Valentines day and activities for retirement homes

Valentine’s Day and retirement home activities

Looking for a simple yet exciting way to engage your residents in activities?

Valentine's Day is coming up on the 14^th of February and is the perfect time to inject some fun and festivity into the day's activities.

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the second most celebrated holiday throughout the world?

There are a number of different crafts and activities that can be fun and engaging for seniors. For a few ideas to get started, read more below.

Heart Shaped Boxes

Inexpensive heart shaped boxes can often be found quite easily at this time of the year by checking local stores. Providing a variety of different crafting materials, such as stickers, markers and lace, that can be used to decorate the top of the box, allows the residents to make a unique keepsake. For a non-toxic alternative to store-bought glitter, try this recipe that uses salt or sugar with food colouring: http://www.planetpals.com/craft-non-toxic-craft-supply-recipes.html.

 If you worry that your residents might be stuck for inspiration, this link has some more suggestions: http://www.squidoo.com/valentine-crafts-for-seniors#module164673210

Valentine's Day Bingo

Bingo is a fun game that can be enjoyed by men and women alike. Easily adaptable, retirement home residents will enjoy the colourful change of this themed game. Only a few materials are needed to make it. On construction paper, make a grid five squares wide and five squares high. Label the middle square as a free space by writing "Free Space" within a heart on it. On the other spaces on the board, write the saying from one candy that is taken from a package of candy hearts, being careful not to duplicate the location of these sayings on other boards that are made. The caller uses these candy hearts to call out the sayings.  The seniors can then use cinnamon candy hearts to mark the called spaces that are located on their board. The first one who gets five in a row calls out Bingo and gets candy as the prize. (http://www.nursinghomeactivitiesresource.com/february-activities.shtml)

Schedule Some Entertainment

This idea is one that the residents are sure to love. Line up some local talent to come in and sing some romantic songs, perform a short skit based on a classic movie about love, read passages of favourite love stories or all three. An alternative is to ask for volunteers among the staff to provide entertainment for the residents. Perhaps there is a budding actor and actress that would be willing to show off their talents. Or maybe there is a star singer among the staff that enjoys belting out favourite love songs.

 

These ideas above are designed to get the creativity flowing. For more ideas and inspiration, click on the links below.

http://www.planetpals.com/craft-non-toxic-craft-supply-recipes.html

http://www.squidoo.com/valentine-crafts-for-seniors#module164673210

http://www.nursinghomeactivitiesresource.com/february-activities.shtml

http://www.ehow.com/list_6362557_valentines-make-nursing-homes.html

Activities and events for retirement homes part 2

Chinese New Year and activities for retirement homes

Looking for a simple yet exciting way to engage your residents in activities?

Have you thought about the upcoming Chinese New Year?

The 10^th of February marks the start of The Chinese New Year and is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar. But it is also a great way to introduce residents to the unique traditions and customs of this culture in a fun filled way.

In this article, we'll take a look at some easy and cost efficient Chinese New Year activities for retirement home managers to organize for their residents.

Decorative Chinese Lanterns

Chinese lanterns are a typical decoration associated with Chinese New Year. They are usually made of paper or even silk for a fancier effect. Red is usually the chosen colour, as it a symbol of happiness and good fortune. Homemade Chinese lanterns normally use a series of paper cuts to create a decorative effect. Another fun version is to use a printed template to create lanterns with illustrated designs.

 

Basic Chinese Lantern Template:

https://files.nyu.edu/wyc221/public/mysite/finalproject/makelantern.html

Dragon Lantern Template:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/events/worksheets/pdf/chinesenewyear_cutout.pdf

Dragon Lantern Instructions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/events/worksheets/chinesenewyear_lantern.pdf

Play Mah-jong

Mah-jong is akin to the Western tradition of playing cards. It is often enjoyed among groups of people after a festive meal. The game uses a set of tiles imprinted with various Chinese symbols and characters. There are many stores (including several online) that sell sets of Mah-jong tiles and even playing card versions. Mah-jong typically involves four players per game. As with card games, it comes with it own set of rules and instructions for winning and scoring.

Not sure how Majong is played. Hale & Fun has a number of highly skilled Majong trainers who can help you and your residents understand this great game. Please contact Hale & Fun on info@haleandfun.com.au or 02 8034 6945/0425282317 to organise some training sessions.

