"My Connections to Play."

One of the quotes I feel summarizes my play in childhood is "play is contagious". When I was a youngster we played outside more than inside. Some of my favorite toys to play with were bottle tops .We played a game called scaleies. The game consisted of bottle tops off of a soda bottle not the screw tops but the ones you had to be taken off with a can opener. A target was put in the middle and everyone tried to hit the target. Another game we played was called chinese rope.We linked rubber bands together until we had a long string of rubber bands and then we tied the ends together. It was placed around two peoples ankles and stretched until it made a rectangular shape. We jumped in it and twisted the bands across each other. We played with chalk all of the time. Chalk was used to make hop scotch, scaleies circle, and making pictures on the sidewalks. Jump rope was one of my favorites also. Regular rope and double dutch rope either one of them was very enjoyable. My mother and the parents of my friends always encouraged us to go outside and play. I was a very quiet child. Some times I would of rather stay in but I was always encouraged to go outside and get some exercise. Every generation play seems to change. When my children were young they played inside a little but they would rather go outside playing with their friends. They were getting exercise in and outside. Their children and my grandchildren do not want to go outside at all. What is on their mind all the time is electronic stuff. Cell phones, computer games, I Pads, computers and the list can go on and on. I am in hopes that parents encourages their children and grandchildren to go out and soak up some of the sun. Play is the beginning of great things in child development. It touches and help develop all of the domains of development. Play is not just for children. Adults play differently but I do feel that most that engage in play, a smile is put on their face.  I also believe play is healthy for all.

Relationship Reflection

When I think of relationships/ partnership I think of friendship. The reason relationships and partnerships are important to me is that they grow out of each other. What I mean is you have to have  a relationship before you can have a partnership. One with out the other is crazy. When you have a true relationship with someone they are going to correct you no matter how it hurts. They are there when you fall.  The people I have a friendship and partnership with are my husband, my children, my good friend Joyce, my pastor and many of the families that make up my family child care business. My husband and I met when I was sixteen. We have been married for forty years. I love him unconditionally and he loves me the same.  No matter the circumstances he is always supportive to me.  And same goes for me to him. My children and I have a great relationship. They include two biological children and five adopted children. All seven of my children love and respect me and I love and respect them also. My friend Joyce. She will let me know when I am wrong and I do the same for her. We have a partnership she is the substitute for me in my child care business. My pastor she is another that loves me unconditionally. Last but not least the  child care parents in my business. This truly started as a friendship now we have a partnership. We both have their children first at heart.  There were challenges in building many of these relationships- partnerships. We all are separate people. We think and act differently. When we got rid of our biases and started to respect each other for who we are then a partnership began. The way this all impacts my effectiveness as an early childhood professional is that having relationships with all types of people has allowed me to not be bias and become diverse in situation I come across.