My Connections to Play

1. “Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” -Joseph Chilton Pearce

2. “Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good” -Lucia Capocchione

Growing up, my cousins and I loved to jump double dutch. I'm still great at it until this day.

I am pretty sure all 90s kids had an Easy Bake oven. I baked many treats on mine.

There was nothing like drawing a hop scotch board on the concrete out of assorted chalk. I miss being a kid!

When I was a kid there was no such thing as iPhones, iPads and tablets. We used our free time to play with our peers outside until the street lights came on. My parents and grandparents supported play by allowing us to go outside on weekends, and week days after we finished our homework and ate dinner. IT was also much safer to play outside back then because everybody knew everybody and looked out for one another. We would jump rope, ride bicycles, play hop scotch, hide and seek, go to the park etc. I Miss being a kid. Life was so free and easy. Children today are spending less time at the park and more time into electronics and that is what is different about play today and back then. Play has shaped me into an ambitious and goal oriented adult. I can remember playing "house" with my cousins where we would assign roles to one another. Someone would be the mom, dad, and the children and we would all act out these roles during play based on our perspectives and what we had witnessed and learned about these roles through imitating our parents, siblings and people of our house holds. My mother was also strong, independent and hard-working. I was often told that I was "bossy" as a child which is a trait that makes me the leader that I am today! The role of play enables children to be creative, use their cognitive perspectives to interpret the world around them, explore their environments and also socialize with their peers and empathize with others. Play influences who we become throughout adulthood because play then turns into work for us and things we do to make a living and enjoy our lives.

Relationship Refelection

Relationships are important to me because they allow me to feel supported, loved and allow us to be who we truly are. When other people accepts us and support our dreams, goals and aspirations it builds our confidence and self esteem and makes us feel loved.


People That I Have A Positive Relationship:

1. My mother
2. Sisters (youngest and oldest)
3. Stepfather
4. Boyfriend (Patrick)


There are more people that I can add to this list, but these are the people that I see and communicate with regularly. These people support my dreams, ideas and many of my goals. They have supported and encouraged me to stay focused in school as well as helped pay money towards my tuition. My boyfriend Patrick is my biggest supporter. He has alway been by my side through tough times, whether they have been financial stressors or life stressor that seem to happen to us all. He has always been a listening ear, shoulder to cry on and always there to encourage me to keep pushing despite my challenges. My mother has taught me to remain strong and also encourages me to reach my full potential. My mother is the reason that I decided to pursue my Master's degree.  My sisters are my best friends and work out partners, they help me stay focused on eating healthy and maintaining a healthy balanced diet. We workout 5-6 days a week, my mother also works out. My step father has been very supportive of my siblings and I, especially since the passing of my father. He has help put me through undergrad and constantly encourages me to finish school and reach my goals. Each person has contributed to my life in some positive way, there are others who support me but these are the main ones. I maintain a relationship with them by showing them how thankful I am and expressing my gratitude and appreciation weekly.

Some challenges that I have faced with maintaining relationships is my ability to effectively communicate and listen. Many times we listen to respond instead of listening to understand the other person's point of view. I have learned to be a better listener and communicator in order to preserve lasting relationships. These are skills that are going to also impact my career in early childhood studies. I know how important building relationships are with parents, I am going to be open and respectful with each family in order for them to gain a sense of comfortability with me in order to build strong partnerships for the positive growth and development of their children. I want to get to know each family on a personal and individual level regardless of the cultural values, traditions or socio-economic status.

My mother and sisters.

MY BOYFRIEND <3

When I Think of Child Development ! !

“If there is one thing developmental psychologists have learned over the years, it is that parents don’t have to be brilliant psychologists to succeed. They don’t have to be supremely gifted teachers. Most of the stuff parents do with flashcards and special drills and tutorials to hone their kids into perfect achievement machines don’t have any effect at all. Instead, parents just have to be good enough. They have to provide their kids with stable and predictable rhythms. They need to be able to fall in tune with their kids’ needs, combining warmth and discipline. They need to establish the secure emotional bonds that kids can fall back upon in the face of stress. They need to be there to provide living examples of how to cope with the problems of the world so that their children can develop unconscious models in their heads.” 
― David Brooks,


I would like to thank all everyone that was apart of this course. We have all learned a lot throughout the journey. I would especially like to thank Lisa Long and Robin Kellstrom for consistently commenting on my blog posts and sharing vital facts and support!