Recreation and Leisure

Week 1
Discuss steps to plan a day trip to a community museum, art gallery, or park. Have the students pack their lunch and make all the arrangements. Students should ask about descriptive language tours by docents at local museums.

Week 2
Think of ways to record fun sports or indoor/outdoor recreation memories. Use videotape, picture albums, post cards, newspapers, and journals. Have them decide on a theme and make a story around a favorite sport or recreation activity. At the same time, save those memories in a scrapbook. Include self-drawn pictures, pictures of them in action with the activity, new vocabulary words that match the lessons, and brochures about community areas.

Week 3
Set the stage to entice and motivate students to want to travel. Use tactual maps to build location and direction skills. Start local with trip planning and build to a full blown road trip or camping trip.

Week 4
Encourage outdoor activities. Open the door to a magical discovery tour of the outdoors. Kids need at least one hour of play a day. One way is to run a nature scavenger hunt. Hand out an egg carton and a list of 12 items to collect, e.g., natural items which are: soft, spiky, blue, strong, beautiful, old, fragile, yummy, sharp, smooth, closed, open, wet, dry, from an animal, etc. Have fun!

Resources:

Resources for the Expanded Core Curriculum (RECC)

Buckley, S., & Leacock, E. (1993). Hands-on geography reproducible and activities to develop early geography skills. Boston: Scholastic.

Joffee, J., & Siller, M. (1997). Reaching out: Creative access guide for designing exhibits & cultural services for persons who are blind or visually impaired. New York: AFB Press.

Lieberman, L. J., Modell, S., & Jackson, I. (2006). Going places: A transition guide to physical activity for youth with visual impairments. Louisville: American Printing House for the Blind.

Redleaf, R. (2009). Hey kids! Out the door, let's explore. St. Paul: Redleaf Press.

Rockwell, R., Sherwood, E.A., & Williams, R. (1983). Hug a tree and other things to do outdoors with young children. Silver Spring: Gryphon House.

Taylor, K. & Taylor, J. (1994). Fifty nifty travel games. Boston: Lowell House.

Outdoor Trips that Teach: Activities for enriching educational excursions, The Monkey Sisters, 1988.

National Wildlife Federation: Great American Backyard Campout

Check out NatureFind, Eco-Schools USA, and Schoolyard Habitats. They offer online resources for being out there in their own backyard and beyond.

Tactile Library

Jump Rope to Fitness

Walk-Run for Fitness

World at your Fingers

United States Association of Blind Athletes

Disney Travel Songs, Walt Disney Co. 1994

Recreation and Leisure ECC Audio Library

DCMP Resources:

Futures with Jaime Escalante: Fitness and Physical Performance

He Said, She Said