My Connections to Play

My Connections to Play

Backyard Play Set

Fisher Price Little People

For me, play was a way to escape reality.  Solitary play was my preferred play.  I would spend hours in my bedroom playing with my Fisher Price Little People toys. My older brother and sister would be at a friend’s house or school, my dad worked a typical 9-5 office job, and my mother would do housework on good days, so I would be on my own to entertain myself.  On not so good days, my mom would sleep on the couch.  My mom fell ill from a reaction to a swine flu vaccination when I was four years old, so I preferred to play with toys that I could use my imagination.  On weekends, the neighborhood kids would run and play.  Since we had a pool in our backyard, our metal playset was between our house and another.  It was accessible to all the kids.  We would swing on swings and imagine flying to faraway places.  Imagination play was my escape from reality and a way to go to novel places and meet new people.

Play today is different from yesterday’s play.  Children still use imaginative play to escape reality and travel to new worlds.  Some still play with play figures, some read books, and some only watch television or play video games.  In my opinion, playing with figures, reading books, and playing on playgrounds allows for a child to freely use their imagination and creativity to travel to new place and meet new people while technology directs the children to the places and people.  Hopefully, with the assistance and guidance from teachers and parents, children will learn to develop a healthy balance between play with technology and unplugging and playing with low-tech or no-tech toys. Creativity and imagination are essential for school readiness and a lifetime skill.  Educator should offer children opportunities on a regular basis to freely explore and express their creativity and imagination.

Even though play was my escape from reality growing up, it was also my way of learning about the world around me, learning new skills, new concepts, and much more.  The Fisher Price Little People play sets were my favorite solitary and imagination play items.  I had other play items that made play important and memorable for me.  One year, my parents bought me a Texas Instruments Speak & Spell that I loved to play games on and challenge myself to learn to spell new and unfamiliar words. I still have that Speak & Spell and grew up enjoying grammar and spelling.  On her good days, my mom and I would play board games.  I would use my birthday money to buy a new board game, so my mom and I would have a new game to learn to play.  These games would be played when a friend would spend the night.  Today, I cherish the evenings that we get together with friends and play card games.  The conversation, laughter, bonding are irreplaceable memories that link back to the days of playing board games with my mom.  

Relationship Reflection

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me for several reasons.  They provide connections with others – intimate, business, family, and friendships.  Some relationships are short-term; however, it is the ones that have lasted over time that are the most meaningful to me.

Keith and Cheryl are my older brother and sister.  We did not grow up in a close-knit family; however, as we have aged, our sibling relationships have grown stronger and closer.  We do not live near each other, but we do try to check in frequently and get together every now and then.  My sister, Cheryl, and I have grown closer as we cared for our aging parents.  Unfortunately, we lost our mother in January 2011 after a 34-year battle with Guillain-Barre syndrome, and lost our dad this past January after a 7-year battle with Frontotemporal dementia.  With the lost of our parents and our children becoming adults, family get togethers are changing and becoming fewer.  We are family and will always be family no matter what.

Jim and I have been married for over 25 years.  We have been through tough times together.  No matter what he has always been by my side.  Our wedding vows included for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.  These vows have been tested in many ways over the past 25 years, and we have struggled and overcome much.  Because of this, we have learned that maintaining a strong, healthy relationship, it takes time, patience, cooperation, communication, give and take, and empathy of both members of the relationship.

Zack and Jake are the loves of my life.  My sons challenge me to be the best I can be.  From the day they were born, a special bond was developed with each boy.  Zack was always gentle soul that knew just what to say and what to do to push me or inspire me.  He, also, knew just how to test the limits and try my patience.  Now that he is stationed overseas, our connection is strong but challenged by distance.  Jake is a freshman in high school and testing the waters.  His introverted personality challenges me at times, so when he does come out of his shell and openly converses with me, it means a lot.  Since I did not grow up in an openly loving family, I tell both Zack and Jake that I love them on a regular basis, that I am proud of who they are, and that no matter what family will always come first.

Greg has been my closest and truest friend for the past 26 years.  He was Jim’s college roommate and the best man in our wedding.  Greg and his family live about 2 hours away but have always been a part of our family.  I do not have many, close or casual, and Jim is truly my best friend, but Greg has been a life-long friend and confidant.  Because marriages have their ups and downs, it is nice to have someone to vent to every now and then.  Greg has been there for me, and I have been there for him.  This is a relationship that is strong because it is based on trust and honesty.

Beverly is a new relationship for me.  She is my immediate boss and friend.  Our relationship has taken time to develop and has its challenges.  I do not always approve of her managerial approach but as I get to know her personally I am beginning to develop a better understanding of her mannerisms.  As my director, she sometimes pushes me past my comfort zone with extra projects and responsibilities. This summer I had surgery to remove a glial tumor from my right frontal lobe, so Beverly has become like a protective big sister to me in many ways.  Because of this, a new friendship has enhanced our working relationship.  We now have office “pop-ins” where we just check in on each other to see how things are going health-wise, with the family, or just personally.  This new friendship has strengthened the mutual respect with our working relationship.

I may not have many close relationships but the ones I do give me strength and confidence on a daily basis.  Relationships are built through a connection between two individuals.  Relationships are based on family, intimate love, work or business, or friendships.  No matter what the type, all of these relationships impact my life as educator, mentor, trainer, coach, and specialist.  For the teachers that I mentor, I try to approach them as a professional coach, confidant, and friend.  Many PPCD teachers feel isolated based on their teaching situation and are needing support from someone that is knowledgeable but trustworthy.  My relationship with Jim, Zack, and Jake has taught me that strong relationships are worth the time, effort, and work involved. Like Keith and Cheryl, early childhood special education is a family that needs to develop a support system.  Like my relationship with Greg, some teachers need to have someone they can safely vent to.  Above all, my relationship with Beverly is teaching me how to find a healthy balance between building a personal friendship while maintaining a professional relationship with the teachers, administrators, and staff that I train, coach, mentor, and assist.