July 25th-27th, 2023
Theme: Pets — Skill Building: Loving Care
Safety & Person-Centered Focus
Tuesday, July 25th, 2023
Check In (2-3 min)
This week’s theme : Pets.
We’ll be learning all about animals that share our lives both as domestic pets and sometimes working helpers
Our Skill Builder this week: Loving Care.
Caring is important and HOW we show caring is just as important as the care itself.
Thematic Activity 01 (5-7 min)
Look at these links to learn about different pets and working animals and the ways we classify them
Pets at home are often called domestic pets
Breeds are kind of like ancestors of pets. Some have only one kind of ancestor. We call them “pedigreed” which means there are records of their ancestors going back very far. Others are mixtures or “mutts” which means no one kept records and we can sort of tell what some of their ancestors probably were but we can’t be sure. (Unless we test their DNA and since animals don’t really commit crimes, why do that? Hee hee)
PRESENTERS: Look at one or more of these links, as time allows. You can zoom in by clicking and move around larger images by click-dragging
Pets don’t really have to do anything but be our little friends. However there are WORKING animals. People have trained animals to do work for thousands of years.
PRESENTERS: Look at one or more of these links, as time allows. Discuss the kinds of work different animals do for people.
Share your pet pictures or your current pet, or a pet you wish you could have. Imagination is good here.
<BODY BREAK>
Thematic Activity 02 (10-15 min)
Types of pet owners
Complete the *Worksheet activity to assess your own pet-ownership tendencies
PRESENTERS: Remember to click on to enlarge since people do not have these sheets at home.
Remember when we previously discussed your preferences, wants and needs ? Think about owning a pet in relation to your preferences wants and needs.
If you like a tidy, clean, quiet home, a dog that sheds and barks is probably not great for you
If you love camping and hiking and being outdoors, a fish can’t really hang out with you in your favorite places
Matching the owner to the pet -
Look at these slides listing the traits of 3 different pets.
PRESENTERS: Use PRESENT button on the upper right to make the slides full screen
Discuss your own needs and preferences. Would any of these pets suit you or your lifestyle
Would you like those traits in a pet?
Are you home enough?
Do you have the space
Can you afford the pet and all the supplies and care needs, like vet bills, or pet sitting if you go away?
<Body Break>
Bringing People Closer to Your Heart
Review this list of ways to show we care
Choose some examples of loving care that you would be comfortable using.
Add your own ideas
What did we learn today?
What are we doing this afternoon?
Community & Civic Education
Tuesday, July 25th, 2023
Check In (2-3 min)
Theme for the week: Pets
Skill Builder: Loving Care
Short recap of yesterday: types of pets and owners, examples of loving care and closeness
Thematic Activity 01 (10-15 min)
Review the materials on costs of pets, both to acquire and care for (costs of pet ownership--scroll down to see the charts) Video,
Compare the sample budget and lifestyle sheets of these imaginary people to the pet costs calculator on this page. Choose a pet for each imaginary person.
PRESENTERS: The people's budgets are per MONTH, but the pet costs calculator is ANNUAL costs. Be sure to go over the difference and explain dividing the annual cost into 12 for the monthly cost
<BODY BREAK> (5 min)
Thematic Activity 01 (10-12 min)
Use these discussion questions about your own finances and lifestyle to think about what kind of pet you can afford.
- If you already care for a pet, tell us about those costs and what you do to make sure your friend has space, food, rest, and company.
- How much money could you set aside to buy food and save for vet bills for your pet?
- Do you have the money it takes to acquire a pet in the first place?
- Do you have space in your home for a pet?
- Can you give your pet enough exercise?
- How many hours a day can you spend with your pet?
- Are there other people in your home who need be OK with a pet?
Skill Builder Practice (10-15 min)
Do a search in google maps for the community garden you either go to, or is near you.
- Look at it in the street view. PRESENTERS: Street view becomes visible when you click on the little orange person icon in the lower right corner of the map and drop it onto the location you want in the map.
- Share your experiences in the garden, either the community one, or another one, your own or a friend’s
- What about gardening is “loving care?”
- What does the garden give you back when you give it loving care?
Review the difference between plants that grow from seeds and plants that grow from tubers
Optional Videos
Video explaining TUBERS (potatoes)
Video time lapse of bean planted
Video time lapse of sweet potato plant
Self-Advocacy, Rights & Responsibilities
Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
Check-In Program Updates
This week’s theme: Pets
This week’s Skill Builder: Loving Care
Thematic Activity 01 (5-12 min)
Look at this info about mammals and non-mammals.
Pets are often mammals but many people have non-mammalian pets. This article shows Non-mammal animals that are CUTE!
Poster of the mammal and non-mammalian animal groups.
PRESENTERS: you can enlarge the graphic with the CTRL and "+" keyboard combination.
Choose 1 or more of these prompts to kick off a discussion about mammalian and non-mammalian pets.
- Pets WITH fur are better because...
- Pets WITHOUT fur are better because...
- Pets with special habitats can be...
- Snakes and lizards are...
- Birds can be...
- I would NOT like a _____________ for a pet.
- I WOULD like a _________________ for a pet.
<BODY BREAK> (5 min)
Using Imagination (5-10 min)(OPTIONAL as time allows)
Imagine that aliens from another planet came here and they wanted us to be their pets. How would you want them to care for us?
What would we get to eat?
What kind of habitat should they give us?
How will they get us to exercise?
How will they keep us from getting sad or bored?
Draw a picture of the ideal “habitat” that you would want your alien owners to build for you
Skill Building Activity 01 (15-20 min)
Review the idea of https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Documents/Quad.RelationshipMap.pdf
- Choose people in your map to whom you want to give holiday gifts
- Read any of these stories about gifts of loving care.
