My Connections to Play
Quotes on play
"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."(Diane Ackerman)-Contemporary American author)
"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."- (Kay Redfield Jamison)-Contemporary American professor of psychiatry
I can definitely recall as a child growing I loved playing with dolls pretending to be a teacher and mom at all times. Secondly, I like riding bicycles around the block and at the park with my neighbors on the weekends.
During my childhood days I can recall being engaged in play activities a lot both in and out of my home environment. I can remember my mom bought a big chalkboard for my sister and I to play with and we would use it to pretend teaching one another. We also used it to teach our dolls and plants at home. We were allocated a lot of playtime experiences. At school we were given a lot of opportunity to play both in and out of the classroom environment. Play activities were sometimes planned by my teacher and sometimes we were just allowed free play session wherein we did anything that we felt like doing with our friends. Therefore, I can truly say that play was fully supported by both my family members and educators as a young child growing up.
As it relates to play today, I have observed that not everyone supports it. Some people believe that the children are just running up and down and making noise. I also have observed that even at some schools the whole process of play is ignored and children are exposed to a structured setting of learning, they are not given the opportunity to express and socialize through play as they would have like to at all. I therefore, can strongly say that the whole process of play today is totally different to what I was exposed to as a child. However, I strongly hope that everyone that is involved in interacting with children on a daily basis be educated about the important of play towards the growth and development of their children because through play children are capable of learning skills that no one else can teach them. This is simply because play is self-oriented and intrinsically motivated that unfolds naturally from within.
My thoughts as it regards to the role of play throughout life is that it is very essential towards the development of domains for example brain development which is very crucial in everyone lives. Therefore, I strongly believe that it should be exercised throughout one's life leading into adulthood.
Latoya,
ReplyDeleteI also picked the quote about Play being a necessity because I truly feel that way. I can remember playing all the time as a child and learning in the process. I made lots of friends and enjoyed my childhood. Society wants children to learn, learn, learn but never have anytime to play. I believe that play is learning for children and the more they can get the better they will learn. They will have enough time to be serious once they become adults, even though I think that adults don't take out enough time to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi latoya,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. You helped me remember some very happy times during a very dark time of my life. I too remember setting up my dolls and stuffed animals all along my bed and playing school with them. Sometimes my brother would play too. I remember we would color a lot in my school because I myself was only in kindergarten. I agree with you in the importance of play. Play time not only allows a child to reflect and act out different scenarios they observe throughout the day, it also offers an escape for some children from the harsh realities of an abusive existence. Thank you again sharing and for helping me to remember happier times.
Hi Latoya,
ReplyDeleteI too loved teaching my dolls and stuffed animals. It is so true play in our childhood days was supported by both family and educators children nowadays are computer babies.
I like your comment about how some people just think the children are running up and down and making noise. While this is definitely true now (I have a colleague who seems to think this) I also think it was true when I was growing up. There will always be people who do not appreciate the role play has in development. It is our job as educators to show them the benefits not just to the children but also to the society at large.
ReplyDeleteI remember playing with my Barbie dolls and would go over to my cousin house and we would have play dates with our dolls. We would play for hours with the dolls, and the car, boat and house. Take them everywhere we would go. Now you barely see any child playing with baby dolls anymore, unless they viral dolls.
ReplyDelete