"My Connections to Play"

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” ~ O. Fred Donaldson (martial arts master)

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father - Roger Von Oech, Contemporary American creativity guru

These are two quotes that summarize what play represented for me in my childhood. I grew up in a low income home where my parents did not have money to buy me many toys. I remember using my imagination very much during play. I was never into video games. I think because they were barely becoming popular and my parents would have not been able to afford it. Any object that I got my hands on would, in my mind, turn into some type of toy. I would turn household items into props. For example, I loved setting pots and pans out and would envision a huge city where my few figures could battle in. I would also use the green plastic baskets that strawberries would come in and use them as building blocks or cages for some toys I had.

(Plastic basket that strawberries came in when we would by them from the store. I dont see them anymore in stores)













(Pots and pans is where I would love to create my imaginary battle scenes)

I remember my mother being the most influential person in my play. She would throughout the day, spend time with me and go along with my ideas and sometimes help me be creative in the objects I had. She and I would create games with the props we had. I would say i owe my creativity to her. I enjoyed my childhood play days that I saved all of my toys and some household props in the basement as a reminder of those days.

Today's play is somewhat similar from the play in which I engaged in as a child. Children today ask for video games and I see many at school pretend they are a character for those games. At centers where I have been at, I see children expressing their imagination by themselves and with others. I often play with them and make up stories. I feel my play as a child comes out. Even as an adult, I really enjoy playing games with the children. Play is something that I will never be able to stop doing. I can't wait to play with my own children and suggest creative ways to play so that they too, can use their in=imagination Today's technology has 3 year olds walking around with ipads all day and I feel it is not letting children be creative as children use to be though. I feel they are being raised without the social benefits of child-driven play.

Relationship Reflection

Having positive relationships is a vital part of me. I am a very social person with my family, peers and coworkers. I need these relationships to maintain myself more at ease. My life has become easier at home and at work. The relationships at home keep us united just as the ones I carry at work. We share an understanding of our roles as dependent and interdependent beings. We are able to help each other out without hesitation and we help each other without expecting a favor in return.

There are a few things that I do that thankfully come natural to me to maintain my relationships. I do not expect anyone to be responsible for me or my happiness. I make and keep clear agreements and do not expect to agree with each other on every issue. I use a lot of communication to establish a common ground to understand the different points of views. One of the things that has helped me in creating and keeping healthy relationships is that I tell the truth. I remain truthful to myself and to others. I think that for any relationship to function, one must have trust.  I see trust as a special characteristic that makes a relationship into a partnership. Another characteristic that I see that must be present is respect for each other. I use all of these factors in the relationships I share with my family and friends. I do not have time to switch roles and become nicer to one person and not the next. I share my emotions and thoughts evenly. For example, my relationship with my parents are the same with my boss.

A challenge that I have encountered  in  developing and maintaining relationships in the past is to finding time to strengthen some relationships at work. One factor I see works for some is to spend quality time together  aside from work. It is very difficult with busy schedules  to meet up at a restaurant, catch a movie, or simply share hobbies. This time invested to know a person would help me in trying to understand someone's judgment  calls on a daily basis.

My experiences with relationships/ partnerships have had a great impact throughout and currently in trying to become a more effective early childhood professional. This professionalism is linked in overcoming a challenge. Being able to learn how to forgive someone for  not admitting to their mistakes has helped me in my life. In not doing so,  it has created animosity at the work place and I have found it better to just let it go and move on.  This makes the work place a warm and inviting environment and adults as well as children do not feel and tension in the room when they enter.