gina

Hi Lynn, Have you tried the Indiana Activity Director Association,I went on the website and found out about certification,whats required,courses coming up,etc. Go to:www.members.aol.com/iadassoc/ :-) gina

Hi Cindy, Well, let me start by saying that if your facility is using volunteers for feeding your residents, i hope that they are properly trained.At one facility i worked at many years ago(back in the 80's) we had high school volunteers coming in after school to help feed the residents at dinner,anyway long story short,one of our residents started choking and the volunteers didnt know what to do,she started yelling and jumping around(which made things worse),luckily i was just walking by getting ready to go home,and saw this occur and helped out( the resident was fine).after this happened the D.O.N. started the feeding program training course,which was a class she gave to any new hire c.n.a.s,or volunteers.Basically,the program was a class to teach how to properly feed residents,and a teacher from the red cross to teach the heimlick/cpr class. gina :-)

Hi Lynn, Try:http://www.ihca.org/education/educ-cal.php Thats the Indiana Health Care Association web site,the next class is this week on March29-April 2,then the next class is in Nov.8-12,2004.I hope this helps. :-D Gina

Weekly Auction: Everytime we play a bingo game or trivia we pass out "Funny Money"(money that looks like real money but with a happy face in the middle).Then we hold an auction every thursday in the dining room.we auction of stuff like c.d's,jewlery,seasonal items(easter nic-nacks)purfume,deoderant,nylons,baby powder,candy,sodas,popcorn bags,paper back books,etc.They residents have a ball,and often try to out bid each other! often you can get items at the 99 cent store or Wal-mart for cheap,also alot of times when the families find out about the auctions,they will bring in stuff for you to auction of as well.Have fun! :-) gina

Weekly Store When-ever we have a game of Bingo or other game,I pass out ''funny money", money that i have made up before hand.then every Friday the residents take their "funny money" and go to the store and purchase items that they want. the store is in my office( just a few bookcases with candy,cookies,chips,sodas,juices,fruit,lotions,purfumes,soaps,toothpaste. kleenex,etc.)but the residents love to "shop" for what they want. :-) gina

Hi Ladies, From what i can tell,we just can e-mail each other,i tried to e-mail my husband at msn.com but it didnt work :-? .I know it works for members,cause me and pat have emailed each other a few times.Gina

Hi Carol, Wow!!! What a story.Im glad to hear that you are okay. You are right about taking care of ourselves,so often we are so busy talking care of our residents and families that we neglect ourselves. Take Care. :-) Gina

Jelly Bean Toss: This game is so easy !! You will need: A couple bags of jelly beans(the 99 cent store has them for 3/99) A cup Directions: Have your residents sit in front of the cup and try to toss jelly beans into the cup. whoever gets the most in wins! This game is so simple but is alot of laughs! Jelly Bean Guessing Game: You will need: A large bag of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans A blindfold Directions: Blindfold your residents and have them guess what flavor jelly beans they are eating.This game is fun and yummy!!

Hi Randy, Welcome to the site!!!I applaude you on working with people with disabilities,i too worked for a short time in that part of this field and i must say, for me it was alot harder than working with the seniors.Anyways,I have created many newsletters for my facilities and here are a few ideas:Resident of the month(include a picture of your resident,where they were born,their work history,family history,etc.)Administrators piece(have your administrator/Director write a short piece each month)Nursing piece(have your D.O.N write up a piece each month),Up coming events(write down all your fun,special events coming up),Last months events(include pictures of your past events),include your Menu,include a small copy of your activity calendar,and then add a puzzle of word search of the month(Give a small prize to the first resident/family member to turn in the puzzle done correctly first!)You could also include an Activity Corner( a piece from you or your assistants, a great way to ask for donations of certain items,old c.d.s,crayons,markers,craft items,etc,also in your piece you could ask for volunteers to help ya out.Well,these are items that have gone in my newsletters,maybe they will help you.also,if you email me with your address,i will send you some of my old newsletters.talk to ya later gina

Hi iwendland, I dont know what state your in and your specific laws regarding activities,but I have been doing activities for 19 years and never heard such a thing,the state surveyor said that Church or Spirital groups are not activities?What are they considered than?I'm in California and have always considered church an activity,as for having an alternative activity while church services are going on,I have also been told that before,and usually always offer an alternate activity.since you are short staffed,see if your administator has any suggestions for you,maybe a caregiver or nurses -aid can put in a movie while your church services are going on and call it "Evening at the Movies", or get a few of your alert residents together for a small bingo or card game(let one resident be in charge),at the same time as your church service.Good luck. Gina :-)

Easter Games for Alzheimers Residents: Texture Basket- Cut pairs of egg shapes from different textures(sandpaper,felt,corduroy,silk.etc).Place one of each into a basket and set the rest out on the table.To play the game,let your residents take turns choosing an egg shape from the table then closing their eyes while they reach into the basket to find its match. Chicks in Eggs-Collect five large plastic eggs.Number the eggs from 1-5 by drawing on sets of dots,example:1dot on one egg,2 dots on next egg,etc. Then cut out 15 small chick shapes from yellow construction paper.Set the chick shapes and the eggs on the table,let your residents take turns counting the dots on the eggs and filling them with the matching number of chicks. Easter Egg Puzzle - Cut several large egg shapes out of colorful posterboard,and cut into two pieces for each egg.Then have your residents try to put together. Egg Matching game-Get 20 index cards,on two cards make two matching egg shapes,do this on all the cards,doing each set of eggs with different colors of eggs. Then turn the cards over and have your residents take turns matching the colored eggs.Whoever has the most matching pairs wins.

