JULY 2018
PET OF THE MONTH
Page 3
MEET ZEENA
This sweet, 3 year-old, terrier/
boxer mix is the pride and joy
of Carolyn Fuller. After being
abandoned at a groomer’s, Carolyn
took Zeena home. The two bonded
immediately. While
Carolyn has been serving as the
interim director at the Nancy Guinn
Library, Zeena has brought her
to the office. The staff has fallen
in love with Zeena, too, and even
considers her our summer mascot.
Just another successful story about
adopting rescue animals.
Playtime
continued from pg 1
... is the free expression of what is in
a child’s soul.”
However, even with his invention,
school developed back into laborious
work for children. Today, when the
impulse to play is still so strong in
some children, they are no longer
beaten, they are medicated (Gray,
2008). Thankfully, the innate desire
to play has not vanished. Infants still
learn about their world through play.
They desire for their mom and dad to
make them laugh and they develop
well as a result of playing. So, what are
the benefits of learning through play?
Cognitive development. There
is a chemical secreted in the brain
called brain-derived neurotrophic
factor (BDNF) which promotes the
growth of brain cells. This chemical is
released through play and exploration.
Children learn well when they have
short breaks for unstructured play
time. In an article about the cognitive
benefits of play, Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.
said, “Most play involves exploration,
and exploration is, by definition, an act
of investigation.” Children are natural
explorers because they are born with a
curiosity to figure out their world.
Strengthens motor skills. When
children play various sports or games
with their peers, they use their bodies
in new ways and develop their motor
skills. Running, jumping, playing
catch and riding a bicycle are all forms
of play that help with gross motor
skills. Stacking blocks, painting,
putting beads on a string and puzzles
help with fine motor skills. I even have
some tunnels made out of parachute
fabric that I put out in my living room
for my two little kiddos. They crawl
around in them when it’s rainy outside
and they are in need of some indoor
gross motor playtime.
Encourages
imagination.
Imagination is apparently essential
for all of life. Through imagination,
we find satisfaction in life. We can
see our destination and purpose in
life through imagination and then we
can do whatever it takes to get there.
I feel that imagination is our form of
play coming out in this modern world
COMICS
that we have created. You can foster
imagination through the playful act of
storytelling. Eugene Schwartz, director
of teacher-education programs at
Sunbridge College says, “It’s the one-
on-one connection, the parent and the
child, with the story mediating, that
takes us back to the archetype of all
education, of all human relationships,
in which the older generation passes
on the wisdom to the next generation.”
Developing communication skills.
When we (both children and adults)
play, we learn how to communicate
with each other. Through trial and
error, we can learn about those people
around us. Through play, we learn
about non-verbal communication,
body-language,
boundaries
and
conflict resolution. Sometimes, I feel
like parents are even too involved in
conflict resolution between children.
As a parent, we should be there on
the sidelines if they need help in
these conflicts but I try to step back
and watch how they choose to handle
conflict on their own. Playing with
others will help children learn to
communicate with others which will
also help them develop their language.
Builds deeper relationships. This
one is also for the adults. My husband
and I make it through a lot of tough
fights because we are both very
playful. Sometimes when he is mad,
I throw a rolled up piece of paper at
him. Play encourages relationship
reconciliation. Play in relationships
says, I know there’s confrontation but
I’m choosing you anyway. We model
this for our children because we want
them to learn that through play, they
can create deeper and more meaningful
relationships.
I believe play is devalued in our
world today and maybe that’s why
there’s so much chaos. Maybe there’s
something about this playfulness
component that needs to be brought
back into our culture. Perhaps we
would all benefit from learning through
play, even as adults. An Irish comic
dramatist, George Bernard Shaw once
said, “We don’t sto p playing because
we grow old; we grow old because we
stop playing.”
Lauren Roberts
Editor
REVELATIONS OF A BABY BOOMER
I followed O’Hara’s advice again.
