It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.
D.W. Winnicott
Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.
O. Fred Donaldson
~Essential Play Items~
Things that were essential to me when I was growing up were boxes. I loved boxes. Boxes gave me the opportunity to make what ever I wanted to make using my imagination. One day my box would be a store and the next day it would be a school.
A second essential element to my childhood play was my friends and relatives. We learned from each other. I would see my cousin do things that I felt was fun and exciting and then I would try to demonstrate the same thing.
A third was plain paper and crayons. This gave me an opportunity to express my creativity with pictures and words. I also drew signs that went in my creative box.
Caring for a baby (baby doll) was my all time favorite. I demonstrated the things that my mother and grandmother did for us. I cooked for the baby, fed the baby, dressed the baby, read to the baby, sang to the baby, and much, much more.
~The Way my Play was Supported~
My parents supported the way I played in multiple aspects. My mother always supplied me with toys of my interest. She never hindered me from playing. If I was playing "church" with my boxes, she would encourage me to have equal amount of seating on both sides. If I was playing school with the box, I had to have assignments for my students and I had to supply a key with the answers. One thing that I learned from my mother was that play was important. We made sure to incorporate learning into everything that I did.
My mother never discouraged me when I chose to use my imagination. I was able to be myself and I learned a lot from being able to play. When I made signs for the store, I had to show the signs to my brother before I was able to put the signs up. He checked to ensure that all of my spellings was correct.
My brother also supported my play. He would tell me that he was tired of one store and encouraged me to do other things. He helped me design a gas station with one of my boxes. After the gas station was complete, he drove his cars to the gas station to get gas and he even purchased candy for one of his men.
~How Play Today is Similar~
I cannot speak for others but play today for my child is the same as it was for me. I encourage her to play and we play together. Play is fun but play also has to be educational and meaningful. My daughter is much different from me. I wanted to incorporate leaning into play. My daughter is much happier if I leave her alone to do her own thing. I join in on the fun with her each opportunity that I have.
When I was growing up, we had more things where we had to use our imagination. Kids of today have more electrical games. MY daughter enjoys when I play with her but I want her to play more using her imagination.
~Role of Play~
Throughout my childhood and up until now,play has always been relaxing and enjoyable for me. I always learned how to find easier strategies through play. I love color pencils today, the same as I loved crayons when I was a child. I taught my daughter how to add by drawing pictures. After completing the problems she could go back and finish coloring and decorating her page.To sum up the importance of play, I use this quote:
Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.
Diane Ackerman
