This week, we began the first three large group presentations. For our blogs, we are supposed to ask the question, “So what?” and ask ourselves how these projects and activities could be beneficial for different populations. By experiencing them first hand and participating, we got a better idea of the benefits and enjoyment of the activities and are better fit to answer this question.
The first group had an art theme and did a book craft which included taking old books and turning them into your own new, creative book. We could paint in them, collage them with magazine pictures or tissue paper squares, do bubble painting in them, make widows, which are cut out sections in the pages, or black out words to make only certain words visible and stick out. This craft was very creative and innovative. It was also very relaxing, even for me, to just sit down, be creative, and get away from the stresses of homework and tests. I think this could be very beneficial to many different populations. Like just stated, it is relaxing and could be a form of relaxation or even meditation that anyone could benefit from. It could be good for youth at risk or young girls with eating disorders because it gives them a way to express themselves and write down any thoughts or emotions in the pages if they wish. I also believe elderly could benefit from the craft, but may need assistance with small details or may need to use gloves for sensitive skin or other adaptations if needed.
The next group was my own group and we had challenged based activities. We chose to do three different activities, a rope shape challenge, picture telephone, and a marble race challenge. These activities all had the participants working as a team and trying to work past different kinds of challenges. In the rope challenge, the participants were all blind folded except for three players who were to vocally direct and help the other players form the given shape with their rope. This required using both abilities and disabilities from each player and coming up with strategies and techniques to work past their obstacles. The second activity was less physical but included mental challenges such as interpreting and creating. Participants would write a sentence, pass it to the player next to them, and that player would have to draw what the sentence said. They then passed it to the next player who had to interpret the drawing and write another sentence that they think explains the picture. This activity showed how different people can come up with different interpretations and showed the importance of communication and explanation when working with a team facing a real challenge. This activity also gave the players a chance to get creative and enjoy some laughs. The final activity was our marble race, which required each player to have a small segment of toilet paper tube. The goal is to keep rotating once the marble has gone through your tube and continuously role the marble down the course and into the cup at the end. This was a very challenging activity that required team work and strategy. All these activities would be beneficial for people who want to work on social skills. Youth at risk would be a great population for these activities because it helps the participants create a bond through working together and allows people to work on team building skills. Certain ones such as the rope shape game can be used for people with visual impairments and help them use their senses and rely on other people’s vocal cues as well.
The final group’s theme was music and they had us do several clapping, tapping and snapping activities to create patterns and beats. We then were broken into groups and created our own musical instruments out of things such as bells and string, balloons and beans, and paper plates and beans. We all came together as a group then and did beats and patterns with all our different instruments. The facilitators also did some body awareness techniques with the instruments which required us to shake our instruments over several different areas of our body, making us aware of our motor movements and their position on our body. This body awareness technique is good for populations such as those who may have had a stroke, be bed ridden from sickness or cancer, and those who may have paralysis in certain areas of their body. It makes them become one with the activity and aware of their own movements. Musical therapy can be beneficial to basically anyone, allowing people to be creative, express themselves, and just have fun. Children, elderly, and those with cognitive disabilities could all take part in musical therapy.
So in the end, the question “So what?” can be answered in many different ways because these activities can be beneficial in several ways. Many populations could benefit from them and get something useful out of participating. Between expressing yourself with art, challenging yourself and learning to work together and rely on a team in challenge based activities, or becoming more aware of yourself and you movements with music therapy, all these activities and interventions could help make a difference in someone’s life!
No comments:
Post a Comment