James Anthony Suro

LEI 4724

Activity #1: Bird watching

Source: Zauszniewski et al. (Facilitation Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation, 2004)
Equipment: None
Activity description:
1. Greet everyone with a good morning.
2. Explain how a bird will appear on the monitor and one participant will describe the bird
in as much detail as they can.
3. Each participant will go in turn until everyone has gone.
Leadership considerations:
There are minimal safety concerns with this activity. We can discuss the things each
individual saw with their bird as a group. Which can be used as a memory exercise to test recall
and form memories through the stimulation of conversations. To make it extra fun, participants
can imagine going through a day with that bird with them in their travels.
This can be used for elderly people, who are the population that would benefit most from
this activity involving memory. So it would be wise to first use birds that are not complex in
detail and gradually move up to more and more detailed birds.
Autistic children are also great for this activity. The colors of the birds can help them
learn the colors through nature itself. Another adaptation is to actually take them outside and
observe the birds in action to make a lasting imprint. We can also associate these birds with
certain movements that we can do to mimic them. These kinetic methods of learning can create a
fun environment for these kids to have an easier time grasping knowledge.