Mahjong Rules:

http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/amst205.F96/vj07/project3c.html

Make Spring Couplets

As with many other cultures, New Year in China is considered a celebration of renewal. It is a tradition to create decorative spring couplets, or chun lian. These are hanging banners that feature a poem in beautiful calligraphy. The words inscribed in the couplet usually contain sentiments of renewal and happiness for the upcoming year. To create spring couplets, start out with sheets of red paper. There are many websites that offer printable templates of Chinese characters for spring couplets. Print a few copies to allow residents to cut and paste them or use them as a painting reference guide. The characters should be painted on in gold or black paint. Finally, tie the dried paper to a stick and hang it up.

Spring Couplets Craft Instructions:

http://blogs.brown.edu/hiaa-1040h-s01/2012/01/21/spring-couplets/

 The Chinese New Year is the Chinese community's biggest and most colourful celebration, spanning 15 days altogether.  It is celebrated by both the mainland Chinese and the diasporic Chinese communities and is becoming a bigger and bigger attraction each year in Sydney. The Chinese New Year can also be an great time to get all of your residents active and engaged in all sorts of activities. One option that you should consider is Hale & Fun very own Chinese New Year Games Session conducted by Sandra Fong (B.A. UNSW in English literature and Chinese studies). Sandra Fong was born in Sydney and raised in Singapore, a South-east Asian country with a largely Chinese population.  She is proud to be a member of the Chinese diaspora. Sandra studied English literature and advanced Chinese studies at the University of New South Wales, and is currently pursuing an honours year at the University of Sydney. Sandra is bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese, and enjoys celebrating Chinese New Year annually with family and friends of all cultural backgrounds. In her spare time, she writes songs influenced by the Asian popular and western classical traditions.

Sandra highly interactive course allows your residents to learn all about the Chinese New Year through an hour or two hours sessions of games and fun including:

Chinese New Year Trivia Challenge

Engage in some friendly competition and test your knowledge of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Cryptic Spring Couplets

Spring couplets are a special decoration put near doors at Chinese New Year.  Work in teams to create your own rhyming couplets (in English!) with some translation and help from the facilitator.

Chinese New Year Song Performance

Hear some traditional Chinese New Year songs and learn about the Chinese musical style. If you're game enough, you could even have a go at writing a Chinese New Year song on the spot (translated into Chinese and sung/accompanied on keyboard by the facilitator). 

Fusion Food Treasures

Learn about the significance of the different foods people eat at Chinese New Year celebrations. Then, have fun imagining what an Australian '8 treasures' Chinese New Year dish would look like. Points awarded to the most inventive dish, and prizes for everyone who tried things out.

If you would like to have Sandra conduct her unique Chinese new year fun and games session at your home, please contact Hale & Fun on info@haleandfun.com.au or 02 8034 6945/0425282317.

Activities and events for retirement homes part 1

Australia Day and retirement home residents

Australia Day, celebrated on 26 January since 1994, is a day dedicated to what makes our continent great.

It is designed to bring all the people from all over the Nation together to celebrate how far the country has come since its early days. There are a number of different ways residents in nursing homes in Australia can commemorate this annual event.

Decorations

A few days before the official day, residents can help decorate the dining hall to celebrate Australia Day. By making, or colouring, Australian flags that can then be hung up around the room, it will soon take on a festive air. Other ideas designed to include residents in the decorating include colouring and decorating pictures of koalas, beach scenes and famous landmarks of the country.  Coloured bunting can also be hung up in the dining area.

Serve a Traditional Australian Tea

Lamingtons and Anzac biscuits are foods that many residents of retirement homes in Australia probably remember from their childhoods. By starting off the most patriotic day of the year with these traditional foods, many residents will be able to reflect fondly on their childhoods as well as what their country means to them.

Bring in a Musical Guest

Most people love music and traditional Australian music can bring back many memories. There is no better way to celebrate Australia Day by bringing in a musical guest who can entertain the residents with their version of the most loved songs in the country. Another idea is to play a CD of this music for the residents to enjoy. In either case, residents will likely find themselves dancing and swaying along to their favourite songs that celebrate their beloved country of Australia.

Dress Up For the Part

The staff of the retirement home can dress up in a way that celebrates the varied cultures that make up the country. They can encourage the residents to do the same and hold a parade, if desired. The musical guest can also be encouraged to dress for the part as well.

Australia Day provides a holiday dedicated to enjoying and celebrating all that is Australian. Encouraging residents of retirement homes to participate adds a great deal to their enjoyment of the day.