Birthdays

To make the monthly patient birthday party special, I have started not only to have banners, singing, and a poem, but also interactive food and photo props that go with the theme for the day. For the month shown above, the patients decorated cookies with bits of their choice instead of just receiving a pre-made cupcake. Then we took pictures with cut outs of mermaids, pirates, and surfers. The photos can be enjoyed on a special board all month long to remind us to celebrate the patients spending their birthdays in our geriatric psychiatric facility.

Donut You Love CNA's?

The patients celebrated CNA's with a banner of ringed donuts with their names on it. The patients have been coloring those donuts for weeks!

To continue the ring theme, the patients wrote everyone's name on a card that said "We like you so wanna put a ring on you" and taped ring pops to them. One patient hand delivered them to the staff who were working that day. I've done this before and it went over just as well at my new job as it has in the past.

Purr-fect

The patients painted their favorite colors in a plastic bag. Then we took the painting out of the bag and added their choice of cat cutout. We talked a lot about past pets this day and I think their artwork turned out purr-fect.

Smell the Roses Day

What kind of rose are you? The patients were given the chance to think about which kind described them the most. My life is thornless.

I made a playlist of songs with roses in the title and we listened  to see which we remembered and could name.

If you look at the bottom of the chalkboard, you can see the rolled paper roses we made and taped to straws. They are sitting in a vase now at the nurses' station.

Have You Herbed?

Our patients enjoyed growing wheat grass so much, we got a new set of planters to make 3 types of herbs. They are easy to grow and care for, and safe to eat if ingested accidentally. Some patients even remember from day to day how much they grow.

Vanilla Pudding Day

 Vanilla Pudding doesn't have to be boring. To celebrate the day, patients made their own vanilla pudding "sundaes" just the way they like them. This was a sugar reduced option they all loved tremendously.

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.