Lighten Up and Change the World, a Camp Fire First Texas blog by Lyn Lucas
Contributor

LYN LUCAS
Senior Vice President of Early Education and Program Evaluation

There are a lot of important things happening in the world, our nation, our state and our communities right now, and this post isn’t about any of them. I do want to acknowledge these, however, and also the ways the conversations and actions around these things affect not only adults, but children as well.

  • War in Ukraine
  • Political season and advertising
  • Texas transgender order to CPS
  • Changes in the Child Developmental Milestone Guidelines set by CDC
  • Pandemic and lingering results

Last week I was reflecting on feedback from local child care teachers and directors about this school year. They shared these past two years have been a beat-down, like life is slugging it out with us and every time we try to stand back up—it’s “Omicron!”, “ voting rights”, (see list above).

I tend to take things “too seriously”, or so I’ve been told. And then, we have these actual serious things occurring all around us. There’s a time and a place for seriousness. I’m also finding however, that in this pile of pandemic, political and social mess, I have got to find some space to lighten up a little. There has got to be a way to both acknowledge serious things, be bothered by them, do what I can about them, AND stay sane. Not only for my own well-being, but for the children and adults around me. Through all of this, we are still living, growing, influencing.

It turns out, we are actually better prepared to solve and respond to life’s difficulties if we play—yep, play.

We know play helps us think better, problem solve more effectively, feel better, and build relationships. Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D., Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame describes play as skill development, citing social perception, empathy, creativity, flexibility, humility, sense of humor, initiative, moving on from mistakes, listening, honestly, inclusiveness, and problem-solving to be examples of just some of the skills learned through play. Stuard Brown, MD. writes about the importance of play the lives of adults in his book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul and describes different ways that adults engage in play.

In the spirit of healthy child and youth development, I give you ways adults can be good examples of well-being through play by sharing the play-types Dr. Brown talks about in his book.

Ready to play? Start with this play-style quiz that counselor Lindsay Braman developed to see how you play. Are you a

 Joker Kinesthetic  Explorer  Competitor 

 Director  Creator  Storyteller  Collector 

Take the quiz:  https://lindsaybraman.com/adult-play-styles/ 

If you need some additional play inspiration…

My top 10 “Play Quotes”:

  1. Play is the exultation of the possible. (Martin Buber) 
  2. Kids don’t remember their best day of television.  
  3. Play is the highest form of research. (Albert Einstein) 
  4. Play is training for the unexpected (Marc Bekoff) 
  5. It’s a happy talent to know how to play (Ralph Waldo Emerson) 
  6. Play is our brains favorite way of learning (Diane Ackerman) 
  7. You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation (Plato) 
  8. Play is the answer to anything new comes about (Jean Piaget) 
  9. Play gives children (and adults) a chance to practice what they are learning (Fred Rogers) 
  10. My childhood may be over, but that doesn’t mean playtime is. (Ron Olson) 

Bonus:  Don’t just tell children about the world. Show them. (Penny Whitehouse) 

2022 Playlist

An upbeat way to walk into the day, or get a pick me up in the afternoon, drive home, or evening walk.