Last Class!

Last week was our last class....so sad!  We had both the sections combined and we did our evaluations, had a guest speaker, and did a couple activities as a whole group.  The guest speaker talked to us about doing an independent undergraduate research studies.  I would LOVE to do that and think it would be the best experience ever, but I'm not sure if time would allow for me to do so because I am almost done with my schooling and trying to crunch it all in.  The student shared her experience of when she went to Costa Rica and worked in a facility that had little to no recreation at all and how challenging but rewarding her time was.  The were not a lot of resources or materials that the volunteers had to work with so it really depended on their creative side to make activities work and create things to do.  All the participants just know work because they never get to have any freedom or fun. 

The idea of being quick on your feet and making adaptations lead into the rest of the class period of when we did activities with Heather.  The first activity was where we went up to the front of the class in groups and were given a card and we had to introduce ourselves as a CTRS to different populations.  It was really funny and a lot of people got into it!  The second activity we did was kind of the same thing but we only had roughly twenty seconds to introduce ourselves or answer a specific question.  As a winding down activity we all were given a scenario that might make us late or screw up our plans for a program we were putting on and we had to think of alternative things to do and specific activities. 

I have learned so much from this class that I can implement into my future career and even my classes I have left.  Now that we are in the last of our core classes, everyone knows each other on a comfortable level and it makes the class that much more enjoyable!  I really enjoyed learning from the instructors!

Innovative Activity #10: TR and Troups-"Getting my Happy back"

Another topic that I don't know a lot about is therapeutic recreation and the Military.  I first heard about recreation and the troops in my REC 150 class.  I was very intruiged when they said that would could ultimately work on Military Bases all over the world.  Being so stressed out with war and having the responsibility of shooting guns can really overwhelm a person.  A lot of times soldiers get PTSD when they come back from fighting or even during their tour overseas.  A normal person needs recreation to deal with daily stress, let alone a soldier carrying the freedom of our country on their backs.   Another big factor to consider is wounded soldiers; a lot are hurt in the war and when they come back they are put in a Veteran hospital and don't know how to react because before they left they were normal.  I did some research and found some good ideas for activities.  It was more based on when they come home and a integration back into the community; that's the spin I took on it anyways.  A repeating theme I saw was scavenger hunts, specifically with traumatic brain injury patients.  There are several objectives and goals that scavenger hunts address; patients must strategize, make decisions, process information, and probelm solve.  You could do week long scavenger hunts or picture scavenger hunts.  I think this would be a good way to keep working on memory and keeping up with current events like having them find pictures that relate to their family, hobbies and interests.  Having a task such as a week long scavenger hunt would give them something to look forward to each day and to pay attention to all of their surroundings. 

Things to remember when working with TBI patients are fears, predispositions and how severe their condition is.  Patients might also have anxiety of big crowds, heights, noises, etc.  A lot of times the patients are also suffering depression so it's important to be supportive and encouraging for them.   As a TRS you want to be comforting instead of trying to confront these fears because that will only damage a person more. 

Depending on the scavenger hunt, this activity is very inexpensive.  You can use a digital camera to keep record of everything you find and objects could be around the city, house or room.  Scavenger hunts are a general activity that can be adaptive to any setting or population.

Innovative Activity #9: Water Balloon Toss

When writing my previous innovative activity blog posts, I seemed to disregard water sports and activities in general.  I just got interested during registration for classes next semester because I am taking Water Sports with Dr. Holland.  Being in water offers many therapeutic benefits.  It allows people who are paralyzed or need a lot of support when walking, sitting or standing to feel free.  Their joints, nerves and limbs are suspended in the water allowing all the pressure off of them.  Being in water also allows the client or patient to be freely moving.  I their legs are paralyzed they can be put in a floating device that allows them to use their arms to move around and be mobile.  The list of benefits goes on; creates more flexibility, reduces pain, the water supports and massages body throughout activity, water exercise is just as effective of land exercise but without the sweat, you burn more calories during and after activity, reduces stress, reduces blood pressure and risk of injury, and of course is more fun! 

Water Activities

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You can adapt water games, activities, and sports for any population.  As far as who it would be more beneficial for is probably:  geriatrics, people with physical diabilities, and people who have a hard time moving around such as being paralyzed.  Just because the benefits are focused on flexibility and movement.  Overall, it's a pretty inexpensive activity all you would need is a pool and some pool toys but they aren't that much money and it depends on the activity that you are doing. 

