“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” – Mr. Rogers
"In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself"
Lev Vygotsky
Russian psychologist
1896–1934
From what I remember, I really enjoyed playing with.....
When I was younger I played with everything from sticks outside to my rock and shell collections, all the way to barbies and action figures. I loved dressing up and pretending to be a doctor and dressing my younger brother up in turn giving myself a sister. My mom even has pictures of me somewhere playing with pots and pans. My parents grew up in the West Indies and often reminisced about how they made their own toys, from milk carton cars to grass dolls. Their upbringing and strong feelings to wards children needing to play and explore influenced my love of playing and getting as creative as possible. I'd make dolls out of clay and paper, plan extravagant trips for our toys, pretend the living room table was a spaceship.... Anything. I played for a long time, when most people were turning away from toys my Christmas list was still full of requests.
Play today is much different because parents today seem to think kids are fragile. I hope I'm able to explain that correctly. I remember going to the park, climbing over rocks, falling down skinning my knee, getting back up and making friends. What I've seen recently is parents limiting play locations to playgrounds and indoor play spaces. There's not as much leeway to go exploring as I remember growing up, then again the world is crazier than it used to be so I understand the need to be safe and contained. There's also a lot of playing on IPADS, which upsets me. Apps are not substitutes for running around outside, socializing, and playing. It's infuriating that so many parents have given up on letting their kids be kids and have settled for plopping them in front of an iPad to get their daily dose of playtime.
I've always loved play. My parents encouraged it when I was younger and they're both still playful now. We played dodgeball in my house last thanksgiving! I play scrabble with my mom occasionally, we all take turns playing with younger generations. My brother lets my younger cousins play games where he's the "bad guy" and needs to be captured. I'm thankful I was born into such a playful family. I play basketball with my godson and video games by myself, play will always be apart of my life. The parents of my students always always always make comments about how much fun I am and how they love watching me play with their kids because you can't tell us apart (myself at age 26 and 3-4 year olds ha). Play is important for all ages, whether you have access to toys or need to get creative, you need play to flourish and learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment