"My Connections to Play."

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This is a play item that I would want

 

 

 

As a child I was raised in the country consider today as a remote area or wooded area that had limited activity. I was raised by a single mother who had to spread her highly demanded attention to each of us. I had to make my fun as well as my older siblings with whatever resources were available. I spent quite some time alone because I was the youngest of 7. When I was not plying with my older siblings I was playing with my cousins. Some of my time was spent playing by a stream in a wooded area and when it rained the pools were filled the top and this caused a run off of excess water to flow out of the pool and down a small stream. I played for hours at this small stream when I was approximately 4 or 5 years old. I was not of school age and was not allowed to attend kindergarten.         

This is another item that I would want

 

"In play, a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself." - Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934).

 
“A child's greatest achievements are possible in play, achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action and morality.” ~Lev Vygotsky.





This is another item that I would want.

 This is an idea of the country environment that I grew up in. Unfortunately, I have no childhood pictures available of myself.  Three pictures of essential play items for your younger self include.

 Play was not as monitored or studied as it is today. There were times that I spent a great deal of time playing alone without the supervision of an adult. Due to the fact that people were not as vigilant or attentive as they could have been. They purchased what they could and gave almost complete autonomy to children at that time.

 Write a brief entry on how you feel play today is similar or different from the play in which you engaged as a child and what your hope for young is now with regard to play.

 Play today is somewhat similar to play when I was a child. People are not as attentive as they could be or too busy to take time out with their children. Play has been replaced with the internet as opposed to a toy or a physical game or a bicycle. It is the same effect; children are not getting enough attention or guidance.  What’s different today is that recess is being phased out at school but play is much more monitored, studied and controlled by the government. But there is less of a feeling of community. People do not get involved today if a child is not their own or if a child is seen doing something that was not moral, ethical, or wise.    

 As a child play for me was different in the fact that I was not monitored, studies, and there was less control by the government at school. The community played attention to children and did not have the uninvolved mentality that they do today.  Children were corrected by members in the community if they saw a child dong something that was not correct. Punishment was accepted and allowed within the community.   

 Play served for me as child a way to relax, express myself, discover myself, my creativity, and develop mentally, physically, cognitively, and socially. As an adult I have discovered that my personality is more reserved and I prefer to work in a relaxed environment.   

Relationship Reflection

• Relationships are important to me because they provide a sense of support and a sense of belonginess.
• I currently have a positive relationship with my father, sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts.
• My relationship with my father is positive because it provides me with a reference point when I need to get advice or when I can’t answer a problem or need financial support. I contact him each week to see how he is doing.
• This helps us to develop and sustain our relationship. My sisters keep in touch with me and my brothers also. We contact each other every week also mostly during the weekend.
• My uncles and aunts contact me each other every six to 12 weeks just to say hello and offer any assistance that they can provide.
• Some of the challenges to developing and maintaining and relationships is that over time people relocate to other cities, countries, towns, only communicate thru e-mail, letters, texting, or lose contact information.      
• Special characteristics of these relationships that make partnerships is my family’s willingness to care and be wiling to contact me and reach out and offer a helping hand or provide financial assistance, and advice consistently.   
• My experiences with different relationships including my family, co-workers, and friends, have prepared me to be an active, reflective contributor, to the early childhood profession. I developed a caring attitude, good self-concept, social and emotional growth, more confidence, which are the qualities that are critical to success in the early education field.            

When I Think of Child Development

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, was a Russian developmental psychologist who believed that the focus of cognitive development of a child should be on their social and cultural world, instead of Piaget’s views of individual performance. Vygotsky believed that cognitive development progresses as a result of social interactions which connect equal work to solve problems. Children progressively grow intellectually and begin to function independently with assistance from adults and peers (Feldman, 2005). One of Vygotsky’s quotes on educating children that appeals to me is: 

 

“People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds, people who possess strong feelings, even people with great minds and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls.”
― Lev S. Vygotsky

  Feldman. R. S. (2005). Development across the life span (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:    

       Pearson Education, Inc.