American Heart Month
An Affair to Remember Month
Black History Month
Canned Food Month
Creative Romance Month
Great American Pie Month
National Cherry Month
National Grapefruit Month
National Weddings Month
Day To Day Activities
1st-National Freedom Day (commemorates signing of the 13th Amendment)
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
-Voltaire
"It's better to die fighting for freedom than to live life in chains. -????"
"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."
-Mahatma Gandhi
Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
-Abraham Lincoln
If we want to live in a free country, we have to accept that people are different. You are not free if you are only free to be like everyone else.
-Larry Goodwin
Groundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. each year on February 2nd. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter's nap, and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter's day.
According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. If however, he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.
The Groundhog's Day tradition travelled long ways. It comes from German roots. German immigrants brought the tradition with them from Germany. As they settled in hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using the Groundhog to predict the the arrival of Spring. The tradition is based upon Candlemas, the day that is the midpoint between Winter and Spring. A famous Candlemas poems goes:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
1. Send invitations to residents made out of felt or construction paper in the shape of pennants
using small dowel rods for stick
2. Invitations that look like Super Bowl tickets.
3.Footbals made put of brown construction paper that open
Activities
Before the game have everyone fill out Super Bowl trivia questionnaire above
Have Residents Sing The National Anthem,
Several sets of pom poms and have a cheering section
Write a letter to the people who work at the local post office. Thank them for all their hard work. Ask them to write back and tell you about the hardest part of their job.
Print Out Coupons Size Papers That Say "Thank You For The Compliment" Hand Them Out To Staff & Residents Every Time A Staff Member Or A Resident Pays Someone A Comlpiment That Person Gives Them A Coupon. Remind Them Honesty Is The Best Policy At The End Of The Day Have Everyone Total Up Coupons They Recieved. Prizes Can Be Awarded To The Resident & Staff Members With The Most Coupons.
Each employee/resident in an area, department, or workgroup is assigned or selects 2-5 people to compliment, (make sure compliments are evenly spread around). Employees/Residents write each compliment on a separate strip of colorful paper.
After reading their compliments out loud, all of the paper strips are connected together, creating a paper chain. You could make a group project for those residents that can't write asking them about employees and writing down their responses of compliments.
Where it is applicable these area/department/workgroup chains could be linked together in a very long chain.
If the chain is quiet long, this can be a great public relations story. Take a picture and write a short story or caption about your National Compliment Day activities. Include the number of compliments making up the chain and its length. Send them ASAP to your local newspaper or make arrangements for the paper to cover the story prior to National Compliment Day. If you don't want to make a chain, collect those same slips of paper and put them on a bulletin board for everyone to see.
A Resident Group Project could be to write down nice things residents have to say about staff members and print them up. Pass out to all staff members & Post Them on Bulletin Boards. Inform Staff you will be doing this every year. You can bet for the next year staff will try their best to make sure they are on the list next year especially if they received no comlpiments this year.
Why not send out invitations to all your surrounding neighbors and have a finger food party at your facility? You might even find some neighbors who would like to sign up as volunteers. Make Invitations on a hand you have traced making "I Love You" in sign language.
This would be a great time to go through your resident interest surveys and try a little match making. Have a snack party and seat residents with similar interest at the same tables. Some great friendships may form.
I don't know about you but I have always been proud of my name.But a good fun group activity would be to write a bunch of different first and last names on paper and have residents draw a new name. Practice everyone's new name for a few minutes then have residents take turns going around the table and name all the residents with their new name. Whoever gets the most right wins a prize.
What A great Day To Shower Some Extra Love On Your Unhappy Residents
Great day to start a "Visit Your Neighbor" Group I ask some of our friendly and alert residents to visit at least once a week our unhappy and depressed residents. The results were fantastic. Some residents just need to know they are not alone and someone cares.
Buy Large Bag Of Candy & Some Zip Lock Bags Put 10 to 20 pieces of candy in each bag Staple a note on that says "You have received a random act of kindness. Because we appreciate you. Please go out and do something nice for someone else." Pass them out to residents and staff. Another idea is to take residents around & give them to local fire and police, ministers, store owners, volunteers, a day care or school class.
19th-Chocolate Mint Day
20th-Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day
On this winter day, people go out at noon, wave their hands over their heads and chant "Hoodie-Hoo".
It is a day to chase away winter and bring in spring. After all, everyone in the northern hemisphere are sick and tired of winter at this point and a little crazy being cooped up inside all winter and not seeing the sun.
Truth or Fib
Remind residents of the story about George Washington and the cherry tree. George Washington was an honest man-he told the truth, not a fib. Now tell the residents short phrases, and ask them to tell whether the phrase is the truth or a fib. Here are some examples:
The moon is made of green cheese.
We get light from the moon. etc.
Dress Mexican & Have A Mexican Hat Dance I never will forget the resident in a wheel chair who told me she loved to dance but couldn't anymore. I said, "Oh yes You Can !" And away we went with that wheel chair. The smile on her face is etched in my mind. And after the dance she was telling everyone on her way back to her room."I didn't think I could still dance but I can!"
25th-Pistol Patent Day
Target Shoot Required:Rubber Dart Gun That Shoots Several Darts
(Can Be Purchased at Wal-Mart)
Description: Great Mens Activity
I purchased a dart gun from Walmart that had a cartridge you loaded with 4 darts.
I think they cost around $3.00. I took 3 empty 2 liter soda bottles and placed
pictures of animals on the front of them. At Thanksgiving I would place pictures
of Turkeys and we'd have a "Turkey Shoot". We had hunting trips for rabbit, squirrels,
deer etc. I then would place the bottles on a bedside table towards the very back
(they fell off better). The bedside table worked great because I could set the height
for those standing to shoot or those sitting, in wheel chairs Plus I could wheel the
table to the resident. The group of residents would take turns trying to shoot and knock
the bottles down. They got to use all 4 darts to try. What the men loved about this was
you actually cocked the gun like a real one. I kept score of who our best hunter was and
they received a prize and a ribbon made of construction paper. I also placed an award on
our bulletin board of who our hunter of the week was which they also received.
Cupid