Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Gifts for the Laundry Workers


Starting this month, we will celebrate a different group of employees throughout the year.

The residents used clothes pins to attach two snacks to a hanger for each of our wonderful laundry workers.They also wrote thank you notes on cards picked out by the greeting card club. The laundry department is constantly complimented.

Additionally, one of my new activities assistants used his art skills to draw a picture on a canvas with a funny laundry room saying chosen by the residents. Then he filled the remaining space with appreciative signatures.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Life is a Picnic

The residents mentioned summer makes them think of picnics so we changed the Independence day table decorations to suit. Each vase even has a little solo cup and plastic straw. I think they turned out adorable and the residents who made them had a lot of fun.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Independence day

I'm dependent on photo props:

1. making them is an activity in itself. residents enjoy helping to decide what to use, how they should look, coloring  in, etc

2. props keep us oriented to the time of year and special activities coming up

3. when you take someone's photo there is a great chance they will smile

4. prints can be given to residents, family members, and will make great additions to our upcoming scrapbook club

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Cold Watermelon on a Sunny Day

Sometimes simple activities are the best. Our watermelon social under the awning, looking into the freshly landscaped courtyard and eating cold melon slices was a great example of this. Yes, I did set aside red balloons to decorate with black "seeds" to add to the mood. Otherwise it was just about sitting back and letting the residents talk to each other about the great weather.

I worked especially hard to invite a new resident who is here on hospice. He doesn't care much for food or being around other people, but he did allow me to convince him to join us in the fresh air. He even ate!

My only regret is that I didn't call it Watermelon Tellin'.