Hi y’all!
Once a month, I head out of the library to Treffert Studios, a local organization that works with neurodivergent individuals, especially youth. Per their website, “Our mission is to help neurodivergent individuals find their passion and express their talents, giving them a voice and platform to share their strengths with the world. Our programs allow neurodivergent individuals to collaborate on creative arts and multimedia projects, thereby developing teamwork and communication skills, building confidence through self-expression, securing gainful employment, and ultimately taking the lead in their own lives.” Emotional regulation is a huge piece of the puzzle for this group, so Paper Inflatables seemed like a great fit.
I specifically hang out with the middle school and high school age students who visit the Studios on Friday mornings. I’ve done a variety of activities with this group over this past school year, from Lego building challenges, to exploring the library’s virtual comic offerings, and beyond. I thought Paper Inflatables would be an absolute hit with this crowd, and it was a tremendous success! I printed enough copies of the Inflatables mini-zine for each participant, plus a handout I made that outlines the activity. I tried to keep things loose and relaxed, given the range of attention spans, motor skills, and interest levels I knew I’d encounter. And boy, did the kids deliver! Some stuck to more basic projects, and one took the pneumatic idea and kept iterating different designs for paper projectiles he could launch with his straw, but here are two particular highlights:
One of the seniors traced his hand onto paper, then cut around the edges to make two identical pieces, which he then taped together. I think it turned out amazing, and he told me it was just a prototype - he was experimenting with rolling up the fingers so they would form a fist that unclenched when the paper was inflated.
And then there was Pikachu! In by far the most time-consuming project, one of the sophomores found an image of Pikachu online, then displayed it on his tablet so he could trace Pikachu onto a yellow piece of paper, which he then cut out and used as a template to cut out another piece of paper so he could tape them together and make an inflatable. It turned out so well, and he was so happy with it!
I can’t share pictures of this particular group, but I hope I’ve done a good enough job describing it. What fun, creative takes, that I never would have come up with myself!
I do also want to mention that my library has a die-cut machine, and I also ran a similar program last night for a group I work with that comes to the library as part of their after-school emotional regulation program. Not all of them took me up on the option, but it was neat to see them look through our collection of dies and try to figure out which ones would work best as inflatables. We had an inflatable cowboy boot, an inflatable star, and an inflatable Milk Bone, all cut out with the dies! Definitely an option to consider if you’re shorter on time, or working with individuals whose dexterity makes scissors difficult.
That’s all! Just wanted to share some joy on a sunshiney Friday 