My Conncections to Play

In our play we reveal what kind of people we are.

Ovid
Roman poet
43 BC–17 or 18 AD

As astronauts and space travelers children puzzle over the future; as dinosaurs and princesses they unearth the past. As weather reporters and restaurant workers they make sense of reality; as monsters and gremlins they make sense of the unreal.

Gretchen Owocki
Contemporary American early childhood educator

Play was a very big deal for me as a child. Some of my favorite memories are with me, my sisters, and neighbors playing in our front yard. Play for me was an escape from the issues that were taking place around me. It was a way for me to construct the world as I thought it should be.

I think play is different today than it was when I was a child. To me play was so innocent back in those days. Now children have much harder realities to deal with in life. A lot of play that I witness is imitation based on the harder events of life. Video games are also huge. It is so easy for a child to plop in front of a tv and play for hours without physically moving around or stretching their imagination. My hope is that one day children can really be innocent and imaginative without being subjected to violence, hate, and cruel acts of crime. For children to have a truly stress free life would be amazing.

Play has definitely shaped me from childhood to adulthood. When I was about 3 or 4 I developed a huge passion for music (which I still have today). I would pretend to put on huge concerts and when I started taking trumpet lessons I would sit outside with my instrument and play as if I were alone on a darkened stage and everyone was watching me. I gained confidence and practice through this. I also learned that I could achieve my dreams if I followed them. As an adult I did achieve that dream as a performer although my life took a different path after the birth of my child. Now about to enter my thirties I carry that imagination and dreaming with me. It helps me to run an effective business and provide my son with a life time of memories. As a teacher I am able to play with my students every day. Professionally, I highly recommend 30 minutes of play a day for adults. Not only is it good for your health to move around, giggle, and smile BUT it also keeps you young at heart!

 

These are some toys I had from my childhood. I made many phone calls on the phone that you could pull with a string. Rainbow Bright could do anything! She went on so many adventures and solved so many problems. She was my childhood hero. I actually had a microphone. Thats how I put on my concerts!!!