Loma Linda Occupational Therapy faculty, staff, and students volunteered in conjunction with Children’s Network help host Spring Jam 2015! Spring Jam is a community event to bring youth in foster care from 14-16 years of age together for workshops, games, and information.
The Department of Occupational Therapy here at Loma Linda University was given the theme: Survivor Island with the mission to create a fun, interactive game that incorporated values such as teamwork, communication, and leadership. Leading this effort, Dr. Salamat and Dr. Hewitt recruited staff and students and held online meetings to discuss our plan of action. We started with one island and five boats. Students put on their “creative hat” and went to work! Five amazing boats came to life with donations of cardboard and creative details that made kids run over and ask to play the game. Teamwork started from the beginning, as the youth needed to come up with and agree on a name for their boat. Each team started with a pool noodle and ping-pong ball. The goal was to balance the ball and pass the noodle with the ball from one person to the next in order to get all the team members on board their boats. From there, they had to figure out several clever riddles, that our volunteers created. With each correct answer they were able to get “stepping stones” that helped cross the “ocean” to get to the island. Once on the island, TREASURE!!! Each team got to pick out a treasure box and decide how to split the “treasure” amongst them.
Afterward, all the youth enjoyed delicious ice-cold popsicles, and they talked about their experience lead by our student volunteers. With temperatures in the high 90s, popsicles were a great way to cool down! Common themes were heard from the youth: Teamwork is important to complete a task, and effective leadership is important to communicate ideas. They had a great time!
Sample riddle from the event:
Give it a try…. See if you can solve the riddle!
I run but have no feet
I fall but never get up
I can be touched but not held
Can wave but have no hands
What am I?
A. Shelter B. Fire C. Water
Joyce Khowdee, OTS
Class of 2016