My Connections to Play

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato

"Play keeps us vital and alive.  It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable.  Without it, life just doesn't taste good." - Lucia Capocchione

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

Pictures of Toys that Were Essential to My Play

                             

Being an only child growing up, I was encouraged to play by myself or with the neighborhood kids when I was younger.  My parents supported my play by encouraging me to use my imagination, exploring with my toys, and creating pictures to express myself.  My grandparents supported my interest in puzzles and making sand castle or houses for my match box cars.  I acted out events or situations I remember and saw while exploring and discovery my world.  I enjoyed being outdoors and spending time going for walks, riding my bike, planting, and cooking.  I got to help with the cooking and rolling hamburg into meatballs for spaghetti night.  I enjoyed playing with my barbie dolls, match box cars, and my toy phone to call my friends and family on.  I loved pulling the phone around with me so that I could call my favorite people any time I want.  I loved playing in the sand and building houses for my match box cars to park at their home.  The cars would drive to the shop to get food or clothing and to school.  I also pretended to be a teacher and line up all my stuffed animals and teach them what I was being taught.

In some ways play is very different compared to when I was younger till now.  Many children today, don't play outdoors at all.  Many children are hooked on play with electronics and not longer play like I did as a child.  I don't see many children today riding their bikes or playing a game of tag outside with friends, or even playing an outdoor game like bad-mitten anymore.   Play today is so wrapped around academic skills and mastering these various academic skills to move forward in life.  Its good and all, but children need to play with others and by themselves.  I want children to find the love of nature again and be outdoors, exploring the beauty around them.  I loved watching the flowers grow and bloom, digging for worms, and watching the clouds above me; naming them as they floated by.  I want to see children do this again and not so attached to electronics.  I find that children need to grow up faster then ever before and that the meaning of play is no longer an importance for a child's needs of growth and development (Almon, 2002).  

The role of play is important on so many levels.  I still enjoy play; whether its a video game, with the toddlers in my classroom, or my cousins and nieces and nephews.  I like to read stories, though when I was younger, I enjoyed making up stories.  Today, I still do, but this time I get to write them out and post them for others to view.  I think, sometimes as an adult, we forget what its like to be a kid and playing with our toys and stuffed animals.  When I read stories I always find myself, thinking I was a character in the story and what the character would do in the story - I was doing instead of the character.  Still do that today when I am reading.  My development is still growing and developing, even if I'm in my early 30's.  The understanding and knowledge of development and play starts in infancy and goes through adulthood (Berger, 2012).  

References:

Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf

 Berger, K.S. (2012).  The Developing Person through Childhood.  (6^th Ed.).  New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships/partnerships with other people are so important within a person's life.  Relationships help shape a person's understanding of the world around them and how they fit within their world.  Relationships with others bring the best out of a person and they can look past the strengthens and weaknesses to see the unique being someone really is.  I have amazing relationships with multiple people in my life.  I have great relationships with family, friends, co-teachers, and other people within my community that I am apart of.

I have a wonderful relationship/partnership with my co-teacher Annie, who I have known for over 3 years.  We work together in the toddler classroom and support each other within the classroom and in our personal lives.  I helped support her when she decided to send her son to a preschool program before entering Kindergarten.  Watching the struggles that she went to at making her decision at sending him to the preschool program; its the best choice she made when he graduated from the program and the joy she felt at how hard he has come through his overall development.  I learn very valuable strategies and skills from her at how well she interacts with the children, their families, and classroom management.  Gaining these skills within myself from watching and observing my co-teacher through this process, I have been rewarded in learning skills that I was unable to achieve at the early stages of my career.    Our relationship stays strong because we continue to support each other and share feedback with one another.  We support each others strengthens and weaknesses and offer advice when needed; its sort of like a marriage.

I have another wonderful relationship/partnership with my best friend Christine.  I met her when I was a student in the Engineering Program and she was in my English class.  She supported me and was a tutor to me for a particular class that I was having trouble in and she never stopped until I understood how to solve the problem.  No matter how much she helped and supported me for this class, it just was not meant to be and I flunked out of the program.  I have not regrets because now I have been in the field of early childhood education for about 13 years.  She supported my decision of changing schools and majors and continues to support me throughout our relationship.  I have supported her on many similar experiences within her life as she has for mine.  I find it very humbling to know that I have someone to go to and talk about what I am passionate about and she offers advice to guide me in the right path for decision making.

I have a great relationship with my mother.  She is my first teacher and will continue to be my teacher and offer advice and guidance when I need it.  She was been there to support my decision of partaking in the engineering program and not being successful to changing career paths to education and being as successful as I have been; despite some struggles and challenges I have faced within the field itself.  My mom continues to support my decisions on life my sharing her thoughts regarding it to help me see the pros and cons of the decision at hand.  I do the same for her and want the best for her now that she is getting older.  I want her to have the best care regarding her health and that meant the decision of changing doctors that cared more about their patients than just going through the motions of the job.  I support her to be the best person she can be and she does the same for me.

Some challenges that might arise in developing and maintaining relationships/partnerships with another person is lying to one another and not being able to connect to one another when there are no similar interests among the parties.  Or one person tries and makes the effort to make the relationship/partnership work while the other wants nothing to do with it.  Though at the same time I find it hard to answer this topic subject because I am dealing with this dilemma at the moment in my own personal life.

I feel that I am able to see the person for whom they are and respect their strengths and weaknesses that make the person who they are in this world.  We each bring something to the table (relationship/partnership) because of our experiences growing up and the way we were raised within our own families.  I find the relationship I have with my co-teacher is more like a partnership compared to the other relationships but I find that each relationship with another person can be considered a partnership.  When both parties are willing to put the effort in, be respectful, and offer advice that is positive and negative can really strengthen the relationship to the core.

I feel by understanding and knowing how much effort and willingness I but into my relationships with others in my life helps me in wanting to have strong relationships with the students and families that I will meet and work with for years to come.  By stepping out of your shell and trying to find one thing in common with other person can be a breaking point and help support a brand new relationship with a child and/or their families.  By reflecting on my past and history regarding relationships I find help and support me on connecting and bonding with the students and families really well.  I am able to know what turns others away and knowing too always be open, honest, and understanding as well as respectful to the other person will help keep the relationship strong.