My Connections to Play

Always jump in the puddles! Always Skip alongside the flowers. The only fights worth fighting are pillow and food varieties. - Terri Guillemets

Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.- Joseph Chitton Pearce

When growing up I loved the play ground at my Elementary. I vowed that I would build and have one for my children in my back yard. My son just turned one and already has a small swing set and mini slide from Little Tikes. I think it is AWESOME!

The other most amazing item I used during play as a child would defiantly have to be Barbie! I absolutely looooooved my Barbies, I think I had around 50 different dolls.

Growing up my parents were extreme outdoors type people, they still are with the grandkids. We were always outside planting gardens, hunting and fishing, painting the house, and/or doing just about anything fun and engaging. My whole family from grandparents to cousins, everyone was and still is extremely active and defiantly support the idea of getting active and playing outside instead of watching TV or playing video games inside.

Play is extremely different today then it was when I was a child. Even though I am only 26 it seems play is worlds apart. Today’s child is focus on computers, video games, and electronics. There are some awesome techonolgy advancements that offer amazing learning activities, but I feel children still need to get active and get outside. 

When I was a child play and being outside were important and part of daily life. I know now as a parent I want my son to play and be extremely active and atheletic. I feel it is important for all children to learn and develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically; play is the main technique to foster all of those developments.