Play should be full of discovery and fun times. The learning is a bonus! - Becky Evemy
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” - Plato
"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." - Fred Rogers
Three items that remind me of my childhood are pots and pans, legos, and shape sorters.
When I was a child my mom let me play with pots and pans while she worked in the kitchen. She would talk to me about what I was doing while she worked and I played. I think of legos because we had a "Town" that we created with materials much like legos. There was an army green platform in which we created hospitals, houses, etc with cardboard pieces. Included with "The Town" were cardboard people. My brother and I would play with these materials for hours, making up our own stories and endings. I included the shape sorter because it is one of my most favorite learning items for toddlers. I enjoy watching young children play and manipulate the items to see how they can fit them in the holes. During this play, we can really see their minds at work.
Play of today is somewhat similar to how I played when I was a child because children still make up stories and role play real occurrences to figure out their feelings. It does seem that children of today do not actually play and experience with items as much as I did when I was a young child, technology and television have become the forefront of children's time these days. Also, play items have become so commercial these days; children do not play with real-life items such as pots and pans as I did. Many commercial items call for right and wrong actions and not so much of free-play and experimentation.
As adults, most of us forget how to play, or do not make time to play. Play for an adult is more of a leisure activity where the brain is free, not really making connections, as a young child does during play. As adults, our learning connections occur in a more formal manner, like attending college or training courses.
