My Connections to Play

The bicycle is something that I absolutely LOVED to play with as a child. I was a nature child, an 'always wanted to be outside' type of child. I think that I absolutely loved to ride the bicycle well into my middle grade years. I was able to transfer my mind into many different arenas when I rode my bike. At times I pretended to be a school bus driver and other times I raced with my younger brother.

Now this is where my times of dramatic play occurred. Usually it was at my grandmothers home with an aunt whom I was very close to, who happened to be only four years older than me! We would take my grandmothers older dishes and cook all types of cakes and soul food when playing outside. We would play in the mud from sun up to sun down at times! We absolutely loved it! 

Two Quotes about Play: 

All of the adults who were apart of my life growing up supported my play in any way they could. To start, my parents provided the play materials as well as the permission to play for hours on the inside and outside, whichever was feasible. My parents helped me develop in gaining social skills by providing plenty of play partners for my brother and I when growing up. Back then, more hours were allowed for play in elementary school, etc. So these adults were necessary components of gaining play skills as well. Because of these things, I have gained better social emotional development, and it helped me in many adult areas of my life as well such as problem solving.

Today play itself is not necessarily different. What's different is the way that it is viewed. It seems to be of less and less importance in the eyes of some legislators. Therefore, the hours of play have been reduced in many early childcare centers. Play has even changed in the household setting. Nowadays, electronics/technology are keeping children in the house instead of them being outside building communication skills. This has lead to higher obesity rates in young children as well.

Relationship Reflection

The first picture that I have posted is of my family. The older boy and girl are my step-children and the two younger children are my biological children. Of course the older gentleman beside me is my hubby! I love my family because they are my reason......my reason for everything that I do in my life! This relationship is so important to me because we support each other in good times as well as bad. They are always there for me no matter the situation.....free of judgement! Relationships are important when they are supportive, loving, as well as forgiving. Many people can be a relationship that means them and their life no good. The only purpose these types of relationships serve is a learning lesson. I'd rather not have these types of relationships in my life. No relationship is perfect, but when you have people in your life that are willing to work through their as well as your differences.....then you have a healthy relationship.

 This picture is of my parents! They are just wonderful! They want nothing but the best for my family and my brother. They are both hard workers who have instilled great lessons within the two children that they have raised. The thing that I admire most about them both is the ability to never give up on their children. Even when I made bad decisions like quitting college, they never bad talked me; yet they supported me and believed in me. They have taught me the true meaning of never giving up. They never gave up on me so it makes perfect since to never give up on myself; and this is why I'm pursuing a Master's degree at the age of 37!

My brother, my brother!! I was older so I was supposed to be the role model for him, yet he turned out to be the role model for me! He is a engineer with a Master's degree and he's not even out of his twenty's yet! He was a major push and strong factor in me going back to school. His love and support for my family and I is what makes our relationship so important to me. I trust him with all of my being and this is what i admire most about our relationship!! Trust and dependability!

These relationships that I share have taught me a valuable lesson in life! The belief that my family has in me makes it so easy to believe in the future of the young children that I inspire on a daily basis! As a matter of fact it makes me push myself just that much harder to being a helping hand in making sure that they succeed. The trust that has been exhibited with the relationship that I have with my brother has taught me trust-worthy values that I take seriously on the job. Whether it's gaining the trust of families, their children, or whatever situation their family or my center may be going through.