Quotes about play:
“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father”. –Roger von Oech
This quote reminds me of how inventive we used to be when we played on our own. I remember using broken cassette tapes to make a handgun with an ammunition clip, old tires as windows in our clubhouse, sticks as swords, magic wands, and keys. The possibilities were endless. We always seemed to have what we needed to act out our imaginary scenarios.
“Play is the exultation of the possible.”- Martin Buber
This quote reminds me of all of the roles that we explored- police officer, acrobat, monkey, hunter, zoo keeper, mother, baker, cook, banker, teacher, chimney sweep and cowgirl to name just a few. Play celebrates the opportunities that one has in life to dream and to make those dreams come true.
“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”- Joseph Chilton Pearce
Problem solving has always been an important and natural part of play. We used to solve problems and develop social skills without even knowing it. We negotiated what the scenario would be, who would play each part, and in which direction the story would progress.
The monkey bars that we were lucky enough to have in our backyard provided endless hours of fun. Most often we were Olympic gymnasts or circus acrobats. Other times, we draped a sheet over the top of the monkey bars to make a tent, fort or house. Chicken fights, during which two people would hold onto the monkey bars with their hands and try to knock each other down by kicking or grabbing the other with their legs and feet, were a frequent occurrence.
My sister and I had a large sand pile in the corner of the backyard rather than a sandbox. We would make mud pies, castles, bury and search for treasure, as well as bury one another. Once, my sister and I attempted to dig to China. We unearthed a snake who we mistook for the devil. My father came into the backyard and heard the two of us talking to the snake. My father still swears that we were negotiating for new bikes!
The Nature of Play in 2011
Children now have many options for play. Electronic games, computers, and cell phones may take the place of social interaction and innovative play. They partake in games with stories that have already been worked out. If they play electronic games with others, it often takes the form of parallel play with little interaction with one another. When deprived of these gadgets, children revert back to their natural state. They play with what is around. My children, before the onset of adolescence, would stage epic battles in the backyard with bits of PVC pipe, sticks and branches as firearms along with rocks as grenades and bombs. They would negotiate the terms of the battle, paint their faces with tempera and organize into armies. Working out the script seemed to take longer than the battles themselves. Games of kickball and dodgeball are once again popular with my sons and their friends. Once the electronic option is removed, children are the same as they always have been.
As a child, play helped me to take a break from and sometimes sort through the stress of my homelife. I loved to run then just as I love to run now. When I was a teenager, I had a best friend who was a boy. He was very taken with my twin sister, which left the two of us to be buddies unaffected by the social expectations that usually come between teenage boys and girls. We would mostly play games, pull pranks on one another as well as people outside of our relationship, and ride our bikes and skateboards endlessly through the city where we lived. Hide and seek was a very popular game as well as pick- up games of basketball, two hand touch football, baseball, kickball and soccer. I still love to play. Just today, I played Keep Away with my son and his friend at the beach. I am blessed to work in an environment that encourages the adults to play with one another and with the children. If the teachers are having a good time, the children will as well. We run through sprinklers, jump into mud pits, play all kinds of sports, swing from monkey bars, play tag and jump rope with the children. I think that throughout my life, play has allowed me to relieve stress, bond with others, forget my troubles and be physically active. I can’t imagine my life without play.
