Our Coffee House

the Vision

The main idea of the Coffee House is to create a snoezelen type of atmosphere for the children. We want to give an atmosphere in which the children can easily socialize with each other and where a child, without pressure and stress for time or other, can become more independent. For some of our children a job in our Coffee House gives them a feeling of heightening his or her self-awareness. It is a chance to create an ideal environment for learning e.g. how to use money and how to communicate with others on a business level – like: 'the coffee costs one Shekel. Please put your Shekel in the cash box.'

There is a lot, what the children can learn, e. g. how to give change, how to be waiters, how to wait ones turn, how to use whatever hand or part of the hand that can function and how to behave in a Coffee House.

And the children are happy about a further activity in the afternoon.

goal ideas!?

How can a handicapped child use his hands in the best possible way as a waitor?

Robert, our head of the physiotherapy department, is taking a close look at each child, as he performs the duty of waitor, and is suggesting better ways to handle it.

He suggests deep spoons. This will help the child to keep the coffee and /or sugar in the spoon – we noticed a lot was being spilt out.

What can we do with N. as far as the work in the Coffee House is concerned?

This is a question that was confronted to Susu who is N. caregiver. Susu, having had lots of experience with special needs children, and also has been educated in this field, had the following suggestions for us:

We will try to involve him in the collecting of the milk in the kitchen and eventually let him go by himself with a note to Angela and come back by himself with the milk.

At the conclusion of the coffee house at 17.00 on Mondays and Thursdays, N. will assist Leah to bring the trays and plates to the office and will assist her to wash them..

So we can…

- …encourage N. to be more independent.

- …give him positive tasks to do and so keep him

out of mischeif.

- …teach him to follow instructions..

How to involve L.?

Again Susu had a good idea. He can assist A. and T. as waitors, by helping them move towards the adult/child who is about to receive a drink from them, by walking behind their chair and moving them along.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

new ideas

This morning we had a Coffee-House-commitee-meeting. While enjoying coffee, cookies and chocolate we were inspired with new ideas. We decided to make the Coffee House more attractive for our lower functioning children, especially for those who cannot drink. Our idea is to add in different tastes, like fruit tea or chocolate powder or spread.

We want to go into more detail concerning the particular roles of those children, who are in the "working team". L. from room 8 e.g. is learning to walk. He can work as the "steering wheel" for those children, who cannot drive their wheelchairs themselves - especially for our waitors.

We caught some of the first steps of L. - one of the new assistants of our Coffee House

Sunday, January 11, 2009

News from the first month

The Coffee House is open for more than one month on Mondays and Thursdays, during the afternoon activities. Both children, staff and volunteers enjoy the athmosphere, which consists of special lighting, soft backround music and generelly non stressfull environment. The children buy their drinks with paper coins and the adults with real Shekels - one Shekel per drink!

Choose your drink!