Two quotes that I believe reflect my
childhood outlook on play are:
- “I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away.” – Heath Ledger
- “Like sand on a beach, the brain bears the footprints of the decisions we have made, the skills we have learned, the actions we have taken...”
And a few essential play items for my
younger self were:
When I was younger—up until the age
of six—I had an older brother who modeled play and my mother
babysat with two other children in her home. After my brother passed
away, leaving me as an only child, the only person I played with was
my mom. In addition, I was a member of Brownies, and had some play
experiences there. Finally, there were 3 families in my neighborhood
who had young girls who played together. Unlike modern times, we
could head three or four houses down the street and play with each
other (whereas now, parents are much more protective concerning
letting them play outside).
A lot of play, in an early childhood
center, is very similar to play as I was a child. Dramatic play
items, books and puzzles, blocks, and art supplies are still
extremely commonplace in a preschool classroom. However, outside of
the classroom, most children are exposed to a wide variety of
electronic media (even from birth!). There's also a large amount of
social groups that children sign up to, such as gymnastic teams and
church youth groups; was available when I was a child was boy and
girl scouts, realistically. So, I suppose you can say that the fact
parents don't let their children have neighborhood playmates is
somewhat remedied by the numerous social groups children often are
involved in now.
As a child, I think a lot of things I
was involved with as a child were essentially for babysitting
purposes. The definition of play changed to me when my first child
was born. Rather than being simply for babysitting or social
involvement, I began to see play as a way to teach children (as
everyone wants a smart baby). This only progressed once I began my
post secondary education and started to learn about play with
purpose. I've become so much of an advocate of playing with a
purpose, even my blog is named after it.
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