November 5- Fantastic Friends and Aurora University Therapeutic Rec.

November 5
30 Days of Gratitude

Day 5: Fantastic Friends and Aurora University therapeutic rec.

On this 4th day of gratitude we are thankful to Aurora University and the Therapeutic Recreation class of Kris Johnson for being the program leaders for Fantastic Friends. Fantastic Friends supports the development of social skills and language through peer-to-peer interaction in a casual fun setting with an emphasis on the following goals:

• increase social skills, with a focus on group participation and increasing leisure activity options
• increase language development with a focus on appropriateness, maintaining conversation, and non-verbal social language
• increase gross motor skills, with a focus on general health, fitness (strength and balance) and awareness of personal space
• increase fine motor skills and self-help skills through participation in a variety of activities

We have had such a great time making slime, singing karaoke, making healthy snacks, striking jungle animal yoga poses, dressing in costumes and playing board games- and all without even realizing that we were practicing social skills, language and motor skills.  Most importantly, our participants with Down syndrome having fun with their peers.  We believe that our therapeutic rec program leaders have also come to a new understanding about Down syndrome.  Hannah writes about her experience as a program leader:

“Tonight was such an amazing experience! If you ever want to volunteer anywhere this is the place to go! You’ll have a blast and make tons of new friends!”

To sign up for Fantastic Friends go to our online calendar at: gigisplayhouse.org/foxvalley/calendar .