My Connection to Play

My Connection To Play

Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce (author)

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

 “Play is the beginning of knowledge.” ~ Anonymous

THIS DEFINED PLAY DURING MY TIME.  IF WE COULD PRETEND AND DREAM IT, THEN IT WAS A REALITY FOR US. NO NEED FOR GAMING SYSTEMS AND VIOLENCES, PURE FUN AND IMAGINATION.

When I was little, outdoor play, imagination was the greatest toy ever. I longed to get from school, eat, get my homework done, so that my siblings and I could go outdoors and play. We would play in the mud, make mud pies, and I have to admit, we would sometimes taste them (Y.U.C.K).  I would play games like: Old Lady Witch What Time Is It, Simon Says, Red Rover, Red Rover and Hide and Go Seek..etc.  If my siblings, friends and I could dream it, it became reality.  It was years before my mother moved us to place where there was upstairs, and I can remember taking the ladder on the bunk bed and getting on it, pretending that I was walking upstairs to the bigger half of the house, which for me was the top bunk LOL.  We had a crawl space under my grandma's house that lead to one side, and my siblings and I use to go under the old house and crawl out the other end, which today there is not a single amount of money that would warrant me to ever try that on a hundred +year old house. LOL.  Fear was not in our vocabulary, but pure fun, love, and enjoyment of nature was our focus.  My parents knew the value of play, expression, imagination, learning and freedom to explore, and I am very thankful for everything.

THIS IS WHAT CHILDREN CONSIDER PLAY NOW: HAVING THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, AND LIMITED IMAGINATION OR PRETEND PLAY; ON TOP OF THE DESIRE FOR TOYS THAT ARE MORE VIOLENT AND DANGEROUS

     

VIOLENT GAMES THAT KILL THE MIND AND SLOWS THE BRAIN DOWN

AND CAN LEAD TO CHILDHOOD OBESITY

        The children of today, to some extent have lost the true meaning of play, creativity, imagination etc.  I as a parent cannot say that it is entirely their fault because, we as parents buy our children so many things that take up all their attention, and we don't place the proper limitations on the items, so the toys become the sitter for our children, and I children abuse their privileges.  Children want gaming system after gaming system, children sit for hours upon hours, surfing the web and exercise is out the door.  Everything that children use to see as fun, is no longer valuable like play houses and tea parties etc.  Parents have to dream for the children, verses when I was little I dreamed for myself. 

Personal story:  My oldest son was shopping with me this week for Christmas items, and I begin to ask him what he wanted.  He had this big list of three big items and he was for sure, that his list was final.  Well, later on that day, I was helping my nephew pick out a gift, and my son saw that, and it wasn't but a few hours later, he begin to surf the web looking for the same item, which by the way, was not on his list. Jeffrey, my son asked me for a early gift of a psp, I went out and brought it new, with four games, case, charger etc a month ago.  My son now does not want it, and he will not play with it. He asked me to sale it, and now what was worth $180 is valued at $50 at Game Stop, and can be sold for about $75-100.  The reason I bring this up, is because we as parents think our children will not survive without having what everyone else's children have, and because of that we give children the opportunity to drain us dry with expensive things that they will not play with nor take care of.

Play is the essence of creativity and imagination, and imagination and creativity are the foundation of child's play, which.....

I SUPPORT, I SUPPORT, I SUPPORT

DO YOU?

Relationship Reflection

 

I have a great relationship with three out four biological children

Gabriella, Nickolas and Joshua

 

And their sister Abigail who is like my own, and for whom I helped raise and love dearly

 

Gabriella:  Gabriella S. Ramirez-Gordon is my daughter and she is four years old.  My daughter and I have a positive relationship.  She is extremely bright, and had a good head on her shoulders.  Gabriella feels confident that she can come to me and ask me things and that I will act in her best interest.  Being the only girl in the house with three brothers, can easily become distracting for Gabriella, so her relationship with me, is vital, to stand as a example for manners, proper behavior, success and strength as a mom.  Trying to compete with the boys and  remain a princess is a everyday battle in our home; so taking the special time out to paint her nails when I can, do her hair, take her shopping, dressing her up in dresses, and playing house stands as bonding but also as a reinforcement for girlhood. 

