Current Events

Even though it’s been rainy outside, we’ve kept our spirits up at Nextstep.  Monday morning we split into small groups- the MWF crew went to the library while the everyday crew took a long walk around South Portland including yummy drinks and good conversation at Panera Bread.  In the afternoon after some social skills role-playing, we dove into some art, expanding on our calendar inspired work.  Tuesday morning, the crew did their normal volunteering at the Root Cellar with a trip to the Portland Public Library after.  In the afternoon, we headed to Fort Williams for a mix of exploring the forts and good discussion about ‘reciprocal conversation.’  We’ve been comparing a good conversation to a game of catch in which both people participate, taking turns listening and talking.  Wednesday morning we did more work on conversation skills, talking and practicing asking questions that show we are interested in other people.  We also started talking a little about planning for social events- how to act if we invite people over, what it means to be a host or be responsible for entertaining others.  We decided a good way to practice all the social skills we’re working on would be to host a social event.  We will break it down into various steps such as letting people know about our event, deciding on a theme, setting a budget, planning a menu, planning activities/ entertainment, greeting people and making them feel welcome etc.  We’re thinking we’ll hold this get-together in the beginning of November- more to come!  We were planning on going apple-picking Wednesday, but as a rainy day plan B we headed over to the Gorham Sports Center for some kickball, soccer and field hockey.  Later that afternoon we focused on the important social skill of identifying others’ emotions.  We worked with the smartboard to practice recognizing facial cues that show emotion.  Thursday morning, we continued talking about conversation skills, and started brainstorming topics and talking about what topics are appropriate to discuss when and with whom (family, friends, acquaintances etc).  In the afternoon we went to JP Thornton’s Café and had a great afternoon getting some work done there.  We did some activities about staying on topic, how to politely end a conversation, and the importance of personal space (not being too close or too far away) during a conversation.  We also did some additional work around recognizing emotions and facial expressions.  After a lot of good work we beat the rain with a trip to Books a Million.  Tomorrow we have already voted to make Broccoli Chicken Alfredo, so our morning will be spent finding a recipe, grocery shopping and cooking, and of course our Friday afternoon movie.