Two quotes that summarize what play meant and still means to me are:
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." -Plato
"If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society." - Jean Piaget
______________________________________________________________________________
PLAY ITEMS FOR MY YOUNGER SELF.......
| Cabbage Patch Dolls, I had at least 10 of them! |
| One of my FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TOYS Paper Dolls....boy, did I ever play with these! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
In my childhood, I spent a lot of time alone in my room playing by myself. I remember playing with my dolls and doing a lot of imaginary play in the mirror. I was an only child so most of my memories are of playing by myself, but I do have a few random memories of playing with Lincoln Logs in preschool with a boy named Peter. We used to build together and I remember always following him and playing what he wanted to play. I don't remember my teachers much, just Peter being very nice to me and always building legos and blocks with me for my dolls.
I don't think play has changed all that much because I see my students playing with the same things I used to play with and I see friendships that are inseparable. I have two students that I have to encourage to go to different centers because they choose to do the same things together every single day and their parents want them exposed to other friends and other learning centers. I also see my two sons playing together all the time and it's different than my upbringing because they have eachother so they always have a playmate.
I think play was a big part of why I wanted to become a teacher. I always played "school" in my room and my cabbage patch dolls were my students. I used a chalk board to teach them and I always, always talked to myself in the mirror. Some things haven't changed much because I still talk to myself in the mirror all the time! ha ha ha.... I also love to play with my kids and with my students and I always want to have that little kid in me alive inside! You have to live a little and that means being a kid sometimes, it's the funnest time of your life!
|
I enjoyed reading your quotes. I think that when playing with your own children or as a teacher will only build the relationship with them. Kids now a days, i agree, still play with the same toys that I played with when i was younger. Younger kids are focusing more on technology now and playing games on technology.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love your quotes! They speak to my heart - always keep playing. Your childhood play was very different from my own. I had three siblings and we were all one year apart! I always had a playmate. I don't remember much about toys I had, but we were outside all the time and we made a lot of pretend toys from natural items.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the wonderful things about working with children is observing them while playing, seeing the pleasure they get from playing, and the constant reminder of how important play is. It truly is learning at its best!
ReplyDeleteJeanette,
ReplyDeleteI love the quotes you used and I enjoyed reading your blog. What was some of your thoughts that ran across your mind as you reflected on your own connections to play?
Jasmyn
I have to be honest, remembering my play made me realize how lonely it actually was. My children are blessed to have playmates in eachother everyday. I didn't realize it at the time, of course, but it would've been really great to have grown up with a little sister or brother....how different!
DeleteThanks for posting EVERYONE!!