"My Connection To Play"
“Play
gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.”
Mr.
Rogers
“Play
is the highest form of research.”
Albert
Einstein
When playing as a child I was encourage to go outside and play my own way. Growing up I had plenty of opportunities to go out and play with old friends, and meet new friends. I could not sit in the house and say there was nothing to do, because the response to that was go outside and find some one to play with. Also it did not matter what season it was when it came to play. My parents believed that fresh air was what I needed to explore, grow, and be healthy. As a result I still love being outdoors.
Play today is different than when I was
young. Most children today are not encouraged to go out and play by
their parents. Then you have children that can not play freely
because they do not have a safe environment to play in. On the other
hand you have some children who do not want to go out and play. These
children and some of their parents believe play is being connected to
a game system or some other type of technology that do most of the
thinking for their child. This could explain why some children enter
preschool not knowing how to socialize or pretend while playing.
Therefore my hope for children today is that parents encourage their
children to get out and experience nature or take them to an
environment that is set up for children to play freely in order that
they can learn to play, and interact with other children.
I believe by being encouraged to go
outside, and play to meet other children, it guided me with the tools
of socializing, and using my imagination through pretend play.
Moreover I believe free play as a child gave me the confidence in
adulthood to meet new people and share in their interest of trying
new things.
Edith,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I agree with your parents that fresh air is good for you no matter what the conditions are outside. I use to love to go outside in the snow and make snow angels or a snow man. I live in Chicago and we have had a lot of snow this year and make sure my child goes out and get at least 10 minutes worth of play in the snow. She loves to play in it as well and we have fun throwing snowballs at each other. Play is not just sitting in front of a television or hand held device, play is actually physically moving around.
HI Edith,
ReplyDeleteLike you when I was a child we spent most of the time outside playing. We made mud cakes and put them in the sun to dry. I do not know if a lot of kids today know how to jump rope or play ring around the roses. They do not get as much physical activity as we did we were growing up.
Hi Barbara,
DeleteYou made me laugh because I forgot all about making mud pies as we called them. And thinking back our parents did not get upset when we got dirty, they just asked us if we had fun and told us its time to take a bath.
HI Edith,
ReplyDeleteLike you when I was a child we spent most of the time outside playing. We made mud cakes and put them in the sun to dry. I do not think a lot of kids today know how to jump rope or play ring around the rosie. They do not get as much physical activity as we did when we were growing up. Enjoyed your post.