My Connections to Play

“Go and play. Run around. Build something. Break something. Climb a tree. Get dirty. Get in some trouble. Have some fun.”
― Brom, The Child Thief

This quote relates to me because as a child when I played I would mainly be outside trying to build something or climbing trees and fences to mess with my neighbor's cows and I always, always, always got dirty and messed up my hair. Whenever I would play inside which was only on rainy days I some how managed to break something or touch something I wasn't supposed to. This quote really relates to my childhood.  

 

“The activities that are the easiest, cheapest, and most fun to do – such as singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, and just talking and listening – are also the best for child development.” ~ Jerome Singer (professor, Yale University)

Because I lived a single parent household with four other siblings we couldn't really afford fancy toys or trips to Chucky E. Cheese so dancing, singing, tag, homemade games, storytelling, and conversation were truly the only things we could do and because of it we are all really close and humble.

 I would read books all the time and my favorite was Pippi Longstocking so I would pretend to be her and go on big adventures like she did. I would spend hours and hours on my little adventures as a child.

I would play with my cousins and we would just run around playing tag, hide and seek, and any other game where we could just run and scream.

My mother was a lot education we would eat, sleep, and breathe eduction. She didn't accept C's and B's were to be pulled up to A's and there was no such thing as late assignments being turned in or foolishness in the classroom. As much as she believed in education she believed in exploration through play. We were always encouraged to go outside and discover something new or create something new out of something old. When we played in the house it was mostly social play with the family or we would play in the kitchen learning how to create recipes. Math was never my strong area and she knew that so she taught me how to cook while my brother helped by using measurements to teach math. We were always encouraged to use our imagination as well, having invisible friends was a good thing to her. She would say "education is the one thing that nobody can take from you and once you have it your success is limitless. I would say she did a pretty good job because her children have 1 associates, 4 bachelors, 1 master's, and 2 working on master's.

My role of play as a child was to keep me balanced because I loved to read. I would spend the entire reading and even fall asleep with books. My family taught me that play was just as important as reading. Through play I found that  liked pretending to go adventures and teach. If I had never played I would have never discovered I a educating and I was good at it.

Play is different now than it was when I was playing. Now children are on a more technical basis. I played outside most of the day and when I was inside I was playing on the floor or with toys or coloring books and finger painting. I played more with my hands and mind while children now a days play with technology. They spend way too much time with a television, parent's cell phone, iPad, and the iPod. I think parent's and children need to find the time and energy to go to the park are fight dragons in the backyard.

The role of play throughout my life has been all about discovering. When I played as a child I would try to create something or imagine things that would make life better or easier on adults. As I started to mature play was more for stress relieving developing my physical skills and my mental talents I would play basketball, dance , bowl, and build forts with my nephews. Now play is more for discovering different ways to do things, creating new recipes, or just enjoying my son and husband.

References

Goodreads Inc. (2012). Quotes About Play. Retrieved http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show_tag?id=play

Child's Play Magazine (n. d.) Quotes About Play and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/Quotes/index.htm

All pictures were retrieved from google images

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because I need social interaction to be healthy. I need others to help me grow and develop as a person. because I am a new wife and mother there are times where I get confused, frustrated, or just plain stomped and I need a little help so that's where my relationships come in at. Having relationships are also important be they give me a since of belonging, being needed, and being cared for or just plain loved. By having multiple good relationships with different people is a great way to keep life interesting and meaningful.


A few relationships I have with others are Je'Kel (husband), Ruby (Mama), Hannah (Soror), and Veneasha (Sister).

Je'Kel is encouraging, loving, helpful, supportive, and motivating. We keep our relationship thriving through communication, time together, and religion these three simple things make us work. Mama is proud, motivating, straight forward and helpful. We keep our relationship fresh by talking often and by me being totally honest when I need her help with nothing left out. Hannah is helpful, supportive, and very honest. She makes me see all the things I already knew were there so our relationship works by being open and being able to listen as well as advise. Neasha is so straight forward and very knowledgeable about seemingly everything. For our relationship to function we must and I mean must have a clear understanding of what is going on; problem and solution.

I feel the biggest challenges to developing and maintaining relationships is listening and speaking up. Often times relationships are ruined because someone isn't listening or someone isn't verbalizing. the key to any relationship is communication. Every working part of a relationship must listen when fitting and speak when appropriate. Each member of the relationship must know and understand what's going on at all times.

My relationship with Je'Kel is defiantly a partnership we make all important decisions together. Our moral, values, and religion are all aligned. Each of us look to one another for support and encouragement. Together we make a great team.

My experiences with relationships may impact my work as an effective early childhood professional because I've learned to value and respect each member of the relationship's opinion. I know how to be open to others' ideas and I understand that every person is unique. I understand to have a good partnership or relationship that communication and respect is a must.