Adventure 8

For last weeks class we learned about blindness. We watched a couple of videos pertaining to the subject. the first video was about a lived experience of a man who paints. We also watched a video about how GPS's, can be used to help someone with blindness orient and locate different locations with out a guide. We also watched video about Orientation and Mobility Specialist and how one can be a sighted guide.

We were able to put the sighted guide information into practice by partnering up a classmate. We took turns being blindfolded and being the guide. As a leader we were instructed to guide our partners to a different building. For our excursion, we were suppose to allow our partners to experience different terrains and not give clues to where we were located. As the person being lead, we had to try and orient our self by making a mental map and listening to the noises that one heard around themselves.  I am someone who watches the road and tries to avoid pot holes and sorts. During this activity, I felt it was especially difficult for me to fully let go of my control and trust my partner. When I was the ginny pig and being lead around campus, I constantly felt like I was about to roll into something or off of something. I would flinch or duck my head if there would be different light shadows. As the leader, I noticed that I would forget that my partner could not see where we were going therefore, I would turn before I would give her the direction to turn.

When we came back together, we continued with two other activities.   For these activities, we were not allowed to speak to each other for communication. We had to find other means.  For the two activities we did wall tape art, this is were one can create a mural with painters tape. The other activity was creating different objects with clay. I was also blindfolded for the tape art activity. With no communication, I was confused to what I was suppose to do.  I was the guide for clay activity and there were moments that I became frustrated because my partner was not understanding what I was trying to tell her.

Through out these experiences I learned better ways to communicate with individuals who may be blind. I also have gained some understanding to what it may feel like to be guided. Having this experience helps me become a better guide to someone when needed.  It was interesting to be able to help other individuals as a change, instead of individuals always helping me. 

Adventure 7

       In class the evening of March 8, we learned about adaptive art equipment and how to make our own adaptions to supplies that we may already have.  Before coming to class we had to look up adaptive art equipment to share with the class.  Out of pure coincidence we as a class ended up with research from the same websites. These links are added at the bottom of this post. 
      Our in class activity included adapting art supplies that was provided to us. An examples of art equipment that we practiced adapting was; using a cup to make a larger handle.  It was also interesting to see what other groups had come up with, because when we ended up sharing our ideas, I saw multiple ideas that were very similar.  One of the other adapted crafts that we made was
using bubble wrap to make a roller and using bigger handles.  This would make the object easier to use.   Out of cardboard, hemp and tape we were able to create a paintbrush in which individuals could use if they did not have the ability to use their arms. 

Having this experience was great. After learning about this activity in class, I will be able to apply it to my life if I ever need to adapt anything.  This activity has made me feel more confident and comfortable in doing so. At the end of this activity we shared all of the adaptions that we came up with. It was inspiring to see the number of creative ideas that our class was able to come up with.

One of our classmates built a very interesting contraption using cardboard, yarn, an egg crate and markers.  It goes on the front of someones wheelchair and allows them to draw while using their chair.  Although it did not work every time, it allowed the individual to have the Independence of doing it themselves.  I think this is huge and important because the fun of using ones own object that he or she created can bring a smile to any participants face.  Every week, I leave this class in surprise with how amazingly creative my fellow classmates truly are.  I feel, very grateful to be in this class and learning a plethora of ideas next to my fellow classmates which I will be able to use in the future.

adapted art equipment links:
http://www.zotartz.com/assets/files/printcat.pdf

http://www.infinitec.org/learn/art/artequipment.htm

Adventure 6

For the week of  March 1st, in class we did a collaborative art activity. We started of by discussing what exactly this meant and how it could be used in therapeutic recreation settings. We also discused the importance of being frugal, since we will not always have access to as many materials as we would like. After the overall activity was explained to us, we split up into our groups and discuss what kind of activity that we wanted to create. From there we had to select our materials that we wanted from the pile that was provided to us. Our group decided to create a picture-story book. We made a small book from regular paper and bound the sheets together with hemp. On the first page we wrote a couple fun sententences which the following group would have to draw on to the next page.  The following group after the one who drew the picture, would have to write a sentance about the picture...and so on. To keep it fun we provided markers, feathers, googly eye and much more. Once we had our activity set up, we were able to move around in our groups to try other group activities. I loved seeing the creative idea in which other groups were able to come up with.

 I really enjoy doing different craft activities even though I am not a pro. I was pleasantly surprised that I felt more creative doing these activities with my three crafty group members. I felt that their creativity and possitive thinking was adding to my creativity. Once we were able to go around and encorporate our own ideas into the other activities, we shared the end results with the class. I really enjoyed seeing how amazing everything turned out and how creative everyone in our class truely is. 

Who Spilled the Beans?

Activity: Bean Art

Target participant group: This activity is great for a wide range of individuals.

Therapeutic potential of this activity: Bean art can benefit fine motor skills, help self expression and cognitive development.

What other groups may benefit from this activity? This activity may be beneficial for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities, mental illnesses, attention deficit disorders, intellectual disabilities, seeing impairment and the elders.

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity? This activity may not be appropriate for individuals were choking hazards may be a concern.

Activity description: Bean art can be adapted to fit the needs of the individuals. This can be done in so many different ways for example, decorating a pre-cut shape (such as a letter or a cat), gluing beans to an object,  or creating a piece on canvas.

