My Connections to Play

The world is your playground.  Why aren't you playing?       -Ellie Katz

 “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 (childhood educator)

Stuffed animals in general were always a must

Barbie dolls went everywhere with me!

I loved to color and draw

I will never forget this toy

Great pass time for my brother and I

The original Little People

While growing up, play was something that my parents supported whole-heartedly. Our basement was full of toys that used our imaginations and our backyard was always filled with friends. We built sandcastles in our turtle sandbox and pretended to fly to space on our swing set. My mother would even take time out of her day and come downstairs and play games with my brother and me. She would be the student when I wanted to be the teacher and she would build pirate ships with my brother and me when we were dreaming of the ocean.

Play today is so much different than it was when I was a child. Now children are sitting at computers or in front of the television with video games. When I was young, that time was limited and then we were told to go outside and play. Now it seems that there are barely any kids playing outside. You have children talking about playing Halo and Call of Duty when the games I played were Sesame Street and a Barbie game on the computer. Walking around a store, you can see the toy section getting smaller and smaller and the video game section getting bigger and bigger.

Play made me realize who I wanted to be when I grew up. I was always playing school and as I was teaching my younger cousins, my parents would tell me how great of a teacher I would be. Even at a young age, I would come up with fun ways to teach the concepts that I already knew. I would get such enjoyment from teaching that for birthdays I would ask for chalk and workbooks so that I could be a more realistic teacher. Play also gave me a chance to get away from the world. We didn’t always live in the best of areas and playing was the chance to get away from it all. As I grew older, play started to change. It turned into sporting events and playing games on the computer (still in limited amounts). As an adult play time is limited, but I still take the time to go swimming, play with my little cousins, and play computer games. Play for me now, is the time I take to relax. I don’t think about anything else and just enjoy what I am doing.

Relationship Reflection

I believe that a strong relationship with someone is the reason you get out of bed in the morning. The strong relationships we have when we are young are the reasons that we grow up to be who we are. It is those people that help nurture us and teach us right from wrong. As we grow older more people come into our lives that help us strive to be the best we can be. It’s those people that put smiles on our faces and make us feel better when we are sad. I was raised by my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My extended family has always been so close that I believe I have a strong relationship with most of them. Below is my family and friends that I have a great relationship with. Further down are the three people I believe I have the strongest relationship with.

 

My Family and Friends

My husband is my life. We have a positive relationship because we care for each other and support each other 100%. I believe the main factor for this is because our relationship goes beyond love. He is my best friend, my partner, who has helped me get through some of the roughest years of my life. I believe that we maintain such a strong relationship due to our honesty and trust in one another. We do everything together and decide on everything together.

 My mother is my first strong relationship in my life. I was her shadow growing up, always following her and idolizing everything that she did. I believe that she is the reason I grew up to be who I am today. Growing up, I could tell her anything and she never judged me. She supported me and guided me in the right direction. We maintain such a strong relationship due to talking at least once a week. She’s still that ear when I need to talk and that voice when I need advice.

 My best friend, Sara, is another person to whom I have a strong relationship with. I have known her for fourteen years now and I can’t even imagine who I would be today if I had never met her. She’s the person who can turn a bad situation into a good one, and can put that smile on your face when you think you’ll never smile again. I believe that we have a strong relationship because no matter how long we go without talking or seeing each other we always feel like we picked up where we left off. She is like a sister to me and I know that is a bond that will never be forgotten.

 I believe that the relationships that I have in my life is a key contributor to being an effective early childhood professional. I can take the knowledge that I have gained and build a trusting relationship with each of my students and their families. I believe that the guidance I received from my family and friends will help me guide my students. The relationships that I have had through the years have taught me to love, communicate, and respect people for who they are.