MY SUPPORTS

The five people surrounding me in this picture are my biggest supports.  I don't know what I would do without my husband of 25+ years and four children.  In their own unique ways; they complete me! 

I feel like the wealthiest woman in the world having these five people in my life.  The benefits of being a wife and mother are endless.  It takes courage to bring sacrifice a great portion of your life for the benefit of your children.  It takes true warriors to wage war against the world when trying to protect your children from harm.  Because of this awesome responsibility, I have become bold, determined, confident and ambitious in acheiving my goals.

My husband has supported me in every endeavor I have dared to attempt and is a major reason I am who I am today.  When I wanted to make a career change: he encouraged me.  When I wanted to go back to school for my Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree and now my Master's Degree:  he supported me time and time again.  He is the most wonderful provider for our family and an awesome example of what a husband and father should be. 

My precious Zy'ale has blessed me in so many ways however, she gives me the ultimate challenge of striving to be the best mother, friend and mentor that I could be to and for her.  She and I have a bond that I never thought I would have with my child.  She keeps me grounded and helps me to keep an open mind as I continue to raise my other two daughters.  She presents new approaches to parenting and helps me fill the gaps that I may have left as she was growing up. 

My son, Devin challenges my innermost level of patience and discipline.  It is so challenging raising a son because he is so very different than my daughters and although he is strong willed and very stubborn at times, he has helped me to develop a new level of restraint as well as a stronger level of faith!  Let's just say, I am truly thankful for my husband's support!!

Iyanah, Iyanah, Iyanah..."What Miss Iyanah wants, Miss Iyanah gets!"  That was my husband's motto when she was born.  She possesses the strongest level of determination I have ever seen in a 12 year old.  She is so supportive of my creative side.  She encourages me to express myself through designing. 

My Keyanla gives me peace of mind.  She is my biggest fan and encourages me to be strong and always affirms that I am the best mommy everrrrrrr!!  She is the wisest 10 year old I know and I am encouraged by her prediction that she is going to become the "doctor who delivers the babies".  She is always genuinely supportive of me and all of my achievements and encourages me to do my very best in all I do.

If I were blind, I would have 10 eyes to see for me.  They would enlighten my darkened path with laughter.  They would paint a beautiful masterpiece in my mind by the way they live their lives.  My life would be worth living as they guide me through it with their love.

MY CONNECTIONS TO PLAY

MY CONNECTIONS TO PLAY

QUOTES:

The following quote speaks to how we all have a little bit of play inside of all of us.  When we play, we are really revealing who we really are on the inside.  Play tends to bring out inner feelings that demonstrate the type of person we are.  I can remember going on team building outings in my professional career, during certain activities that we were asked to participate in really gave a humble view of the people I worked with.  During play, people tend to let down their guards, speak more freely and share interesting details about themselves which oftentimes helps to understand people better.  

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.

Plato
Greek philosopher
427–347 BC


The following quote reminds me most of my childhood because I can remember my first exposure to a sewing machine at a very young age.  I was so amazed as to how a piece of fabric could be used to create beautiful garments.  I was so excited about learning how to sew that I wanted to sew chance I got.  I would create garments for family and friends!  I can remember being persistent with my designs by taking them apart and putting them back together if I wasn't satisfied with it.

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.

Henri Matisse
French painter
1869–1954

Toys I Enjoyed During My Childhood 



Playing Jacks was my favorite game as a child!



Sewing had such a powerful impact on 

my life that I still enjoy creating fun outfits                         

for my children!

Kick Ball was one of my

favorite games to play outside!



When I was a little girl my mother would always tell us to go outside and play.  Play equipment was not readily available so we often only had a ball and maybe a set of jacks.  We would go out in the yard with our neighbors, form teams and play kick ball until we were all tired.  Then we would sit on the porch and play jacks until we rested and then we would play dodge ball or volleyball using an imaginary net.  We enjoyed playing outside and some of the friendships that were formed have lasted throughout my life.

Today, society doesn't value outside play and because of all of the crimes that occur involving children's safety, parents are afraid to allow their children to go out and play so, they invest in many forms of inside entertainment such as video games, computers, Ipads, Ipods and other electronic devices in order to compensate for not allowing children to play outside.  In my opinion this has really stunted the growth of creativity and has cultivated laziness and promoted anti-social behaviors among our children due to lack of interaction with other children that would occur during play.  Play helps us problem solve and communicate effectively with others.  It also helps children develop patience with others and themselves.  It is also an outlet for the child and promotes physical fitness.  Society is experiencing an increase in childhood obesity because parents have dismissed the idea of including play in their child's everyday home life and the children are becoming less physically fit because even the schools have minimized the children's physical activities.

As an educator, I would love to see society recapture the desire to allow children to play outside more often.  A safe community is essential in play.  We should be able to trust one another again as neighbors in order to bring back a safe environment in which children feel safe to play.  Our schools should embrace the thought of recess even in middle and high schools in order to give children an opportunity to play within a safe environment because ironically, I don't believe the use electronic devices will ever go away in our homes nor will parents release their children to freely go on adventures around the neighborhood.  We must continue to emphasize the importance of a little play throughout childhood and even in our adult lives.