European Day

Yesterday we had a simple theme that went well. I wore my Italian scarf, striped shirt, and hair to the side.

We began the day with a chat about the places everyone had visited in Europe, favorite memories, and how it is different from America. This could have gone on for a while but a fitness instructor came in and I encouraged the residents to stay and participate in that.

Later on we had our monthly party and I printed European puzzles as well as pictures of European symbols. Not everyone wanted to paint, and for them I encouraged working together on the puzzles and word games. For those who were willing to make something to take away from the day, I asked them to pick their favorite symbols (a famous building, the shape of a country, a skyline, etc) and a flat piece of wood. If necessary I made an enlarged copy and then they cut it out and traced it onto the wood. Then they painted around it in black for a reverse silhouette.

Something everyone participated in at the party was smelling perfumes. Scents like that make me think of French women for some reason. I asked the residents to bring a perfume of choice and we sprayed it on a strip of paper I had left over from the caterpillar craft we did with the children.  I wrote names on the back and we passed the strips around discussing which were our favorites and reasons we wore perfume in the first place.

To stay hydrated we drank Swiss hot chocolate and talked about German food. It was a lovely day.