My Connections to Play

Here are three quotes that I feel summarize what play represented for me in childhood:

Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation.

Stuart Brown, M.D.

Play, while it cannot change the external realities of children’s lives, can be a vehicle for children to explore and enjoy their differences and similarities and to create, even for a brief time, a more just world where everyone is an equal and valued participant.

Patricia G. Ramsey, Contemporary American educational psychologist

It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.

Leo F. Buscaglia Education Specialist

The lilac bush brings back so many memories of my childhood. My siblings and I would play in the huge lilac bush behind our house for hours. We would play house, school, cops and robbers, and it also is where I would go and hide to just get away. It was a magical world that we brought to life with our imagination. It was even great in the winter with the snow, and then it became a winter wonderland to explore.

Crayons! My mother to this today still reminds me how picky I was and still am about what crayons I had. They had to be Crayola crayons. I could color for hours on end. I would just get lost while coloring. It was a way for me to relax and just think. I loved watching the colors fill the pages. I would color in coloring books and also draw pictures on my own. To this day I still love to color; it brings back a lot of great memories.

The swing set too brings back memories. It was not only a place for my sister, my brother and I to swing, and slide on, but it was a safe spot while playing tag. It was a hide out when playing cops and robbers with the neighbor children. It was the local hang out in the summer just to talk and be with everyone. 

My parents were very supportive of play when I was younger. They would sometimes participate in the play. I was very lucky because I was always surrounded with adults who would support imaginative play. My mother encouraged my love of art and coloring. My father was a wonderful story teller; my siblings and I would use some of his stories in our play outside. I was very lucky growing up because I grew up in a small neighborhood where it was safe to run around and all the adults would watch out for all the children.

I feel that play has changed since my childhood. I remember playing outside and running around the neighborhood without a care in the world. My parents would always know where we were because all the adults would keep an eye on us and let them know where we were. Nowadays I watch my children when they are outside. They barely live my sight. It makes me sad that they don’t get to experience the freedom that I had growing up. I think the main difference is where we live. I grew up in a small neighborhood where everyone knew everyone. Today we live in a city and we don’t even know the neighbors who live right beside us. My children have that same wild imagination that I had as a child but they play more in the house then outside. They get to go outside and play when they are visiting their grandparents but at times I feel they are missing out on their childhood because they can’t go outside at home and play as much as I wish they could.

I feel that play keeps me young. I would hate not being able to play. Play is a very important part of life. It lets us learn and explore new things. I love to interact and play with my own children and watch them learn while they play. As we grow older, our play does change a little but the underlying concept is always there. Play is fun, and for me learning needs to be fun. I feel that as educators we need to make sure our students are learning but also having fun while learning. They will take in so much more if they are enjoying what they are learning about.

One last thought, I know that I have already included this in my discussion but I feel that this poem really summarizes the importance of play.

Just Playing
By: Original Author Unknown

When I'm building in the block room,
Please don't say I'm "Just playing."
For, you see, I'm learning as I play,
About balance, I may be an architect someday.

When I'm getting all dressed up,
Setting the table, caring for the babies,
Don't get the idea I'm "Just Playing."
I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint,
Or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay,
Please don't let me hear you say, "He is Just Playing."
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I just might be a teacher someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "playing" at my school,
Please don't feel the time is wasted in "play."
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate.
I may be in business someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods,
Please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is "Just Play."
I'm learning to follow directions and see the differences.
I may be a cook someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run, and move my body,
Please don't say I'm "Just Playing."
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning how my body works.
I may be a doctor, nurse, or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today,
And I say, "I just played."
Please don't misunderstand me.
For, you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.
I'm preparing for tomorrow.
Today, I am a child and my work is play.

References:

Preschool Education (1997-2010) Just Playing, Original Author Unknown. Retrieved from: http://www.preschooleducation.com/tpoem.shtml

PBWorks (2010) The Playful Learning Wiki: Play Quotes. Retrieved from:    http://playfullearning.pbworks.com/w/page/17219566/Play-Quotes