Cynthia Said:

Psychology/Therapy game suggestions?

We Answered:

Use Uno cards and the color feelings (yellow=happy, blue=sad, green=anxious, red=mad) and every time they lay a card down they have to talk about something that made them either happy, sad, anxious or mad.

Ross Said:

I need help with an english text...?

We Answered:

Today is Tuesday, 20. April. I have tried to send an answer to your question, but Yahoo! Answers has mysteriously broken down. I spent about an hour and a half typing my answer into this box, and when I pressed "Submit", it wouldn't work. I shall try again tomorrow. I hope that you can wait until then. Until Wednesday! It is now a bit later on 20. April. I shall have one last attempt today. Here goes. Your text is quite good, but it is not perfect. I have altered some parts and deleted others.
My practical training in a crèche
Facility
I worked in a crèche, which belongs to a nursery, which itself is housed in an old villa. The villa stands on a hill where there are cherry trees, which explains the name of the facility: Villa on cherry tree hill. The villa has three floors and a basement. There are nine group rooms, a small gymnasium, a workshop for children's carpentry, a therapy room, a children's library, and a children's kitchen. About 150 children attend this kindergarten. The youngest ones are almost a year old, and they can attend the facility until their first day at school. The kindergarten also has facilities for disabled children. A few large and small projects are put on every year, on themes such as fairy tales.
Staff
Eighteen educators care for about 150 children. In almost every group, two educators care for about 12 to 18 children.
A typical day
The nursery is open from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. The day begins with play. At 7.30 a.m. the children have breakfast in their groups. Afterwards they can play or take part in other - voluntary - activities. At 9 a.m. the children sit down at the table and have fruit and tea. When they have finished, they either play outside in the garden or they go for a walk. After that they have lunch, then get ready for bed and have a nap. At 1.30 p.m. it is time to get up. They get dressed and they have a snack and a drink. Next, they can play in their group room or they go outside in the garden until their parents arrive to collect them.
My group
I worked in a group with 14 children. They were between 11 months and 29 months old. Eleven of them are female and three of them are male. During my practical training there were quite a lot of children to settle down.
My activities
At the beginning I found it quite difficult to find suitable activities for this age group, but it gradually became easier. I did finger games and movement games with the children, and we coloured some eggs. We sowed some cress seeds in egg shells, and the children were really interested in how the cress grew. I sang a lot with the children, and we played some board games. We also celebrated a few birthdays, and we had to say goodbye to two children who moved to another group.
My greatest moment
I had many great moments. One morning I was on my own with the six youngest children of our group. At first, it was quite busy with all of them because two of the children did not settle down quickly, so they cried, and it was not easy to calm them down. Another child hurt itself, got quite upset about it, and cried, but I was able to calm them all down again, and we sat down in the cosy corner. I took some homemade rattles with me. I sang a lot of songs, and we all made music together. I really enjoyed this activity, and the children also had a lot of fun.
My worst moment
I cannot remember one especially bad moment. From time to time I had a few concerns during my activities. Sometimes I spoke too softly, but with time that improved. On one occasion I did not know how to start and finish my activity, and I did not feel confident. However, I have my mentor, who is very supportive, and she helped me at such times.
My future prospects
This age group has always been my favourite, but I was not certain that I could work with such small children, because I am quite tall and I have already had problems with my back. However, at work everything was fine. I had no trouble as long as I moved my back carefully, and as long as I concentrated on moving my back carefully. Now, I know that I can work with this age group, and I am happy about it. During the following internships I would like to work more with the parents. Up to now, I have done only the handing over, which means receiving the child in the morning and giving it back to the parents when they collect it. I then talked to them about how the day had gone and what we had done. In the future, I would like to take part in discussions with parents.

I have tried to help. I hope that you can find something useful in my efforts.

Gertrude Said:

Do you think video games with violence affect a child mentally?

We Answered:

Mentally healthy people understand the difference between reality & fantasy & right & wrong & good & bad. It is the same thing as reading fiction stories or watching movies. It may affect someone who already has mental health issues but will not make you more inclined to grow up shooting people or prone to violence.

Billy Said:

Working with dogs that aren't fond of children?

We Answered:

It's actually great that he barks when he's nervous, because he's clearly letting his discomfort be known and anyone should have the good sense to stay away. Getting nervous when a group of kids is running towards him is understandable. You need to do your job and not allow anyone to approach him unless and until he's ok with it. Don't let anyone get close enough to him to make him nervous.

What you can do is counter-conditioning (I'm sure your behaviourist explained it). Start feeding him high value treats BEFORE anyone gets close enough to make him nervous. Keep feeding until they've past, then stop immediately. The theory is that he'll eventually associate kids approaching him with a good thing. I've used counter-conditioning and it works. Patricia McConnell has several good books out that talk about it. One is a booklet called "The Cautious Canine" - it might be of some help to you.

Ana Said:

Where can I find some good therapy games?

We Answered:

For families - I love the games "Chatter Matters" and "Lifestories" (just make sure you don't get the Christian version - unless you are a Christian counselor)

Individually, it depends on what you are working on. I get many of my things at www.couragetochange.com and www.selfesteemshop.com sometimes I get the game names there and then get them cheaper on amazon.

Shane Said:

What kind of water games can you play on a horse?

We Answered:

Extreme Water Jousting: www.exjoust.com/waterhorse