Melete 0 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 You all share some realy great ideas!! i love the R O M E O idea. 8-) today i am doing my first true mens group called Handy Tasks in my new facility- i am now working in a men dominated dementia unit. very challenging as not many are high functioning at all and i am being challenged by most staff from all angles. Oh they couldn't do that and they wouldn't like that etc etc ....geez..tis like they just want them to just sit and do nothing ..well actualy that is how it is.!! so today is crafts day and i am going to try the sanding the wood coathangers idea ..but they may turn into wind chimes with shells something like that ..we will see how it pans out. so please wish me luck.. ;-) .whilst i dont' need it with the residents so much. i need it with the staff!!!! am hoping that through this activity it will help to validate the residents are capable to do some things. :-D i also have 2 new residents that are a lot younger than the others. and a little more with it. so that has changed the mix and is opening the opportunites up for a scope of new activities. will keep popping back to get some of those cos i sure could use em!.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sue warmka Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 I work in a nursing home facility but I find the men enjoy either sanding on blocks for a painting project or I find old cheap appliances(toasters, irons, etc) either at garage sales or used places. I cut the cords off of course and give the men a couple screwdrivers (philips and regular) and let them take them apart. Sometimes for some of them I tell them I need a part to fix mine and they can spend a lot of time doing this. Some of my guys love to sit and sort screws and nuts etc. Our weekly men's group is very popular also. I usually serve puffed corn or a cookie and juice. Sometimes I bring in a few visuals like an old beer glass, fishing reels, pocket watch. They love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Music Therapist Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 The classic sporting events on video is a great idea! Like some of you, I have an all-female activity staff, so "Men's Group" is only partly men :-) And like many of you, my men are passive and very hard to motivate. The only thing that consistantly has worked is food. Something involving meat and potatoes, or an old fashioned treat like cotton candy, or something they just can't get every day like McDonalds or KFC. At my last job, the maintenance man would have poker night once every couple of months with cigars, beer, and pretzels. That was a winner. We used to have a volunteer at my current facility who did our men's group, but is now elsewhere. I know some places that have a church volunteer or Rotary Club member conduct men's groups. Sometimes, my guys just want to watch a cowboy movie or the stooges. You could even just leave it to them what they want to do---ask the ones who attend (once you've rounded them up), and have a couple of options ready. You might be surprised. The main thing is that they do something they want to do where they can just be guys. BJHC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Miguel Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Men's Only Happy Hour! They had a blast, send out invites the day off (in the morning) Serve Drinks (alchehol or non) and chips or other snacky food Items. Make sure you invite all of your male staff as well ( per the new interpretive guidelines, what are other staff doing to participate in activities) The men LOVED it, spent a whole hour, showing pictures, talking about the war and just enjoyed the time together. Was such a big hit that now I hafta have a woman's only happy hour as the ladies wanna drink to! -miguel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_KateAA Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 What a great idea! I think that the guys will enjoy your activity Miguel....Although I will need to find a guy to run the program. Our guys love to talk politics, so we have one afternoon a month where they can come to the activity room and listen to tlak radio. they sit around listening to the program and talking about what was just said. They have coffee and doughnuts or home baked crumb cake that the ladies baked that morning for them ...it's a great time and I think that word of mouth works well, although sending an invitation around might help as well. Thanks for the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbell 0 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 I currently work in a short term acute facility, my problem is providing activities for the men that come to us. In this instance they are usually very restless and low functioning...any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radkins 0 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I currently work in a short term acute facility, my problem is providing activities for the men that come to us. In this instance they are usually very restless and low functioning...any suggestions? I have had some success by building on their hobbies and lifestyles and having them "fix" or "organize" something. For instance, a fisherman is given a tackle box with bobbers, sinkers, lures (with hooks removed) all tossed in the bottom of the box in a really disorganized way, and I ask him to put the bobbers in one drawer and the sinkers in another. A retired carpenter gets an assortment of nails, nuts, bolts and screws to sort/organize. One of my CNAs tapes fishing or hunting shows from tv to show to the lower functioning men, they really seem to enjoy those too. I have more trouble finding things for higher functioning men. Anyone have any ideas there? Rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tinki Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 I saw some info on this on one of the bulletin boards that I would pass it around! http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/SHEDS%...20the%20web.