My Supports

Family

This week we were asked to reflect on the supports that we have in our lives. I really don't know what I would do without my family. My husband and I both take an active role in parenting and the daily operations of our household. Both of our jobs can be demanding at times so it's easier for us to split the responsibilities in our homes.

Now that I am enrolled in the Walden Masters program, I am usually busy on my laptop at night or busy with some type of assignment. My husband has been very supportive and is always willing to help me get the girls ready for bed, my their lunches for school and really anything that we need to do to keep our home operating normally.

My Mother is also one of my biggest supports that I have in my life. I really talk to her everyday. I can talk to my mother about anything. I talk to her about my day at work, I ask for advice about my kids and, now that she's retired I can take the kids to her house if they can't go to school or they have an appointment they have to go to.

Last but certainly not least are my daughters. Each day when I come in from work we talk about what their day was like and we just get a chance to be silly. They give be a chance to just relax and be a Mom. I love the unconditional love that I get from my girls. They know that Mommy is in school right now and they have been extremely supportive during this process. I feel very luck to have them. 

Tools

-My cellphone
-My email
-My To-Do-List
-My Calendar
-Plan Book

All of these things keep me organized and support me daily. Without my calendar, plan book, or to-do-list, I would be lost at work. I don't think I would be able to give me best without them.

My Connections to Play

 

When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero. 

Fred Rogers American children's television host

 

Children have always learned and created places for themselves through play.

Donna R. Barnes

Contemporary American psychologist

 

Essential Play Items 

Jacks were an absolute MUST have!!!

We played UNO for hours!

I loved playing with Barbie dolls!!

 

Play Today vs. Play of Yesterday

I really had fun finding pictures of some of the things that brought so much fun to my childhood experience. I can remember having jacks tournaments with my girlfriends in my neighborhood. I was one of the younger girls and I couldn't play jacks right away so I learned and really became good at it. I don't have a picture of this but I think my absolute favorite game was Hide-A-Go-Seek!!! Oh, my goodness!! We would play that game for what seemed like hours. We always played outside and that is something that I think is missing from play experiences today. I think parents in the 70's and 80's encouraged children to play outside. I don't remember there being a large discussions about childhood obesity because kids really did get exercise by playing outside. In our neighborhood we had relay races, played kick ball, volley ball and even put on plays.

Today I think technology has become a big part of the play of our children. In some ways I think this is a blessing and a curse. Children use their fingers to play games but they've stopped using their imaginations. I hardly see children playing outside the way that I did as a child. Recently in a discussion post I mentioned how I had to make my own children go out in play. Today children use computers and play on pocket sized game systems and they think and the idea of going outside is "boring".When I think about play today vs. play of yesterday, I really think that as I child there was more social interaction than what you might see today. We learned very early how to make teams and play games independently. I think we see less of this type of play now.