Connections to Play

 Quotes that represent play in my childhood

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

               ― Plato

“Genius is play, and man's capacity for achieving genius is infinite, and many may achieve genius only through play.”  ― William Saroyan

 

 

Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a school teacher and I would play school all the time.  I would use my dolls as my students and would teach them lessons.  I would use paper, chalkboards and books to play pretend school. 

As a child growing up we played with dolls, played kick ball, hide and go seek and other outdoor physical games. Sometimes I would hate to go outside, especially during the summer because it was so hot but my parents encouraged us to engage in physical activity.  Sometimes my parents or even grandparents would come outside to play with my sisters, cousins and I and that would make it that much more fun to have them interacting with us.  

In today's world most children would much rather watch television or play video games and feel like it's a punishment to go outside and play.  It's sad but parents don't even reinforce childhood play like my parents did when I was growing up.  This is one of the reasons I feel child obesity is at an all time high because they don't engage in enough physical activity.  Parents should encourage their children to play, read books and they should minimize the use of video games and television.  If parents new the importance of play in a child's development I believe they would be more apt to encourage play and even participate in it with their children.  As a early childhood professional it is my hope that parents become more knowledgeable about play and development of their child and its importance.

 

Relationship Reflections

Relationships are important because it helps to mold a person into who they will become.  It is important that relationships are healthy and enjoyable because it can take away from a person's self-worth if they aren't. 

Relationships are important to me because the relationships that I have formed throughout my life has either influenced me to want to do better, made me happier or have just taught me many things.  I will admit that some relationships that I have had over the years have come to an end(one's with friend's) because I feel that I had outgrown those relationships and I had to cut my losses and move on. However I have had some relationships that I will forever be grateful for and these people will always be in my life.

One of my biggest cheerleaders is my mother, she is my rock.  I love this lady with all of my being because she is my mom and I am who I am because of her.  She has taught me so many things throughout my life and no matter what my plans are she always supports me.  She's not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong and she will still put me in my place if she needs to and I listen because I know she will never tell me anything that would hurt me or hinder me. 

My mother in law passed away on July 31, 2013 and she was my second mom.  I am grateful because I had the opportunity to know her and to love her.  The biggest/happiest thing that I can say about her is that she treated me as one of her own.  She also supported me, encouraged me and was just an all around good person.  She would also put me in my place if I needed it, and her advice was never taken for granted.  We could talk about anything and most important, unlike a lot of mother in laws she was never opinionated and she never chose sides if issues would arise.  She is truly missed!!

My husband is my best friend.  We can talk and laugh about anything.  We have been married for 10 years, been together for 13.  Although we have had challenges, communication has always been the key to overcoming those challenges.  He is my number 1 fan.  He encourages me when I don't have the energy to encourage myself.  No matter the decisions I have made he always supports me and he always had my back.

My sisters are older than me but they make me feel like I'm the oldest sometimes.  I refer to them at times as my little older sisters.  I don't know if they know how much they inspire me.  They are more outgoing than I, I tend to be more serious and since we were little kids up until this day they encourage me, make me laugh and make me cry.  But on that same note they tend to come to me for advice which lets me know that they value my opinion because over the years they have learned that I am never going to tell them what they want to hear but the truth and they appreciate me for that.  I love them to pieces. 

All of the relationships mentioned have help mold me into the person that I am and the person that I'm becoming.  It has taught me as a professional that all relationships take time, effort, trust and communication.  These things help me as a professional daily and when building partnerships with families.  When building partnerships with families you must put forth the effort to start the process and show families that they can trust you and that you aren't their to judge them and there must be constant communication to keep those relationships going.  Most of all it takes work from both parties and it can never be one-sided because if so partnerships/relationships will never be successful. 

"My Connections to Play"

Quotes that represent play in my childhood

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

― Plato

“Genius is play, and man's capacity for achieving genius is infinite, and many may achieve genius only through play.”  ― William Saroyan

Essential Play Items for my younger self

People Who Supported Play/The Role of Play in my Childhood

Growing up as a child I really didn’t do a lot of playing.  Just like many parents, my parents use to tell me all the time as a child to go outside and play.  To me I thought that was a punishment because all I wanted to do is get my doll babies and play school growing up.  I have always loved to read and I would get my dolls, sit them all upright and read them a story, or I would get my Etch & Sketch and pretend it was my chalkboard and try and teach them how to do math problems.  The most memorable times of play for me was play that wasn’t forced.  When I use to visit my grandparents on the weekends I use to love to play outside with my grandfather.  When we were around he acted like a big kid with us, playing softball, 1, 2, 3, Red Light, Hide and go seek, kickball and many more.  This made playing fun and it also allowed me to get the exercise that I needed because when at home all I ever wanted to do was play school or house. 

Play today versus the past

In my opinion play is totally different in 2013 versus 30 years ago.  When I was growing up children ran, jumped and played all day long or until they were called in the house and then they still wanted to play.  However today I don’t think that children are playing enough.  They still play the same games today but are more interested in video games and television.  Because of this, children aren’t utilizing their muscles and they aren’t getting the exercise that they need.  I feel that play is a vital role in a child’s development and that parents should cut the televisions off, take the video games away and encourage their children to go outside and play so that they can exercise their muscles so that they can develop physically.