Innovative Activity #8: Leisure Boggle

I am currently in RTH 333 which is Therapeutic Recreation and Corrections.  I think that corrections is the hardest population to come up with activities before because of all the rules and restrictions that a therapist would need to abide by.  In prisons, jails or even correctional facilities, there is minimal material that is actually allowed in the facility that isn't considered harmful. Even a wooden spoon could be used to kill somebody and simple household items could be used to make a bomb. 

In my corrections class, a big part of our grade is to work in groups and create therapeutic recreation program following the APIE format; assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.  We focused on leisure education for our program, taking into consideration of how little leisure inmates have knowledge on.  A lot of times, our jobs as a TRS is to provide them with information and resources so that when they are integrated into society (we help with that too) they will be able to make better choices and stay out of trouble, avoiding re-incarceration. 

I found an activity called Leisure Boggle that would be an awesome ice break and assessment on how much the inmates know about leisure: 

Leisure Boggle
submitted by Kira Paran of alberta health services on April 6, 2009

Size of Group: 2 - fairly unlimited

Equipment: paper, pens, stop watch, alphabet on slips of paper in a container to draw from

Objective: Cooperation, communication, and leisure awareness

Description: In teams, have participants brainstorm positive leisure activities that start with that rounds letter. Each round consists of 1 minute, draw from the container, state the letter, and start the timer. Teams share their answers with the entire group. One point is gained for each answer that no other team wrote down. Note: Game can be played individually.

Debrief: Discussion around the diversity of leisure activities. Can you name one activity you had never heard of? Was there an activity mentioned that you would like to try? Was there an activity mentioned you used to participant in and would like to again?

Innovative Activity #7: Snoezelen Room

I do a fair amount of volunteering at Easter Seals Respite Camp in the Wisconsin Dells.  As a volunteer there you come across a lot of different populations and disabilities, some i've never even heard before.  The majority of the campers that come to Easter Seals have sensory issues or even anger issues and need to be calmed down constantly.  A Snoezelen Room isn't an activity, I feel that it's a very important part of camp because it's a vital tool that we use everyday.  At camp we call the Snoezelen Room the "sensory room" and it's sole purpose is for relaxation.  If a camper is having a behavior and needs to be seperated from the group then we take them to the sensory room and let them play with the equipment to relax and calm down.  Another huge use for it is for children that have sensory disabilities.  There are multiple tools that light up and one is a cyllinder that has bubbles that circulate up and change colors.  Here is a picture of a Snoezelen Room I found online because I didn't have a picture of the one from camp. 

Camp also has the octopus light looking thing that has lights that illuminate different tubes.  Not included in the photo, but is at camp is a swing hung from the ceiling and a ball pit.  The floor has the puzzle pieces as carpet so it's soft and there are bean bags to lay on.  The children more than enjoy this room and often will try to go there instead of going to the acitivities.  To see the change in the child's face when they are taken out of their wheelchair and put on the swing is priceless.  They are so happy and you can tell that a lot of times the lights and relaxation takes their mind off of the pain or conditions that they deal with on a day-to-day basis. 

Snoezelen rooms are quite expensive but you can always write grants for funding or try to get things donated.  There is an office in New York of the person who created this whole dynamic and they will work as a team and help you create your own snoezelen room that fits your needs.  The materials and equipment are very flexible and innovative because not every room has to be the same and you can implement certain things.  I thought this was a cool aspect to TR and everyone should hear about it!

Innovative Activity #6: Chat & Nibble Cafe

When researching activities to do with geriatric patients, a lot had to do with socializing or the groups were very small.  From reading other articles and from my own experience of volunteering at a nursing home, it's very hard to get residents to come out of their room and participate in leisure.  Some of the reasons are that they feel it's such a hassle to get out of bed if they can't do it on their own and others are not independent in a wheelchair and need someone to push them.  The healthcare center that I volunteer at is very good about getting residents from their rooms and making sure they ask everyone if they would like to participate in that afternoons activities.  Besides Bingo, the program that gets the most attendence is music or social hour in the dining room. 

