My Connections to Play

Play for my as a child was both structured and unstructured. At the age of 5 I started swimming on a competitive team and participating in ballet and tap lessons. However, my favorite time of play was when I was with my best friend Brittany and our neighborhood friends Rodney and Miguel. If I could go back to that time I would have all 4 of us outside playing tag, making up games, engaging in a game of hide-and-seek and our arguments. As a child (and now my husband would agree) I was bossy. I wanted to run the show, which sometimes did not go over well with the boys and they didn't want to play with me. If we were not running the street we were in my backyard swimming and making up diving games, pretending to be mermaids, or seeing who could hold their breathe the longest. Those days were the greatest though. There wasn't stress just play. If we were thirsty we drank from the hose with the fear if we went in the house we would have to stay in the house. Our only clock was the glow of the street lights. The adults on our block watched after all the kids. All throughout the day you heard our laughter, tears when we scratched up our legs, and us arguing when I was being too bossy. For me play was and is still essential. My type of play now is much different than it was at child but nonetheless still around. Playing as a child was essential for me. Through play I had to learn that when you are not willing to compromise people do not want to play with you, I learned how to manage my feelings and I believe it also helped me to be a leader. Play as an adult keeps me sane. It reminds me that life does not always have to be so serious, I learn new skills, and most importantly I laugh and smile the whole time.

Play today is something much more different. When a kid these days say they are going to play they turn on a game system, computer, or tablet. It is not too often children are choosing to get up, get out and play. With the advancement and popularity of technology outdoors is not much of an interest. However, I will say it is not just technology. Times have changed in the sense of community. Families keep to themselves in their homes in fear of the unknown, violence floods streets making it unsafe to have a foot race, and people are losing their homes making it much harder to establish roots and trust. I believe being aware of the shift in types of play it is even more important to make sure children are getting those opportunities to get out and play.


Below are quotes and images that express and show my idea of my childhood play experiences:

Pausing to listen to an airplane in the sky, stooping to watch a ladybug on a plant, sitting on a rock to watch the waves crash over the quayside - children have their own agendas and timescales.  As they find out more about their world and their place in it, they work hard not to let adults hurry them.  We need to hear their voices.  ~Cathy Nutbrown

The quote to the left expresses my thoughts about out childhood as a whole 

 

Always jump in the puddles! Always skip alongside the flowers. The only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties. Terri Guillemets

 

I chose the image to the right because play for me was always social

 

 

As a child my friends and I were always making some kind of mess and Brittany and I still laugh about our adventures to this day.

I love this because parents these days are always worried about their children getting messy and wanting to play in a mud puddle. We were always messy and it was ok because we got tossed into the bath each night.

My childhood friends and I learned to skate together on our little fisher price skates and from there once we got older we would roller blade to get ice cream.

The Swimming pool. Being on a swim team I lived in the pool and Brittany was right there with me. We would swim until we could not see, our hands looked old, or we were tore out of the pool. We would pretend that there were sharks in the pool and we were beautiful mermaids.