Fieldwork 1 – Jana LeVitre
Service Learning Project Description & Reflection
BUTTON B-I-N-G-O
For my service project, I made a “BUTTON BINGO” game with a laminated Activity Guide. My
fieldwork educator at HealthSouth asked me to make an upgraded edition of an existing
“HANDS” BUTTON BINGO activity for patients who need practice buttoning. She wanted a
version that wasn’t busy and distracting, and one with a firmer fabric bingo board as well as 30
button-hole pieces with non-fraying edges. She suggested a material such as faux leather.
For a firm yet practical base, I decided to use a clipboard to insert into the fabric slipcover. I
also wanted to take the project one step further and somehow provide a more realistic
buttoning position. I thought of making the bingo board on the front of something the client
could wear, to simulate buttoning a shirt, but I wasn’t sure how a Bingo game would look on
the front of a shirt. In the middle of the night, I had the idea of using an apron. Although I liked
the idea, I still couldn’t envision an attractive finished product.
Finding the materials took longer than I had anticipated. Four hours and four stores later, I had
gathered the materials—aprons, colorful buttons, iron-on letters, and a leather chamois to cut
into non-fraying button-hole pieces. I ironed the BINGO letters onto the apron, arranged the
buttons, cut 30- 1.75” leather squares, and worked on the Bingo cards and activity guide.
When I saw the project coming together, I felt better about using the apron. However, handstitching 25 buttons and sewing 30 button-hole stitches on leather squares needed to wait, so I
temporarily attached the buttons to the apron for display during the roundtable presentation.
The project will be completed by Friday, my final day of fieldwork.
The activity guide is designed to provide other uses for the button board and pieces, in addition
to the obvious dressing/shirt buttoning practice. Other fine motor ideas include finger
dexterity exercises, tendon stretching, and grading the activity by button size. Possible
cognitive uses include activities for stereognosis, matching, visual memory and spatial relations.
I hope this simple-looking activity will spark creativity and provide patients and OT practitioners
some enjoyable ways of improving fine motor and cognitive skills.
I actually enjoyed doing this project, once I got over the initial idea of making a BUTTON BINGO
game. I am glad that I decided to make it on a piece of clothing. I hope that donning the apron
will help patients experience button practicing in a more realistic manner, which takes it
beyond a simple purposeful activity. (Note: For clients who refuse to wear an apron, however,
the button board can simply be used as a table-top activity.)
I also enjoyed thinking out of the box regarding other uses for the activity.
*It taught me that there is more to something than meets the eye.
*I learned that a few little buttons can actually make a person think!
*I realized that with a little time, research, and brainstorming, good things come about.
*It helped me remember how good it feels to create.
I’m glad we have these types of opportunities. For many reasons, the project was worthwhile.
Hours: Gathering materials (4), Activity Guide (3), Bingo Cards (1), leather squares (1), Sewing buttonholes (~3), hand-sewing 25 buttons (~3) = 15 hours
Cost: Apron ($7), Craft Buttons ($4), iron-on letters ($5), clip board ($1), leather chamois ($8) = $25