My Supports

Being a single mom, living across the country from my entire family and working a full time job can be very stressful and demanding. My family is one of my biggest support systems even though they are so far away. They are there if I need to talk to them and would drop everything to help me. The benefits of my family are that they are the rock and the positive when something goes wrong. Their words are what lifts me up in time of need. Without my family I would have nothing. I would feel like I never had any help or even had anyone to turn to. If they were to leave my life I would have the hardest time ever feeling complete because they mean everything to me.

Another huge support system that I have is my friends. They are there in my everyday life and when I need an extra set of hands. They are physically present when my family can’t be. Without their support and help I would be the most exhausted, emotional person. I would not be any fun or feel like I ever had a moment to myself. If I didn’t have the friends that I have I would be lost. Besides physically having my son present in my life I would have no one else physically present which would be a very lonely life to live.

Working in the classroom my fellow teachers and administration are also huge support systems in my life. They are there to help in the classroom if I need it. They understand if I can’t be at work because I have to take care of my son. They support the choices that I make in my classroom when I am educating my students. They convince me that what I am doing in the classroom is the right thing and that I am great at what I do. Without them I wouldn’t know how great of a job that I am actually doing. I would question my teaching and myself. To be in that position would be very stressful and uneasy.

The biggest challenge that I could have at this point in my life is if I didn’t have my job. If I didn’t have my job, I would have to move back across the country to be with my family. This is the scariest thing to think about because they cut teachers all the time, and I have a family to support all by myself. My job gives my family all of the essentials plus sometimes the perks. I am able to go out to dinner and but an extra toy for my son. Without my job I would struggle until I could find something substantial to help support my family.  

My connections to play

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.”- Fred Rogers

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”- Kay Redfield

“When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.”- Fred Rogers

            When I was younger I was the first-born in my family and had a stay at home mom. My parents knew how important play was and let me play all the time. I grew up in Indiana and we had a screened in patio, I would stay out there as long as I could and play teacher with my dolls. Once my brother was born then became my student. I would have them draw pictures, write their letters and even try to ready. I even tried to make a projector with a mirror. When I wasn’t playing school I was playing outside in the backyard or out in the woods. I would also play with my Nano baby and make sure that it was always taken care of. I guess you can say that my parents always let me use my imagination and play as much as I wanted.

            My family also knew how much I loved to play school so they would always get me gifts that I could use in my “classroom”. My family would also take me to the local teacher store to pretend that I was a real teacher. If I didn’t have these experiences I don’t believe that teaching would come as naturally to me as it does now. I am so thankful for the experiences that I was given as a child and the freedom to play, learn and use my imagination.

            I feel that play today is so different than when I was younger. Now play has so much to do with sitting in front of something that has batteries or plugs into an outlet. Parents let children be lazy and sit in front of a video game or the TV. They are not explaining how important it is get outside and use their imagination. On the other hand I do see some great teachers that incorporate playing at school. These teachers are teaching the children how to play and use their imagination.
            Now that I am older and have a child of my own I realize how important play is. We play all the time and I make sure that he is getting outside to play. I make sure that the TV is off and that he is using his imagination to play. It has also taught me how to play again and take life a little less seriously in those minutes.