My Connections to Play

These pictures represent some of my favorite play activities as a child.  I loved being outside and loved sitting under trees and reading.  As a young child, I would get to sit on my grammy's lap in our rocking chair and we would read to each other.  When I was 7 we got a dog and I would read to him underneath our shade tree in the back yard.  I also loved playing with dolls and building with blocks on rainy or very cold days.  I was one of three girls in my neighborhood so I played with the boys.  I was definitely a tomboy.  In the winter, I would spend hours with the other kids in my neighborhood sledding and tobogganing down the hill next to my house.  I also spent hours playing card games with my grammy.  Because I was and still am an insomniac, I can remember playing Salvo with my father late at night.  Salvo was a board version of Battleship.  My family would play board games and card games in the middle of the night as most of us were insomniacs.  I also spent many hours every Christmas Eve playing Kerplunk with friends until moving to Florida at the age of 15.  My friends and I in Florida would spend time pretending to be wealthy.  We would go to Palm Beach and watch the people spend money at the stores on  Worth Av.  and sometimes we would laugh on the way home about some of the items people would buy.  As an adult, I still love to play card games and board games.  I also will sometimes build things with my students.  I still go to the beach and read.  I don't play with dolls or dress up and now actually get paid to teach instead of pretending.  I have found a new Disney buddy and my hubby and I love going to concerts.  We also go canoing and camping.  I need to have fun and sometimes have difficulty finding balance and time for fun.  Because I was encouraged to play and not be around the house throughout my life, I like traveling, and doing things away from home.  My husband is the total opposite of me and needs more home time than I do.  I love being in crowds and around people.  I like participating in book clubs and social activities.    

Here are some of my favorite quotes about play.                                                                                                                          

“The activities that are the easiest, cheapest, and most fun to do – such as singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, and just talking and listening – are also the best for child development.” ~      Jerome Singer (professor, YaleUniversity)                                                                                                                                                       

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.” ~ James L. Hymes Jr. (child development specialist, author)

“Play is not only our creative drive; it’s a fundamental mode of learning.” ~                                                                 David Elkind (psychologist, author)   

"Play is the work of children. It's very serious stuff." ~                                                                               

                                                        Bob Keeshan