"My Connections to Play."

Quotes that summarize what play represented for you in childhood.

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” -Kay Redfield Jamison

“Play is so integral to childhood that a child who does not have the opportunities to play is cut off from a major portion of childhood.”

-Mussel white

Toys from my childhood 

When I was a child play permitted me to get away from the reality that was going on around me. Through play, I could block out the things that was going on in my life. I didn’t like playing with dolls, playing dress up, or playing with baby dolls. Instead I was more interested in play cooking, listening to my record player, and I would spend hours trying to figure out my rubric cube. We also played outside a lot interacting with children in our neighborhood, which gave us freedom to run around. Nowadays children have less freedom for productive play, they are more interested in technology or watching TV, or video games. I believe children would enjoy their playtime more if they experience what we did like getting dirty, riding bikes, and playing outdoors with the neighborhood children. 

 Play permits children to observe, communicate, explore and appreciate their world.  According to Almon, (2002) it states “Play helps children weave together all the elements of life as they experience it. It allows them to digest life and make it their own.” (Almon, 2002) Play collaborates to the growth of children connected to cognitive, social, emotional, and language characteristics. Language advocates symbolic thought which supports self-regulation, cognition, and social capability in childhood and adulthood. Play permits me to laugh, and unwind. Play is a devoted part of childhood that gives children meaningful educational benefits. 

 

References

Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf

Relationship Reflection

Reflecting on Building Relationships

Relationships and partnerships are an essential part of a person’s life. The actual relationships you are a part of assist in describing who you are. We share part of our lives with the people that are closest to us. Like in early childhood environments it is necessary to build trust in partnerships for the sake of open and proper communication. Some of the people I think I have the strongest relationship with now are my daughter, and my grandchildren. some other relationships that were important to me were my parents. My mother and father were the first people in my life that were always there for me. They supported my wants and needs from infancy and continue until they departed from my life.                   

                                                      

                          

  

The most supporting and positive relationship I presently have is with my family. These relationships have had a positive bond because they have stood out through time. My sisters are always there for me. They supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Factors that donated to these strong relationships include truthfulness and communication. Whether I wanted or not they were always there to tell me the truth. A characteristic that makes our family relationship strong is the support we have for one another. We partner together to support one another in every direction throughout our journey. For example, 2 of my sisters lives here in Opelousas where I live and the others live in Boutte which is like 2 hours and 15 minutes away, what we normally do is try and meet up at the half mark so we get to spend time with one another. 

  Besides my immediate family my friends have been a great support system for me. Love and trust are two aspects that have assisted is building our strong relationship. Before we became friends, we use to work together and go to the same church. Through working together and seeing each other at church we had gained a friendly relationship that permitted open and positive communication. To keep up our relationship of love and trust we have built up honesty. We support one another in our educational journey, career path, and through our goals and visions.  Having open communication over the years we could build the trust we have in one another.

The last relationship that is important to me is the relationship that I have built with the children I tutor. Having a positive relationship with the kids I tutor allows for positive results to succeed in their studies. My focus is on the children so when we are in session, we can work together, and get more work done.   One large challenge this relationship experienced was trying to add more teachers to help with tutoring. Having to get more teachers to help with the tutoring didn’t sit well with the students. I started tutoring children in the middle of the school year and I am still working on building and making this a positive outcome. For the students I have been tutoring I am able to see the difference it has made in their school work. I have seen more parent involvement, and my students are less stressed when I can assist them with part of their work load. Together my students and I are a partnership 

The relationships I have explained today are relationships that are most essential to me. I have had many experiences from the different relationships listed. One through relation, one is through bond, and one is through work. I believe all my different relationships will help in contributing to my work as an early childhood professional. I have had many relationships that have built on my communication skills, trust, and loyalty skills. I believe all the relationship skills can be consumed into the work place. As an early childhood educator, I find it meaningful to have open communication with all my students and their families. This permits families to be more content in the school environment which results in more parent commitments. Communication skills are meaningful with everyone you encounter. Trust and honesty can be constructed with students and families through open communication. It is essential caregivers trust you, as you are tending to their children. throughout the year I do whatever is necessary to build on these relationships.