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Butler, S. (2007). Learning Through Play. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from Early Childhood News: The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=591
Carroll, K. (2012,
July 27). Play is Necessary: Kevin Carroll at TEDxHarlem. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from YouTube: http://youtu.be/1pz72Wygg8c

National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Play. NAEYC publications .

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I watched the video “Play is Necessary: Kevin Carroll at TEDxHarlem” on YouTube. I have to tell you that I stopped doing my work and went straight to Twitter to follow Kevin Carroll’s instructions to find @TEDxHarlem and tweet #myplayis____. (Carroll, 2012) I was going to share what my tweet was, but I would rather share my husband’s tweet because his was so honest and truthful that it made me think back on how many times he has actually practiced that form of play.

My husband, George L. Rosario, twitter name @big_george_nyc wrote: “@tedxharlem#myplayis dancing like no one is watching. I pity those who watch from the sidelines and don't join in.”

He then uploaded this picture of himself giving me a lap dance at a public place in New York City during his 40th birthday celebration. He truly values the importance of play (sometimes more than he should...lol). I think this is why the kids are so close to him.

Works Cited

Carroll, K. (2012, July 27). Play is Necessary: Kevin Carroll at TEDxHarlem. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from YouTube: http://youtu.be/1pz72Wygg8c

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My step sons Isaiah and Justice playing dress up Mortal Combat at a Halloween Party 2013. Their imagination is so alive. They escape into their own world and sometimes it is almost impossible to get them back. I can see that they have never been asked to limit their imagination because it comes through in their school work. Isaiah just got into Williamsburg Prep, one of the more difficult High Schools to be accepted to in New York. The administration says that one of the main reasons for his acceptance was his imaginative entrance essay where he painted the school as this magical land where all our dreams can come true. Creativity played a great part in his successful essay creation. It also plays a great part in

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My husband is 41. He is also a grandfather. This is his grandson Zephanaiah. In this photo, George & Zeph are playing with each other, yelling at the top of their lungs. Every time George would scream, Zeph would imitate him. Zeph was only 5 months old in this picture. The boy amazes me. His ability to imitate others is amazing. He is 8 months old now and he chases my daughter in his walker, screaming Emma at the top of his lungs. Imitating his uncles and aunt, and others around him has him impressing everyone with his vocabulary. His ability to learn new words, and understand (at least display that he understands) their meaning is far beyond what I would have expected any 8 month old baby to do. He says bye and waves, tries to say his uncles and aunt's names. He says no and stop when he doesn't like something. It is amazing. He is actually communicating with us!

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Counting Turtles at Bowne Park in Queens, NY

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Counting Turtles at Bowne Park in Queens, NY

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My son and daughter released their turtles into the pond 3 years ago and we still go out to Bowne Park to visit them and their huge turtle family. This picture was taken on Mother's Day 2014. Antonio and Emma were counting turtles, and looking to see if they would spot their own turtles. They are totally convinced they can tell the difference between all the hundreds of turtles and our two turtles. Who am I to convince them otherwise

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Antonio shoots and scores over Isaiah and Justice

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Antonio shoots and scores over Isaiah and Justice

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Although he is shorter than many other 7 year old boys (gets that from my 5'4" tall husband), my son Antonio is quite the athlete (we are all athletic in the Rosario household). He is also convinced that he is 10 feet tall (definitely gets that confidence from his father as well). My husband loves taking the kids to the park, and on this particular day he went with the boys while my daughter and I went off to her dance practice. I saw this picture posted on Facebook while at the dance practice and got the full play by play report when I returned home later that day.

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Bowling for Luis & Emma's birthday. 12/29/2013

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Bowling for Luis & Emma's birthday. 12/29/2013

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We come from a large family with many kids. This is just the ones that were able to make it to a late night bowling party. They all had such a good time. They were exercising self control (waiting their turn), cooperation (helping each other figure the game out), and pure fun. We spent 4 hours at the bowling alley and while the adults were definitely ready to retire after those 4 hours, the kids wanted to spend another 4 there. This was such an amazing night. We got home well after midnight (no school the next day so it was ok).

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Here is a classic example of an adult taking time to value the importance of play with a child. This is my daughter playing dominoes with her grandfather on her tiny Disney Minnie Mouse table. Grandpa and Emma had plenty of laughs, especially when she beat him at his own game without anyone's help. My father-in-law is genuinely involved in playtime with the kids. He loves teaching them new things and sharing fun moments with them. He understands the idea that play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and social competence. In this picture, he wasn't only playing dominoes with my daughter, he was teaching her math, Spanish, concentration, strategy, and the art of reading your opponent's body language.

Works Cited

National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Play. NAEYC publications .

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Rosario Family Road Trip to Washington D.C

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Rosario Family Road Trip to Washington D.C

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OK, so my husband and I love joining in during playtime. In the summer of 2013, we loaded the minivan and drove from New York to Washington D.C. for a one week vacation. When we hit traffic, the biggest baby out of the bunch, my husband George on the far left, decided to blast the radio and start taking pictures of his family. He then asked us all to sing at the top of our lungs and snapped this picture. What a GREAT memory this is. The kids still talk about this trip, particularly about this moment. I think the trip was more successful than I expected because as Shelley Butler wrote, a great way to promote healthy, valuable play is to adopt a playful attitude, and my husband definitely knows how to do that. (from left to right: George, Antonio, Justice, Emmanuella, Isaiah and me).

Works Cited

Butler, S. (2007). Learning Through Play. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from Early Childhood News: The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=591

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My stepsons when they were much younger. 

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My stepsons when they were much younger. 

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These two funny little guys are now 12 and 14 and just celebrated their 5th and 8th grade graduations. This happens to be one of my favorite picture of them. They were 3 and 5 in this picture and were playing bank robbers with their water guns and MY brand new stockings. I didn't care. I think this was one of those adorable moments that define their personalities. They haven't changed much other than being as tall as I am now. I still see them as these two little guys I met when I first started dating my husband George. The one on the left is Justice and the one on the right is Isaiah.

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My children and my friend Rain's children.

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My children and my friend Rain's children.

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These four little ones are so close that they celebrate birthdays together, spend their summers together and have sleepovers at each other's homes all the time. The boy and girl in the middle are my daughter Emma and son Antonio. The girl on the far left is JayR and the boy on the far right is Luis. My daughter Emma and Rain's son Luis are especially close since they share the same birthday and are only a year apart (Luis is 6 and Emma is 5). In this particular picture, they were holding onto each other and walking funny while visiting the Bronx Zoo in New York.