then it is different from play
when I was a child. Today play is very important in many programs and children are
engaged in different types of play experiences. When I was younger, I played
most of my days. I had my academic assignments but while at school we had 2-3
recess. Today’s play is different because many parents do not allow their
children to play freely as they choose. Children are isolated in homes glued to
video games or cell phones. When I was growing up, we did not have those
gadgets. Our sole entertainment was playing outdoors and making up our own
entertainment. Then again, my mother was a stay home mom who was home early in
the day to where I could play outdoors. Now days, children are raised in homes
where either parents work all day or there’s only one parent in the home who
works many hours. Children are enrolled in after school programs and daycare
which does not get the children home early enough for outdoor activities. Times
have surely changed and it has affected the role play has in the lives of our
children.
My hopes for the young
children of our future is for each of them to stick to the roots of playing
with peers, building cars and airplanes, creating play houses, imitating role
models, and so much more. As one of my Colleagues mentioned in an earlier post,
play allows the child to learn in a natural way. Learning is not forced or
guided, but learned in the most respectful way “natural”.
