"My Connections to Play"

Here are two quotes that summarize "Play" represented for me in my childhood.

The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic. Bill Cosby

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. George Bernard Shaw

As a child, my mom bought me a kitchen set for Christmas and I use to think that I was in a real kitchen until it got too old. I miss those days.

During my childhood, I use to love riding my bike in the neighborhood where I lived. My sister also had a bike,but she was a stay in the house child so I use to ride her bike as well. I was more the outside child and my sister was the child that stayed in the house all the time especially in the summer time.

When I was a little girl, I love playing with dolls this is the reason I am a teacher now. I use to pretend that dolls were real and could actually talk to me and write. I played school with them pretending that I was the teacher and the dolls were my students.I feel everyone should have a doll as a little girl growing up.

Here are some games that I use to play back in my childhood days.

As a young child, we always played outside. I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and lived in a neighborhood that was full of children to play with. We rode our bikes to the park and on different streets because it was safe back then, but I never went to far. I did not want to get in any trouble. I have a strict mom who means business and now I see why she was so hard on me and my older sister. When it got dark, I would go in the house and do the same thing the next day. If my mom wanted me home early she would call for me and I could hear her because she was so loud. I love to play and its a great impact on young children's lives.

Technology is taking over rather than children going outside. I rarely see kids riding bikes any more. If you see children outside they have a phone, head set, or game instead of just enjoying outside play.

Play in the past and play now is totally different because kids are just not interested in outside play anymore because their is so much more thats catching their attention.

Play is a critical part in children's development.Play starts off in a child's earlier life and stays with them to adulthood. Parents and teachers need to make sure that we are encouraging play at school and at home. Play is fun.