I found an activity that goes along with the socializing aspect and incorporates music.  It's called "Chat and Nibble Cafe".  It's a very general activity so you could adapt it however you want and change the name to be specific to your place of employment, etc. 

Here is the activity write up for Chat & Nibble Cafe:

Chat & Nibble Cafe
submitted by Kathy Stone of Elmwood Care Centreon on June 01, 2003

Equipment: kitchen made afternoon snacks, coffee, juice, CD player, upbeat music

Objective: To gather a group for socialization, interaction, and to supplement nutrition.

Description: We continually had poor turnout for snacks in the afternoon, until I came up with the idea for a different setting. We had cheap white paper place mats printed at the local paper with Chat & Nibble Cafe across them with a checkerboard, we wear checkered aprons and serve the snacks cafe style. Jazzy upbeat music brings people to see what is going on. Snacks are served and we grew from a few residents coming to the dining area for a snack in the afternoon to an average of 30 residents in a 100 bed facility coming to join the fun. We do treat it as a cafe too, we wait on people and visit while we serve. This has been a hit and the administration is very happy with the activity. It is great that people are now getting their afternoon snacks and we try to really target the residents that are having trouble maintaining their weight or have other weight issues.

You don't really need any out of the ordinary materials.  All you need is a snack made from the kitchen, a boombox to play music or live entertainment, and then utensils for eating and drinking.  At the healthcare center that I volunteer at they always have live entertainment usually once a week, at least they try.  The room is PACKED by the time that I arrive and everyone is all smiles and sings along.  Just this past Monday they had a man that came in and played the accordian; playing mostly christmas songs, everyone knew all the words and could easily sing along.  Other times they have a choir come in a sing older jazzy songs or another man comes in and plays polka songs on the accordian.  When the polkas play, you can tell some of the residents want to get out of their wheelchair so bad and dance to the music. 

The cafe activity allows everyone to come out of their rooms and socialize with others.  Socializing might not seem like a big deal but it is once you get older because sometimes residents become self-conscious about their memory loss or how the conversation might go.  Once everyone is there you could use this acitivty as a segway into other programs going on for the afternoon since a lot of people are out of their rooms.  One thing I learned in my psychology class is that elderly feel better and are happier when they have choices instead of feeling helpless when they are forced to do things; that's the only thing I can think of as far as special considerations.  Hillview Healthcare Center utilizes this because before the residents are transported back to their rooms they are given an option of going to the acitivites and there is higher participation.  Of course, another incentive of this activity is the coffee and snack :)

Laughter Yoga

I was ill last week and did not make it to class but our topic was laughter yoga.  I did a little research on the topic, because to be honest, i've never heard of laughter yoga before in my entire life.  My first impression or idea when I heard about laughter yoga was that it was doing funny yoga poses and then that would make you laugh.  I didn't find it helpful to read articles about it because I still felt that I couldn't picture what was going on.  I found this really good youtube video that explained it really well!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAIiZkETCOc&feature=fvst  This video explains how you can use laughter yoga with two specific populations:  geriatrics and corrections.  It helped geriatrics restimulate their senses and corrections lighten up.  Laughter yoga is defined as combining unconditional laughter and yoga breathing.  There weren't speicfic poses that the participants did but just had their hands up and laughed.  An interesting fact I learned from the video is that there is no difference between fake laughing and real laughing when it comes to the psychological effects.  So when the participants are faking all this laughter they are still getting positive releases and psychological effects as if they were with a group of friends waiting for something funny to happen.  The last point that was mentioned in the video was that even though good things come out of laughter yoga, it's not a good thing to mask or bury your problems by laughing and laughter yoga isn't a cure all. 

Two other cool websites I found were the Laughter Yoga International Website.  (http://www.laughteryoga.org/) and a wellness blog (http://www.wellnessforyoufirst.com/39706.html).  These websites give testimonials and trials of how laughter yoga has helped people and done wonderful things for communitities.  Overall, laughter yoga is a good way to relieve stress and has been proven to help people self-efficasize in a work setting.  It allows you to forget everything that is going on in your life and let go to relax.  It also has positive effects on various systems in the human body.  There are a lot of disorders that are caused by stress including:  depression, anxiety, ulceration, etc.  Laughter yoga is a good way to let go of that stress before it detrimentally harms you.

