My Connection To Play

My Connection to Play

“Play is…more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults – and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.” Stuart Brown

“When you asked me what I did in school today

and I say, 'I just played.' Please don’t misunderstand

me. For you see, I am learning as I play. I am

learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.

Today I am a child and my work is play.”

Anita Wadley, 1974.

The following three toys are the toys I remember the most as a kid. Connect Four is just an all time classic! It teaches strategy techniques! I even play this now with my middle school kids! So much fun! Chutes and Ladders is so memorable because my grandmother used to sit and play this with me all the time! We always played board games and I believe us spending quality time like this together made us really close. Last but no least is the "vintage" Barbie Doll Skates! Not only did i have the skates I had the knee and elbow pads and helmet to match! My mom was all about safety when I began to literally, "hi the ground rolling"! 

 (I cannot believe these are considered vintage now! )

When I was younger play was just apart of life. Not video games, cell phones and/or tv. While all of that was available to us, nothing was better than getting with my friends in the neighborhood to laugh, talk, play, race and what ever else we wanted to do. My mom encourages my sister and I to play all the time, more like forced us out of the house for the day. During play I learned how to get along with others, communication and even conflict resolution. When you are outside all day with pretty much the same group of people everyday, there is bound to be some disagreement. Well, we had to learn to solve that on our own or go in the house. No one wanted to go in the house so we figured things out. I wish my parents were more involved with some of my outside play. I think that would have done wonders for our relationship. However, my grandfather did play with me outside. He taught me how to ride a bike. He would even sit outside and watch me play. That was enough to show me that he really cared and that he appreciated outside play.


In 2016 play has changed drastically. Children are more inclined to lean towards technology. Such as iPads, computers and phones. I have to put some blame on the parents though. As a child my mom made sure I had limited screen time whether it was intentional or not I am grateful for it. Play for me was simply getting my sister and friends going outside and creating fun. I love technology and some of the games are cool. But even as an adult I don't have games on my phone nor am I interested in video games. Going into the future I would like to see more parents actually physically play outside with their children. Not only will help the bond, but it also helps the family stay healthy. Thus preventing possible childhood obesity which is spreading due to lack of physical activities.


It wasn't until this assignment where I was able to really see how play was and still is a big part of my life. I enjoyed life as a child. And I am carrying that into my adulthood. Play is how we interact, how we learn about each other and how we learn to communicate. We need those same things as an adult. When we go out to eat or have drinks with new people that is a form of play. We laugh, we learn and grow.

Relationship Reflection

Relationship Reflection

 The first relationship is my super important to me is the one I have with my grandmother. This lady will walk through fire for me. My grandmother has been such a great supporter in everything I do that is positive and constantly encourages me to never give up on my dreams. She is also the one who helped form my spiritual foundation by taking me to church and teaching me how to pray. I love her so much and will always be grateful to have her in my life.  One thing that keeps my grandmothers' and relationship strong is the fact that we respect each other. 

 Not everyone is completely on board when you start making changes in your life spiritually. This guy in this picture has been my friend since 2008. He's seen me through the good and bad times. We are just off the cusp of the biggest challenge in our friendship and I believe it made our friendship stronger. He supports my growth spiritually in a way a lot of my past friends don't and that means a lot to me. We help each other by praying for one another and keep each other motivated. We are both people with positive energies and we try to maintain that. I love him to the moon and back.  Honest communication has been the one thing that has kept our friendship and the fact that we love each other no matter what.

 My sisters!!!!! To left you have my middle sister, middle is the baby and the right is me! Just this past New Year we were able to hang out together with our mom for the very first time in years! I love these girls so much. They push me to be better role model for them. I want them to look up to me. My baby sister watches my every move so I have to make sure they're good ones. My middle sister marches to her own beat, always have. I admire her fearlessness! She says screw the world, I am me and nothing is going to change that! And she is basically a genius, seriously one of the smartest people I know! 

 Mommy and me! My mom is not just my mom she is my best friend in a lot of ways! I share like everything with her! Our relationship has grown so much over the years. She allows me to really find my own way in life. Not necessarily pushing me and not necessarily pushing me. Honestly, I wish she had pushed me a lot harder in school. As an adult now, I have to push myself and be my own motivation and sometimes that is just how life is. One I thing that me and my share is our kind hearts. My mom is like the sweetest person on the planet. Oh, and she can really cook!! 

Developing and maintaining relationships have been tough for me over the years. I am finally at a point in my life where I realized each relationship/friendship played its part for that particular time in my life. I am not one who has had a friend since childhood, however, I have a few friends that are still hanging with me strong since college. Those friendships have been tried and tested and we are all still hanging in there. Communication is the key. While some friends I have, I talk to almost everyday, I have a few that I only speak with every now and then and that's life. I have a friend who is like a brother however, he has a wife and two children. I couldn't talk to him everyday if I wanted to, but I respect his family and love them very much. I know that our friendship is not falling apart, he is just seriously busy. We connect every few months or so.

What do you see as special characteristics of these relationships that make some, if any, partnerships?

Fun! No matter what, we laugh and enjoy life! Laughter is the best medicine and it makes any relationship strong and fun! We don't take things too seriously unless seriously needed.

How might your experiences with relationships/partnerships, including your ability to be an active, reflective contributor, impact your work as an effective early childhood professional?

As an early childhood professional I make it a point to allow my students and parents feel comfortable. I am somewhat silly and really enjoy what I do and that reflects my relationships with my students and parents. At any given time you can me my students and I laughing and enjoying class and you will see myself and parents laughing as well. My great sense of humor has been a building block for me in the early childhood profession.