My Connections to Play

 

 

 
Here are some really awesome quotes about play:

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




"I dream of a day when we say, "Today everyone played so hard!"" Lisa Murphy, the Ooey Gooey Lady

"If animals play, this is because play is useful in the struggle for survival; because play practices and so perfects the skills needed in adult life."  Susanna Miller, EdD

Most of the adults in my life encouraged me to be outside and to be active.  My parents let me play t-ball, join girl scouts, powder puff football.  I loved playing dodge ball and red rover and being outside.  I remember my Barbie townhouse that was 3 stories high with an elevator and spent many hours playing with it.  My favorite thing on the playground was this HUGE (it was back then anyway) tractor tire.  It laid on the ground and when we played hide and seek, we fought over who would hide in it - the first placed "it" would look (hahaha).  My parents always took us camping and we stayed on our bikes riding everywhere and exploring everything.  During middle and high school, I was always at girl scout camp for 3-4 weeks as a camper, then as a counselor.  During my junior year, I became a lifeguard and started teaching swimming lessons.  I could never have done these things without the support and permission of my parents and the other adults who worked with these activities.

I feel that play today has changed dramatically from the time I was young.  The technology was not available to watch television, movies, and play video games on phones, I-pads, Kindles,  etc.  We were able to be outside from daylight to dark without fear of predators.  We also knew if we did anything we should not be doing, our parents would find out by other adults.  So we actually learned self-governance to keep us from getting into trouble (or learned to be really sneaky if we wanted to go to that much trouble).  Children today have way too many things to keep them sedentary.  Also, parents are content to keep them close for a number of reasons:  wary of predators, too busy to do things with them, too lazy to do things, etc. 

Parents and other caring adults have to make play important for the whole family.  Being active and playing is part of a healthy lifestyle.  Adults must realize the importance of play and physical activity for the healthy development of their children and future generations.

Relationship Reflection

The relationships that I have had through the years have made me who I am.  I wouldn't trade them for anything. However, over the past several years I have realized it is not the quantity of friends but the quality.  Positive relationships bring out the best in all of us and there is so much negativity in the world, we need to keep positive people around us all the time.

My mother is one of those positive people.  She is a rock and I love and depend on her so much.  She has been with me through it all.  She opened our center 41 years ago and at age 74 is still working, training, and going strong.  I hope that I have it in me at that age.  She is a spiritual woman and taught me about God and going to church.  She taught me the value of an education and has supported me when everyone else said I was crazy going back to school.  She has kept our family together and will be celebrating 50 years with my father in June.  I love them so very much.  God has blessed me with wonderful parents.

My heart, my love, my little boy, Max.  A child is God's gift to us and He really gave me a fantastic gift.  I am so very fortunate to be able to help raise this child of God for the time he is on this Earth.  We found out 2 weeks ago that I have a genius who is severely ADHD.  The doctor asked me how this made me feel.  I said it scared me to death.  I don't want him on meds, but I want what is best for him.  This has been a great burden for me for several months.  We will begin meds at the end of March.  I'm praying it doesn't change his bubbly personality, but he seems very relieved to know that he will have help to ease his frustration.

Cindy Myers is my most awesome friend.  We stood by each other when our husbands were in jail (not together).  But it wasn't until she had her daughter and I got pregnant with Max that our friendship really blossomed into full blown love for each other.  We raised our kids, went through sicknesses, stuck together when one husband came home.  She moved with her husband and kids to Kentucky 3 years ago, and only see each other once a year.  But we have that telepathy thing going - when you know one needs the other without talking.  We miss each other and our kids do too, but when we get together it's like we've always been. 

My best friend would have to be my husband.  He would also be the quality I look for in a relationship.  He is the giver; I tend to be the taker lately.  I'm so wrapped up in work and school, I forget about his needs a lot.  He hardly ever gets mad about it; he just reminds me to shut the computer off and take a break.  We support each other and depend on each other. We enjoy just spending time with each other.  He knows me so much better that I know myself half the time.  It is a special feeling to have someone love  you so much!

The best relationship I have is the one with my Holy Father.  He has blessed me beyond belief.  I give thanks to Him for all He has given me.  Without Him, this whole life would be meaningless. 

Children are the most important things that we can do with our lives.  They depend on us to nourish them, teach them, spend quality time with them, mentor them, and model our lives for them.  If we don't show them how relationships are supposed to be then how will they know about relationships at all?  It is our responsibility to partner with parents and family members to raise our children in positive, respectful relationships and environments.  We cannot afford to be irresponsible in this very important endeavor in our children's lives.  The benefits of parental engagement with teachers far surpasses the uncomfortability of becoming involved with people we "think we don't like."  We need to put aside any biases we have and come together to raise our children to be respectful engaging adults who are not afraid of relationships with people who are different from them. 

Thank you! to my colleagues at Walden University

"The way parents are with children is how children will be with the rest of the world."  Dr. Karl Menninger, American Psychiatrist

"If we are serious about providing upward mobility and building a skilled workforce, pre-school is the play to begin."  Madeleine M. Kunin - 1st female governor of Vermont

To all my colleagues, I want to thank you all for the support and encouragement you bestowed upon me the last several weeks.  Wasn't this course amazing?!  We learned so much to use with our children and to mentor other early childhood people.  I wish you success on your continued journey of higher education at Walden University.  I hope that our paths will cross again soon.
Thanks!