Ella

When you have an activity that has to be cancelled for whatever reason, outdoor activity cancelled due to rain, volunteer doesn't show up etc. What activity do you use in place of the scheduled activity? I am running into the problem of my staff using the same activity over and over when one has to be cancelled, or if there is one on the calendar and there is a small turn out. For example: if I have an out door activity planned and it rains, staff will play card bingo or po-ke-no, if I have dominoes on the calendar and they "can only get 3-4 residents" they will change the activity to card bingo or po-ke-no. I realize we can not do anything about the weather, however we can do something about "only getting 3-4 residents" to an activity. I work M-F and have left specific instructions to call me if changes need to be made, this seems to be forgotten quite often especially by one staff. When I question her, she states reasons why such as "no one wanted to play dominoes, I could only get 3-4 people to come down so I played card bingo, then I had 12 people". When speaking to other staff in my department I find that she didn't want to play dominoes and persuaded the residents to do an activity that she wanted. Of course this is all hear say. My question is, what activities do use as backups or alternatives in case you have cancellations. I would like to have a backup plan on days this staff works. I want to have a small list of alternate activities for her to pick from in the event one has to be cancelled because we already have card bingo and po-ke-no on our monthly calendar and don't want to utilize these as backup activities. I welcome all your suggestions! Thanks! Ella

We occasionally play the game Penny Ante, where the Residents are seated around a table. Each Resident is given ten pennies (poker chips) and there are pennies (poker chips) in the middle of the table for the "pot". We have a stack of cards with a question or instructions on them. Each resident takes a turn at answering the question or following the instructions on the card. At the end of the game, the residents with the most "pennies" get a prize from our prize cart (1st, 2nd, 3rd place). We have used this game for years so the cards have been used over and over and I have made some cards of my own. I need help "your imagination" on creating some new cards to mix into our deck. Not only do we follow the instructions but we reminisce about what is on the card as well so it is a hilarious game listening to the residents responses. Examples are: Give a penny to everyone who has ever gone skinny dipping. Take a penny from the pot if you have ever made soap. Shake hands with the person to your right and give them a penny. Give a penny to everyone who is wearing pantyhose. Take two pennies from the pot if you have ever been to the ocean. You get the idea. Traditional or silly questions both work for this game. I need new topics to make new cards so we are not reminiscing about the same stuff over and over. Thank you! Ella