FOOD for thought, CHARADES, and HOOPING

Our class this past week was just about one of the most fun ones that we've had yet, and it was led by yours truely amongst othet students! The focus of this class was for our groups to have a chance to facilitate a long activity that lasted approximately 35-45 mintues of the class. My group was the first to go, with the topic of food for thought. We supplied the class with a variety of fruits and veggies and gave them free range to create something that represented them/their group in a certain topic area. The specific population that we focused on was people who are severely depressed and so the topics which we assigned the groups to focus on included  things that scare your or give you anxiety, what do you hope for the future, how do you feel today, what is something about yourself that you would like to change, what is something that you regret, and what makes you happy. The class got very creative with this task and had some really wonderful sculptures. I wish we could have had a little more time to really allow everyone ample time to come up with an idea and carry it out to completion. I have included some examples (not from our class) of how others have gotten creative with food!  



The next activity that we got to partake in was called telephone charades, which was "gear towards" people who have hearing impairments, but by no means is limited to that population. What happened is one person from a team picked a prewritten scenario and had to act it our for only ONE other member of the team, while the rest of the team waits somewhere where they can not see what is going on. The person who witnesses the acted out scenario then acts in out for the next person on their team, even though they may not know exactly what it is they they are acting out. We have some classmates who could be potential actors/actresses I think! Some of the scenarios we had to act out were changing a flat tire, suddenly giving birth in a supermarket, getting into a hockey fight, setting up a campsite and catching your pants on fire, sneaking out of your parents house to meet a lover and many more. It was apparent that everyone in the class really enjoyed this activity and I think we all had had an ab workout as well from all of the laughing we did! I definitely think this would be a great game to play for people, with or without hearing impairments. We discussed how the people who do have the impairment would probably feel like an "expert" in acting out because they may have to use gestures in their everyday conversations as a conversational tool.



Lastly, our class was re-introduced to hooping....or at least I was. I haven't hoola-hooped in years! Although I don't remember ever being able to do it for as long as I did in class.....which I wish wasn't the case because when I was little I remember being in a hoola-hooping competition at a family reunion where the prize was $50 ....needless to say I didn't win :).... ANYWYAS! We didn't just hoola-hoop, but we made our own hoops! It was a very simple process. The only materials we needed were irrigation tubing, colored making tape, a blow dryer and a connecter which connected the two ends of the tubing into a hoop. Although we had a blast making the hoops, we had even more fun using them. We even had to go outside (keep in mind it was about 35 degrees) becuase we were getting so warm from all the hooping (a new verb I've never used before) we were doing. One of the really interesting facts that I learned about hooping is that when you hoop in one direction and then stop and go in the opposite direction, it is just about the closest both your left and right brain get to functioning at the same time. I think the physical and mental/emotion/social benefits of hooping were all pretty evident in our experience. Everyone was laughing and socializing throughout the activity; sharing strategies and laughing at how goofy we all looked. Not to mention I think we all got a good workout!

That's all I've got for today! Another round of "long activities" next week, which I'm very much looking forward to after this week.....not to mention I get to go home right after class for Thanksgiving break!

Until next time!

Katie



Pet Therapy

Last class we had two lovely ladies and their dogs, Gus and Cooper, come in an talk to us about animal therapy! It didn't take too many words to describe the effect that animals have on people....it was pretty evident the moment you walked into the room and saw the reaction the students had to the animals. Everyone seemed to be in a better mood, despite the fact that this is a night class from 4:00-7:00pm, because there were DOGS there. If the two women had come alone, granted they had wonderful personalities and did a great job presenting, it just would not have been the same. Some of the benefits of animal therapy that were described to us, and also sometimes visible in the students are: Giving a calming presence, a reduction in anxiety, morale boosters, increased self-esteem, reduced feelings of lonliness, and entertainment, amongst many others.


Gus, the Golden Retriever that came to visit us :)



Since our presenters really did need to do much explaining on the benefits of animal therapy, they talked about their experiences as being part of a therapy team (the team includes the animal and it's trainer). There are special requirements that their dogs had to pass in order to be classified as a therapy dog. Some of the things that they need to be able to handle include:

1. Be friendly with people upon their FIRST encounter. The dogs do not have time to get to know the people/patients/clients prior to their therapy session therefore the dog must be comfortable with people at their inicial meeting.

2. Be able to handle "high stress" situations. You never know what kind of situation you are going to encounter. Whether it's loud noises or little kids grabbing on to the dog's collar, the dog must be able to remain calm.

3. Be able to interact with other dogs.

4. Sit on command and stay in place



All in all, I thought that this was a wonderful presentation! For more information on the Coulee Region Human Society's program "Ambassadors of Love" click here I have two dogs of my own at my parents' house (4 hours away from school) so it was nice to be able to hang out with two dogs, even though they weren't my own :) I think that pet therapy is something that I would be interested in being involved with when I have the time and money to have a dog of my own! That's all for now, until next time!

Katie



Goal Ball

It's not everyday that I wake up with a huge bruise on my knee and realize it's from class the previous night; which was the case last week. In Innovative Activities, we were introduced to a game called "Goal Ball" and things apparently got a little intense (but we won, so it's cool). According to the United Stated Assoication for blind athletes, goal ball is, " a Paralympic sport played by athletes who are blind and visually impaired. Developed after WWII as a way to keep blinded veterans physically active, it has become the premiere team game for blind athletes. Played competitively by men and women, it is a very fast paced, physically challenging, strategic and exciting game." Here are some basics of the game. 1. There are two teams, each composed of 3 players. 2. The ball that is used has bells inside of it, so you can hear when it is headed your way. 3. The court that is used is the size of a volleyball court, and each team of 3 stays on their respective side. 4. A player from one team tosses/rolls the ball to the otherside of the court, with the intention of getting it past a designated area which would result in a goal. 5. The opposite team (without talking) listens for the ball to come to their side and strategically places their body on the floor to prevent the ball from passing their goal line. 6. When the opposing team receives the ball, they have 8 seconds to roll it to the other team's side and make a goal. For a more detailed description of the game, you can visit this website: http://www.usaba.org/Pages/sportsinformation/adaptations/goalballadapt.html I had a great time playing goal ball, despite the bruises! It was great to try this innovative sport and because we were blindfolded while we played, we could really get a feel for what it is like for someone who is blind! It was quite challenging and it made me have a greater respect for athletes who have to overcome such obstacles!
Until next time, Katie