HERES ONE I MADE EARLIER....

Heres one I made earlier...

ALISON ROBERTS WITH MORE LOW-COST, FLEXIBLE THERAPY SUGGESTIONS SUITABLE FOR A VARIETY OF CLIENT GROUPS.

BODY IDIOMS SELF-AWARENESS BEADS MAP GAME / is a group activity finishing up with an This is a good way for a group of children or teenagers to RALLY NAVIGATOR improve their self-awareness but in a private or semi-private way. This image that is made with your clients actually
This is good for listening skills, concentration, organising and prioritising sentences, and incidentally for getting to know the locality. Girls particularly like this activity, but some boys seem to be quite happy to do it too, especially if the beads are brownish, or edged in a dark colour.
MATERIALS IN PRACTICE Thin knitting needles, or 1. Cut long narrow triangles strong wire about 10cms long and 2cms White or coloured paper wide, tapering to a point. (You Small beads from a craft shop may need to do this yourself if Paste your clients have trouble with Felt tips their fine motor skills.) Varnish 2. Colour the very outermost Scissors edges of the tapered point of Narrow elastic (craft shops each triangle. sell elastic especially 3. Write along the triangle designed for threading anything of interest about beads) yourself. If you want to keep the information a secret you write it at the fatter end of the triangle, but if you are prepared to share a little of your disclosure you put it towards the thinner end. You will need to use very small writing! 4. Turn the triangles writing side down and apply paste along the length. 5. Place the knitting needle or wire across the fat end of the triangle and roll up from the fat end. You should end up with a bead that is oval and ridged like a croissant because that is exactly how they roll up croissants. You should be able to make several beads on one needle. 6. A few trials are advisable first you will soon see how much of the writing is visible. 7. Now you must leave the beads to dry until your next session. 8. Ideally you would varnish the beads before use but that means you will have to repeat the drying process. (You might be able to do this between sessions for the clients.) 9. Now comes the interesting bit threading the beads onto the elastic, interspersing the made ones with the ready-made variety that you have bought. 10. The clients should find that they have something they can actually wear.

there with you. It is designed to promote understanding of idiom, and is good fun to do, but you need to have a brave (and still) soul who is prepared to be drawn around!
MATERIALS Large piece of paper (or a large blackboard would do if it is the right height from the floor and large enough to contain the template person) Wide and narrow water-based felt tips or board chalk IN PRACTICE (I) 1. Draw around your person, (or you could just draw a person shape if participants are too shy). 2. Together think of all the sayings you can, that are connected with the body. You will probably come up with sayings such as: head for heights; made my hair stand on end; making eyes at...; Im all ears; dont bite my head off; lend a hand; green fingers; pain in the neck; heart in the right place; butterflies in my tummy; hes got guts; sitting on his bottom all day; legless; feet on the floor; treading on his toes. There must be dozens more of these and the best ones will be those they think of themselves. 3. Write them on the relevant part. 4. Now have your discussion on how these are used, and request that they use them in a sentence, so that they become familiar. IN PRACTICE (II) You can add a wardrobe its amazing how many expressions are based on these. Examples include: pull your socks up; down at heel; bore the pants off; to pocket something; to skirt round; cloak and dagger; keep it under your hat.

MATERIALS A large-scale map of the local area, photocopied for each group member Pencils, paper, envelope

IN PRACTICE Take it in turns to be the navigator, but its probably best if you go first, so that you can convey the general idea. Decide on the destination and secretly write it down on paper, which is then placed in the envelope. State the starting point (such as a school) and have in mind a route towards the secret end point. Make sure everyone has their finger on the start, and begins by going the right way. Now simply direct the group members to turn left or right at various landmarks en route to the destination. When someone reaches the correct point you can congratulate them and show the paper in the envelope to prove that you have not changed the destination. Now the play passes to that winner. They think of a new destination, write it down and place it in the envelope as before, and state the new starting point.

Alison Roberts is a speech and language therapist at Ruskin Mill Further Education College in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.