I feel that laughter yoga could be implemented in a lot of different populations.  As it was seen in the video it helps with the elderly population because it stimulates a lot of activity with some of their senses instead of just sitting there.  Also seen in the video was corrections and how it can lighten their day.  Anyone has the ability to laugh, and the way we laugh is unique to each person; so laughing together can create a sense of unity beteween a group of people.   

Last week of group presentations

This week was our last week of group presentations.  The two groups that went had music and journaling/expressive writing.  For the music presentation group we played rockband, using the drums, microphone, and guitar.  This activity really worked on teamwork because we we divied up and took a high score from each group to determine who won.  I'm not very good with the rockband thing but really focused and my group ended up coming in third!  I think rockband could be a beneficial activity for various populations including geriatrics and at risk youth.  With geriatrics you could adapt things very well with the drums and guitar because there are easier settings and from volunteering at a nursing home, the residents LOVE music and love to sing! I strived to get out of my comfort zone because we had to perform a song as a group in front of the class.  I really enjoyed the second group as well!  We did one main activity and that was book altering.  There were four stations and at each station we focused on something different; modge podging, voiding out words, scrapbooking pages, and doing some journaling.  I've never done this kind of activity before so it was a lot of fun to me and I enjoyed being really creative.  There was also this aspect to it where ruining a book was not acceptable behavior but it was okay to do it now.  I thought this was very freeing and relaxing activity that could be used by pretty much anybody.  It was a unique way to add our twist on something that had already been creative. 

I've had a lot of fun this semester working with everyone in class, especially the people in my group, on creating wonderful innovative activity presentations.  I have learned a lot from my classmates that I can carry over into my future and apply to different populations! 

Group Presentation

Today was the start of our group presentations in Stephen's class.  Two groups went; arts and crafts and then my group which had the topic of drama and dance.  The first group did an awesome job!  The had four stations set up that all had to do with activities that would be appropriate for people with visual impairments.  The four stations were:  shaving cream art, drum making, making a necklace with lifesavers and fruitloops and then tissue paper art.  Each station was creative to the different types of senses that were focused on.  The shaving cream art was my favorite of all the stations; who knew that shaving cream could be so entertaining?!  We used visual impairment goggles and blindfolds to give us the illusion of being blind and then tried out a few drawing exercises.  Smell and touch were the two big senses that were being focused on at this station but the others focused on taste and hearing.  This presentation really gave me a different perspective of people with visual impairments and will definitely help me when working with this population in the future!  I tried to really put myself in a blind person's shoes while participating.

For our presentation we had three main activities that focused on the population of at risk youth.  We focused all on drama because we had done dance previously in the other section.  The first activity was called "Battle in the Woods" and was an innovative version of rock, paper scissors, involving more body movements and dramatic reactions.  The second activity was called "Identity Crisis" where a bucket of hats, masks, and glasses were passed around and the participants took one; the purpose was to create a story with all the different identities and see where it went.  People had a BLAST with this activity, people were crying they were laughing so hard!  Participants really got into their "identities" doing accents and mannuerisms to match their prop.  The last activity was also a success!  It was called "Spectacular, Spectacular" and we split up the class into four groups and gave them a bag of props and they had to use all the items except two and had to create a three to five minute skit.  The groups came up with really creative ideas given the props they had, which were literally the most random items we could all find around our houses.  Overall I feel that we addressed all our goals in our activities which were for the participants to appropriately express themselves through drama in a social environment.  We split up the facilitating between all the activities.  I shared the facilitation of Spectacular, Spectacular with Hannah, and I tried to improve my skills.  I tend to get nervous in front a group of my peers but since we are all comfortable with each other I thought it went really well.

Overall, I felt that we all learned valuable things that we can carry into our career and learned things about ourselves along the way having a good time! I'm looking forward to the last group presentations!

HULAHOOPING!

Last week's class was probably the best yet!  We had guest speakers, Stephen's kids Mason and Emily and a graduate student all on the topic of hula hooping.  When I think of hula hooping, I think of the stereotypical hoop that children use when they're younger in gym class or for a distratction, but never did I think it could be used for a vast variety of therapeutic reasons.  We watched a bunch of youtube videos that explained how hula hooping can be used for different types of people and different reasons.  I found those videos inspiring, especially the people who used the hula hoops for dancing; it was a different way to express themselves and an extention on how they felt.  I also thought it was interesting how a facilitator used it for youth at risk, to keep kids off the streets and make good connections with each other.

