“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” Joseph Chilton Pearce
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
When I was a child, my grandmother would force us to go outside every day after homework was completed. She would always say, “Go outside and burn up some of that energy cause you driving me crazy. When I was a child, as long as the sun was up, we played. All ya’ll like to do is sit under me and watch TV.” She was right, I loved sitting with her talking about her childhood. I was very inquisitive and asked a lot of question. But I loved playing just as much that she would have to search for me sometimes when the street lights came on.
There was no particular game that interested me more than the other as long as I was allowed to play. I can remember all the different roles we played with friends. Pretend play made me feel as a child that I had the ability to be anyone I wanted to be when I grew up. I would expand my play by trying things that I normally would not try when not in play. It allowed me to challenge my own limitation without the fear of failure because I was only playing.
Play is a self-esteem builder for the young and old. We are allowed to relax, let our guards down and explore. As an adult, I can remember every song, rhyme and activity I did as a child during play. I quotes I choose supports how I view play in my childhood and life. I created my most clever thinking during play and if I mature to point in my life that I am not able to play, I will truly perish.
Hi Katrice
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother was wise she knew that play was important. As a child I loved TV also, but when I go outside to play I had a wonderful, and now when I watch children play it makes me laugh. I just love the way they use their imaginations..nothing changed we played the same games.
Dear Katrice,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say about how play help us let our guards down and explore. "It helps children weave together all the elements of life as they experience it" (Almon, 2002). It is equally important for children to play outside since as your grandmother well said they use their physical energy in a positive way; to foster their physical development and build stronger muscles for gross and fine motor skills as well as develop coordination between different parts and brain. Thanks for your post!
Reference
Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW43almon.pdf
Maryam
Thanks for your blog. I chose the same quote about growing old because we stop playing. I am still a kid at heart and I love to play with my children. I loved what you said about your grandmother. I can hear my mom saying something of the same thing except hers was "Go outside and blow off the stink!"(Nice, right). I thank her for that now though because I could have spent a lot more time inside in front of the TV if she hadn't forced us to go outside and play. I now know the importance of play because of this and I think it is why I am still able(and love)to play.
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