If animals play, this is because play is useful in the struggle for survival; because play practices and so perfects the skills needed in adult life-------- Susanna Miller
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.------Plato
I chose those two pictures as I loved pretend play when I was a child. My parents were very supportive, as when they noticed that I loved doing role play, they bought me many toys so that I can pretend to be various roles at home. I think pretend play had a very substantial influence on me. During the pretend play, I beams more and more familiar with different roles of people in my life, and I tried to talk and to act the way that they did, and I became to dream of what I would like to be when I grow up. I thought about being a teacher, and I am a teacher now. My parents did not only give me the toys, they also played with me together, especially my mom. She played with me to cook for the bear, and to be my student when I wanted to be the teacher at home. It was just so much fun. Whenever I think of those moment, I want to give my mom a big hug. I loved my childhood.
Children today they play more indoors than outdoors comparing the childhood that I had. I played outdoors a lot, but children today they prefer to sit and play more video games and watch TV. I should say this is the biggest difference than my childhood. I did not have a chance to watch TV until I was 8 years old, as we did not have TV at home before I was 8. However, I find out that children today they still love to play pretend play, the blocks and the stuffed animals. I believe as long as parents and the educators have a good modeling for children , they still like to play the traditional games and talk to their peers in the play.
I hope children can have more opportunities to explore on their own and I hope board games can be well-introduced to children as well. I think board games can help children solve the problems in the future in their real life.
I agree with most educators that play can have a long-term influence on a person's life. Children can develop their cognitive and social skills through play, and their motor skills can be enhanced in the play as well. All those skills can make a person success in their later life, so I should say meaningful and well-moniored play should be encouraged.
Sissi,
ReplyDeleteIt is great that your parents saw your growth through dramatic play. Children learn to interact with the world around them and cooperate with others, to express themselves, roll play and ask questions. Dramatic play is my favorite place to observe children. Plato is dead on with his quote. When observing children in dramatic play, you can learn their likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, and about home life in a single setting.
Continue support of play in schools and home is vital to children’s success.
Sissi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog. I agree that modeling is so important in teaching children the importance of play. I also agree that children today do not play outside as much as when I was young. My husband and I encourage our children to be outside whenever the weather permits and in fact sometimes we force it because we believe in the importance of outdoor play. We also play board games with our children and they love this. They do have their electronic games but they are on a schedule that they have to stick to and do not play every day. There is nothing more that I love to see than when they are playing with each other in some type of role playing game and they are making up scenery or using their tree house as a fort or something. I just love to see how their play is working their imaginations and how they are learning at the same time.