Therapeutic Activities: Collecting Harmless Insects

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Collecting Harmless Insects

Participants

This activity is designed for children between ages four to six years. It is a suitable activity for them since creativity and activeness is major characteristic of this age group. They enjoy active play and other invigorating activities that keep them occupied. It also provides an outlet for them to relieve their pent-up energies. Consequently, this activity will be carried out in different groups, with each group commissioned to collect different sets of insects (Cooper, 2005). This will maximize their scope of learning since the variety collected will widen their scope of the study.

Materials

The activity requires that participants have images of the insects they are to look out for and suitable containers in which they will be stored. Their dress code should incorporate protective clothing to minimize instances of cuts, grazes, and stings.

Goals of the Activity

This activity aims to enable students to realize growth in the different areas of development. These include social, emotional, behavioral, mental, and spiritual phases of personal development.

  • Advance social growth by ensuring students work in groups, hence learning teamwork and the importance of trust.
  • Ensure emotional growth by encouraging patience and tolerance during the collection period out in the field.
  • Proper behavior and mannerism comprise an essential ingredient of cultured persons. It is noteworthy that these people are required in great numbers by society. Accordingly, children will be educated on environmental conservation and its benefits during their interaction with nature.
  • Aid the mental growth of the children by arming them with important concepts, including the nomenclature of different species.
  • Facilitate their spiritual growth by providing an opportunity for them (especially Christians) to interact with Gods creation firsthand.

Methodology

It is commonplace that this activity will take place outdoors. This comes with the risk of injury to the young ones. Such occurrences may result from a variety of circumstances, for example, one may trip and fall down. To prevent this, a careful assessment of the proposed sites should be done and the safest among them chosen. Ensuring the safety of the children by preventing bodily harm requires prioritization. This incorporates efforts to protect the children from harmful bites and stings from insects. To achieve this, pictures showing safe insects should be available to children.

Some of the bugs collected may escape before they are ferried back to the required destination. To prevent this, students should be provided with ventilated vessels that have lids to prevent an escape and preserve their lives. In the course of the study, some young ones may lose concentration and engage in contrary activities. Dividing them into manageable groups and monitoring them constantly will ensure they remain focused on the task.

Procedure

  1. Foremost, the students will assemble at a central location, for example, their classroom for division into equal groups using suitable criteria.
  2. Pictures and collection vessels were issued to the children, preferably a different insect for each group.
  3. They proceed to the proposed site for the actual collection under the supervision of the teacher or any adult placed in charge of the exercise.
  4. After the exercise, they return to the class and share their experiences with one another.

Warm-Up and Cool Down

A warm-up activity for children always enhances their performance for a task they are to accomplish. For this task, singing all songs they know about the subject should lift their spirits adequately. After they return from their excursion, a bottle of water or any other refreshment will help them to relax effectively.

Creating a Mosaic based on a topic of choice

Participants

It is commonplace that children between ages 7  12 are avid readers and good at memorizing what they have read. This is a result of the sense of reason they develop now and their ability to draw conclusions from observation and thinking (Simeonsson, 2001).

Materials

Several materials are required for the success of this activity, including an adhesive and a hard surface for pasting the cutting. Finally, a plethora of cuttings and other materials, which may include pictures that represent a theme of choice, is necessary.

Goals

  • Ensure mental advancement among participants by affording them an opportunity to present their thoughts and sentiments through art.
  • Enable social growth since students will work in pairs or groups of three.
  • Provide an avenue for emotional growth, since participants will undergo the rigors of the task and carry it out to completion patiently.
  • Guarantee behavioral growth, since students will work in controlled environments under a defined set of rules and regulations.
  • Enhance interpersonal and communication skills by improving their cutting and pasting.

Methodology

The nature of this task demands lots of working space. To curb this, students should be encouraged to work in a workshop or school hall, where there is an abundance of space. It is noteworthy that this task will be time-consuming. As a result, it is advisable that a specific day is reserved for this activity from morning until evening. Possibilities of redundancy are rife, especially regarding the theme for presentation. This will be curtailed by encouraging the adoption of different perspectives in the event similar themes are identified.

In the event, a team member has problems with verbal communication, negotiation with his or her partner will be encouraged, with the aim of consensus on presentation. Lastly, group members may have varied themes they desire to present on the mosaic. This will be curbed by allowing people to change groups and join those with similar ideas. Alternatively, people will be encouraged to discuss among themselves and establish a common theme they wish to portray.

Procedure

  1. The first step entails partitioning students into groups of two or three at most, depending on their preference.
  2. Group members are given an opportunity to choose a suitable theme and look for cuttings reflecting the same.
  3. The adhesive and hard surface for pasting is then distributed to every group present in the class.
  4. After this, every group is allowed to fashion an original piece that will be presented before their counterparts.
  5. Finally, group members are allowed to present their work to their counterparts and field any questions that may arise in the process.

Warm-Up and Cool Down

Adequate preparation for this exercise demands that students retreat to their groups and discuss among themselves to enable them to adopt a suitable theme and source for relevant materials. After completing the exercise, students may cool down by meditating upon their within their group.

Composing and Presenting Poems

Participants

Children aged 13 years onwards are often alert on many occasions, although they tend to daydream on several occasions. It is noteworthy that this trait does not curtail their ability as quick learners (Simeonsson, 2001). Consequently, this activity suits them as it allows them to express their imaginations and dreams.

Materials

The successful completion of this task requires that students be provided with writing papers and pens. In addition, basic knowledge of poetry and other important concepts will aid the course.

Goals

  • Enhance self-confidence among the students by providing them with a forum to express their opinion.
  • Advance their social skills by confining them to work in groups and share ideas with one another.
  • Boost their behavioral tendencies since they are to observe a strict character code and tolerate their companions.
  • Improve their emotional state by allowing them to channel their thoughts and efforts and relay them accurately on paper.
  • Identify and improve the literary and creative skills of all the respondents participating in the exercise.

Methodology

A lack of experience among the young ones may expose several weaknesses in the work that may derail the entire process. Foremost, students may take the work lightly and lose meaning in the process. This will be prevented by providing rewards for top performers. Another possibility is the occurrence of a mix-up between different literary styles that applies when writing poetry. Lowering expectations when marking and disregarding advanced writing rules may solve the problem. Incoherence may also plague the poems composed by students. To address this, the children should consult their instructors and receive certification before proceeding. Finally, inconsistency, as regards the content conveyed, may also plague the compositions. To rectify this, students should be advised to stick to a single concept for the entire poem.

Procedure

  1. Foremost, students should be furnished with information on the concepts of poetry and later allowed access to several poems, which are already written.
  2. Foremost, students will align themselves in groups of three or more, depending on their preference.
  3. Group members will be given time to settle on a theme of their choice and research accordingly for materials.
  4. Each group will then compose a poem based on a theme of their choice after consultation with their teachers.
  5. Lastly, every group will issue a presentation to the class and sample reactions and other forms of criticism from the teachers and fellow students.

Warm-Up and Cool Down

As a warm-up for this activity, students will benefit from extensive research on popular poets and some of the works they have presented. This will assist them in their own composition. After writing their poems, it is advisable for students to discuss the poem among them and rectify any possible errors.

References

Cooper, C. (2005). Developmental pathways through middle childhood: rethinking contexts and diversity as resources. New Jersey, NJ: Routledge Publishers.

Simeonsson, R. (2001). Psychological and developmental assessment: children with disabilities and chronic conditions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

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