My thoughts regarding play

As a child I didn’t know the importance of play, as I have grown and learned play is a vital role in a child’s development.  Although I would much rather have played with my dolls as a child, I still was able to go outside and interact with my siblings and cousins, especially on the weekends with my grandfather.  I think that it’s important that play is continuously enforced because stimulated play is part of children’s healthy development and can help with the prevention of childhood obesity. 

Relationship Reflection

I have always heard people say, you can’t live in this world alone; this is why I am thankful that I have people in my life who love me unconditionally.  My closest relationships are with my husband, my mom and my siblings.  These people are the most important to me even though I have many other people who I know without a doubt love me.

Relationships are important to me, some don’t last and some last forever.  They have molded me to become the person that I am today.  You not only learn from relationships but you grow from the bonds that are built and they continuously teach me the meaning of unconditional love and how to not only receive it, but give it as well.

My husband, Tracy is my number one fan.  He supports me not just emotionally but in every aspect.  He encourages me to go after my dreams and encourages me.  He doesn’t judge me but isn’t afraid to tell me when I am wrong.  He loves me unconditionally and in turn taught me how to do the same.  We can be silly together and serious together.  He knows me inside out and knows what makes me tick, he cares about feelings and always has a listening ear and I do the same for him.  We have grown together as individuals and as a couple and after ten years of marriage our relationship and bond together continues to grow because of the love and support that we show one another.

My mom, Peggy is the best even though she still treats me like a little girl instead of 34 year old.  She always shares her experiences and we can talk about anything without judging.  She also supports my aspirations and dreams and about hard work.  She is a good example of what a mother should be.  She is a woman of grace and her example showed me how to be one also.  We don’t always agree but we have learned that we don’t always have to.  She gives me respect as a young woman but will remind me if need be that although I’m not a child, I’m still her child. 

My siblings, Christee and Renee are older than me, but I feel like the oldest.  They come to me for advice and for moral support.  They value my opinion/feedback when it’s offered and it means a lot to know that they value the thinks that I have to say and even come to me when they need to.  We have our sibling rivalries from time to time but the unconditional love and support that we show one another keeps our bond close and unbreakable.

All of these relationships are important and because they continue to grow and continue to shape the person that I am.  We maintain these bonds because we communicate and respect one another which are vital in any relationship.  We listen to one another and we care about each other’s feelings.  The one characteristic that makes each of these relationships special is the unconditional love and respect that we show one to another.

These relationships contribute to me as a professional because I have learned through these relationships that if my heart isn’t in it nothing will manifest.  So I apply that same thing to my work, if my heart isn’t in what I do then I won’t be successful at it and I won’t be able to build positive and meaningful relationships with the children and families that I serve.

“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Testing For Intelligence

Areas that I feel should be measured when considering the whole child are Social/Emotion and Language Development, Cognitive and Gross Motor Skills as well as the physical development of the child.  I feel that all these areas are important to a child's development when considering the whole child, however I don't feel that you can get a full picture of the whole child by standardized testing alone.  I feel this way because some children test exceptionally well and some don't test well as all.  I do believe that there are good and bad test takers, and for those who are not good test takers there should be some other form of assessment to see if the child is developing at his/her full potential.  I feel this could be done by observations by the parents, educators and other professionals who are skilled in working with children.  I think that's it's important to assess children, I just don't believe or agree that all children should be tested the same way because they don't learn the same; what works for one doesn't mean that it's going to work for all. 

In China there are typically two ways to assess children and they are the classroom and external assessments.  The classroom assessment is based on classroom performance, teacher and parent observations, assessments from peers, quizzes and test, performance based assessments and portfolios.  The Chinese believe that many assessments taken over a period of time will give a more comprehensive picture of what a child is capable of.  The other form of assessment measures the child's performance as well as how effective the program is, is what they call the external assessments.  These are done through numerous standardized test. 

I feel that if children are being assessed everything should be looked at when considering the whole child.  I've never been a fan of testing, not being a fan doesn't mean that I didn't know the material, it just means I don't test well.  Test anxiety is real and I do believe that when you have a person who suffers from test anxiety, you'll have a person who won't do well on that test.

Consequences of Stress on Childrens Development

I count it as a blessing that I've never experienced many stressors as a child.  I don't know if my parents hid a lot of things from me to make me think that I was living the good life, however, I do know that I was very blessed growing up and didn't even realize it.

Japan

After years of stagnation and widening income disparities, this once proudly egalitarian nation is belated waking up to the fact that it has a large and growing number of poor people (Fackler, 2010).  In 2007 at least 20 million Japanese people lived in poverty.  Over half of the impoverished are single mothers but because of their culture and them being afraid that they would be labeled most impoverished families try to keep up with the appearance of middle class Japanese families.  1 in 7 children in Japan is living in poverty and the government supplies aid to those children but by doing this education funds cost have to be cut.  Which starts a cycle of children being under-education which impacts all areas of development and it gives them a lifetime of low-wage work which could be a domino effect in families which will keep them in poverty their entire lives.  The poverty that families, including single families are subject to isolates them from the public view and even family members.  Children don't receive the education that they receives which affects their development, they stay out of public view which can also affect their development especially their social development. 

Reference

The New York Times-Asia Pacific-Japan Tries to Face Up to Growing Poverty Problem (Fackler, 2010)
     http://www.nytimes.com