Page 136 - Vibrant Living Scrapbook

Interview Each Other
Another great project is to set up a process for designing unique and personalized household activities.
Sarah MacKenzie, a social work student from Australia did her field placement in the US with Action Pact. She designed an interview and discussion activity design process for a household organization. The end results were new activities that delighted everyone! She discovered resident had been an Army cook, a short-order cook and his family’s favorite chef.
Through the process she helped a nurse design an activity that told how she (the nurse) had loved to hunt from the time she was a little girl. She told about her guns (the men appreciated that she knew so much). She understood the woods and the wild creatures living in her part of the country. She brought in horns and various trappings that people could pass around and talk about. Sarah also worked with a caregiver who had collected teddy bears for years – some dating back to the time of Teddy Roosevelt. Together they developed an enjoyable activity where the caregiver shared history while passing around these soft, cuddly creatures. These were
just a few of the great new adventures the households embarked on as they delighted in discovering their own talents and resources.
You can do this too. You may want to enlist social work students from the local college or activities professionals in training. Or perhaps a personable volunteer who is creative and comfortable with interviewing. Ask them to conduct an interview with each staff member and each resident, working to discover staff and residents’ interests, knowledge, talents and expertise in hobbies, talents and
pastimes. Then, working together with the staff person or resident, develop a short 30 – 45 minute activity.
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