Resources needed: Depending on what kind of art work your making you may need different things. The essentials will be a flat surface with plenty of room. You will need a variety of beans, containers to place the bean in, tacky glue, cardboard style paper, canvases, or objects, be as creative as you want. If you do not want to use regular beans you can also use jelly beans.

Best leadership style for this activity: The best leadership style for this activity is democratic. It’s important to encouraging and allow individuals to be creative in their bean art as well as assist when needed.

Where did you find this activity? We did bean art as one of the activities with special recreation.

Where can others find more information on this activity?

The link below is to the jelly bean candy store. You can buy jelly beans in bulk here and they also have a gallery of amazing jelly bean art.

http://www.jellybelly.com/Art_Gallery/bean_art_gallery.aspx

The link below is to a blogger's page that has a tutorial on bean art. They go into details of how they did their project along with showing pictures of some steps.  

http://easyascutandpaste.blogspot.com/2011/02/bean-art-tutorial.html

Lets go sledding!!

Activity: Sledding

Target participant group: This activity is wonderful for a wide majority of individuals because it can be adapted to fit the needs of your participants and your goals.

Therapeutic potential of this activity: Fun, exercise, communication and social skills.

What other groups may benefit from this activity? This activity may benefit individuals with different physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, autism, mental illness and attention deficit disorder.

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity? This activity may not be appropriate for elderly or individual.  

Activity description:  In sledding your traveling down a snowy hill using a sled this can be anything from a flexible flyer, a flat plastic disc or a intertube.

Resources needed: for this activity your going to need to have snow outside, a good hill, warm clothes and a sled that is appropriate for your participant. Make sure that there are facilities in the area were you can go too to warm up if it gets a little chilly.

Best leadership style for this activity: The best leadership style for this activity would be democratic.  allow for participants to be independent and assist when needed. It is very important as the leader to make sure that everyone is safe.

Where did you find this activity?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sledding

Where can others find more information on this activity?

The following link is to a site that helps you locate sledding hills.

http://www.sledriding.com/

The following link talks about sledding safety and why it’s important to follow certain safety precautions. This site is has very good information and tip on being safe while sledding.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/sports_safety/safety_sledding.html

Lets go Treasure Hunting!

Activity: Treasure Hunt

Target participant group: Treasure Hunting can be adapted to a wide range of individuals that’s why it’s so much fun!

Therapeutic potential of this activity: problem solving, team work, endurance, communication, gross and fine motor skills.

What other groups may benefit from this activity? This activity may benefit youth at risk, individuals with addictions, physical and cognitive disabilities.

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity? This activity may not be appropriate for individuals who may have major cognitive disabilities.   

Activity description: There are a couple different treasure hunting games.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which you use a global GPS or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers called caches anywhere in the world.

Letterboxing is another treasure hunt game. It is played outdoors and combines elements of orienteering, art and problem-solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a logbook and a rubber stamp.

An armchair treasure hunt uses a book or a puzzle as basis, in which clues are hidden.

Resources needed: depending on which treasure hunt your are planning on doing your going to need different things. If you’re going geochasing you’re going to need a GPS, coordinates for the cache and if you’re placing the cache yourself then you could need to find a small item for that. The cache can be anything from a self made coin to small toys. If you're going letterboxing you're going to need to find where there are letterboxes in your area, a logbook and a rubber stamp.

Best leadership style for this activity: The best leadership style for this activity would be a combination of laissez-faire and democratic. Depending on your participants and your goals you may want to use one style more than the other. The important thing is to give clear directions, be encouraging and allow for your participants to accomplish the goals that were set for them.

Where did you find this activity? 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_hunt_(game)

Where can others find more information on this activity?
The link below is to a website that has everything about geocaching. This is a great resource to get started and to find caches in your area.

http://www.geocaching.com/

The following link has all the information that you may need about letterboxing.

http://www.letterboxing.org/

The following link is a great website that can help you get started with letterboxing.

http://www.letterboxing.org./GettingStarted/getstart_finding.htm

The link below will take you to a website that can help you find letterboxes in your area.

http://www.atlasquest.com/

The link below is to the armchair treasure hunt club. It has information listed about the club as well as public hunts.

http://www.treasureclub.net/

Adventure 5

The flash mob was a BLAST! I know, surprising to hear from the girl who was apprehensive at first. We had decided that we would meet up at the library before and after the flash mob. When everyone was at the library, we had a pep talk and addressed any last minute concerns. We then sporadically started heading over to the REC in small groups. Being one of the first persons in there, I now had a half a hour to kill. I found it extremely difficult to act like I was just "hanging" out at the REC. I never go to the REC, so I was unfamiliar with what the appropriate behavior was. The music started roughly around 4:30. Because I was one of the first people to start the dance, I was able to see the expression change of the bystanders which was a lot of fun. When we had practiced it previously I had always been exhausted and out of breath but surprisingly this time I had lots of energy, there wasn't one moment in the dance were I felt tired. Someone from the schools news paper came out and took pictures and our professor was able to video tape it which was great. I am very glad that we were able to capture the moment. Once the dance ended we dispersed as if nothing had happened. We all met back at the library as planned for some processing and debriefing. Since this was part of a class we spilt up into our small groups and answered some questions about what we had learned from this experience. I can say for myself that I learned that compromising is very important when you work with others and that the activity does not always go as planned and that is okay. I also learned that sometimes it’s also okay to let my guard down and really enjoy an activity.

Here is the link to our awesome flash mob, check it out!
http://youtu.be/0GS9FIr282Y

Much Love -