My Connections to Play

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation" (Plato).

"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind" (Leo Buscaglia).

Unfortunately, I do not have many memories of playing when I was younger. However after taking some time to think about how I played in my childhood, I did do a lot of pretend play and dress up.
The few memories that I do recall is playing dress up with my dogs and strolling my cat in a stroller as if she were a baby. When growing up I did not have many friends or kids in my neighborhood, so I made the most with what I had, which were my pets.

Today, I feel play is different than how it was when I was growing up. People these days are surrounded by technology, and this includes kids as well. Kids are learning to use technology at a very young age, and I feel devices like Ipads/ tablets, television, phones, and video games is at a rise and is consuming the brains of young individuals. I hope parents catch on to the fact that long exposure to technology can be detrimental to their child's brain development. With the decrease in technology play, more kids will be reintroduced to physical play.

References

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/play.html

Reflecting on Building Relationships

Although, I may not have a lot of friends like many others, however this gives me more reason to cherish these relationships that I do have. Relationships/ partnerships are important to me because this allows to me to get a better understanding of who I am, and how I interact with others.

I currently have positive relationships/ partnerships with:

-My Boyfriend: My boyfriend and I both keep each other happy. We try to be as positive as we can be without letting the negative affect us, despite any negative circumstances big or small that may arise.  We maintain our relationship by being sincere and honest with each other.

-My friend Mary: Mary and I keep a good friendship by keeping each other company. It is always important to have good company and having someone to talk to. We maintain our friendship by communicating often and hanging out with each other on a weekly basis.

-My Grandma: My Grandma and I have a good time doing things we love, whether it is watching a movie, dinning out, shopping, or traveling. We maintain a great relationship by communicating often. I talk to my grandma at least 2-3 times a week.

I believe what makes these relationships special compared to others is that we each bring out the best in each other.

My experiences with my relationships/ friendships impact my work as an effective early childhood professional, because my friends provide direct feedback on some of the work that I do. Those that I truly care about will give me the most constructive and honest feedback, which is something that I need in order to grow and be a successful professional.