What is everyone doing for Easter? Please post your ideas and plans..... Thanks,Gina :-)

Flower Pot w/Candy You will need: terra cotta flower pot acrylic paints puff paint construction paper scissors large lollipop tape pen Directions: Paint the pot,as desired,let dry.For the flower,cut out some paper petals and tape to the back of a large lollipop,wrap the lollipop stick with green paper to make a stem,then "plant" it in the pot.Make a leaf with green construction paper,add the persons name onto the leaf.Fill the pot with easter candies,such as eggs,gummy worms,etc.Write an easter greeting on the outside of the pot with the puff paint,if desired.Let dry.

Hi Stacy. I have two suggestions for you ,there is a place online that sells baseball pennants for craft projects, its at:http://www.paper-paper.com/pennant.html,they are $6.00 each plus shipping and handling(kind of expensive). If you want to make your own pennants go to:www.michaels.com and go to the search box and type in pennants, and it will take you to the pennants page and give you instructions(much cheaper !). Maybe this will help you. gina

Hi Miguel, It sounds like you had a fun day! it must be fun to be a young man in our profession,(lots of attention),anyway just wanted to say hi Gina

Spring Flower Pins You will need: Fake flower bouquet($.86 a bouquet at Wal-Mart) Hot glue gun Pin Backs Directions: Cut the buds off of the stem of the flower,hot glue the bud to a pin back and let dry.Thats it!!! Make a bunch to pass out to female residents to brighten up your facility! :-)

Lea7, There is a company called Skillpath that holds a siminar called Excelling as a first time Manager/Supervisor that is really helpful. Ask your Administrator if he/she has ever gotten any info. from this company,cause they are really good.Its a one day course and it had a lot of great info.Hope this helps.Gina

what a great idea.simple,easy and fun.

Hi guys, My name is Gina and I am from California(born and raised). I am currently helping out on this site as a moderator. I am a Certified Activity Director and Certified Social Service Director,and I have been in the healthcare/Recreation field for over 19 years(since high school). When I started in this field there were very few Activity Directors around and certainly no ways to network with your peers.A few years back in 1993 I started my web site (Activity Ideas that work) on netscape.com(which is no longer)and recently moved it to Ivillage.com.I Love being an Activity Director!!!!!! My friends always wonder how I can work with "sick,old people", and I tell them they dont know what they are missing! I dont know what other job has as many rewarding moments as mine(besides being a mom of five,which i am). Anyways,enough about me,lets hear from some other members of the site....

We had something similar at our facility.I bought lottery tickets and passed them out after my inservice to the staff that answered the questions correctly. Another time we passed raffle tickets to the staff that answered correctly,then held a raffle,and gave away small prizes ($.99 cent store). If you want to go all out,set up a booth with a carnival style game( we did the balloon dart game)and put our inservice information on index cards and had the staff answer questions,when they answered correctly they got a dart to try to pop the balloon(under the balloon was a prize,like a gift certificate to mc donalds,blockbuster,a local store,etc)every one had a great time and got the information we needed them to know.I hope this gives you some help.Gina

Hi Rich, We have a T.G.I.F. Happy Hour every Friday night at 3:00-6:00pm. We have a Entertainer that sings Karaoke. We offer Happy hour drinks and snacks.(non-alcoholic of course) The Families can stay and have dinner if they like. At 7:00 we have a Friday evening Matinee. This is a great way for the families to get and stay involved with their loved ones.

Bird Feeders: You will need: Clean empty 2-litter soda bottles(one for each person) Paints Glitter Stickers 5lb bag of Bird seed Scissors Clear string or fishing wire Directions: Give each person a plastic bottle(pre-cut a fist size square out of one side of the bottle). Let each person decorate their bottle anyway they like( paint,glitter,stickers)and fill with bird seed. Hang up with wire/string for the birds to use.

Every week we take our alzheimers unit out to Wal-Mart and eat lunch at McDonalds.We let them shop for their" goodies"and window shop. Its a great way for the community to see how we treat our residents,and to market our facility(we always take buss.cards,brochures)and its wonderful for our residents to get out and mingle with others.

One year we had a Italian themed Open House: We passed out fliers throughout the community,at the senior citizens centers,and hung them up at bussiness'.We offered the community an Italian Dinner for $1.00 we had Speghetti,salad,garlic bread and a drink. We had italian decorations and music throughout the facility.We decorated the tables with red,white checkered tablecloths and candles.Then we had a tour of the facility,followed by an evening at the movies,we showed a Sofia Loren movie(don't remember the name).Then we had spamoni(italian ice cream).It was a real success and our residents had a great time.

hey pat, i like your new avitar, betty boop,better than the ugly alien that you were. ha,have a good day! gina