"My Connections to Play"

"Children's games are hardly games. Children are never more serious than when they play."

MONTAIGNE, Essays

"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."

Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author

"If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society."

Jean Piaget
Swiss philosopher

"Children need the freedom and time to play.
Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."

Kay Redfield Jamison, American Professor of psychiatry1896–1980

I love to play!  I have always loved to play and I hope that I never lose my desire to play!  Essential play items for me include:  sand and water, something to make music with, some type of swing, and a friend or two!  

As a young child I spent many long hours involved in play.  My favorite thing to do was to be outside, wondering around our backyard and woods and finding new things to use in my play.  My parents always encouraged me to play, especially outside.  My siblings and I would spend our summer days riding bikes, tromping through the woods, and making forts and houses out of anything that we could stack together.  As I grew older and had the responsibility of babysitting my youngest siblings, I still reverted to play to get me through the day.  When I had to feed them lunch, we pretended we were at a restaurant and they ordered their food.  When it was time for their nap, we pretended we were camping and sleeping under the stars.  Bath time included many adventures in our "boat on the high seas".  

Play has always been an escape for me.  I still find it very easy to sneak off and play although my play props now are much different than when I was a child.  My adult play also often includes a grandchild or two.  I try to show my grandchildren the importance of playing, imagining, and creating.  At my house we don't get lost in mindless television and computers or gaming systems are not our focus.  We paint, plant flowers, bake a cake, run around in the rain, race matchbox cars, read a book, or countless other activities that actively engage their growing minds.  

I want my grandchildren and other children in my life to know the joys of catching fireflies, sledding backwards down a hill, and riding a horse.  I want them to understand that true joy comes not from all of today's gizmos and gadgets, but from simple things shared with those that you love.