Using a hula hoop can help you connect with yourself and is an activity that you can do by yourself and with others.  I was so excited when I found out that we got to make our own hula hoops and decorate them.  Since then I have played around with my hula hoop a lot more than I thought I would.  I can definitely use this for my future in therapeutic recreation and for all different types of populations; youth at risk, corrections, younger children with gross motor skills, etc.  During class, I tried my hardest to give the hula hoop a try but it was really frustrating because I couldn't initially get it to stay up and spin around.  After some practice and determination, I got it to work!

Innovative Activity #5: Music and TR

One thing that always interests me in Therapeutic Recreation besides TR and gardening is TR and music.  I was introduced to TR and drumming in the first section of this class and became very interested.  There are many therapeutic benefits to using music such as:  relieving stress, positive state of mind, slower heart rate and slower more relaxed breathing, lower blood pressure, boosts your immune system, and many other physical and mental benefits.  Music therapy can be used with anyone and in many different ways, which makes it a great universal activity!  Obviously there will be different goals and objectives for the different populations, but they will all work towards the main goal of trying to reach the full potential of the client.  Women transitioning from rehab centers into the community could use music as a way of expressing their fears and concerns and working through those obstacles.  It also could help them become for comfortable in front of people and show them how to express their emotions appropriately.   Music could be used for children who have non-verbal communication to express themselves.  You could also work with geriatrics and use music for sensory stimulation.  I know from volunteering at Hillview Healthcare Center that music is the highlight of the resident’s month, even though they just sit in their wheelchairs while people sing and play music.  Depending on what type of music and how involved you want the participants to be effects what types of resources you need.  You could bring in drums or other instruments and have the participants play or you could just bring in a radio or have music playing off of a CD or tape player.  You can facilitate music therapy in many different ways, also depending on how involved your participants are.  When working with high functioning patients you can front load an activity and have specific goals, objectives, and then debrief.  The activities I found have to do with using music for participants to become aware of body awareness and the other activity uses music as a repeating game to work on memory.  I found these activities on the Therapeutic Recreation Directory (www.recreationtherapy.com) and there were many more. 

Musical Play with Body Awareness(Submitted by Melissa Cook of Center for the Disabled on December 31, 2003)

Size: 2-8

Equipment: Variety of music, variety of instruments

Objective: Incorporating musical play while helping individuals with disabilities become more familiar with their bodies/body awareness.

Description: While playing instruments, having participants play in a variety of areas, including over the head, behind the head, over shoulders, in front of their bodies, in front of their knees, down by their feet, etc. Sometimes with the disabled population, they are unaware of their bodies in space and many times cannot distinguish between body parts. With instrument play while incorporating body parts, participants can feel successful in making music while becoming more familiar with their own body parts.

Follow you, Follow me
submitted by Mindy Fulk of Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan on Friday, June 1, 2001

Size: 2 - 10

Equipment: Small percussion Musical Instruments, drum sticks, maracas, tambourines, etc.

Objective:
1. Increase attention
2. Increase mental flexibility
3. Increase short-term memory
4. Increase participation in group activities

Description: Everyone gets an instrument. Chose someone to lead the activity that is comfortable with using percussion instruments. The leader plays a simple rhythm (start with 2-3 beats) and the group plays it back together. You can increase the complexity of rhythms and number of beats as the activity progresses.

SOME ADAPTATIONS:
a)Some patients may also like to lead the activity.
b)You can make this competitive and give a reward to the 'last person standing'. To do this, every time a person plays the rhythm incorrectly, they are out of the game. The leader should increase the speed and complexity of the rhythms.
c)Have the leader play to one person at a time, that person plays the rhythm back, then the next, then the next, and so on.