 

Joshua:  I have a wonderful relationship with my son Joshua A. Ramirez-Gordon.  Joshua for the most part always smiles, he is motivated to learn, and he is motivated to show what he knows and comprehend.  Joshua depends on me for help and directions so that he can learn.  Joshua gives me hugs and kisses and I give him hugs and kisses for no reason, other than I love him and to show him I am proud of him.  Joshua inspires me because he is one of my beautiful blessings and his light shines all the time.  I am so thankful to God for Joshua, and that he has closed that gap of emptiness within Joshua, which has brought him out of his lonely stage. For Joshua, his relationship with me stands for an example of support, guidance, direction, modeling behaviors and confidence builder.  Joshua likes to see that someone cares and he loves for others to show appreciation and to be appreciated.  I love Joshua dearly.

 

Nickolas:  My son Nickolas Ramirez Gordon, is one of kind and one of the loves of my life.  There is not a day that he does not have you laughing, and sometimes crying because he gets into that simple, playful stage.  Nickolas is a lot like myself, in that he takes a little time to learn things, but once he learns it, it becomes life- long information.  Nickolas acts a lot like my late brother, Merle E. Casey, in that he loves to joy, and you can’t help but cherish the moments that are priceless.  When Nickolas smiles, it is a constant reinforcement of my role in his life, and his outlook.  He shows appreciation, he is helpful, and he is a brilliant child, who will go far in life.  Our relationship, from his standpoint is a mother-son bond, that nothing or anything will keep us down and that the only limitations in life, are those that we surrender to, in defeat.  I love Nickolas with all my heart, and I am proud to call him my son.

Abigail:  Abigail Grace Gordon is my step-daughter, and is family regardless to my divorce.  I have been in Abigail’s life for 11 years.  If you have figured out, all the children are of Asian/Hispanic heritage, in addition to others and so we try to incorporate all of it, into their daily lives.  Abigail makes me laugh, smile, and cry, and on the days where I do not hear from her, I am sad, because it like searching for a lost child, and not being able to locate him or her.  Abigail is smart, and extremely athletic, and she is a joy to be around.  My relationship with Abigail is a constant reminder to her of a lifetime support and strength, a lifetime home where she is welcome, loved and received with open arms.  I would not trade our relationship for anything, and my prayer is that it will continue to grow stronger as she gets older.

The challenges that I have experienced in developing my relationships and maintaining are location/distance barriers, since we have moved from VA to WV.  Other challenges in developing my relationships and maintaining them are children’s changes in behaviors, which are related to new friends, getting older, changes in likes and dislikes and increasing needs for independence.  Every day with the children, is a learning experience, and with every learning experience, there is a memory created, that will last a lifetime.

With all my relationships with the children, I see a partnership, because they have dreams and as they see me accomplish mine one at a time, and they see my interest in theirs, together we work to achieve for the better good of our family.  So, I encourage the children to keep in touch, I encourage the children to go and see each other play and I encourage total interaction so that we know we can count on each other, because a level of trust has been established.

The impact that my relationships have on me, and the potential impact they have on my work as an early childhood professional, are experience trial and error, and knowledge that stands for examples that maybe useful in other relationships.  In early childhood studies, it is obvious that each day of learning, is preparation for the next day of learning which builds as you go; so we can assume that every experience has meaning and it is our job as the professional to interact, observe and report.

For those whom may wonder about my fourth biological child, well his name is Jeffrey Ramirez Gordon, and we are a work in constant progress. I love him, but I would be lying if I said our relationship is positive right now. I continue to do for him, and love him unconditional and encourage, because he is very smart and makes excellent grades and I put all of our problems and disputes in God’s hand; because I know GOD can do, what I cannot do.

 

Jeffrey Ramirez Gordon