"the center of gravity is outside the child" John Dewey
"It is hard, although not impossible, to reawaken the spirit of play in an adolescent or an adult through story telling, the arts and othr means of they did not experience play in childhood." Joan Alman
People who supported my play when I was a child are two people still in my life today my mom and grandma. At my grandma house there was a box in the linen closet that had some of her old clothes and my grandpa too and my brother and I would play for hours with these few things. We would be railroad workers, passengers, waitresses cooks and what ever else we could come up with from what was in the box. At home I plenty of dolls and Barbies and all the thing a girl could want for pretend play. I even had a few cats that would let me dress them and treat them like babies. Again play was allowed for great length but when it was time to eat or do our chores they needed to be done at that time, no warnings were ever given to us.
Play today is different when my daughters were younger I would not let them freely roam the neighborhood, like I did as a child. And if they did or do go to a friends house I have to meet the parents and see the house. Most play that I see is still from the child imagination with some TV or video games thrown like"pause the game" from when they pause their video games.
I use play to relax, even in my work day I will build Lego's with the boys sometimes they want to do what I do so I start to show them and they often times will take over my project. But play is the fun things I do, read, draw, go to craft fairs, sometimes it is even cooking.
Hi Laury,
ReplyDeleteReading your post brought me back to all the things we did with and at my grandma and grandpa's house. Some of my best memories involve time with them!
Kristi
Laury,
ReplyDeleteI can remember also roaming freely in my neighborhood, as well as those nearby, without hesitation and my parents and I did not think twice about allowing me to do this. I would be paranoid in letting my son do this today. My how things have changed.
Laury
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you make time to relax and play even now. That's something else I need to work on. My sister is a PhD psychology student at Walend, and she told me that the inability to relax damages the brain. She said relaxing, playing, and meditating actually have a positive neurological immuno-protective effect. I am starting to play, relax, and meditate more starting now! By the way, even your blog background gives a playful feel. Thanks for sharing your childhood. Joy
Laury,
ReplyDeleteMy best memories are of when I spent my time after school with my grandmother. She taught me how to cook, wash clothes, let me play and explore the environment around her house. I had the best times of my life.