My Connections to Play

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

2 Quotes which summarize what play represented for me in childhood:

“Mess is memories” -Author Unknown

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”- Walt Streightiff

                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                        

How very fortunate we are to be in a profession where we can play everyday! I love playing. I play alone, I play with others, and I play with children. I move a little (a lot) slower and I may not be as limber, but I will never be too old to play. Our assignment this week is to reflect on our four or five year old self at play, with hours to fill, no responsibilities.

Five year old Michelle is at her grandmother’s house in Ohio playing in the yard. It is lush and green, surrounded by fruit trees, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, acres of corn, and there is a long, driveway covered with gravel that  will take you wherever you wish to go. She rides up and down and back and forth on her tricycle. Every now and then she rings her bell. Ring! Ring!

                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                       

She parks her bike and runs to the side of the porch to retrieve her bucket. It's a special bucket, just perfect for gathering fruit. She climbs up to the lowest limb on the plum tree and plucks off a juicy, sweet plum. She climbs down and drops her treasure into her bucket. What next? Grapes! She runs over to the grape vine and plucks a few green grapes off of the vine. What else? Strawberries! Off she runs to the strawberry patch to grab a handful of sweet, juicy berries. Armed with her treasure of freshly picked fruit she runs to her favorite side of the house with the shade porch. She jumps onto the porch swing where her dolls are all waiting patiently for her. It's a beautiful, sunny day. Not too warm, not too cool. Just right. She grabs her plum from the bucket and rubs it across her dress. She takes a big, juicy bite and wipes the running juice from her chin with her dress. Now she offers her favorite doll, Raggedy Ann, a bite. She's never watched the cartoon, but it was grandma's favorite doll and now it is her favorite doll. She is playing with several dolls and stuffed animals and she offers each one a bite of her treats-after she takes a bite, of course.

     Once full and content, Michelle stretches out on her back and swings back and forth in the porch swing. Back and forth she swings, singing songs and talking to herself. She even tells herself jokes-and laughs at them, too! She spies a ladybug crawling along the side of the pillow. She quietly picks it up with her thumb and index finger. She places the ladybug on the back of her hand and watches as it crawls across her hand, her wrist, and up her arm. The ladybug flies away. 

Michelle gets up from the swing and jumps off of the porch and runs to the flower garden. Yes! there are butterflies. She runs back to the porch and grabs her net and skips back to the flowers. She swoops her net across the tops of the flowers and tries to catch a butterfly. She misses every time, but never gives up. 

 Chasing butterflies can make you very thirsty. She runs to the other side of the house and turns on the water faucet. She picks up the water hose, opens her mouth wide, and aims. It misses, squirting water straight up her nose. She tries again and takes a big gulp of the icy, cold water. Her dress is wet in the front and her bare feet are a little dirty. She will become even dirtier before the day ends. And then, night! There are even more games to play at night.

                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                        

Where are the adults? Off doing whatever it is they do. The doors are unlocked and left open. Children come and go all day. Sometimes not seen until dark. Just to ask for a few minutes more, pleeeeaasssse?

When a child needed to learn how to do something like ride a bike, skate, or swim, an adult was there to teach and guide. But, adults were not needed to learn how to climb trees, how to build things out of found scraps and materials, how to play games, how to be a superheroprincessastronautdoctormommyspaceinvader! Adults were often seen and not heard when it came to play. Play was considered safe and what you were supposed to do. It was our “work” and we worked hard from sun up till “get in here right now and take a bath. It’s so dark I can’t even see you anymore.” Play was exclusive, it was for kids. But, there were times when we let the adults in. They jumped double dutch, rode our bikes, taught us card games, raced us up and down the street, played the long games with us-Monopoly and Scrabble, play was fun for everyone.

I think play today is the same in a child’s eyes as it was in any generation. The difference today is that play is controlled. Adults teach children how to play, but by adult rules. My hope for the young is that they forever be allowed to play, but with freedom. Children are restricted by a culture of fear. What if a stranger comes? What if she hurts herself? She'll be afraid to be alone? Does she have on sunscreen? Playing is dreaming. Where would we be without dreams?

Play has been essential in my life. As a child I would immerse myself into roles, games, sports, and adventure. As an adult I love playing games, I watch movies and pretend, I go on adventures, I take walks and lose myself for hours. Play is still a part of who I am and what I do. If I have to stop playing, I’ll have to stop. What would be the point?