I am beginning to participate in a movement – Made to Matter Movement. A group that I am active in, is encouraging all of us to use discarded, old pieces of furniture or whatever and bring it back to life. This is something I had done long ago, especially when I moved into my first apartment. So much fun, taking a discarded piece or a hand me down piece of furniture, painting it and making it my own. Creativity in making for me. I had so much fun!!
It made me think about a project we completed several years ago and the school where I provided Occupational Therapy services to many students. We had some benches built with leftover lumber, giving an individual that at that time needed some purpose, and allowed him to use his talents in building. At that time, heavy work was a spectacular therapy tool for support of self-regulation.
We provided the tools and materials to many students to have fun participating in the process of painting the benches. Yes, there was lots of messes, lots of support needed for many, lots of need for cueing, hand over hand assistance and more. BUT, in the end, we had a finished product. Not just one, but 3 benches were completed that year. Ready to be used, to sit on, to share stories on and a place to invite another individual to sit for a bit and make a connection.
Now, several years later, several of those students that I worked with are now working on transitioning into learning more new skills, some even graduating from this program in a few weeks, The memories that we shared in the process of making those benches unique and one of a kind is so special and will be a memory that we can share forever.
And now, moving forward into next school year, we are going to reconnect again. This time we are thinking of repurposing some chairs. Everyone needs a seat at the table.
Stay tuned, I will keep you updated on the process of this project. But in the meantime, continue to follow along here on Pam’s Den of Creative Fun, and check out items in the shop over at AbilityUnleashed on Etsy. I see lots happening in our future! All because we were able to reconnect, show support for each other, think out of the box, and be accepting of each individual's skills and talents.