My Connections to Play

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”

 Kay Redfield Jamison

                           "Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.” ~ Abraham Maslow

As an adult I still enjoy using play. It helps me tap into my creativity.

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” Friedrich Froebel (founder of the concept of kindergarten)

Connection With My Inner Child

Growing up I enjoyed pretending to be a teacher and reading. My  great grandmother promoted my love for pretending to teach. At about the age of 6  she purchased an adult  desk and chalkboard with chalk. I would line my teddybears and dolls in a row, teach them and give them homework.

20 years later I became that teacher sitting at the adult size desk ,but this time with actual children and a  whiteboard. Whatever I could image my great grandmother supported. On wet days  she would let us take the  pie pans outside and make greens and mudpies. We would use grass for the greens, honeysuckle for whatever we  could  think of, and rocks for the meat. In the area that I grew up in there were very limited parks. We really didn't need parks. Our neighbor would let us roll up and down her hill or we would play on our swing set.

Play in the 80's compared to Play Now

A video game! What was that. Disney channel, Disney XD-huh.

I did not have a video game to consume most of my time,nor did I have access to all of these cable networks. When I did watch television it was to watch Bozo the Clown or Reading Rainbow.

Children today would rather sit and soak up radiation rather than being outside soaking up the sun. 

Children during the 80's spent more time outside than children in the age of technology will in their lifetime. Recess is no longer a requirement in the school systems. Things are completely different now.

Reflection Relationship

Positive relationships is a very important part of my life. Each relationship that I have or have had has helped me to become the person that I am. A relationship can be defined as a significant connection or similarity between two or more things, or the state of being related to something else.



My Husband- The relationship that I have with my husband is very special. We have been together 6 years and married 3 of those. We have a 2 year old son and 1 year old daughter. He supports me in  everything that I do and lifts me up when I am down. I even enjoy the fact that he spoils me every chance he gets,that's a perk to a good relationship. Pernell is a great family man. Being the youngest of 13 I guess he has no choice. He does his best to include his family in our planning and expose his nieces and nephews to opportunities that they do not have access to. He embodies the true meaning of a dedicated and caring man. 

Soror- My Sorority Sister and I have a very close relationship. She and I have been close for over 10 years. Over the years we have shared some great memories together. With college there comes a lot of heartache/pain, good times and bad. We shared it all together. Now that we are adults we have gone on to share the joy and happiness of marriage and creating families. No a day goes by that we would not speak or communicate through text messaging. She contributes positivity and an open heart to our relationship.

 My friend of 21 years, she has always been there for me.Ashanti is my sister, confidant, therapist, cheerleader, personal comedian, and retired partner in crime. We received our education together from the 4^th grade on through college. We instantly connected when we meet. We understood each other. We would talk, joke, and laugh about any and everything. Whenever the adult supports didn’t understand us we talked to each other. We helped keep each other on the right path, influencing each other to continue to follow the morals and values that our families embedded in us. We would laugh and talk and of course sometimes find ourselves in trouble for being too vocal or just being out right silly. Her home was practically my home. I would get dropped off at her house in the morning before school and get picked up there after school. I was a part of her family. Her 8 siblings become my 8 siblings. Though we have grown apart in so many ways one thing that doesn’t change is the love that we have for each other. We continue to support and encourage each in addition to offering spiritual and relationship counseling to each other.