My Connection to Play

Quotes:

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” ~ Plato (Greek philosopher)

“Play is the highest form of research.” ~ Albert Einstein (scientist)

Quotes about learning and play. (n.d.) Child's Play Magazine. Retrieved from

           http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/Quotes/index.htm

Pictures:

 

 

These pictures represent the type of play that I engaged in as a child. History was always a love of mine, and no matter what I was playing, it was always set, in my mind, in the 1800s. I would put on one of my older sister's dresses so that it would be long like the women wore a long time ago. I mostly played at being a school teacher in a one room school house. That is what the third picture represents. I loved pretending, but what I loved most about it was being in another time. When I could, I would make my brothers be my pupils, and I had a wagon that I used as my horse and buggy.

Support: 

As a child in love with history, my parents were my biggest supporters. When they could they would take me to tour old houses, visit Gettysburg, or the museum in Harrisburg. Most importantly, they allowed me to pretend about being born 200 years early and allowed me to play with objects around the house that would support my play. My parents live in a house that was built in 1900, that was not old enough for me but it help with my pretending. I would use certain rooms and antiques that my parents have for my need to be in a different time. Thinking about it now, I cannot believe they allowed it, I used a wash stand that belonged to my father's mother as my desk. But by allowing this, they allowed me my creative side to open and my play to form.

Difference in Play:

When I see children playing today I see a difference from when I was younger. We did have the things that children today have. When or if I played at being in a kitchen, I was playing with things in my mother's kitchen, I did not have the little kitchen sets that children have. I needed to pretend or make believe more when I was at play. Children today do use their imaginations, I just do not know if they use them as much as I had to do. I also see a difference in how girls play, they do not limit themselves to roles like I did, and more children today do not have the traditional family setting like I had growing up. Playing a family role for my childhood would include a mom, dad, and several babies, now children have a mom or a dad or a granny or another member. The roles changed as society has changed, children are playing at what they know, like I did. I hope children today are still able to expand their creativity because they have use of everything and do not have to pretend as much. I like to see children having to use different objects to represent another, it lets me know their minds are at work while they are at play.