My Connections to Play

 The quotes I feel summarized what play represented for me in my childhood is one by Herculatus and Fragments and Plato:

“Time is a game played beautifully by children.”

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

I feel these represent me because time goes by so fast, and when children play, and when I was a child and I played, playing becomes more and more sophisticated as I aged and time became measured by how much I played and what I did during play. As an educator of young children, I see time by watching children grow and play. You also can learn about a person socially and emotionally just by how they play and what they chose to play with. I was that child where you could see what I was playing with to learn so much about my likes and dislikes; just like I can see with young children around me in the classroom.

 

When I was a child, things like bike riding and using a bucket, yes, a bucket, was so fun to me because when riding a bike I can challenge myself physically and socially be with friends, and with my bucket, I could do all kinds of things that my imagination allowed for me to do, like collect 4 leaf clovers, or collect flowers and rocks, an make mud pies with my friends.  Play was supported around me by saying to go out and play and explore. It was healthy to get all of that curious energy out and play amongst peers and myself. When I was in school, recess and gym were mandatory for children to be able to play and release energy and get exercise. Now a days with play, it is more systematic in my opinion; like it has to be mapped out more and not just spontaneous and fun and messy. I do like that now it seems play is seen as important and part of curriculum, I just want to see more of it be more child directed than teacher directed. Children learn best about themselves and their environment by playing out how they see reality. Schools now seem to not have recess or PE be a mandatory thing as it was for me in school. I just hope that in the future, schools can get back to having children play, and let them be messy and explore with some boundaries, and not fully take away from the learning experience play has to offer.

Play is essential not just for children, but for adults. I still love to do things that are carefree where I can re-discover and learn through play. Play for me can be simple as games with my friends, or doing things that children once did, like run and play hide and seek, or travel. Playing in my childhood has taught me to always be open to exploring and learning more about my environment, and never to be afraid to try something new. I have taken that same train of though into my adulthood.