Melting Crayons
"Child's Play" is a primary indicator of proper development. The act of playing is the first outlet into both self-expression and imaginative thinking. "Role-play" games are the early ways in which children learn about the world around them (interesting to note that these games usually encompass gender role stereotypes).
Imagine a young girl building a tower out of blocks. The tower falls. Her immediate response will lost likely be the resorting to hysterics. Yet, if left alone, the girl will again pick up a block and begin to re-build. This scenario shows the clear importance of play, whether individual or group, in character development.
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Yet, "Parallel play" (the act of simultaneously playing beside another) can be equally as meaningful.
I had always expressed a love for art, and while growing up, would often be found with a crayon in hand. When my brother grew old enough to understand the concept of picking up a colored piece of wax and marking a streak on a white page, it was often that he would steal handfuls of my precious crayons. As the older sibling, I had never needed to share. Yet, with the little crayon robber now in my life, it was for me to conceptualize the idea of sharing my physical belonging: the crayon.
As we both grew older, I continued with my love for drawing. I claimed to have invented a game called "Fear Factor Drawing" (Disclaimer: it wasn't fear worthy). The game was nothing like the derived show, Fear Factor. Rather, one person would indicate what the group would draw, and, upon completion, would score the other's drawings on a 10 point scale.
The day my brother told me he loved "my" game, I remember being annoyed. Drawing was my "thing," and it bothered me that I would again have to share my "crayons". However, this time, years after first handing over the waxy art supply, my aggravation was not over sharing the physical. Rather, sharing something in theory.
Imagine a young girl building a tower out of blocks. The tower falls. Her immediate response will lost likely be the resorting to hysterics. Yet, if left alone, the girl will again pick up a block and begin to re-build. This scenario shows the clear importance of play, whether individual or group, in character development.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Yet, "Parallel play" (the act of simultaneously playing beside another) can be equally as meaningful.
I had always expressed a love for art, and while growing up, would often be found with a crayon in hand. When my brother grew old enough to understand the concept of picking up a colored piece of wax and marking a streak on a white page, it was often that he would steal handfuls of my precious crayons. As the older sibling, I had never needed to share. Yet, with the little crayon robber now in my life, it was for me to conceptualize the idea of sharing my physical belonging: the crayon.
As we both grew older, I continued with my love for drawing. I claimed to have invented a game called "Fear Factor Drawing" (Disclaimer: it wasn't fear worthy). The game was nothing like the derived show, Fear Factor. Rather, one person would indicate what the group would draw, and, upon completion, would score the other's drawings on a 10 point scale.
The day my brother told me he loved "my" game, I remember being annoyed. Drawing was my "thing," and it bothered me that I would again have to share my "crayons". However, this time, years after first handing over the waxy art supply, my aggravation was not over sharing the physical. Rather, sharing something in theory.