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Title: Mark-making and Drawing.
Prepared by: Dr Denise Lyons.

Aims and objectives of the session:  1) To gain an understanding of the importance of creativity for older adults. 2)Gain this understanding through mark-making and drawing 3) How older adults can be facilitated to work alone and engage in a cognitive activity.

Group: The client group for this activity would be older adults with dementia, as mentioned giving them the opportunity to engage in cognitive activity. Ages can range from 50-74 and 75 and above.

Introduction: This activity had us experiencing a cognitive activity suitable for older adults with dementia, mark-making and drawing of lines. The ice-breaker consisted of following a page with different markings and shapes where we had to fill in the lines all the way down the page to the end.

Main Body: The aim of the main body was to draw a Mandela using the sheet on the left-hand side of the photo as a template. We were provided with a youtube video with guidance on how to create a mandela. We used the shapes from the ice-breaker page as a way to create our own design

Materials/resources used: This task lacked the use of excess materials, all we needed was 1) pens 2) pages of paper with the template on them 3) if possible access to a computer for a youtube video.

Timing: We were given 15 minutes for the ice breaker while the main body lasted 40-45 minutes.

Reflection: This exercise was enjoyable even if the materials needed were very basic, it proves that you don't need a lot to do a lot. I had never created a mandela before so it was nice to learn more about them.

Evaluation: It was easy to understand the relevance of this exercise to the selected client group, it is something we would take for granted so being able to understand the benefits of this activity for older adults.

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Title: Stop Motion and Twisters

Prepared by: Dr Denise Lyons

Aims and objectives: Promote involvement and improve motor skills

Group: young children between the ages of 6-13

Introduction: In this activity we created twisters, which consisted of using crepe paper and creating something that could be used physically. We were placed in a group setting but worked as individuals, it took good listening skills and concentration because missing one step would have you confused.

Timing: 15 minutes were provided for the ice breaker with a 5-minute cleanup and another 40 for the main body.

Materials: Crepe paper, tape, string and cloth.

Main body: We were tasked with making a stop motion video. We created characters that we came up with ourselves. We were given complete control over the creation of our video so we created our own piece with its own meaning/story. We were placed into groups, and in these groups, we decided on the roles, one person filmed the creation while the others moved the characters and created a storyline. Once the video was complete each group had the chance to play their video to the class and talk the class through the thought process.

Reflection: The twister exercise was something different and a good time to again relax and have a laugh with my fellow classmates. Seeing everyone standing up and demonstrating theirs was funny too. The stop motion exercise was good as it allowed us to work together and provide all our own input. Using a different method in creating the video was also a good addition as it was something I had never done before.

Evaluation: The activities as a whole were very good, from the ice breaker to the main body it was enjoyable and easy to understand why we were doing it. Personally, I feel that the stop motion might have proved difficult for some people but having additional support in place to help would solve that issue.

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Title: Celebrity Guess Who & Finger Painting

Prepared by: Shane Mclaughlin, Emma Doyle, Kiersha Doran and Niall Harvey

Aims and objectives: The aim of the ice-breaker was to get people talking and involved with one another and to have fun while doing so. Finger painting was aimed at service users who may have sensory issues.

Group: Teens and service user's with sensory issues.

Introduction: Each person was given sticky notes with the names of celebrities on them and faced someone on the other side. Each person took individual turns in asking questions in the hope of guessing who was stuck to their forehead, obviously, they couldn't outright ask so yes or no questions worked best.

Timing: 15 minutes for an ice-breaker, 35 minutes for finger painting and 5 for a reflection/cooldown.

Materials: Paint, paper cutouts of Christmas characters, sticky notes, paint trays, gloves, scissors, string and a hole puncher.

Main body: The idea of the finger painting was to suit the needs of a service user who may not like the feeling of the paint on their finger during and after the session. To accommodate this we provided gloves. This made the exercise and the clean-up much easier. We provided Christmas characters on pages for the template of their painting, we provided scissors and string so if the class wanted to cut theirs out and use it as a Christmas tree decoration they could.

Reflection: Both activities went well and it was a good experience to facilitate our own class. Getting involved was also good while listening to Christmas songs, everyone seemed to be relaxed and were laughing so we must have done something right.

Evaluation: All activities went well and everyone engaged with each other and participated fully. If I was to change anything I'd provide more templates for the class and allow for more creative freedom but we were restricted with what we could find online and I thought that if we allowed people to just do their own thing they might have completed it too early and just lost interest so we had to find new ways of keeping people engaged.

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Title: Mouth and Feet Painting

Prepared by: Dr Denise Lyons

Aims and objectives: Paint pictures using only our mouth and feet to replicate what someone with mobility issues may need to do when participating in creative arts

Group: Service users with mobility issues/disabilities

Introduction: We were tasked with painting what home means to us while only using our mouths, we placed masking tape at the end of our brushes for hygiene reasons, and the page was taped to the desk to make it easier for us and to reduce the mess. Next, we did a self-portrait of the person sitting next to us with the same idea as the activity before.

Timing: 15 minutes for the ice-breaker and 45 for the main body:

Materials: Paper, paint, brushes, masking tape, water dishes

Main body: For the next activity we moved the tables so we were sitting in front of each other with room for our pages in between. We placed the brushes between our toes and created an image with the person across from us.

Reflection: This exercise allowed us to see how something we take for granted can be difficult for others. it really opened my eyes in regard to the things we take for granted every day. Everyone was engaged in the activity and we all had a good laugh when comparing everyone's self-portraits.

Evaluation: This activity was really well thought through, it is something that many, including myself, would forget with regard to people with disabilities. Everyone has the right to be creative and express themselves and this is a great way of doing so allowing everyone to get involved and create something to be proud of. Only negative was seeing people's feet.