Innovative Activity #4: Table Ball

I started volunteering at a nursing home and often spend my time working with dementia patients doing one-on-ones.  We do simple activities and focus mostly on sensory things.  I haven’t done a whole lot, just room visits so they become somewhat comfortable with me, or I become more comfortable working with them; familiarizing myself with their hobbies and interests.  “Table Ball” is an activity that I found would work with dementia patients depending what level they are.  It’s a simple activity that addresses many therapeutic benefits such as:  improving hand-eye coordination, socialization, attention span and following simple directions.  These therapeutic goals fit into all four of the domains (physical, cognitive, social and emotional).  People that need to work on their gross motor skills would also benefit from this activity because you can always vary the size of the ball.  I’m not sure that using this activity for at-risk youth, incarcerated individuals or people with attention deficit disorders would benefit.  You don’t need many materials, just push tables together, chairs or places for everyone to sit, and a ball.  To facilitate this activity you wouldn’t need to do much front loading.  If you are doing it with dementia patients you would need to say all the directions and explain them slowly to make sure that everyone understands.  You need to have a lot of patience because people might not remember right away or easily forget.  I found this activity on a great website about Therapeutic Recreation in general, but I looked under the activities section.  You can definitely find more about this activity on the website as well as other activities.       

Table Ball(Submitted by Natasha Pokorny of Nesconset Nursing Center on January 31, 2000)

Size: 10-20

Equipment: Tables that line up together and a ball (preferably a bright color).

Objective: The objective Table Ball is: improved hand eye coordination, socialization, attention span, following of simple directions.

Description: This activity is recommended for residents with Alzheimer's. Place tables end to end (enough to fit about 10 or more people all the way around). Place the ball (we use a bright red one) in front of one of the residents and tell him/her to roll it to someone else at the table. Encourage each resident to keep the ball moving on the table. It should be natural for them. Alzheimer residents in my facility can play this game for an hour before getting tired. It definitely lessens agitation. Another trick I've found for this activity that lessens the agitation of the residents is that using custom stress balls as the table ball lends an extra tactile element to the game and this added dimension provides the participants further stress relief, which is always welcome.

NOTE: Not all Alzheimer residents can play this game depending on what stage of Dementia they have. Place those more capable next to someone who might have difficulty and encourage them to help each other. This increases the socialization. Call out names often to refocus.

Innovative Activity #3: Alphabet Pockets

Since I’ve focused on corrections and at-risk youth for the first two activities I thought that the next one I’d focus on was cognitive.  This is also an activity that I pulled from the binder that I made for another class.  It’s called Alphabet Pockets and is a good rainy/indoor activity, or something that can be thrown together quickly as a filler activity.  The only resources you need are optional; a piece of paper and pencil to keep score but otherwise you use object you have on hand like in the participant’s pockets or backpacks.  This activity can be used for a cognitive goal because the participants need to know the alphabet and the order of the letters.  They also need to grasp what letters the objects start with so really this could be used for all ages.  “Alphabet Pockets” is also a good teamwork activity because it would almost be impossible to come up with all the letters by yourself and when you work as a team you can get things done faster.  Corrections or at-risk youth might not be good populations for this activity because they won’t have a lot of things in their pockets or access to loose things lying around.  All objects should be appropriate for the classroom and there needs to be some supervision if there are potential sharp objects.  There is minimum leadership needed, only to facilitate the activity and keep track of the scores of all the teams.  This activity offers therapeutic potential in all four of the domains.  Physical because you need to be able to move around and quickly, cognitive because you need to associate the first letters of random objects with the alphabet, social because you need to work with others to accomplish a task, and emotional because you need to be aware of others feelings and it is a fast paced activity so people will be under some stress.   

Alphabet Pockets

Activity Type:  Rainy Day/Indoor Activity

Activity Description:  A fun competitive game in which participants use teamwork and creativity to gather objects that begin with letters of the alphabet.

Purpose/Goals:

1.   To gather objects whose names start with the letters of the alphabet.

2.   To use teamwork to accomplish a goal.

3.   To provide a fun and entertaining activity.

Activity Level:  Sedentary to Moderate

Appropriate Audience: This game can be played by school aged children to adults.  Any number of participants can play.

Physical Setting:  This activity should take place indoors in space that can accommodate all participants.

Equipment and Materials:

-          Score sheet to keep track of their items

-          Items participants have in their pockets or backpacks

Instructions/Facilitation:

1.   Split the group into two teams.

2.   Facilitator explains that each team has to find objects in their pockets or backpacks whose names begin with the letters of the alphabet.

3.   Teams are given 4 minutes to create as much of the alphabets as they can with their objects. (Objects do not have to be found in alphabetical order).

