Our Floortime and Social Skills programs will feature the coming Spring season as the main focus of March. SSTP will also feature fun activities and information about the traditions people observe on St. Patrick’s Day.
Clients will be supported by the Floortime Specialists in preparing for the Spring season with plenty of arts and crafts for clients to enjoy at the center. Discussions will center on what to expect in the Spring season and clients can discuss future plans, past experiences/vacations, and the differences between seasons.
Our Social Skills Training Program will focus on play with the specific theme of Playing By the Rules.
Underlying Principle: Hidden Rules
1. When you play by the rules, you add to the fun. When someone cheats, it takes away from the fun.
2. When you are bored or don’t want to play a game anymore, it’s expected that you ask your friends if they are ready to play something else or finish out the game. You don’t just walk away.
Targeted Skills:
Expected Behavior during interaction (ie. Waiting, thinking with your eyes to observe when it is your turn) Compromising, Flexible Thinker
Sample Activities:
1) Review the rules of the game: Have the child help you develop the rules and make a visual for reference.
2) Play nice and add to the fun: when interacting with others and the goal is to have fun, use the term “adding to the fun” as a friendly way to encourage positive behavior and attitude. Use the expression “taking away from the fun” to represent the opposite.
3) Fair Play: teach the child tools on how to resolve conflict(i.e. rock, paper, scissors, flipping a coin, drawing straws, vote)
There are so many ways to enjoy the Spring and wonderful ideas to make playing a wonderful time for everyone. Happy Spring! Don’t forget Daylight Saving Time and we will Spring Forward one hour on Sunday, March 13th.