Making Musical Instruments.......

There are many benefits that music therapy can offer individuals. Music therapy can relieve stress and anxiety, ease depression, enhance self-expression, help patients cope with a disease/illness, provide sensory stimulation along with much more. Making musical instruments is one way to provide music therapy to clients or patients. Some easy to make instruments include; a homemade tambourine, xylophone, drum, chimes, horn, guitar, and hand bell.

To construct a Xylophone follow the directions below;

XYLOPHONE

• tall glasses or jars
• water
• mixing spoon

Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch.
To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon.

For more information on how to construct the other instruments go to  http://www.kinderart.com/teachers/9instruments.shtml

There is a wide variety of instrument that can easily be constructed. Many of the instruments use household items or items that are fairly cheap to buy. Even though making musical instruments is typically geared toward children many different population can benefit from this activity.

Snowkiting........

Snowkiting is an outdoor winter sport where people use kites to glide over snow or ice. Not many people are familiar with this snowkiting but it has been around since the 1980's. Since then people have continued to improve the equipment and techniques which has created a more desirable sport. Many daring people use snowkites to fly off mountains, do freestyle tricks, and even jump off high cliffs. Snowkiting is a dangerous sport and should be practiced with a lot of caution.Today the sport has become increasingly popular in many different countries.

RELAX!!!!

During class we discussed different relaxation techniques and ways to reduce stress. I was introduced to laughter yoga for the first time. This type of yoga incorporates laughter while doing various exercises. The idea behind laughter yoga is that anybody can laugh for no reason at all and gain the positive benefits associated with laughter. Laughter Yoga has been used to help people cope with different disabilities they may have and generate a more positive attitude.

Here is a short clip to give you a better idea what Laughter Yoga is all about........

Meditation was another topic we covered during class. We discussed possible ways to incorporate meditation with different populations. An important point was brought up that highlighted the idea that meditation may not be for everyone. Some people are unwilling to try meditation because they believe it is against their religion. Although there are spiritual meditation techniques there is a wide variety of options available that do not relate to religion. It is also important to consider that proper meditation takes a lot of time and practice.

Guided Imagery was the next topic of discussion. This is a technique that guides a persons imagination. This is sometimes called "visualization" or even "mental imagery". This can be done as a leader describes an event/scenario with great detail allowing the participants to imagine what is being described.

Guided Imagery can also be done by watching a video clip as well. Here is an example to see what it is all about.

Virtual School....

During class we were presented with the idea of a virtual school. A speaker came and discussed the process of enrollment to the benefits of a virtual school along with much more. He focused a lot on how different a virtual school can be from a traditional public school. The cost of a virtual school is lower, the students are still allowed to participate in sports within the surrounding schools, the academic material is set to meet each individuals educational level, and he argued that students from a virtual school often have more time for recreation because they are able to complete their lesson plans on their own schedule.

Even though a virtual school may not be for everyone it is very beneficial for individuals who have a difficult time attending a public school due to behavior, health, or emotional problems they may experience. The most unique aspect of the school is how they develop an individualized Education Plan (IEP). This plan is developed by the staff after the students go through a series of assessment test. By doing this the student is able to learn  at the the level they need. The assessments are important in providing an overview of a students weaknesses and strengths in order to give the student proper lesson plans.

Another great point that he mentioned was that no matter what age the student is they are put into a program based on their educational needs. For example, if someone tests a few grades below their reading level it isn't as big of a deal in the virtual school as it would be seen in a public school. The virtual school takes away the added pressure of the peer relationship.

Therapeutic recreation isn't something that is commonly incorporated within the school system. Even though there are several positive benefits many students and faculty are unaware how effective a TR program can be.