ROAD TRIP to: Horse Sense for Special Riders!



Trail Ride at HSSR



This week we had a change from our normal classroom atmosphere by jumping in the car and going to visit Horse Sense for Special Riders. Click here to view there site and learn more! Anyways, we met with the lead instructor, Chris Gruendeman, who is a Physical Therapist and has been with HorseSense since ~2003. Chris explained to us the services that their facility provides and what some of the benefits of riding horse may include for populations with additional needs. Some of the skills that one might work on at Horse Sense could be, but are not limited to, balance, communication, an increase in self confidence, following directions, motor control, sequencing etc. Their facility has very skilled staff members and can accommodate a wide variety of disabilities and as long as the participants get "OKed" by a doctor. I really enjoyed visiting this facility and would love to volunteer there sometime. I have never assisted with any type of animal therapy and think it would be a great thing to experience!

LifeStriders Therapeutic Riding Center

After researching other therapeutic riding programs in Wisconsin, I discovered that they are few and far between, which means that many people do not have a program that could serve them in their area. Click here to view the therapeutic riding programs offered, according to county, in Wisconsin. I further looked into a program in Waukesha County called LifeStriders Therapeutic Riding Center. Similar to HSSR, LifeStriders is a non-profit organization that " provides life-enhancing, physical and psychological experiences and services to individuals with special needs." I think it is amazing how much horses and therapeutic riding programs have the ability to make such profound change in an individual's life. After being exposed to this type of therapy, I know that it is definitely something that I would like to know more about and experience for myself.

Until next time,

Katie

Handimals

Another interesting week in Innovative Activities, but by this time, I've come to expect nothing less :) This week we were introduced to hand art! The idea with had art is that one uses their hands and arms to make unique creations simply by painting them! Our class was very creative with this project! We had some people go with a Halloween theme, some made animals, and we even had a sea monster! Below you can see a few examples :) Hmmmm can you tell the difference between our class and the pros? :) This would be a great way for people to be able to express themselves in the TR field. It is important, as it always is, to keep in mind the population you are working with this activity. One population that we especially thought you would need be be cautious with would be the elderly becuase they generally have more sensative skin which might not tolerate the paint as easy as others could. We did, however, brainstorm an idea to overcome that obstacle. Since many of the students in our class did not particularly like the feeling of dried paint on their skin, we thought a great way to avoid it would be to wear gloves instead so that the paint does not actually have to come into contact with skin! For other populations, the focus may simply be the sensory feelings associated with the paint and paint brush on their skin or possible increased body awareness. I had so much fun with this activity! It's been awhile since I've been able to "get messy" in class :) I'm getting a much more comprehensive definition of  the word "Innovative" every week!
Until next time,
Katie



Elephant

 


Sea Monster!

 




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Dalmation

Mark Jenkins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kGkmCeHnVs&feature=related

If you watch the short clip of the video above, you will get a pretty good idea of how the course of our class went last Thursday. Mark Jenkins is an artist who makes sculptures using nothing more than an object, saran wrap and packaging tape! All of the figures in this video were made precisely this way, dress up in some street clothes and put on display throughout the city! Although our class had a lot of fun making our own sculptures, we also had a very meaningful conversation about how this activity could be presented to a variety of populations, for example, corrections, the elderly, persons with psychological disorders etc. Some of the things that we discussed were what goals could be accomplished through this task as well as certain considerations that the facilitator must make prior to the activity to make it more applicable/safe to the specific population. I thought that this was an awesome activity as could definitely be described as INNOVATIVE! It just goes to show you what kinds of amazing things can be done/created with such few resources :) I'm sure that this isn't the last time that I will be making a tape sculpture, and I can't wait to see how I can utilize this project in the future!

2 Short Activities, 1st formal facilitation of the semester :)

This week in Innovative Activities our groups all facilitated 2 short activities for the class to get a feel for what it is like to lead an activity. The activites ranged from ice breakers, to name games, to team builders to competitive games. Although I'm sure there are many areas in which we all can improve, I thought that everyone did a spectacular job for this being our first formal facilitation of the semester! It's funny that when I first declared this major, I was a little hesitant about speaking and leading activities for large groups but I already feel SO much more comfortable than I did before. I'm glad that I moved past that insecurity becuase now instead of focusing on being nervous, I can focus my attention on how I can facilitate the activity so that it will yield that greatest outcomes for the participants! I am very interested to get our group's review back to see how we can improve on our future presentations :) Until next time,
Katie

Facilitation Techniques

Our class subject this week was focused on how one can most effectively facilitate an activity. One of the first things that was pointed out was the subtle difference in identifying yourself as "leader" or a "facilitator". In my opinion, I think a group would be more likely to engage themselves in the activity and open themselves up when it is led by a "facilitator" because it is not such an authoritative term and the participants would have less reason to feel intimidated. Other key aspects of facilitating an effective activity depend on being in an atmosphere that is conducive to the activity and, what may be the most important factor in all of this, the reflection on the activity. It is through reflecting that the participants come to realize what they have learned and how it can be applied to other aspects of their lives. Without reflection, the meaning of the activity might just get lost in the fun of everything and "teachable moments" will pass right on by.... That's one of the things that I am most looking forward to experiencing out in the field; being able to create and facilitate experiences that people not only enjoy, but learn from as well :) It's funny, I think that realization just came to me while reflecting on what I learned in class. Ironic.
Until next time, Katie

Hereeeeeeeee we go!

The first post. How exciting. This past week was our first class of Innovative Activities. I must admit that I was not particularly looking forward to having a three hour class but, (thankfully!), it did not feel that long! The class focuses on activities, equiptment and facilities that can "enhance functional skills and foster meaningful recreation participation" for persons with additional needs.  One of our projects for the semester that I am looking forward to are the workshops that different groups will present to the class on different kinds of adaptive equipment/activities. My group was assigned to do our workshop on adaptive golf. I think that this project will be a great opportunity to network with professionals in the field, broaden our knowledge on the variety of adaptive equipment and activites that are available to different populations and lastly help us prepare for the kinds of professional interactions that are soon to come our way! Now as far as what we did in class last week....one of our in class tasks we had was to pick two random object out of a box and make some sort of game/activity using BOTH objects together. It was awesome how innovative everyone was with their objects :) It really showed me how you can  make something out of nothing, and what's more, use it to acieve a specific goal! I think that this activity is just the 'tip of the iceberg' of what is to come in this class and I can't wait to see how it unfolds!
Until next time,
Katie