My Connections to Play

Quotes

“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 

Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/Quotes/index.htm

“When we treat children's play as seriously as it deserves, we are helping them feel the joy that's to be found in the creative spirit. It's the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives.” Fred Rogers.  

Retrieved September 28, 2011 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/198598

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.”  A. A. Milne
  Retrieved September 28, 2011 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/81466.A_A_Milne

My sister and I loved to play outside.  I remember we would play outside for hours.  I remember riding my tricycle down the street with my sister standing on the back holding onto me.  My tricycle was unique in that it had a big front wheel.  We never went far on our tricycles as the neighbors would stop us and tell us to go home.   When we tired of our tricycles, we would play with the skipping rope chanting all sorts of rhymes.   In the fall, we would play in the leaves.  We would use our feet and hands to pile the leaves and then create our leaf house.   Sometimes our leaf house was our house and sometimes a maze for our game of chase.  We had a sandbox in the backyard where we would spend hours making castles and potions.  We also had a swing set in the backyard and spent lots of time seeing how high we could go before the swing set started to bump. When we were older, we would play hide and seek with our friends.  Often times we would invent our own games making up crazy rules.   When it was raining, we would stay inside where we would spend hours colouring or making forts using all of the pillows from the couch. We did have Barbie dolls but we were not very gentle with them (cut their hair off).  I remember when I learned to crochet; I made Barbie outfits for my younger sister.   I have fond memories of grandma and grandpa’s house.  We would grab pillows to sit on so we could slide down the stairs (a very bumpy ride).  We did not have a lot of toys, but were very creative with what we had.   We were given the freedom to play.  When we were outside we did not have adult supervision.  My mom could see us out the window.  If we left the house, we would tell her where we were going.    

Today, children are driven EVERYWHERE!  Children are driven to school, to soccer practice, to music lessons, to ballet, to many different programs.  According to David Elkind, “play is being replaced by organized activities” (Elkind,2006).  I wonder why children cannot walk to school.  I wonder why children are not encouraged to be outside playing rather than sitting in front of the television or computer.  The backyard welcomes the child and is a great spot to play and learn.  If not the backyard, then children can go to the park to play.   Of course, many children live in large cities where safety is a concern. I know as parents we were nervous to let our children go to the park alone and always took them. As a child, I had a lot of freedom to be outside without adult supervision.  It is sad that children do not have the same opportunities today.  
As mentioned, as a child,I did not have a lot of toys.  I note the difference to the average child today.  I find it amazing the number of toys children have now.   As parents, we tried to have a balance of toys (not too many but enough).   I can see where parents can fall into the trap of overbuying for their children.  Children and parents are bombarded with toy advertisements and it is easy for children to say “I want.”  It is my hope that parents will recognize the benefits of play whether indoors or outdoors and give their children many opportunities to play.

Currently, my job allows me to continue to play.  I love having the opportunity to share my passion for being active with others for example.    I read an article by Elizabeth Jones entitled “Play across the life cycle from initiative to integrity to transcendence.”  I loved how the author equates her work with play.   When we enjoy our work, I think we tend to be more creative especially if given the opportunity.    According to Jones, as adults we continue to play in other ways-gardening, travelling, taking long walks, dancing, etc.  Jones also states that “the things we learn very well are the things we have time to play at” (Jones, 2003).  Play is about discovering new things, using your imagination to explore and create.  Without play, life would be rather dull!

References

Jones, E. (2003). Play and Creativity. Retrieved September 29, 2011 from http://www.sapo.org.au/pub/pub1903.html

Jones, E. (2011). Play across the life cycle from initiative to integrity to transcendence. Young Children, 66(4), 84-91.

Elkind, D. (2006). Learning through play Retrieved September 29, 2011, from http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/valueofplay/learningthroughplay.htm