My Connection to Play

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct"-Carl Jung

"The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery"-Erik H. Erikson

I believe that play is one of the most important attributes to a child's learning. Children not only practice what they learn through play, but they also learn new skills through self exploration.  I chose these two quotes because when I was searching for quotes, these two stood out to me the most.  We cannot teach a child everything that he is to know, some things the child will have to learn on his own.  Therefore, as a child plays he is not only enjoying his fun, youthful, creative side but he is also embarking on a journey of learning how to communicate with others, learning how things work as he gets older (such as counting fake money, or cooking pretend food), also by running freely and using his imagination while engaging in outside play.

When I was younger, I played outside for hours.  My parents encouraged me to play outside, and I was not allowed to play inside if the weather was nice.  I was also allowed to ride my bike freely up and down our street, as well as go walking through the trails that were by my house.  My parents were not worried about someone kidnapping me, because our neighborhood was very safe.  I can honestly say my parents believed in the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child".  However, nowadays parents are scared to let their child play in the front yard unsupervised due to all that is going on in the world today.  As a parent now, I can say that I am more skeptical about the things I allow my child to do; I would not dare allow my son to ride his bike up and down our street due to drivers not respecting the speed limit.

I am thankful that my parents encouraged me to play outside.  I learned how to make mudcakes, and even learned what death was due to us having funerals for our animals that passed away.  Things are most definitely different now. Most children are placed in front of technology for play, and are not using their imagination at all.  As an educator I will do my best to ensure that my student will get the chance to play.

I put a picture of a cabbage patch doll, because I loved this doll growing up! It was a doll that looked like me and I loved it.  I put a picture of an easy bake oven, because as a young child I enjoyed cooking.  To this day I still love to cook!