- Talk about the stories you chose. Did you think about how gifts can show loving care?
- Who from your list of gift recipients would appreciate a hand-made gift? It can be more than one person.
- Review this resource on hand-made gifts. Do any of these ideas fit with the people you identified in your list?
- What are your own ideas for things to make?
More Stories About Thoughtful Gifts--though some are purchased objects (Optional as time allows)
Body Break> (5 min)
Skill Building Activity 02 (10-15 min)
Loving Care of Each Other's Health
- Review the resource on healthful gift ideas
- Would you want healthful gifts?
- Why or why not?
- Do the *worksheet on healthful and unhealthful gifts we can give and their costs PRESENTERS: Have your group estimate the costs of some of the items, then look them up to see how accurate their guesses were
- Which of the healthful gifts can you afford?
- Would you want to give these to anyone in your list?
What did we learn today?
What are we doing this afternoon?
Well Being & Social Connection
Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
Check-In Program Updates
This week’s theme: Pets
This week’s Skill Builder: Loving Care
Thematic Activity 01 (10-12 min)
Read about training animals (SeaWorld)
PRESENTERS: You can stop at the "Learned Behavior" section, or continue if your group is interested.
Watch this video to see how training makes a learned behavior repeat when a certain signal or cue is given.
- Whenever the animal repeats the behavior you give a reward
- Never punish an animal because you will teach the animal to be afraid of you instead of learn from you
- When animals are frightened they can become aggressive
After enough repetitions of a reward the animal will do the behavior even without a reward. All animals, including people, will do certain things for rewards they like
<Body Break>
Skill Builder Activity (15-20 min)
Review the 3 scenarios of loving care, perfunctory care, and neglect.
Go over the *checklist of features of each kind of treatment. People can use their home copy to mark along with the group.
PRESENTERS: Click on the image to enlarge and note the addition of "Aggressive" on the list of ways to categorize behavior. Try to give learners some idea of how aggression is different from neglect.
These ideas aren't black and white. What is neglectful to one person may be perfunctory to another. We will do more similar activities in the future to help people get a "sense" of such things.
All humans show these behaviors at different times. Sometimes people don't realize their behavior is a problem. We can say "I don't like the way..." and describe what we are not happy with, to help them realize.
Think of people who provide you services as their job. Support staff, job coaches, and board and care home operators all qualify. Complete the *worksheet on evaluating the paid care services you get. Share the results with a partner or the group.
Thematic Activity 02 (5-10 min)
Animals train us too. Watch this video!
How house pets train their owners
What behaviors do animals in your life do that make you respond in certain ways? Staff can answer too.
<Body Break>
How We Train One Another
Complete *the reward checklist together .
Don't forget to add your own items. When people work with you they can know how to reward your hard work in ways you like.
What did we learn today?
What are we doing this afternoon?
Knowledge & Fun With Friends
Thursday, July 27th, 2023
Today happens to be
Check-In Program Updates
This week’s theme: Pets
This week’s Skill Builder: Loving Care
Thematic Activity 01 – Digital pets (10-20 min)
Review these examples of digital pet options
PRESENTERS: When viewing web pages in series like the links below, support participants to understand HOW to view a web page. Point out things like the title, what role the advertisements play and whether a page is newer or more old fashioned looking. Information PROCESSING is a separate skill from reading or viewing.
RoVr-iPhone
Virtual Pet - Android
Use these discussion questions to review real pet care
- Remember the cost of real pets? How does a virtual pet compare?
- It’s important that living pets fit into your schedule. What can you guess about the schedules of virtual pets?
- Remember learning about decision making? Can you make a pros and cons list of real pets compared to virtual pets?
- Would you use a pros and cons list to choose a pet?
Optional Level UP: Explore Robot Animals with AI (5-10 min)
What do these robots make you think of? Wonder about? What do you like or dislike about the idea of robot pets?
Skill Builder + Thematic Activity Altogether (15-30 min)
- Read through *the zoom play together
- Discuss the characters. How old are they? Where do they come from? Do they have certain personalities?
- Assign parts -- anyone with a non-speaking part can do humane society sounds and outdoor sounds to make it like a radio play.
- Think of ways to make the sounds for opening and closing doors, doggie footsteps, and other things that might make the play more realistic.
- A director can manage the rehearsal or you can collaborate as a team.
- Rehearse the play a few times trying different things.
- Decide as a group if you would like to try recording your play to share with other hope sites
- If you decide to record, PRESENTERS can press record and save to your local drive, then share the file with the Learning Services Team Member in your district. Contact LSP if you don't know quite how that would work.
Wrap-Up on Loving Care
If there is time, discuss how this year the effort to be loving and kind in the way we care for one another is so important and can actually affect us even more.
- Preserving our health is loving care
- Taking care to keep others free from covid is loving care
- Telling people in words, OFTEN, that we think of them and love them is loving care -- especially now when we can't be near one another or give hugs and handshakes like we would like to
- Remembering that we will get through this together and letting others know we are there for them is loving care
- understanding and forgiving each other when we are cross, anxious, upset, disorganized, forgetful, tired, depressed, spacy, unfocused, cranky, sleepy, or anything else that signals someone is having a hard time, is loving care.
What did we learn today?
What are we doing this afternoon?
Review the Weekend
Go back through the tabs of the week and review the information that your group finds most interesting.
Do searches on topics from the week on a shared screen to find out MORE information.
Tell your group who you might share your new knowledge with.
Share weekend plans.
Take a peek at Friday's activity board.
Troll around Youtube or do other searches for interesting things YOU want to learn about.
Choosing Fun Stuff To Do
Need some help deciding on an afternoon activity?
The activities are numbered. These numbers corrospond to brief activity descriptions listen in the linked document below.