4.   One person from each team should record found items on paper to determine the winner at the end of the game.

5.   When 4 minutes is up, teams will be asked to present items.

6.   The team with the most items wins.

Physical and Emotional Safety Precautions:  Participants must make sure all objects are handled appropriately, i.e. sharp objects should be handled with care.  If participants feel uncomfortable using specific items for the game they do not have to do so.

Variations:

1.   Groups can be divided into more than two teams or activity can be completed by the group as a whole.

2.   Participants can find objects throughout the facility.

3.   Facilitator could use only part of the alphabet to fit English level of participants, i.e. elementary students could find vowels.

Special Notes: All items should be appropriate for the classroom.

Discussion Questions/Processing: 

1.   Which letter was the most challenging for your team?

2.   What was your team’s strategy to find the most items?

3.   What was the most enjoyable part of this activity?

Reference:
Alphabet Pockets. The Source. Retrieved on March 28, 2011, from http://www.thesource4ym.com/GAMES/

Innovative Activity #2: Minefield

An activity that came to mind when doing this research is from a binder I put together for another class.  The activity is called Minefield and is a group initiative activity.  I really enjoyed this activity, and found that there were several therapeutic benefits to it.  When doing group initiative activities there is a certain leadership style to follow.  Usually the activities have a lot of meaning behind them and facilitators want to front load and debrief appropriately to get the maximum effect out of the activity.  An initiative is a problem that is presented to a group that must be solved using the physical and/or intellectual resources of the entire group.  When introducing the activity you always want to present the group initiatives ahead of time.  You don’t want to front load so much though that you give the meaning of the activity away, but making sure that there are some goals mentioned without giving “hints” is appropriate.  I feel that this is an awesome activity to do with corrections and especially at-risk youth.  During the activity you are supposed to think of life’s obstacles or certain stressors that are getting in the way of your productivity, so using this for people who have gotten into trouble and are struggling will make them confront the issues.  The confrontation and sharing is usually done after the activity is over during the debrief portion.  Also, during debrief there can be discussion of how to move forward and overcome these obstacles.  Teamwork is a major aspect that is used in “Minefield” because you are blindfolded so you need to trust the person who is guiding you; of course this isn’t a real minefield but only a pretend one you make up.  It addresses all four domains and you can reach goals in each section.  This activity involves a lot of physical movement and the need to be on your hand and knees crawling with good listening skills.   You could adapt this activity to being in a wheelchair or using a walker to dodge the objects.  This wouldn’t be appropriate for geriatrics or people with low functioning skills.  It’s very cost effective because you can use random objects that you have lying around; you don’t need to buy specific ones and can be thrown together easily.  The only thing you would need to worry about is having blindfolds for the participants.  The website that I found it on is located under the reference section of the activity description.               

Minefield

Activity Type:  Group Initiative/Non-Competitive Game

Activity Description:  An entertaining activity that helps a group to build better trust with each other.

Purpose/Goals:

1.   To build trust in between group members.

2.   To learn how to successfully work together to complete a task.

3.   To have fun while working with other group members.

Activity Level:  Moderate to High

Appropriate Audience: School aged children to adults with 2-30 participants.

Physical Setting:  This activity can take place indoors or outdoors in an open area large enough to accommodate the participants and the “minefield.”

Equipment and Materials:

-          Many different objects to be used as the “mines”

-          Blindfolds (optional)

-          Markers to indicate the boundaries

Instructions/Facilitation:

1.   Have the group get into groups of two (or the leader can assign partners).

2.   Inform the group that one partner will be blindfolded, and the other will be directing the partner through the “minefield” from one side to the other.

3.   Explain that they must stay within the boundaries and cannot touch any of the mines, and if they do, they will get a penalty (i.e. starting over, freezing for 5 seconds, etc.)

4.   Have the one partner put on their blindfold (or close their eyes), and have them begin.

5.   Once everyone has made it to the other side safely, the partners switch roles and go through the “minefield” again.

Physical and Emotional Safety Precautions:

Inform the group of Challenge by Choice, but encourage everyone to participate.  Also, stress to be very cautious of the blindfolded people not bumping into objects or other participants.  Tell the group that everyone should be encouraging and supportive of other group members.

Variations:

1.   Have one of the partners not be able to talk.

2.   Have the blindfolded people have to go into the “minefield” to “rescue” an object and take it to safety, which is outside of the boundaries.

