"My Connections to Play-Get Out and Play!'

Sweet childish days, that were as long As twenty days are now. ~William Wordsworth, "To a Butterfly Childhood is a promise that is never kept. ~Ken Hill As a child, my Daddy was the parent that took me outside to play. He said it would help me rest better at night. My Mom was not really an outside person. When I did go outside, I would just sit around and watch the cars go by. I was not too physical, because I did not have anybody that was my age around. I was the baby and all of my siblings had been gone alone time. Even now as an adult I am not an outside person, but I go outside to help my children with their physical activity and to explore different things in their surroundings. Today’s children do not even know how to play the tradition outside games such as: kick ball, freeze tag, or hide and see. The neighborhood children come over to my house sometimes to play with my 9 year old son, and they are usually just standing around outside. I suggested one day that they play freeze tag and they all looked at me like I was speaking another language. The only freeze tag that they know about is on a TV screen. The type of playing that children do today involves a TV, console, and game stick; my Son included. I try to make him go outside doing the week and I limit his gaming hours. The lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of childhood obesity. We also have adults who play the different games a lot and the children are watching them. We as adults, parents, and educators need to stress the importance of physical activity and playing to learn. When children go outside, they are exposed to a lot of different learning tools. They can talk about the weather, the animals, and many other things. My other boys (1 and 3) enjoy being outside more than my oldest son. I guess, because they have not been “sucked in” by the gaming world yet. When I was a child, I do not remember to many activities on social play. It is a play that I see as a necessity now. Social play helps a child to find their personality and become familiar with other people. I have seen that when a child goes to daycare, they have better social skills and they are not shy people. Having good social skills will help a child be a better student academically.

Relationship Reflections-Family First

Relationships are very important in our lives. Whether it is a family or an intimate relationship, we all will develop different relationships in life. I have been blessed to have relationships of all calibers and they all have had their impact on me. In my opinion, there is not a bond like a mother and child's. I have had the experience to be a mother three times, and I feel that it is four of me including my children. I have came to a point that when a person does something wrong to me it does not really affect me, but if it comes to my children I am ready for battle. I guess it is just apart of being a mother. My three boys mean the World to me and it is nothing that I do that doesn't include them. It gets very hard at times, but I know that with each passing day I am  investing in their future.

I grew up in a family of 10, five boys and five girls. I am the baby of the crew. I receive tons of support from my brothers and sisters. I have a lot of nieces and nephews, some are older than me but it is still so much love. My parents have been married for 50 plus years. We have a very strong family bond and always have each other's best interest in mind.

I have also been blessed to have some additional  people added to my life that are like family and we also have developed a family like bond. I just have to say that family is awesome and we should appreciate the one's that God has given us on Earth.

Family First,
Theressa Lee