“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.” ~ James L. Hymes Jr. (child development specialist, author)
This quote says it all for me. I think that play really does allow us the freedom to just test the world around us. It is how we test relationships with other people, how we see what happens if we don't follow the rules, and if we do follow the rules, and allows us to test our own potential in terms of finding our limits, whether it be in playing a game, or playing creatively alone or with others.
As a child I often played with Barbie dolls. My favorite was the new "Twist N Turn" Barbie-so lifelike (pictured here)! My sister and I had 4 Barbies to share. So we pretended to be sophisticated young women, going to work or on dates with our imaginary Ken doll, or sometimes with our brother's G. I. Joe. We imagined all kids of scenarios, only guessing what it would be like to be in those situations, using different accents when we spoke and pretending to be worldly like people we saw on TV.
My brothers and sisters were the people I played with most often when I was very young. They were all older than me, and usually I had to play what they wanted to. So as soon as I could ride a bike, that is what we did the most. We lived on an old farm, so there was a long dirt lane that led from the road to the house. We rode our bikes up and down that lane constantly. We would play games like "Cops and Robbers" on the bikes, chasing each other back and forth that lane for what seemed like hours. I also used to pretend my bike (very much like the one pictured here, except mine had a plastic "wicker" basket with flowers at the front) was a car and pretend to run errands like banking and grocery shopping, too. I could carry pretend groceries or stuffed animal "children" in the basket, too.
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” -Mr. Rogers
When I was young, we played outside almost all the time. So, again we had to be creative in terms of thinking of things to do. I grew up in the 60's, when Star Trek was on TV weekly. Again my 2 brothers were a great influence on me, and so I usually wanted to do what they were doing. Along the lane we rode our bikes on, there was a row of apple trees. Apple trees are great for climbing, with branches that go sideways sometimes, so you can climb easily and then sit on a branch. We used to climb one particular tree, which was, in our imaginations, the starship Enterprise from Star Trek. We each had a special branch to sit on, we took on a character, and we would re-enact the different episodes we had watched on TV! It wa so cool! Now I can say how much we learned while sitting in that tree, although I certainly never realized it at the time. We used our creative thinking processes to create a magical space, we used our memory to act out the TV shows, we socially chose roles and tried to emulate the characters from the show, and we also developed physically from having to climb the tree in the first place ! Who knew?
I think that play today is very different than it was all those years ago. Better in some ways, but not all good. I think children still play and learn in many of the same ways. Kids play on organized sports teams at earlier ages now, and I am not sure it is really necessary to start so young. Children don't seem to get any time for all that fun, creative play any more. We know that children spend many, many more sedentary hours inside their homes in front of a screen of some sort, playing games. Again, these may not all be bad, but many children just don't get enough physical activity now.
Play has had a very imortant role in my life. From those early days I have mentioned, I went on to play on organized teams-softball, volleyball and track and field. Being on those teams as a teenager gave me skills on which to focus, teammates as friends and goals to strive for. As captain of my high school volleyball team, I gained leadership skills and confidence in myself as a young person. All that playing, all along, helped me to learn so much as I have gone through my life, I can hardly express it here. And I still play as much as I am able, and I am as playful as ever in my everyday life. My hope is that today's children are able to be allowed to experience the play they need to help them them grow and mature into sensible, productive adults.
