I have just finished my fourth week at CME and I am still enjoying it. As well as the usual tasks (updating the contacts database, maintaining instruments etc.) I went to two of ‘Short Breaks’ workshops for children with disabilities.
We started off singing the ‘Hello’ song to make all the children feel welcome. After that we did some movement based activities to warm up like hopping on the spot, rolling on the floor, waving our hands in the air, etc. We then let the children choose what they wanted to do and have a go on some of the instruments.
After that we did some art. This involved making animal face masks out of card and felt, this was quite fun and I thought the tutors did a good job of helping the students out. During this time the participants also had the option of going and playing on the computer for a bit if they got frustrated, and then when they had calmed down they could come back.
After lunch we did a music based activity. We started off by sitting in a circle and passing a ball round. Then we did variations on this (pretending the ball was hot so having to pass it really quickly, using two balls at once etc.). We then all picked different instruments to use and took it in turns to play them and did other similar music games involving the instruments. The day ended in a similar fashion to how it began with a ‘goodbye song’. I also got a chance to play some relaxing music on guitar so the students could wind down. After the students left, I helped load the van and then we had a short meeting about how the day went.
At first, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t have much experience working with people with disabilities, but towards the end of the day I felt completely comfortable. I thought the tutors and the children were all really nice and I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.
No comments:
Post a Comment