Connections to Play

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.

Kay Redfield Jamison
Contemporary American professor of psychiatry

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

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.

O. Fred Donaldson
Contemporary American martial arts master

If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.

Jean Piaget
Swiss philosopher
1896–1980

When I was younger, we spent most our times out of the house while we played. My brother and I used to run around the house, we use to pretend that we were archaeologist, always digging in the ground trying to find a “new species”. We played a lot with our neighborhood friends, we rode our bicycles to see who could go faster, and we had our fun times outside. As we got a little older, I think we got the Nintendo, but our mother monitored our time usage, so we would not be glued in front of the television. My dad, my brother and I would play one of our favorite sports called Cricket, some Saturdays we went outside and had to use a bat and a ball. This is one of my most fond memories. Our parents ensured we had a balance between play and schoolwork. For the mot part, we were allowed to play when we reached home from school, but in the evening hours, we would have to focus on schoolwork.

Play today is very different, when I travel on the bus or train I usually see a child whose head is bent low and their hands are moving, means they are playing on their PSP or DS or some handheld device. This culture continues when they reach home, they put down the PSP and then go on their Wii or tablet to continue playing the same game. In the classrooms, the use of technology is evident as lessons are taught using iPad or personal computers. However, children are not limited by technology; they still like to enjoy free play without use of technology like running around and driving their parents wild.

I still love the idea of play, I love my children in kindergarten showing me what they have made using Legos or building blocks, and I love their imagination and thought process. I am still a child at heart (I believe), so I enjoy playtime. During playtime at home, parents can use this as an opportunity to talk with their children while engaging in talk.  

Relationships Reflection

                                            

No man is an island, no man stands alone.....

This was a song I sang in elementary school during devotion time, it embodies my stance on relationships. The fact is that we need relationships for our daily survival  without having someone to give support, guidance and to lend advice is critical for a person's development. My biggest supporters have been my parents and so I dedicate this portion of my blog to them.

My parents have been there for me from childbirth, I don't know two better people in the world. Having the love, guidance and support from my parents mean the world to me. As a teenager, as I'm sure most teenagers do, there was a period of disconnect between myself and my parents, I wouldn't talk to them and I would keep everything hidden. As I became older I realized that being a parent cannot be easy, raising a child in the 21st century and its challenges. As I  left my parents home to live in Japan, the love and the feeling that I know my parents want nothing but the best for me, is the strongest emotion that I felt from my parents. There has been nothing but love and support from my parents; modern technology means that even though we are thousands of miles away we can still keep in constant contact with each other, never more than a phone call, text, email or skype away is the term I love to use.

In order to maintain substantial relationships one must be willing to spend time together, communicate effectively and share goals. Family members who have healthy relationships spend quality time together, they also exhibit characteristics of good communication and they trust one another. Without these characteristics it is difficult to maintain relationships. Undoubtedly, as with any relationship there are challenges and disagreements, but never physical arguments. To resolve these issues one must be willing to work together to solve problems.

The most important ways that a relationships would impact me in early childhood education field is because I know I am trustworthy and easy to communicate with. Working with children of a different culture and not sharing the same native language has made me realize how important it is to be a person that parents and students are willing to try to communicate with. In Japan, parents may not willingly want to communicate with foreigners but if I continue to show how much respect and care I have for their child and how much the child trusts me then little by little the lines of communication are opened.

Quotes

Some of my favorite quotes:







Thanks to all my classmates for their comments and feedback, hope to meet you in another class! All the best.