[nobe-l] supervising and involvement in outdoor activities

[Judy Jones]

Hi, Ashley,

Sighted or not, all playground supervisors need assistance from others in helping to watch the kids.  Maybe you and the other supervisors can participate in the games as well, one supervisor being the leader until another's turncomes up.

This is making me think back on growing up as a blind child, and thought nothing of playing with kids, and surely gave no thought as to the terrain, although I should have.  Anyway, you could play games with more contact, such as Red Rover, or Duck Duck Goose.

If you do relays, you could incorporate some form of touch, for instance, have the kid touch the next person to go.

There is touch football, and you can play baseball, with one kid acting as the ball and another team member running the "ball" from the pitcher, then from the batter around the bases, but the kids have to touch the person on base rather than the base pad.

You can do Swinging Statues, Mother May I, and What Time Is It.  

Do you also have jump ropes?  If you do that activity, make sure there is lots of space between kids to allow for the swing of the rope.

You can do three-legged races, sack races.

One relay we did at a picnic not too long ago is a back-to-back relay to have each person partner up with someone back to back and linking arms.  On the signal go, the person facing forward leads the team to the endpoint where the leader says to go back.  Then the other person of the team already facing the group walks the team back to the end of the line.  This is a back-to-back relay, and adults love it as much as kids.

I like your Red Light Green Light idea, because you can generally hear if someone doesn't stop right away, or the other kids will rat out the sneaky one.

You could start by playing a game using two supervisors, one to lead, the other playing with the kids, until the kids get the hang of the game to play themselves.  Lots of variations, but don't be afraid to get out there and have fun.

Also, the BELL Academy has lots of activity ideas.

Oh yes, also try leap frog if your play area is grassy.  In a soft area like that you can also do wheel barrow races using 2-kid units.

Enjoy.

Judy


-----Original Message-----
From: NOBE-L [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett via NOBE-L
Sent: Friday, July 7, 2017 10:12 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Cc: Ashley Bramlett
Subject: [nobe-l] supervising and involvement in outdoor activities

Hi all,

Kids go outside for games and recess. This issue probably comes up for you preschool and elementary educators.
As an assistant at a summer camp, I will lead and supervise some games and activities outside; I will not be alone; other staff or volunteers will be around, but since its my idea, I will primarily be leading it.


How do you supervise kids on the playground? How do you know where everyone is? Do you perhaps just walk around and listen? Perhaps you enlist sighted assistance all the time?

How do you lead or participate in activities involving physical movement? I’m sure you can stand in front of them and explain directions and model the movements. But, how can you ensure all kids are following directions and participating? For instance, leading a game of red light, green light or simon says? What about games with balls, relay races, or even tag or freeze tag?

If you want to play with them, I know adaptations for games at a table such as card games or board games.
You can use braille and tactile markings on a board.
But, what about outside games? The only accommodation I can come up with is having a sighted guide. This guide would be another staff or volunteer member. If I was sure the area was flat, I also might be able to run around a little bit on my own. I have some central vision.

In the past in  after school and camp settings, I felt unused while outside. I sat on the sidelines just listening to what was happening and trying to enjoy the weather. If a kid got tired of playing or running around, they might come over to talk, but otherwise I was just left on the sidelines. Other staff or volunteers would be watching the kids or walking around the play area to ensure all kids were safely playing and had not gone missing.

Just wondered some ideas and if there is something I had not thought of.

Thanks.

Ashley


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