In about ten days, our phone service
went dead. I was forced to reveal my
treachery, and it was the end of my sweet
conversations with my girl. I learned my
lesson from my parents. I was not allowed
to get my driver’s license until I was 18
which was a truly devastating punishment
during that time. My dear Aunt always told
me she would have liked to meet the girl
that helped create such havoc.
When I was 18, I was sure this time that
I was with the girl of my dreams. This life
experience was different (more than letters
drenched in White Shoulders perfume).
It was the summer of my 18th year when
the parents of this young lady sent her off
to spend the summer with her Grandma.
Pat Cavanaugh
I believe this was done to get her away
Chief Advisor
from me. Off she went. I tried my best to
communicate by the tried and true ways,
t seems like it was just yesterday that
but Grandma banned my calls.
reading the daily comics was one of
the highlights of my life. I remember
I stewed and fretted and then on a long
eating at my first McDonalds and sitting
weekend, I packed and walked down to the
at a real drug store counter with low to the
Greyhound bus station. I hopped on a bus
ground seats, drinking an ice cream soda.
heading to Spartanburg, South Carolina.
I played little league baseball without it
Frankly, I had never ridden a bus anywhere
becoming a full-time job and spent the days
and really didn’t even know where this
during summer break playing outside until
place was.
Dad came home when the whole family sat
down for dinner.
I arrived after a miserable ride. I pulled
out an old letter to look for the address,
I think that the most significant change
caught a taxi and there I was knocking on
over the last few years has been in
the door of one of the biggest mansions
communication. Most of us baby boomers
in town. My girl met me at the door and
can remember the birthday card from
greeted me with enthusiasm, I would
Grandma or a favorite aunt, with a few
expect.
dimes or quarters carefully taped inside.
What a treasure!
I looked up to see a not so smiling
grandma and the excitement was over. I
Then there were the party lines (shared
was politely invited inside and invited to
phones for you youngsters) when you
dinner. I was told that after dinner, I would
could listen in on your neighbors’ intimate
be catching the bus back to Annapolis. She
secrets if you chose. Of course, if you got
had her driver take me down to the old
caught, it was a while before you could sit
hotel in town, with no air conditioning. I
comfortably. I still remember receiving my
rested for a few hours and got cleaned up
first letter from a girl. Back then, the girls
for dinner. I guess rich people in the South
would even sprinkle a little perfume on the
do this for their guests.
envelope.
I
When I was 16, our phone hung on the
wall. A cord ran from the phone to the
outlet. If you wanted to make a call, you
didn’t have much privacy. However, I
was lucky. Our phone was right next to a
closet. If I wanted privacy, I could stretch
the phone cord, and sit in the closet while
I made my call. I became infatuated with
a young lady who lived across the county.
Every day for almost three months, I would
shut myself in the closet, dial her number
and talk with her at night. Unfortunately,
in those days almost everything was long
distance, but I didn’t care.
A month later after, I started the daily
calls, I got off the bus after school and
opened the mailbox. A phone bill was
staring me in the face. I gulped a few times
and thought maybe I should come clean.
My favorite movie heroine, Scarlett O’Hara
would always put things off until the next
day, so I followed her advice. I tore the bill
up continued my calls. The next month I
got off the bus to open the mailbox and saw
the horror of horrors. I saw the phone bill
with a big red stamp saying it was past due!
When I arrived back, I was seated at the
opposite end of the table from my girlfriend
and served by servants. I didn’t know such
folks existed except in the movies. After
dinner, I was handed tickets to the bus.
They took me to the bus station and waited
until I was safely on the bus. I waved
goodbye, but I had the driver drop me off a
few blocks down the road. I spent two more
days in that town and had a grand time.
As you have read, communication has
been an important part of my life. It has
helped me to have many grand adventures.
Social media has given us more ways to
communicate, but it’s just not personal.
I miss our old ways of communication. I
suggest that you take some time write a
real letter to your friend or loved one. Drop
a few drops of perfume or aftershave on
the letter not worrying if a few words are
smudged. Put the letter in the mail. I can
almost promise you that the recipient of
your letter will smile and love you even
more for your kind gesture from the past.
Till next time.