"My Connections to Play"

When I think of play these two quotes jump to mind for me:

•  "Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."

            by Diane Ackerman

• "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning."

            by Fred Rogers

Pictures of Play Items:

As a kid I loved G.I. Joe action figures.

Toy cars was another thing I loved to have as a kid.  I could take them with me anywhere I went and I also had the race tracks to go with them.  Brings back great memories lol!!!!!  I know I'm such a kid at heart now as well.

Supporters of Play and how it differs from when I was growing up:

People supported play tremendously during my times of growing up because technology was not a huge factor.  Kids went outside to play all of the time.  It seems like back when I was young parents loved for their children to run and play but had to yell for their children to come inside, now parents yell for their children to go outside to play to get them off the video games.  Teachers even supported play and during school time there was more recess time even in middle and high school.  Now all of that is either being short changed or not happening at all.  Things have change big time when it comes to play and I don't feel like children are getting the necessary play time they need to exercise their brains.  Health issues are even coming up a lot more now because children are not "Playing" anymore.  Everything is about reading, writing, and math and less on how to explore the three in play.

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are significant to me because they are worthy for our physical health, but our spiritual and emotional health as well.  It is through relationships with other people that we mature and progress and how we extend and magnify our experience of love and importance.  Relationships construct emotions and help on how to communicate with others particularly people of the differing sex.  A good connection with someone is vital to humans as good nutrition and exercise.

Several people whom I have positive relationships with are for starts my girlfriend.  We just have that great understanding with each other.  We can talk to each other about anything and 5 years of building has really grown into a strong relationship.  The communication and teamwork is there as well.  She is my best friend and knowing our relationship is strong makes me go about my day in a positive manner.  

My mother is another person I have a positive relationship with.  Although I do not talk with her on an everyday basis like my girlfriend, we still have a very loving relationship.  She is always there for me and knows when I am feeling down.  We have been through some tough times, including my sisters.  Even with the hard times of no electricity in the house or cable, we really had to push through and come together with positive love.  My father and I also display a positive relationship.  He was the inspiration in my life that got me linked into the sports world.  We can talk about sports all day every day.  He like my mother is always there for me as even though they weren't together.  My father and I always found time to communicate.  He would take me fishing or to ball games and everything just felt positive.

Building a positive relationship with someone is challenging because everyone has their own thoughts about how a relationship really works so people bump heads with each other.  Trust is a big issue as well, because if two people want to be friends with each other but cant really trust each other, nothing positive will come out of the relationship.  I think by me understanding relationships will help me become a better instructor because I will have the experience of teaching children how to communicate and build positive relationships with other people.  Also my experience will help me when I am collaborating with other teachers.  Being in this field it is all about teamwork and communication and building a positive relationship with children, parents, as well as staff.