Summer in the City Week 3

We ended off Summer in the City Session 1 with a week full of amazing activities and insightful lessons! 

On Monday, students had the opportunity to see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is the largest museum in the United States! We explored amazing art ranging from various time periods. Students especially took an interest to the exhibit of ancient instruments. Once we got back to the office, students continued to build their social communication skills. We reviewed the concept of self-advocacy, along with examples of when we need to self-advocate, and with whom.   Students also learned more about stress management, decision making, and problem solving skills.

On Tuesday, we took a trip to Strawberry Fields in Central Park where students had an extremely relaxing and harmonious day. We listened to live music and enjoyed the beautiful weather and company of others. After the trip, students had a creative writing lesson. We listened to the song “Imagine” and interpreted the lyrics. Each student reflected upon the song and shared their interpretation of the lyrics and reflected on the emotions that came to mind.

Students had a blast at the Museum of the Moving image on Wednesday, where they had the opportunity to explore various movie and video game artifacts. In the afternoon, students learned how to manage stress through meditation. We defined and discussed strategies on how to meditate to relieve stress and other body tensions.

On Thursday, students viewed the film, “Tiny Giants” in IMAX and explored the Space and Earth exhibit at the Hayden Planetarium. Back at the office we worked on creative writing, where students chose an animal and utilized descriptive words to describe their animal. Students then guessed each others animals and then shared their full descriptions.

On Friday, students had an amazing time at Dave and Busters. Not only were the students able to have fun while playing video games, but they also had chance to show what they learned about social communication. At the office, students took part in a lesson called “Who Moved my Cheese?” This experience related to the topic of change, specifically about being able to adapt and accept change, set goals, and go out into the real world and find your “Cheese!” After this students reflected upon their overall Summer in the City experience. This was great as it highlighted the growth of each student during the session and the amazing relationships that were made.