3.   Make the minefield even more challenging by hanging “mines” from above.

Special Notes: Make sure that all participants keep a positive attitude throughout the activity.

Discussion Questions/Processing: 

1.   How much did you trust your partner (out of 10) at the beginning of this activity?

2.   How much did you trust your partner (out of 10) at the end of this activity?

3.   What did your partner do to help you feel safe and secure?

4.   What could your partner have done to help make you feel more safe and secure?

5.   What communication strategies worked best?

Reference:
Minefield. (2009). Retrieved March 29, 2011 from http://wilderdom.com/​games/​descriptions/​minefield.html

Innovative Activity #1: You, Me, Left, Right

The activity I chose is an Icebreaker activity called, “You, Me, Left, Right”.  It’s a fun way to learn everyone’s names, but with more of a challenge than just sitting in a circle or line and introducing yourself to a group.  This activity would be appropriate for a younger audience; children and adults.  I don’t think it would be very appropriate for let’s say a geriatrics population because there is a lot of movement.  With some adaptations, people with physical disabilities would be able to use this, there would just need to be more space and the activity would take a little bit more time.  Potentially, I can see this activity really working well in a correction type setting or working with at-risk youth.  The therapeutic potential for this activity is enormous.  The induction of anxiety is caused by many social situations, including introducing yourself.  This activity is a way of introducing yourself and making a game out of it, where anyone can be put on the spot and has an equal amount of challenge.  It’s also a way to get everyone’s adrenaline going and excitement for other activities that you have planned for the day!  There aren’t any resources needed, just a big enough space for the amount of people you have participating, so it’s very cost effective and can be run indoors or outdoors.  The best leadership style is that you need to front load the activity and then it’s mainly the participation of the group that runs the activity.  There might need to be debriefing and a couple discussion questions are listed at the end of the activity description.  I found this activity on a website I was introduced to through another recreation class called “Ultimate Camp Resource”.  This website has various activities for a range of populations and programs that you might be putting on.  You can go to this website to find more information on this activity along with others relating to it.              

You, Me, Left, Right

Activity Type:  Icebreaker/Mixer

Activity Description: A fun, simple game to help learn the names of the members in the group.

Purpose/Goals:

1.           To learn the names of members in the group.

2.           To provide a fun activity to get participants excited for the rest of the day.

Activity Level:  Sedentary to Moderate

Appropriate Audience:  Groups of any size with participants being school-aged children to adults.

Physical Setting:  This activity can take place indoors or outdoors with sufficient space to accommodate for all the members of the group.

Equipment and Materials: None, just the members of the group.

Instructions/Facilitation:

1.           Have the group form a circle and the facilitator explains the rules.

2.           The facilitator explains that whoever is in the middle of the circle, called the caller, will walk up to someone standing in the circle and say either, “You,” “Me,” “Left,” or “Right.” Then they count to 3. (For example, 1 banana, 2 banana, 3 banana or some other counting form).

·         "You" is the person being questioned.

·         "Me" is the caller.

·         "Left" is the person to the left of the one being questioned.

·         "Right" is the person to the right of the one being questioned.

3.           The person that is being questioned has to the count of 3 to give the right response. 

4.           If their response is correct the caller continues on to another participant in the circle.

5.           If their response is incorrect or not within the count of 3, then that person becomes the new caller.

6.           The facilitator then starts off the game by being the first caller.

Physical and Emotional Safety Precautions: Make sure to tell the members that if they choose to move quickly around the circle that they be careful not to slip and fall.  Inform the participants of Challenge by Choice; they do not have to participate if they do not feel comfortable, but also encourage them to try it first.  All members should be encouraging and not putting down any of the participants.

Variations:

1.           You can choose to have more than one circle if you have a big group.

2.           You can choose to have more than one person in the middle of the circle being the caller.

3.           The amount of time the participant has to respond can be changed depending on the age of the group members or how well the members know each other.

Special Notes: None

Discussion Questions/Processing:

1.           How was this game helpful in learning people’s names?

2.           Does anyone think they know everyone else’s name in the group?  (Have the participant name everyone in the group.)

3.           What was the most challenging part of this game?

Reference:

• Camp Whitcomb/Mason
• Ultimate Camp Resource. (2010). Retrieved March 28, 2011, from http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/you-me-left-right.html