"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation" - Plato"It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self" - D.W. Winnicott
Considering the fact that my mom worked during the day, I would go to my grandmother's house after school when I was a child. I would also spend the summer's at my grandmother's house. She encouraged my play by sending my cousins and I outside with a pitcher of ice water and cups. I had no choice but to be creative and play all day because once we went outside my grandmother locked her door so we could not come "in and out" her house. All the tools I needed to enjoy play were dirt and water. I would pour the water in the dirt and make mud pies, put water in an old pot with grass to make collard greens, etc. I was extremely content pretending I was cooking all day. It's amazing how as an adult the only channel I watch is the cooking channel. I am so addicted that I have extra televisions so my young children can watch cartoons on one side of the room and I can still watch the cooking channel. I also love to bake. Play is different now than it was when I was growing up because back then everything was so hands on. I didn't attend preschool because I stayed home with relatives. All they knew to do with me was to play. I guess that is why I understand the importance of play because I remember having so much fun. By the time I went to kindergarten I didn't mind doing academic work because I was allowed to play as much as I liked prior to going. I learned so many things through play that can't be taught by listening to a teacher explain or sitting at a table doing worksheets all day. Play today is a little more structured than play when I was growing up. Teachers don't want to clean up the mess children can make or they have a difficult time understanding how children are actually learning through play. My thoughts regarding play throughout my life are I AM GLAD I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY!!! As an adult, it isn't much fun working a full time job, paying bills, raising a family, and trying to obtain my Master's degree. However, the fact that I had such great fun as a child, makes it a little easier and I know how to laugh and deal with stress better. My children definitely appreciate the fact that I had a fun-filled childhood too because we always have a wonderful time together......
