Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Games, Puzzles, Sports, Play Activities
In this collection of Games, Puzzles, Sports, Play Activities from the Therapeutic Recreation website, we hear from recreational therapists about their innovative and frequently unsupported efforts to bring fun to the rest of us. It's an inspiring collection, and, though the games may not strike you as being of monumental play value, they each tell an important, and most instructive story about the meaning and art of fun.
Here's a sample from Quiet Small Group Games:
"Carnival" Coin Toss Game
Submitted by Carol A. Johnson who is caring for her mother with Alzheimer's.
I "invented" a game where we toss coins (or whatever) into a large bowl/pot on the floor. She can toss them from her wheelchair and I adjust the distance of the bowl according to her strength for the day (sometimes good sometimes not). She takes the pennies (if this doesn't work try something with a little more weight) and I take the dimes (100 each)-[we built up to this amount] and we take turns trying to toss them in the pot. Like a carnival toss game.
This game used to end when we were out of coins. Then a friend of mine told me that her disabled son likes to "sort things". So I tried that out and sure enough it was true. So now, she will sort the pennies and dimes while I get to do something else and then she will count the ones that were in the pot to see who "won". I don't know how long she will continue to be able to do all of this activity but we both enjoy it and it is "therapy" for me as well. The down side is until they get good at it you'll have to sweep up the coins that don't make it into the pot or put a sheet under the pot to pick up the ones that missed.
[I just had a thought... for a man you might want to use "nuts and bolts" or "washers and gaskets" from the hardware store. They would be cheap, about the right weight and he might enjoy sorting them (i.e. it would be "functional.) Let me know if it works out.
Here's a sample from Quiet Small Group Games:
"Carnival" Coin Toss Game
Submitted by Carol A. Johnson who is caring for her mother with Alzheimer's.
I "invented" a game where we toss coins (or whatever) into a large bowl/pot on the floor. She can toss them from her wheelchair and I adjust the distance of the bowl according to her strength for the day (sometimes good sometimes not). She takes the pennies (if this doesn't work try something with a little more weight) and I take the dimes (100 each)-[we built up to this amount] and we take turns trying to toss them in the pot. Like a carnival toss game.
This game used to end when we were out of coins. Then a friend of mine told me that her disabled son likes to "sort things". So I tried that out and sure enough it was true. So now, she will sort the pennies and dimes while I get to do something else and then she will count the ones that were in the pot to see who "won". I don't know how long she will continue to be able to do all of this activity but we both enjoy it and it is "therapy" for me as well. The down side is until they get good at it you'll have to sweep up the coins that don't make it into the pot or put a sheet under the pot to pick up the ones that missed.
[I just had a thought... for a man you might want to use "nuts and bolts" or "washers and gaskets" from the hardware store. They would be cheap, about the right weight and he might enjoy sorting them (i.e. it would be "functional.) Let me know if it works out.
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