“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
― 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
I was the same way. I grew up in the 80s and 90s I played outside alot. Me and friends would catch lighting bugs. I thought those bugs were so cool. I grew up with 4 other siblings as well.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard that quote before. I really enjoyed it. It seems like "play" has changed over the years. It went from being outside and being physical to being sitting around using electronic devices. When I was younger, one of my aunts used to lock us outside because she got tired of us running back and forth in and out of my great grandfather's house. Needless to say, we became really creative about finding things to get into outside.
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