~~~~~~~~My Connection to Play~~~~~~~~

It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American writer
1803–1882

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.
Carl Jung
Swiss psychoanalyst
1875–1961

I chose the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson because it represents happiness. My memories of playing as a child are happy. I was in love with play and couldn’t wait to begin a new day of

play! I worked very hard to develop play as a talent! My dad (pictured below) provided a wealth of themes for

play. Our favorite game was to use our toy tractors and wagons to gather grass clippings - just like my dad was doing with hay. My cousins named our game, “Uncle Dom” after my dad. (My daughters, Sarah and Allie are pictured above on their "wheels")
My parents were very supportive of play in that they bought toys and games for my siblings and me. Sometimes my parents would play with us, especially board games. More times than not they allowed us to play uninterrupted. We were permitted to invite friends to our house to play - usually our cousins, and we were permitted to go to their house to play. My parents gave us permission to use two out-buildings in our yard for play houses. We designated one as “for girls only” and one “for boys only”. We would spend days cleaning and decorating and making signs such as, “No boys allowed” and “Keep Out!”. My mother didn’t interfere with our playing and always made sure we had supplies to make signs and decorate. We also had a swing set. We took the swings off and used the bars to make up and perform gymnastic tricks.
I chose the quote by Carl Jung because of the creativity and creations produced by play. When my sisters, cousins and I developed gymnastic tricks, we did it by pure play instinct and creativity. None of us had gymnastic classes. We organized our gymnastic tricks into “shows” and sold tickets for our “performances” to our parents. My uncle always bought a ticket and would compliment us on our ability. Another reason I chose this quote is because of the fun I had designing my child care center. I was very focused on an activity of my choosing. No one was directing me and I was able to use the knowledge I had gathered in college and work situations (scaffolding) in a creative and rewarding way. My memory of the fun I had is equivalent to the fun I had creating a gymnastic show as a child.
When I was a child, growing up on a farm, we did not fear strangers. I could run freely throughout our neighborhood, which consisted of about a dozen houses, and all over the farm. My parents encouraged play in the house, and especially outside. A neighbor allowed us to use his open field as a baseball field. All the neighborhood children would participate, regardless of age (as long as you were old enough to be allowed out of the yard). We all had the same instructions from our parents, “Be home by dark”. My children experienced the same freedom I had on a much smaller scale since our yard was only one acre. However, they didn’t have freedom to wonder around the neighborhood freely because I was afraid of strangers and wanted my children within sight when they played outside. When they were invited to a neighbor’s house I watched them walk until they were safely in the neighbor’s yard. I played games with my children, and allowed for them to play uninterrupted and without my input. My emphasis with my children was on creativity and self-directed play. I knew the benefits of play and had such fond memories of playing as a child I wanted my children to experience the same kind of fun.
Play has been tremendous throughout my life. My earliest and best memories are of playing. I remember playing in the dirt when I was two. The memory sticks with me because my older cousin told me I was going to be in trouble for getting dirty and I remember my fun instantly turning into fear. I associate play with laughter. My sisters, brother and I would laugh and laugh until tears ran down our cheeks. Sometimes we would laugh just because we wanted to. As an adult, laughter is still very important to me. If I find myself not laughing, I know it’s time to “regroup” and take time out to play. My play has changed over the years. Sometimes I consider shopping with one of my sisters play. We make jokes and laugh, and for that brief amount of time we become worry free.