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanGuy23 2 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Hi all I was just curious what everyone was doing to celebrate Father's Day with your male residents since it is coming up. OceanGuy23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle 0 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Hi allI was just curious what everyone was doing to celebrate Father's Day with your male residents since it is coming up. OceanGuy23 We are having a Men's Movie and Pizza Party. The guys always love this because we usually show some action movie that our ladies would never watch. We also serve the root beer in the brown bottles and set up the room to look like a bar. We have actually offered to serve them beer but none of my guys are interested in actually drinking. They just like the atmosphere of the setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara 0 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 We are having a Men's Movie and Pizza Party. The guys always love this because we usually show some action movie that our ladies would never watch. We also serve the root beer in the brown bottles and set up the room to look like a bar. We have actually offered to serve them beer but none of my guys are interested in actually drinking. They just like the atmosphere of the setting. I love the idea of the root beer in a bottle!! We have one fella' who's a recovering alcoholic, so serving alcohol (or even no-alcohol beer) is a horrible temptation for him. The other gentlemen don't really care one way or the other, so the root beer is an excellent idea~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanGuy23 2 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Hey Turtle I really like your activity idea for father's day. Sounds like fun and something a man would love. Pizza and a movie. I know I do lol. Your going with a good theme for a movie, men love anything action but especially western. I like your whole scene atmosphere and also the root beer bottles. Very nice. I would love to know how it turns out. OceanGuy23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achskward 1 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 WOW! This thread was full of great ideas! Im passing them along to my staff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tinki Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Hey it is a great thread - did you noticed that is was started in 2004. I thought that was neat Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HirschmC 0 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help? Hi A successful program for me is a men's group with a theme like Burma Shave, Route 66, Diners, Classic Cars, Trains, and Motorcycles. We set up a toy train and the men took turns being Engineer. Complete with hat and scarf. Local enthusiasts may be willing to "show and tell" about their classic car or motorcycle. Incorporate food when ever you can. Milkshakes, french fries, and hamburgers, or rootbeer floats. Music from the 50's. Amazon.com has videos about all of the above. Burma shave still sells, shaving brush and soap. Reminiscing about their first car, armchair travel a road trip to a favorite location. I have a wicker suitcase that I just keep adding items for this theme. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavenstar 0 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 If you have a Wii, you can have a Wii bowling /tennis/baseball/golf tourney for the men. Get the cub scouts involved in your community. Build pinewood derby cars together and have races. The scouts will have the track and timers. Have a barbecue-- men love to sit around a fire and talk Have a camp out for the day at a local state park and have the men in charge of fire, fishing and cooking (not prepping, or cleaning up). Ping Pong tournaments, chess, billiard games if you have stationary bikes with odometers on them, do a tour de france type of race to see who can go the farthest. Start a veteran's club-- have meetings weekly or monthly If they are active, let them start fixing bikes for kids for christmas. get donated old bikes from goodwill or similar, have the men fix flats, paint, and general maintenance. Then give them away to needy kids. Invite day care over to make bird feeders with the men. Let the men lead Invite local antique car club to visit your facility with a couple of cars to show off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisact85 0 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help? We did something simple due to the minority of men in the care center: Men's discussion group. I pulled out articles from Times and we discussed ethics, technology, and other sorts of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catlover30 0 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Hi All,With so many of us having a limited budget, I think these Birdhouses are great!!! You will need: 1 empty, clean milk carton(1/2 gallon size)for each resident paints popsicle sticks glue small wooden dowel birdseed wire hanger Directions: Cut openings on each side of the milk carton. Paint the milk cartons and let dry.Then glue the popsicle sticks on top of the milk carton like shingles,one by one.paint if you like.let dry.For the perch,make a small hole under the openings and slip a wooden dowel through the hole. Open up the wire hanger and slip through the top of the milkcarton so that you can hang your birdhouse up. Fill the bottom of the birdhouse with birdseed and put out in a nice spot for your residents to watch the birds. :-D gina Great idea... you can also try After you have showed them pictures of birds and discussed birds you can do this project Bagel Bird Feeders (JUST BE SURE TO DO IT AFTER LUNCH OR THEY MIGHT WANT TO EAT THE BAGEL) YOU NEED: Bird Seed (99 cent store has it) Bagels (1 bagel per two people) Lard (A box will be enough for 25 bird feeders) Plastic zip lock bag Plastic knives string/yarn PREP... CUT BAGELS IN HALF Cut String or yarn Directions: spread the bagel with lard place in zip lock bag pour 2 table spoons in zip lock bag Shake bag take seeded bagel out put string through and tie Hang Bird feeder Have fun watching birds come and trying to name