My Connections tp Play!

Play is the beginning of knowledge.” ~ Anonymous

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” Kay Redfield Jamison (professor of psychiatry)

I had a lot of fun as a child and my life was full of play experiences. I remember playing army men with my brothers, or house using my dog as the baby, or playing ballet instructor at our family friends house in their pool. I played barbies at my friend Teresa's house well into junior high however that was our secret. I loved playing at the creek on my grandparents property, too. It was a blast. My parents allowed us to explore and encouraged play. We were not huge television watchers and we were encouraged to stay active. My grandma would play "ballet" with me and I would put on recitals. I would always want her to come out of the kitchen and I would come out of the bedroom and down the hall to make my entrance. My mom and dad would play in different ways. My mom would play house with me and my dad and I were dance partners often dancing to Elvis Presley.

The ways in which play is different today is a lot of "play" is not about exploration but about mastering a video game. There seems to be less places for children to freely roam, to run, scream, jump, and explore. Play (large motor) is less frequent in public schools and in some school nearly nonexistent. A few years back my daughter Sophia was given a planning time (detention) for running on the playground. Ridiculous but a true story. When I was young I could not wait to get outside to run on the playground but now it is apparently unsafe. I can only hope that through new research about the importance of play educators will demand that children have time set aside everyday for
large motor play as well as free choice play. Our children gain a wealth of knowledge in every domain through creative play and we must advocate for children and their right to play.

Josie Zbaeren