Don't Ever Lego

Crafters might agree with me that there is a very real fear: as soon as you throw away supplies, you think of the perfect use for them.

For this reason I tend to hang on to things like an overflowing bucket of legos. I also feel the urge to include them in activities as soon as possible.

During August, Unit Managers are celebrated. For their appreciate gifts residents chose a few pieces to put together as a paperweight. They also wrote notes of thanks. On the day, I called each manager over individually and had a different resident hand them their present, as well a large chocolate bar and a hug if they wanted it. The residents loved the reaction of the employees.

Olympics

At the beginning of the Olympics, residents helped decorate by cutting colored circles,

making copies of the meaning of the 5 colors, supervising me hanging hoops,

posting the schedule of the games at large community televisions,

and using medicine cup rims and fabric paint to decorate white tee shirts.

We had a Brazilian food taste test. (Hint: there are no lemons in Brazilian lemonade.)

On the last day of the games, we had a social with cheese puffs in ice cream cone "torches".

Calendar Not Bored

Traditionally, the giant calendar board in the skilled nursing part of my work has one a monotone background that we change each month.

I decided we should try something new and use cut scrapbook paper for an entire season.

This has worked beautifully for summer: picnic baskets, fruit, new grass, blue skies, and sand. For fall, I bought hunting scrapbook paper full of leaves and woods and animals in twilight. Of course the residents chose which paper reminded them of the season, and cut out the paper along the lines drawn for them.