Our Current Activities

	Courtesy of Big Apple Circus Clown Care

The Clown Care unit of Big Apple Circus is a troupe of highly skilled doctors ready to tickle patients' funny bones and treat them to some laughs. Visiting the hospital several times a week, these "Doctors of Humorology" give patients juggling lessons, spin "platelets," and perform kitty cat scans. Visit the Big Apple Circus's Web site to learn more.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Integrative Medicine Service offers classes in yoga to pediatric patients. Sessions emphasize basic yoga positions and stretches. With soothing music playing in the background, our yoga instructors encourage creative expression and use animal and nature imagery to help patients learn a series of gentle strength- and balance-building movements as well as deep-breathing and relaxation techniques.

Dance therapy can help kids increase their mobility, flexibility, and range of motion. Therapists from the Creative Movement and Dance Therapy program instruct pediatric patients in basic dance principles and encourage them to express their thoughts and feelings through improvisational movement.

	Making crafts is fun with representatives from the Children's Museum.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan makes weekly visits to the Department of Pediatrics, bringing with them arts and crafts projects and fun educational materials for kids of all age groups. These visits give patients an opportunity to experiment with artistic techniques and learn about art from the experts.

The Explorer's Group engages middle-school-age patients in hands-on science projects. While kids are sure to be captivated by these challenging projects, it's the peer-learning experience and classroom-like feel of the sessions that can help to normalize the hospital setting.

The weekly Cooking Group helps transform kids into chefs. Assisted by a child life specialist and volunteer, kids prep, mix, and cook up a wide variety of dishes, from healthy snacks to unhealthy treats. Each patient is assigned a specific task in the kitchen and the food is shared at the completion of the session.

Designed for patients ages two through 12, the Medical Play Group helps kids learn about their treatment through role-playing activities. Led by a child life specialist, participants are given scenarios in which they pretend to be doctors making decisions about the "medical needs" of a doll. Sessions have a new theme each week -- topics include finger sticks, IV access, Broviac dressing changes, and pill taking.

Kids Kicking Cancer (KKC) makes weekly visits to the Pediatric Day Hospital, offering karate sessions to groups and individual lessons at bedside. With a focus on the mind-body connection, KKC instructors combine relaxation and mental imagery techniques with karate movements to help kids develop strength, balance, and self-control. Karate techniques can also help patients with pain management. Visit the KKC Web site for more information about the organization.

The tWeen Group gives middle-school-age patients an opportunity to share their experiences with their peers and have fun working on creative group projects. Sessions cover many important topics, from dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis and treatment, to being away from school and friends and spending extended time in the hospital.

The Teen Group, led by child life specialists and social workers, is an open forum for teen patients to express whatever is on their minds. From time to time, the group will pick an activity to do together -- like cooking or making a collage. The group meets twice a week in the Teen Room.

Visit the For Teens Only section of our Web site to find answers to your questions and advice from other teens who have been "there."

While most group activities offered through Pediatric Programming focus on discussion or learning new skills, weekly games of blackjack (for teens) and bingo (for the younger patients) are all about having fun and winning prizes. Bingo and blackjack allow patients to interact with other kids in their age group in a relaxed environment. Patients can also participate from their bedside by playing over the phone.

The weekly Tea Time gathering is offered to all parents and caregivers courtesy of Chai Lifeline. A kosher meal is brought to the Recreation Center, and the hour is spent sharing a meal and socializing. Tea Time is designed to give parents and caregivers a break from their regular hospital routines.

The Caregivers Group provides support for caregivers who are coping with a loved one who has cancer. The weekly sessions, led by a social worker and a child life specialist, seek to address the needs of parents, older siblings, relatives, and other caregivers. Participants have a chance to share their feelings and learn about various support resources. From time to time the group may focus on a specific activity, such as flower arranging, massage therapy, or meditation.

Twice a month, professional New York City actors visit the Pediatric Day Hospital to share their craft with kids in Drama Group. Actors lead role-playing activities and instruct teens and tWeens in various techniques, including voice experimentation and how to respond to tones and sounds rather than words.

Through the Writers Workshop, budding writers are paired with writing mentors who offer expert guidance on subjects such as writing technique, organization, and creativity. Patients may read and discuss classic literary works or learn how well-known authors handle the writing process. Patient pieces are selected for publication in the Department of Pediatrics quarterly newsletter, News9.

