My Connections to Play

Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.

Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.

O. Fred Donaldson
Contemporary American martial arts master

The two play items that I have chosen to include with this blog are my baby pillow and my teddy bear.  Both items are extremely dear to me, and both items were involved in my play throughout my childhood.  My baby pillow could become home plate in a kickball game, a magic carpet during fantasy play, or a bed for one of my dolls.  My teddy bear was always my “star student” while I was teaching my stuffed animals. 

Two people who supported play when I was younger were my mother and my sister.  Play was very important in my childhood.  My mother supported my play by providing me with two chalkboards and endless supplies of white and colored chalk that I used to “teach” my stuffed animals and dolls.  She would also encourage play by taking me and my siblings to the neighborhood park to play.  At our river house, my sister and I would build sand castles for hours on the dirt road in front of our cottage while my mother watched and brought us more buckets or cups of water.  My sister supported my play by being my constant playmate.  She went along with my imaginary games and scenarios, and I went along with her creative games and dramatic play experiences. I learned how to play fairly and not-so-fairly from her.  I also learned how to think and reason for myself, how to play by the rules, and how to let my imagination run wild.   

In today’s world, I think play has become much more structured.  It seems to be organized around sports practices.  Play also appears to be centered on video games or electronic devices.  Although, some parents arrange playdates for their children, these gatherings are often adult-directed and leave little time for the children to play freely.  Although play at school still occurs, the amount of time devoted to play has lessened than when I was in school. 

In my opinion, play helps to develop one’s cognitive, social, and physical skills.  Play teaches you how to be creative and think for yourself.  It also teaches you how to interact with others.  Play teaches problem-solving skills.  All of these skills are important for one’s healthy development throughout their childhood and into adulthood.   

Relationship Reflection 

As I reflect on my relationships and partnerships with different people in my life, I realize that I, for the most part, I keep my professional life and those partnerships separate from the relationships in my personal life.   

In my professional life, I have close friendships with two co-workers that extend outside of school.  A shared trust has developed between us from years of working together and a close friendship has grown, as well.  We have supported each other through the births of one’s children and the ending of one’s marriage.  However, this type of relationship is not what I have with most of my co-workers.  With the majority of my co-workers, I have a partnership based on shared experiences within the school, shared goals, and a shared workspace.  We help each other out with materials, students, paperwork, and duties.  There is a friendship there, but it is based on a working partnership.  As I think about the relationship that I have with these two co-workers as opposed to the partnership I have with the others, I think I would sum it up as follows:  In a partnership, the expectation of the “give and take” is a 50-50 split, or 60-40 at times.  However, in a relationship, the percentage is constantly changing depending on the needs of the individuals.  The people in the relationship understand this and adjust accordingly.

My closest relationships are with my immediate family and a small group of close-knit friends.  These relationships are important to me because they keep me balanced and centered in my life.  They are the people that I trust the most and who support me unconditionally, and they feel the same way towards me.  The challenges that I face in maintaining these relationships is that only my closest friends live in the same state as me.  Outside of my children, my immediate family lives in other states.  That can be difficult.  Luckily, we often talk on the phone to stay in touch and that helps to maintain the relationships.

I think that my experiences with relationships/partnerships have impacted my work as an effective early childhood professional, in that it has helped me to be more open and understanding to other people’s needs.  It has helped me to become a better listener.  From my personal experiences, I have learned that sometimes people just need/want someone to listen to them.  I try to carry that over into my partnerships with parents.