Feed the Birds Day

On Feed the Birds Day we chatted about what food is good to feed birds, watched lovely bird videos, played bird BINGO and made freestanding bird art with feathers.

Bean There, Done That

 A bean farmer's daughter created bean day in January when there "aren't many holidays". We celebrated with bean bag tosses, BEANgo, and these pretty bean mosaics.

Friday the 13th

Full moons are rumored to be tougher times for dementia patients. Added to that, a Friday the 13th, and I'm surprised any showed up to work on this day in September.

The patients and I chatted about things we're afraid of, why people have superstitions, did chair exercises 13 times, gave B13 away for free in BINGO, and decoupaged black cats onto newspaper strip backgrounds to end the day.

Carat Day

On Carat Day we chatted about jewelry we've given, received, found, and lost. Patients and staff shared proposal stories. We learned about the 4 C's of diamond buying (hint: carat refers to weight, not size).

For Bingo their prizes were matching games of birthday gem stone cards.

After that, patients made thank you tags for jewel candy rings for staff. And of course, we listened to Neil Diamond.

Tattoo Week Begins

To celebrate tattoo week we had a fun themed Friday.

Staff shared appropriate tattoos with the patients. They told their stories of the tattoos and the two groups got to know each other better.

We chatted about the history of tattoos and the reasons people get them. Patients came up with all sorts of origins, from un-true love, remembering special people, and even status in motorcycle gangs.

For Bingo, instead of normal prizes, I adorned players with temporary tattoos. During visitation time, patients wowed their guests by casually mentioning they had gotten tattoos that day.

Before lunch, to add to the celebration, a staff member came and sang a few songs for patients. We love when staff share their talents with the people we are caring for. During lunch, patients watched their tattoo show of choice to their amazement and shock. 

Hello Halloween

We can't forget to discuss Halloween. Now that time has passed it shouldn't be too spooky.

The kitchen ordered too many pumpkins so had plenty to decorate by painting the outsides.

 Split feelings arose from candy corn. We used the pieces for BINGO and half the patients ate it before they could get 5-in-a-row. The others scarcely wanted to touch it. We did a candy corn guess, talked about the history of the sweet, and painting the iconic triangle on styrofoam.

On the day of the holiday, we learned the moves to the Monster Mash. Don't worry, I practiced at home before hand. We also did a second exercise of a web toss (cotton balls to tape on a cardboard back) to balance our sugar consumption.

Our dietary staff made fresh pumpkin rolls and devised a non-alcoholic bloody mary with carrots, cucumbers, and bacon garnishes.

Candy Wrappers

On a sweet day we discussed candy preferences, how candy has changed over the years, and painted our favorite wrappers on styrofoam circles. Guess what the prizes were for BINGO?

Casino Day

For Casino day, I wore a green visor. The patients took pictures with a casino headband. They played our slots game to get a homemade ice cream sandwich. Finally, we played the dice game (first person to roll each number on the dice wins) and card BINGO (one pack I distribute to the patients, the other I call out one at a time until someone is able to match all their set). Everyone was a winner.

Chocolate Chip Day

For chocolate chip day, the kitchen made fresh chocolate chip cookies. I gave out a warm prize to each BINGO participant that day.

Tartan Day

To celebrate Tartan Day, we had staff wear any tartan they could find. The BINGO prize for the day was a sticker of a swatch of tartan. We listened to Celtic music, and talked about the idea of knowing which family someone was associated with just by seeing their clothes. At the end of the day, I wrote the letters T A R N S (Tartans without repeating letters) with categories along the side. The patients came up with answers for each category for each letter.

World Water Day

On World Water Day we chatted about the lack of water in some areas of the world. We played underwater BINGO (instead of numbers the cards had pictures of beautiful things found below the sea). This version created one of the most engaged groups I have had so far. Some were using the cards like a normal BINGO card, some just enjoyed searching the card for the picture I had described, and others just perused their card and reminisced about the lovely items. We also did a water taste test. I poured two types of infused water into cups and let them sample both to tell the difference.

Bingo Prizes

Bingo can be a challenge in a psychiatric geriatric hospital. I give a bowl of cereal to each player to use as chips on their Bingo card to play. Easy clean up, and not a big deal if they accidentally eat the "chips".

Prizes can be even more of a challenge. Prizes represent success, inclusion, and a reward. However, I cannot spend too much money on prizes. The items must be safe for all patients. The nurses don't want me to offer too much candy due to glucose readings, and I also have to offer something for those who are on special diets.

On a regular basis, I use soft stuffed animals, mini candies, and stickers as prizes. I have also begun to print out things to offer the patients so they can get more than one prize per activity rather than just giving everyone who participated in some way a prize and not honoring those who were able to follow along and had an especially lucky day. An example of this was for "Clover All Over Day"- I printed shamrocks with unique sayings on them and let the patients choose one as a prize everytime they got BINGO. Another example would be to print paper trolls and let them choose one each time they won.