Aquarium Day, hosted by the New York Aquarium, helps pediatric patients explore a wide range of underwater creatures, vegetation, and other sea-world surprises. This hands-on interactive activity gives patients the opportunity to explore an aquatic underworld they otherwise would not be able to experience.

Happiness Is Camping, located in Hardwick, New Jersey, offers a summer camp experience for our pediatric patients and their siblings. Medical coverage is provided by Memorial-Sloan-Kettering physicians and nurses along with staff from other area hospitals. With 24-hour medical coverage available, stays range from one to four weeks. Visit the Happiness Is Camping Web site for more information.

Sunrise Day Camp is situated on the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds, a 300-acre wooded site that borders Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, New York. The camp is designed to meet the special needs of patients with cancer while allowing them to enjoy the comforts and safety of sleeping in a home. Siblings are also welcome. Visit their Web site for more information.

For patients who are facing cancer or other serious illnesses, Camp Simcha provides the experience of a lifetime. Located on the 125-acre Jack and Moishe Horn Campus in Glen Spey, New York, this unique camp offers 24-hour medical care to meet the special needs of patients with cancer. Visit their Web site for more information.

	2007 High School Convocation

Holidays and special events are celebrated at the Pediatric Day Hospital through games, songs, and stories as well as special food and decorations. Our staff makes an extra effort to honor the traditions customary to all the various cultures and religions represented by our patients.

Music therapy is available to all Memorial Sloan-Kettering patients, including pediatric patients, and their families. Music therapists introduce children to a variety of melodic and rhythmical instruments, and sessions focus on helping to ease fear and anxiety, enhance creative expression, manage symptoms, and promote relaxation and comfort. Children are invited to play the instruments, sing songs, participate in song-story writing, or just listen to the music. Music therapy can be done one-on-one or in a group session.

Pediatric patients are taught various relaxation techniques to help them manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Treatments, such as guided imagery, meditation, and self-hypnosis, can help:

• Decrease pain, nausea, headaches, and insomnia
• Facilitate relaxation during procedures, treatments, and during long or isolated inpatient stays in the hospital
• Manage anxiety, stress, and depression
• Improve eating habits
• Decrease phobic reactions (i.e.: needle phobias, claustrophobia)
• Facilitate better coping with body image changes (e.g. hair loss, amputation)
• Enhance overall coping skills for patients and caregivers

Even beyond symptom management, these skills build children's self-confidence and endow parents with concrete ways to support their child and themselves during stress and crises.

The Musicians On Call program brings live musical performances from talented musicians to pediatric patients and families. Whether playing guitars or keyboards, or singing a cappella, performers take patient requests and are sure to know almost any song requested. Patients may also learn the basics of song writing and recording with the help of Musicians On Call staff members. Read more about Musicians on Call.

For many teenagers, looking good is an essential part of their daily lives -- a fact no less true for teens with cancer. Thanks to the Look Good…Feel Better for Teens program, teens receive helpful tips on how to look their best while managing the side effects of treatment.

The SIBS program is designed to recognize and celebrate the important role siblings play in pediatric patients' lives. The program also aims to help kids better understand their siblings' hospital experiences through role-playing, tours of the operating room, and other activities. Meetings take place on school holidays and during summer months. Visit the Web site of SuperSibs, an organization dedicated to reaching out to the brothers and sisters of over 12,600 children in the US and Canada who are diagnosed with cancer each year, to learn more about this national program.

Reflexology is a type of massage therapy for the feet. Every month a reflexology class for parents and caregivers is held in the Recreation Center. Though caregivers may also receive foot massages from the reflexologists, the sessions are focused primarily on teaching caregivers when and how they can use reflexology on their children.

The Lollipop Theater Network debuts new film releases several times a year using a high-definition, large-screen film projector. Lollipop representatives can also arrange for patients to view films at bedside. Periodically, following the screening directors and cast members may visit to give patients a behind-the-scenes perspective.

Towards Tomorrow is a multifaceted bereavement program designed specially for families who have lost a loved one. Organized by social workers, child life specialists, and medical staff, the group offers families a way to address issues associated with death, and provides support through parent outreach and discussion, as well as through volunteering opportunities and special program opportunities. The Towards Tomorrow group is offered to families during the first year of their loss, with twice-monthly support meetings for parents and memorial services for staff to remember and honor the special children treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.