Jaguar Jumps STEAMs ahead
By Sarah Shoaf, Staff Writer
Over the summer, Jaguar Jumps (JJ) hosted a STEAM Camp at Governors State University (GovState) full of fun activities mixed with life skills.
It was a day-long affair for JJ students who engaged in different tasks that offered chances to practice their fine motor skills and community building, while gaining valuable knowledge to aid them in daily life.
The day started out with students getting crafty in the kitchen baking cookies, making muffin mix jars, personalizing kitchen aprons, and creating mosaics. From the kitchen to home maintenance, it was all about improving their ADL (activities of daily life) skills.
Mixing batter and baking cookies honed the students measuring and sorting skills, opening the door for potential employment in food service, while creating mosaics introduced them to arranging tiles with glue and grout, skills needed for tiling projects or window glazing.
Once everyone finished their projects, the group went on a trip around GovState’s campus with polaroid cameras in hand to take pictures of each location they found as they worked on their directionality and mobility skills.
Tasked with finding the art gallery, recreation center, and a mural on campus, the JJ students were treated to unplanned surprises at each stop.
First stop: the art gallery. An artist show opening was underway, so the students were able to meet the artist and talk with her while learning about their favorite exhibits.
Continuing with their photo hunt, the students went to the recreation center only to find that the GovState basketball team was practicing ahead of the fall season. Despite that, the team took time to chat with the JJ students, even taking photos and encouraging them to attend some upcoming games.
Closing out their photo tour and the camp, the students took group photos at the campus mural where they found Officer Kelley on patrol, who not only engaged them in conversation, but also joined their photo session.
There are still more events like the STEAM Camp to come for Jaguar Jumps, a bridge program for students with disabilities to transition from high school to college and career pathways. Click here for upcoming Jaguar Jumps programs.