My Connections to Play

My childhood was filled with play, imagination, and discovery, and I think that's why as I became an educator I made that a part of my educational philosophy. I grew up with creative parents, who allowed me to experience life as it happened. They encouraged creativity in my play, and always made sure I had opportunities to imagine. 

Play in my younger years were centered around two core items. 

First, there was Edna

And then my outdoor play kitchen (it looked VERY similar to this) 

I spent more time with Edna in that outdoor kitchen that you can possibly imagine. My dad had set up the kitchen in a little corner of the backyard behind a bush, it had running water (if you filled up the little tank), and playing house was my favorite thing to do. I would bring Edna and my little sister out and we would create entire universes around that little area in our backyard. 

Growing up I was very lucky to attend a day care program in our small town that was probably more forward thinking than anyone knew at that time. They had a basic play based curriculum, and encouraged children to interact, imagine, and learn all through play. I feel lucky that I had this experience, because it helped me to understand the importance of play, and how learning through play really works. 

Overall, play throughout the ages has been very similar. Children just need to be given the opportunity to play, and they will PLAY! In day care, my play opportunities were very similar to schools I work at now, some 30 years later. And that has really shaped me as an adult. I wish that more adults had the same opportunity as I did growing up. I also wish that more children today would have the opportunity to just play. 

Relationship Reflection

Creating and fostering real relationships in my life are so important to me. Why, you may ask? The people in my life are what keep me going, and are what have helped make me the person I am today.
The picture to the left is my brother in law, sister and myself on my 30th birthday. Who wants to turn 30?! I certainly didn't. My 30th birthday represented a reflection period. A time, where I looked back and said, wow, is this where I thought I would be? NOT an easy period to go through. You know who supported me, helped me, made me laugh, and made me realize that I was an amazing 30 year old? These people. My sister and her husband (who had only been married a few months at that time) really showed me how creating positive relationships can help personally and professionally. My relationship with my sister is similar to many other sibling relationships. It took us both getting past our early 20s before we really realized that we liked each other. After that, we became real, adult best friends. When she added her boyfriend/fiancee/husband into the mix, our little group was complete! I worked hard to create a positive relationship with them both individually and together as a group, which I think is one of the reasons why we continue to have a really positive relationship. I know that I can count on her husband, he can count on me, we all love her, and in the end, we can all share a beer and laugh at each other!

Great relationships are usually easy to continue with relative simplicity. It's those relationships that require a little bit more attention that are harder to keep going. In a world where Facebook, snapchat, Instagram, and other social media outlets give us all of the information we need, streaming live, on the internet, it's easy to lose real time communication with people. Facebook lets us see what they are eating, where they went for their birthday, how their children are doing in school, and many other personal details, so much so that sometimes I forget that it's important to have individual conversations with people on a regular basis.

The positive and negative relationships that I have had over the years has definitely had an impact on my experience as an educational administrator. I use bits and pieces from my life daily, whether it be communicating with a parent who is upset, counseling a teacher who needs advice, and even talking with a child who needs a little extra attention after a melt down. It's my belief that every relationship in my life has served a purpose, whether it be positive or negative. Every person has effected me, my professional and my personal life in one way or another.

Wrapping up another class!

What an 8 weeks it's been! I've met new people, continued relationships, left a job, and started a new one. I've really appreciated a deeper, more intricate look into childhood development during this course. I think that sometimes, as professional educators, it's easy to forget how things start. I find myself getting caught up in "this one child I worked with" and "in my experience" and forget about just going back to the basics of development. I've really appreciated learning all of that again.

Here are some thoughts on early childhood development, working with children, and then just some stuff for fun :)

"Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world."

- Maria Montessori

"Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre."

- Gail Godwin

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

- Frederick Douglass

"Now, today, some children are enrolled in excellent programs. Some children are enrolled in mediocre programs. And some are wasting away their most formative years in bad programs....That's why I'm issuing a challenge to our states: Develop a cutting-edge plan to raise the quality of your early learning programs; show us how you'll work to ensure that children are better prepared for success by the time they enter kindergarten. If you do, we will support you with an Early Learning Challenge Grant that I call on Congress to enact."

- President Barack Obama

When children pretend, they're using their imaginations tomove beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magicwand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.

- Fred Rogers

Thank you, THANK YOU to my classmates for being supportive, constructive, and SO helpful as we wade through this program. I appreciate all of your insight and criticism each week, and look forward to every challenge as we learn so much about each other, our unique experiences, and diverse personalities. 

A special thanks to two wonderful women who keep me going every single week. They challenge me with every post, every paper, and every blog, not only as an educator but also as a person in general. Stephanie and Lauren, you are amazing women. I am so lucky to have been placed in courses with you!