My Connections to Play

 

Essential Play Items in my Childhood:

 

    

Many of the adults and children around me as a child allowed me to use my imagination for the majority of my play. Many of the adults in my life would play with me and make believe along with my imagination. This encouraged me to be playful and imaginative. My parents also allowed my brothers and I a lot of free time outside to play with each other and the neighborhood full of children. I ended every day after dinner playing imagination and physical games with 10-15 other children throughout my childhood.

 

The main difference to me in play today is the addition of technology to young children. It was not until I was in middle school that technology became easily accessible to me and my friends. I have noticed with my students now (between 5 and 6 years old), most if not all of them not only have access to technology but they also usually have their own personal piece of technology that is a part of their daily or weekly play time.

 

The biggest impact my play had on me throughout my childhood and adulthood was the ability to take chances and explore the world around me. I was also able to grow vocabulary by playing with the adults and older children in my life.



Relationship Reflection

Relationships are an important part of my life because the people I am close to in my life are the foundation that almost all aspects of my life are built upon. The relationships I have are my lifelines and are not only there when I am struggling but are also consistently available to me when I am celebrating and making life choices.

I would categorize the close, daily relationships in my life into 3 parts. The first is my husband (and our dog), the second is my parents and the third is a small group of friends that are like sisters to me.

My relationship with my husband is a partnership. He is my other half and is literally and figuratively my life partner. I contribute the success of this relationship to our commitment to each other as well as our souls' connections. My relationship with my parents has become a friendship and a major support system in my life. My parents are always available and willing to support me in any way and I am for them as well. I consider this relationship a constant in my life. I am committed to having a positive and close relationship with my parents no matter what because they are my family. The relationship I have with my friends is based upon our ability to pick up where we left off no matter how long it has been since we have connected. My friends and I lead very busy lives but we are also committed to seeing each other, texting each other, calling each other and communicating in any way possible no matter our schedules. My friends are my biggest cheerleaders. We are independent, nonjudgmental women that love to what each other succeed and be happy! 

The biggest struggle in maintaining meaningful relationships for me is making time for each relationship. With my husband and my parents it is seamless for me to have them in my daily life but with my friends I have to schedule times to meet with them sometimes months in advanced because our schedules are all so different.

I think the ability to listen to people and be empathetic to peoples' life experiences is an essential part of any relationship and is also an important part of being in the early childhood field. I also think committing time to relationships is an important part of being a good teacher and connecting with each of your students as much as possible.