My Connections to Play

"Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child."  ~Joan Almon
"Children need the freedom and time to play.  Play is not a luxury.  Play is a necessity."  ~Kay Redfield Jamison

Looking back on my childhood, I believe people supported my play by allowing me to be a child, explore my environment, hours of unstructured time, the great outdoors, and cousins and neighborhood friends.  Time was spent outdoors, with a ball, bike, and outdoor pets.  Wow, thinking back, I didn't have much in the way of "toys".  However, the little I did have allowed for creativity, freedom, learning how to care for pets and eventually others, problem-solving, games with rules, negotiation, and conflict-resolution.  Many of these skills have carried through to adulthood.   These were the times where x's were made in stones for bases, rocks were used to make marks on the road for start and finish lines, and safety was experienced through play.  Considering my age, it was not that long ago that this type of play was able to occur. 
                   
                   Kickball                                        Bicycle with basket and banana seat

Has this type of play nearly disappeared?  From research and my observations, it is seeming so.  Todays parents are concerned about safety, find it easier to keep track of children while indoors, do not have open areas, parks, or yards to let their children play in, or are tied up with work, school, etc. to take the time to travel to parks.  The electronic age has taken over!  It is my hope that we will look back to previous generations and understand and value all they had to offer.  To this day, I make sure my own children have that unstructured time outside with each other and neighborhood friends.  They also are provided with balls, bikes, pogo sticks, trees, and many other open-ended toys.  Do they have electronics, of course, but like anything, their is a time and place for those items. 

As I reflect back on my childhood, I am proud that I was given such opportunities to play.  I also remember kindergarten as a time for arts and crafts, playing, making friends, and cookies and milk.  I don't even remember doing many worksheets or even "learning", so play must have been a priority back then.  Can we go back to those good old days?  I hope sooner than later.

Relationship Reflection

As I reflect on relationships that were meaningful in my life, there are three that stand out the most:  my family, my closest friends, and my co-workers.  Each have similar and different qualities about them that help keep our relationships positive and healthy.

When thinking of my family relationships, I think of my husband.  He is the man that sticks by me through thick and thin.  I met my husband when going to college (for the first time).  Our relationship grew immediately.  We enjoyed similar activities, had similar friends, and had the same views about raising a family.  We had differences as well, which is where other relationships in my life come into play!  Some of these include our professions and SPORTS!  Compromising, openness, and a sense of humor are characteristics of our relationship that have kept us happily together. 

Some of my closest friends, before meeting my husband and today, are yet another positive piece to healthy relationships in  my life.  Friend relationships are give and take, talk and listen, and laugh and cry.  They are the ones that are their when a break from everything is needed and deserved.  Never judgmental and always available.  Although we all have families and are quite busy, we never forget to find time for each other and schedule "girl days/nights out". 

Lastly, my co-workers...  They share the same profession and have similiar professional goals.  We are there to remind each other to remain open minded, continue to become life long learners, be conscience of our biases and to not forget what we have gone to college for...children and their families.  And although it is at times hard to do all of these things, they are the ones to listen and share powerful words to remind me that life is a challenge, but together we are able to reach our dreams.  Dreams in our profession, dreams for our family, and dreams for ourselves. 

These personal relationship experiences are similar experiences involved with working with children and their families.  It is important to be open minded, compromise, aware of biases and be able to put them aside, and both listen and know when to share information.