Campus Commons Physical Therapy - August 2022

With Homemade Bird Feeders! Our feathered friends may need a hand when their food sources are scarce or when winter rolls around, which is where bird feeders come in! Making homemade bird feeders is a fun way for you and your family to be creative while learning about birds and other local fauna. You can create a bird feeder in many ways and encourage kids to get crafty! GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES. Most homemade bird feeders can be made with materials you can find in your own home! Recycled items such as toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, egg cartons, milk jugs, paper plates and bowls, or even pine cones from the yard are perfect building blocks. Whatever you choose to build with, make sure the feeder is accessible to the birds! Cut holes so the birds can peck at the food and craft a place for them to perch on. If you’re hanging the feeder, cut holes for twine and ensure it won’t hang too low. For food, you can use regular bird seed from the store, or you can use items from your own fridge. (As part of the project, take a little time to look online for safe bird food suggestions if you don’t use seed.) You can GET CRAFTY WITH MOTHER NATURE

adhere seeds and pieces of fruit and veggies to the side of the feeder with peanut butter — no glue required!

JAZZ IT UP! This is where kids can personalize their own bird feeder. Using bird-safe paints (such as oil-based, latex, acrylic, or watercolor), your kids can design their own bird feeders with bright colors or designs that express their personalities or interests. Be sure not to paint the inside of the feeder, as birds may scratch and consume the paint while trying to reach the food. Then all you have left is to find the perfect spot. Try to find a space where you can see the birds but with enough distance so you don’t scare them away. After that, hang it up and watch the flocks come to you! Homemade bird feeders can be a great way to get your kids involved with Mother Nature and teach them how to care for and observe wild animals, all while being good to the environment.

Follow Your Physical Therapists’ Guidelines

WITH THESE 3 TIPS

SET A GOAL FOR YOURSELF. Simply following advice can be difficult for some people. They need a concrete reason to stick to the program besides the fact that it will make them healthier over time. If you need that bigger reason, think about what you want to accomplish when you’re fully healed. For some, it could be returning to horseback riding or doing that activity you love but are unable due to your condition. We’ll work with you to set goals along your path to recovery so each step feels like a substantial accomplishment. It makes the entire process easier and creates overarching goals to work toward. BE HONEST WITH YOUR PT. When our patients come in for appointments, we will ask if they are sticking to their exercises and our advice. Please don’t lie in your response. It makes things more difficult for

everyone. When you’re honest about not following through, we can figure out the root cause and come up with a plan to help you overcome whatever is getting in the way. CREATE A STRATEGY TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES. One of the biggest issues people face when trying to exercise at home is time allocation. They may want to spend more time with their family or would rather watch TV than do the necessary exercises. You have to look at your schedule and make time to keep up with the guidelines. For example, if you’re watching TV instead of doing your exercises, start doing your exercises while watching TV. There’s a workaround to any obstacle hindering your progress. Discover yours and we can help you find a way through.

www.campuscommonsphysicaltherapy.com 2 If you find yourself in this situation, we have some advice to make it easier to stick to your PT’s guidelines without temptation. Try these three things we’ve gathered to help you. When you first start working with a physical therapist, they will give you guidelines about what you should and shouldn’t do at home. Some of these may be simple, like performing a certain exercise before bed, but others may require you to make sacrifices, like giving up your favorite hobby for an extended period of time. It can be disheartening to hear you can’t perform a certain activity, and you may be tempted to continue the activity against your physical therapist’s advice.

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