My Connections to Play

I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. We were a working farm and of course that meant we all had chores, animals, and responsibilities that built independence and cooperation. We lived out in the country and I grew up with 2 other sisters. My parents had a small apple orchard that included a few cherry trees. As children, my sisters and I spent a lot of time in that orchard. My mom use to go garage sale shopping (love it still) and would buy used pots and pants, utensils, and odds and ends that helped us form a small little kitchen and home under those tress. I remember spending hours outside making mud pies, scooping up old apples and smooshing them with rocks in those pots and pans. We used to pretend to bake, cook, and eat all those wonderful mud pies and scrumptious apple treats. It is wonderful to think about it and when I am able to get with my two sisters we talk about all that fun we had in those trees. My mom even found some old furniture and it seemed more like a play house within those trees. The play that occurred between my sisters and I was encouraged by our parents.

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn. O. Fred Donaldson Contemporary American martial arts master We were imitating our mother because she would cook, make homemade apple sauce from all those apples and would let us help her all the time. My mother always encouraged use to be involved in learning experiences and activities that would build our knowledge and understanding of how a farm worked and how we could better ourselves, even at a young age. We were always planting in the garden which showed us how plants grew and how we were able to get food from the ground. We use to plant new potatoes and I remember hating to go out and pick them out of the ground when it was time. I also remember having to pick green beans, ugh, that was the worst. However this was made a lot more fun with my parent help. After all of us planting the garden we got to have a cook out and a bon fire, which meant smores. The play that occurred at my house was really an imitation of what my parents did for a living. I lived 10 miles out of town and no one lived less than 5 miles from us. We only played with each other and that play was usually outside, once and a while we got to stay inside. We didn’t have tv, well an antenna that gave us one channel, but no cartoons or game systems. I grew up with very little material items, but with a lot of love, compassion, and ongoing play with my two sisters.

The play I had was not with toys or with material objects it was with the great outdoors; trees, mud, cooking utensils, pots and pans, and my sisters were my companions. We climbed trees, baked mud pies, and even made planting new potatoes fun and part of a learning experience at the same time. I am very sad that my children don’t get to experience growing up like I did, but that cannot be helped. I do include them in cooking experiences and when they were really little we made sugar cookies all the time, we usually had a cookie party to do this with friends. When I look back at my childhood I am so proud and so fortunate. During my childhood I didn’t realize how valuable that time was for me as a child.

Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child. Joan Almon Contemporary American educator Play for children now days really depends on where they live and what their family values. I know that my older sister lives on a fish hatchery in Missouri and she has a garden, her girls play outside all the time and make mud pies with their mom. However I know that the children I take care of daily usually do not get to have any outside time with their parents. The most outside time they have is at school. Spending ten hours a day at daycare does not allow for much play at home. I feel that some of the most precious play is done outside. This play brings in so many learning experiences that can form around physical activities to learning about the environment. Outside time is a valuable part of play and so many children don’t get to play outside due to where they live, safety issues, lack of supervision, and lazy parents. The television and video games have hindered our children and as parents we allow this. The play is a vital part of how children learn about their world and how they fit into it.