Curriculum Topic: Group Activity, Student Demonstration, Practice
Activity Type: Multi-topic, Labor & Birth, Postpartum, Labor Support, Healthy Birth Practice 2
Purpose: Active way to engage people and have them work together.
Supplies: Inflatable beach ball
Guide — either a sheet for each group, or a slide on screen the entire class can see
Instructions:
- Explain to your class that today's activity you will have some fun with a beach ball.
- Share the "guidelines" that you have prepared in advance on a large screen available to all or by handing out laminated sheets to each family.
- Instruct the families to toss the ball from one person to any other person in the group.
- As they catch the ball, note what color their left thumb has landed on. Turn to the guidelines to see what the task is.
- Ask the group to do that task. If it is a question, have the person who caught the ball answer it.
- After the group completes the task, the ball gets tossed to another person and the activity is repeated. For example, if we were covering pushing positions, the person who catches the ball finds their left thumb has landed on the white area. The entire group would then do something that involves pushing with the help of a support person. Each family may very well be doing something different, or several may choose the same thing. Either way, they are solving a problem and getting a chance to practice it. This activity can be done as a review at the beginning or end of class, or during a learning segment as you are covering the material for the first time.
Set-Up:
Decide in advance what your learning objective is
Talking Points:
LINK: https://www.lamaze.org/Connecting-the-Dots/Post/series-brilliant-activities-for-birth-educators-beach-ball-learning
Modifications:
There are many different variations that can be used. Some topics that can be covered would include: pushing positions, back labor solutions, things to eat and drink in labor, things to do for comfort and coping during the stages and phases of labor, what to do with a crying newborn, breastfeeding positions, postpartum survival skills, and nutritious foods to eat in pregnancy. The reality is that you can use many different topics that you feel would fit in well with this activity. It is fun and energizing to toss a ball around and be creative on the spot to try a position or answer a question.
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