I believe that play is an essential vehicle for the development of children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical and communicative development. When working with young children, I use this understanding, following their lead in play and aiming to support several areas of growth, all while having fun! To me, playing means communicating, creating, learning and growing relationships. My work with young children is definitely influenced by this belief.
I have distinct memories playing as a young child. Imaginative play was what I loved best. My favorite playtime when I was little was “dress-up”. I think that I would like to have two friends and a have an assortment of dress-up clothes, shoes, jewelry, make up, hats, wigs, purses, and baby dolls. We would dress up and have tea party with our baby dolls. I usually played with my sisters but have also had friends over for sleepovers and we played dress up. If my mom was cooking dinner she would sometimes give us a little of the food to put on our play plates and give us Kool Aid in our tea pots to drink. We would eat and pretend to feed our babies. She did not buy dress up clothes but we used old clothes that she did not want anymore. We would play for hours putting on my mom’s old jewelry, high heels, and whatever old clothes she had. I remember it was always a lot of fun.
