For our first installment of Afterschool Activity of the Week, give this activity a try with your afterschool group this week. Bookmark this page and check back each week for more creative activities you can use at your afterschool program.
Afterschool Activity #1: We All Belong!
Try some of these fun activities to sensitize the children in your program to differences and disabilities.
- With the group in a circle, ask the questions, "What if you couldn’t use your hands? What would be different? What would be difficult?"
- Show the group some pictures of mouth and foot artists. Click here to download some pictures from the Mouth Food Painting Artists website.
- Using paper and markers or pens, have each child use only their mouths or feet to draw pictures and write his or her name.
- With the group in a circle, ask them how it felt to use only their mouths or feet to draw and write. What was difficult? What did they get good at, the more that they practiced? What was better because they were using their feet or mouths?
- Take a big piece of paper and tape it to the wall or use an easel. Write the title "How I Would Help a Friend" at the top, then ask the group, "If you had a friend who couldn’t use his or her hands, how could you help him or her?" Write down their answers on the paper, and keep the paper up in the room for the rest of the week.
- Using any art supplies, like pipe cleaners, egg cartons, boxes, glue, markers and paper, ask the children to create inventions that could help a child who could not use his or her hands.
- Take pictures of those inventions, and send them to companies that actually create or sell equipment for children with disabilities! Click here to find some of those companies' mailing or e-mail addresses (plus some interesting stories about the business owners).
- Let us know how it goes! You can use the Comments section below to share your thoughts. What worked well? What didn't work so well? Did you hear back from any of the companies you sent your inventions to?
