"In our play we reveal what kind of people we are."
-Ovid
"It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self."
- D.W. Winnicott
These quotes represent what I feel play represented for me in childhood because through my time of playing I discovered what I wanted to be when I grew up.
A Baby Doll
A Teacher
Play for me:
The way in which people supported play in my life, were giving me as much time to play whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted. I was rarely ever told to stop playing or that I couldn't use my imagine. Since my play time was never hindered I was able to explore my world and myself and worked through my feelings in a fashion that didnt involve me yelling at my family members (I was a big screamer).
Play today:
I personally feel play today has changed so much from when I was a young child. The lack of imagination in children today worries me. I used to love to use my imagination and create things around me. Children today mostly play video games or sit on the computer, there is not much use of their own imagination. When children are told to be creative they are stuck because they no longer know how to be.
Play through out my life:
Play through out my life has encouraged me to be what I wanted to be when I grew up. Since I was so interested in playing the teacher role, it is no surprise that I am a teacher today. Also with my love of playing with babies, it shows how I love to interact with babies and cannot wait to have some of my own.
References:
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! As a young child I remember vividly running around playing football, tag and double dutch. Being outside was like a magnet and I could not detach myself when my grandmother called me to eat dinner. I remember talking with my friends enjoying their company and really just getting away from the adults. Children now are so attached to a computer screen that the outside world is foreign to them.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent and colorful post. I agree with you that play in education has changed over the years. Today, there is less focus on play in education. However, schools need to learn that play is a part of learning. I would love to see more creative play in the classroom.
It is great that your teacher had a positive influence on you that you wanted to reenact her role. To me, playing teacher was more than pretend play; it was my way of gaining control of my environment and expressing my emotions.
ReplyDelete