"My Connections to Play."

"Play is a major avenue for learning to manage anxiety. It gives the child a safe space
where she can experiment at will, suspending the rules and constraints of physical and
social reality. In play, the child becomes master rather than subject.... Play allows the
child to transcend passivity and to become the active doer of what happens around her."

--Alicia F. Lieberman, author, The Emotional Life --

of the Toddler

 

“When kids play, they remember. They may not be aware they are learning, but they sure
are aware they are having fun. When you have a good belly laugh with your siblings or
parents or friends, that stays with you. And the great thing is that is comes so naturally…
if we only let it.”

--Rebecca Krook, play facilitator for kids with

disabilities

 

 

Each of these images remind me of my childhood.  I was the only child until the age of 5.  During this time so enjoyed being the "girl" in my dad's life.  My dad would take me to Toys R Us just about every week to pick out a my little pony.  I had a very large collection.  When my cousins would come over, we played for hours pretending to be different characters with these ponies. 

 

At age 5 my brother was born.  Two years later another brother was born and a year after my parents adopted my sister.  In the back yard of our home my dad built a play set with a swing, slide , and fort.  We spent hours playing on this set.  Some times my mother would have to make us come in from playing so long.  Also my neighborhood friends enjoyed the play set as well.

 

When I was 6 I began playing T-Ball.  My dad being an athlete himself loved sports and I instantly fell in love with the game as well.  It came very natural to me and was extremely fun as a child.  This sport had so much influence on my childhood that it became a large part of what molded me in to the person I am and the life I have today.  I played through college and continue to play in adult leagues.

 

I believe that play today has changed for children because of the advancement in technology.  There is more television watching an vidiogame playing than what I remember as a child.  Also thinking back to my childhood,  all of the neighborhood children would play out side for hours at a time and this is something that I don't see as much in my neighborhood now.  On the other hand, as a parent today, I'm not sure that I would give my child the independent freedom of play that I was given years ago.

Relationship Reflection

My husband is the closest relationship and partnership that I have today.  We met 13 yrs ago in college and married in 2006.  We have a 3 yrs old son together and through our commitment to each other in addition to parenting responsibilities our relationship has evolved from young care free teens into committed parents and business partners.  Along the way the changes in our relationship have been learning experiences of each other.  At one time we were associates who grew in to friends and now we have gone further in having shared legal responsibilities.  We have not always agreed on decision making processes or roles, or even shared the same views.  In our commitment of marriage and family we lave learned new expectations of each other and and discovered the true meaning of compromise and the importance of communication.  In order to grow together we needed to invest in rediscovering each other in alternative ways. Seeing each other in a new light has made me respect his entrepreneur spirit, and he appreciates my concrete thinking style.  I expect as we continue to grow our relationship will continue to change in ways ; but just as we have made adjustments in the past I believe we will continue the same in the future in order to maintain our commitment.  The great thing is that we understand the commonality of the goals we share but realize our views of how to reach the goal may differ.  I believe that this relationship has prepared me for the early child hood field because I have learned what a true partnership means and realized my way is not the only way.  I have learned one of the most effective tools of communication, which is listening to others.  This is imperative with creating partnership with other parents who's opinions are just as valuable as mine.  I plan to use my partnership experience when entering the early childhood field.

My relationship with my mom is the longest of my life.  She gave birth to me at 15yrs and we have been joined at the hip since.  Although very close, at times our closeness feels like a sister connection rather than mom and daughter; but none the less, truly best friends and still to this day.  We have both changed very much over the years and had similar goals of making changes in our lives, such as educational goals to encounter better success.  For example we both were enrolled in school at the same time but thankfully at different institutions.  I believe that my relationship with my mom prepares me for the early child hood field by eliminating presumptions of young mothers.  There are many young mothers today who are challenged by parenthood but I understand that this does not limit their lives or futures.  I understand the challenges and situations young single mothers are faced with and will be more encouraging to them as a support because I have seen the struggle and the glory first hand.