Activity 1:Activity 1:A Book for ColoringA Book for Coloring

A Book for ColoringA Book for Coloring

Play Pattern: Creative

One of my favorite activities as a child, and still as an adult, was coloring. I loved taking the time to choose colors that were appealing to the eye and brightening an otherwise plain piece of paper.

It was always fun for me to trying to figure out the story each color told about the person or object I was coloring. Especially if I was coloring a character I knew well. For instance, with Jasmine and Aladdin I chose my colors to compliment one another, show their bond, and show the deeper emotions and personality of each character. And in the end I got a pretty (if unfinished) picture!

I find coloring to be enjoyable and soothing even today, and I often do it when I am stressed, bored, or just need a release to more innocent and childlike times.

This is a useful aspect for calming my nerves when I become overwhelmed with a school activity. Taking a break and coloring will center me again, lighten my mood, and get me back on track to a smoother road to success- As well as stretching my creative legs!

Activity 2:Activity 2:Dough for MoldingDough for Molding

Dough for MoldingDough for Molding

Play Pattern: Creative

I have always enjoyed molding play dough, though I haven’t done it in many years. As a child, it was a forbidden activity, a treat when I visited my aunts who had fewer carpets to be ruined by stray leftovers.

I have always enjoyed the infinite possibilities of molding the dough into different shapes. I could mold anything from a simple smiley face to an intricate and fully sculpted house with yard and children. The only limit was my own creativity, and the skill with which I molded.

I still found this activity fun today, and it would have been far more so if my own play dough had not been so dry. I found this to be another creative exercise to stretch my mind and open it to possibilities. This is a wonderful thing in my field of education and future career. It reminds me that, no matter what I do, it is my own creativity and skill that limits me. Only I can hold myself back.

I still enjoy creating and molding new things, only now I do it with words rather than physical substance. Still, I think I’ll leave this activity on my plate for re-visiting once I’ve picked up (or made) a new batch of dough.

Activity 3:Activity 3:Blocks for BuildingBlocks for Building

Blocks for BuildingBlocks for Building

Play Pattern: Creative/Object Play

I LOVE LEGOS! This has always been the case. From a young age I loved the symmetry and possibilities of Legos. I found structure, patterns, and (once more) room to let my imagination run with these small building blocks. I had so much fun building with Legos again, that I might just leave them out.

With Legos I can let go, stack things just for the fun of it, and see what cool new thing comes out of it. At the end of my project both of my sons and my husband asked me what I had made. I shrugged, and professed that I didn’t know, I didn’t care, and I still thought it was pretty darn cool. The pride I felt in my unidentifiable (spotlight?) tower was mood brightening. I felt accomplished, even if I didn’t know what I had made, and I had built it without an end purpose in mind. It was sheer joy.

I think that approaching my school work with the same care-free mentality as far as actually doing the work is a great way to allow myself to have fun. Not stressing about the end result while keeping just enough guidelines to get me to the proper place leaves me with a lot of room to wiggle and enjoy myself.

I will be revisiting this activity again and again.

A Final NoteA Final Note

While this assignment was not, itself, a part of my play activities I wish to fully admit that the amount of writing involved in it made it play in and of itself. I not only got to do three fun and exciting things, but then I got to write about them.

Even within the parameters of being work itself, I would still say that this assignment was at least 75 percent play just in creating the presentation.

I hope to revisit a number of play activities I didn’t visit for this project in the coming weeks, just for my own satisfaction.