I spent my whole childhood wishing I were older and now I'm spending my adulthood wishing I were younger.
You know, you don't have to look like everybody else to be acceptable and to feel acceptable.
Play Items
Growing up I played with my sister, three brothers and neighborhood kids quite often. We played almost anything you can think of and made life seem so much enjoyable. When you are a kid you do not think about tomorrows worries. My mother never stopped or interrupted our playing and we played in appropriate manner. Sometimes my mother would play with us because she was a big kid herself.
I would have to say from what I have observed in this field play is very similar to my childhood. The only difference s that schools are trying to take play out of student curriculum. What kid does not want to play. I have seen that even all of the games are the same as growing up. Hide and go seek, Doctor and nurse, Mom and dad, Vet, playing teacher, the driver, dressing up,Cooking etc.
When children play no one is left out or looked at differently. I notice the difference in children developmentally when they are social with other children. I highly encourage play.
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I love the play items that you chose. I played doctors with my children as they were growing up. I use that time as a teaching moment they learn about their body systems. When we have indoor recess we try to play games like Red light, Green light and Simon Says. We are tying to keep play in the daily routine at school.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I remember going to family friends houses with our bikes, even if they lived towns over, we would load our bikes and drive them over so that parents could chat and the children would bike. I had the hardest time learning to turn on my bike. It was so scary for me. My dad would teach me and I just couldn't do it. One of those days when we went to the family friends' house, we would ride and ride and ride, and without even realizing it, I made so many loops back and forth. I didn't realize it because I was just having fun and playing. My dad wasn't teaching me and I wasn't thinking about it, I was just going.
ReplyDeleteHi Kwe,
ReplyDeleteI am laughing as I read your post. I can agree fully with the games we played back then. I loved hide and go seek and the imaginative play such as; mom and dad, teacher, or doctor. I always enjoyed playing positions in authority, even cops and robbers. It is very interesting to analyze the play activities from back then, now. As a child you do not realize all the learning that goes into playing those games well and still having fun. One thing you have to know and understand directions/instructions, understand your role in the game, being creative or imaginitive, mimicking experiences witnessed, and cooperate together as a team for the right results of the games played. So many levels of development are enhanced from play and I can not believe how it's concept is being treated, inferior to academics. The two should be a partnership just as educators and families are expected to be for successful total development.
Great Post! One of my favorite games to play was Hide and Seek or Tag. It kind of make me sad to know children today will never play these kind of games. Children have technology, which can be a good thing but unfortunately, they do not use their imagination and creativity like we did as children.
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