"Attitudes
of inner peace, of camaraderie, of trust or of happiness cannot
be pursued directly as final goals. They merely arise from situations
that are conducive to the discovery and emergence of such attitudes.
A truly recreative milieu provides such situations..." (Geba, Being at Leisure Playing at Life, 1985).
 Comfort Zone
submitted by Monique Lujan of Sacramento State Therapeutic Recreation Student on December 20, 2006
Size of Group: A group as small as 3, but no larger than 15.
Equipment:
Large area of floor space (activity may be done inside or outside.
Chalk or tape (for making circles, one smaller circle made inside a larger circle.
A list of questions geared toward specific population.
Objective: To demonstrate the ability to recognize personal levels of comfort within self and others.
Description:
1. The staff should have circles ready when group forms. The circle size will vary with group size.
2. The staff will have participants gather around the larger circle.
3. The staff will explain that a serious of questions will be asked. Participants will answer by moving in and out of the circles depending on levels of comfort with the hypothetical scenario. The three levels of comfort are:
A. I am very comfortable with this (inner circle)
B. I need growth in this area(middle circle)
C. This situation makes me panic (outer circle)
4. When a question is asked the participant feels within their comfort level they will move into the smaller circle. If the participant is somewhat comfortable they will step into the larger circle. If they are not comfortable they will step back off the line outside of the larger circle.
5. Once the participants have chosen their comfort level the staff member will process with participants to discuss why they chose not the move.
6. The facilitator will encourage positive discussion of where participants are within their comfort level and whether these levels have changed during or through their therapy.
7. It is important to start with non-threatening questions first and move into more in-depth questions that will require more processing. You want to frame the questions around the topic you would like to process with the participants.
Group Rock Paper Scissors
Submitted by Jessica
Hohenberger, CTRS of Hawthorn Center on February 21, 2003
Size: 6+
Equipment: large
area for running
Objective: provide
opportunities for good sportsmanship, team work and group cooperation
Description: Have group sit in a circle and group leader will ask who knows
how to play rock paper scissors? Ask an individual to visually
demonstrate to the group the objectives of the game. After
sample rounds between leader and volunteer ask group to identify
which player "won" each round to be sure everyone
understands. Divide group into 2 equal groups and explain
that they will choose a collective group signal. They will
return to center of room and line up across from the other
team. Be sure that they are standing about an arms length
apart from the people on their sides and one step apart from
the person in front of them. On the count of "rock, paper,
scissors" each team will flash their signal. Depending
on the outcome of the encounter, participants must attempt
to capture opposing team members using a light tag (if they
win) or retreat to their safe zone (if they lose). Be sure
to review this process carefully with participants as it can
be confusing. Game ends when one team successfully captures
all members of the opposing team.
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