them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldecker 0 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 For Father's Day every year we have a Cruise-In. Our parking is limited but we do it on a Saturday morning at around 11:00AM so that there are less employees in the parking lot. A Crusie-In is just wear you invite people from the community to bring there cars for the residenst to see. We usually have a DJ and give out trophies a and plaques. I relize activity budgets are limited so you could do some fund raisers to help with the cost. It usually cost us around $350.00 for this event which includes the DJ and prizes. This is a great marketing opportunity and at my facility they allow me to split the cost between the two departments. I make flyers and have local businesses hand them out. I have found that companies are willing to help. I usually take the flyers to auto zone and stores of that nature. You can also advertise for it on craigslist which is free and a very easy site to use. Our residenst really enjoy going our and seeing the cars. you will hear a lot of that is just like my first car or my friend had that same car. It is a really neat experince and the people bring the cars love to share memories and talk with the residents. Also if you have no budget and have trouble raising money you could get music from 1950's and do the music yourself and that would save you money. We have done for the past 3 years now and as long as the weather is good we have been very successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndiLynn 0 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Here is a few suggestions for men's activites. I hope you can gain something from them. We have a happy hour. Alcohol free, we use immitation Rum and make "rum and cokes" or "pina coladas." Sometimes we break out the blenda and do virgin margaritas. We have little appitizers. It is so funny. We also have a veterans club. I don't know if you have any veterans but if you do this is a good one. We discuss the old days and how it was for them back when we were at war. They can talk to each other. Its funny cause the navy guys hang out with navy, and army guys hang out with army guys, and they don't really mix. We also have sports times. They watch a big screen sports game. Superbowl sunday passed but we had a superbowl party. We also have poker games. They gamble with fake money or winner gets a prize, just a little something. Hope you can use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickie81092 0 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help? Our men love to spend time talking about politics, sports and all things men like to talk about. Women are not allowed in this group even female staff. Their favorite thing to do is drink coffee and talk. They have recently started a club called "The Patriots" they have T-Shirts and hats that all match. On occasion they will meet with the Red Hat Ladies and have a happy hour. Our men play Darts (Rubber tipped), go bowling, fishing, out to lunch and just drive around town while they reminisce. Hope this helps you. Vickie Dykes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeriActives 0 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help? Check out www.geriactivesllc.com - they have some great activites that are geared towards men Lawmen and outlaws - great activity which includes cowboy hats, bandanas posters to place them mens pictures was "wanted" or"sheriff". There are also great games in the activity book that comes with it. Working on the railroad - has conductor hats, a working train and great puzzles and games in the activity book that are centered around trains and the railroad. Carpenter's Club - has painters hats and birdhouses that they can build and paint. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrsarandreajr 0 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help? Such great ideas in this thread! For a game idea other than those already mentioned, have you ever tried Baseball Dice? It's great for different ages and can easily be made into a tournament. Make a baseball diamond on paper, or for an even nicer looking board, use green felt. For markers you could buy mini plastic baseball players at a dollar store (they look like army men only in the form of baseball players) or you could simply use coins to represent baserunners. Have each player roll the dice to see who goes first. The players then take turns through 9 innings of play rolling the dice to earn runs or outs. Rolling a 3 or 4 constitutes as a strikeout. 5 or 6 is a ground out 7 or 8 is a pop fly. 9 is a single 10 is a double 11 is a triple 2 and 12 are a homerun. Double 2 and double 4 can be used to represent a walk. The men at my facility really enjoy playing. You can serve snacks as well such as peanuts, pretzels, nachos (being sure to be aware of allergies of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrandon15 0 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 Each month, we have a Men's Lunch. I get a group of about 10 cognitive men who are able to eat without assistance. I go out and get something special, like Subway or Krystal, and they have their own private lunch in one of our family rooms. They enjoy it so much, and they talk about the old days of hunting, serving in wars, etc. It is a great time for them to interact and for it to be just about them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueoct16 0 Report Share Posted January 24, 2010 Hello allI am looking for some ideas for a men's group. My guys are higher functioning ambulatory and w/c. They gather together 2-4 times per month. They love the social food thing but I am looking for more creative ideas. We are putting together a car show for the fall. I need more ideas for everyday ideas. Thanks!!! We are lucky that we have a farm team for the Red Sox about 30 minutes from here. I have taken a group each month to a game. We even have 1 or 2 of the gals that love baseball and come along. A cold beer and a hot dog at the game is a real hit. And the tickets only cost us $5 for seniors!!! We also take picnic lunches to a park by the river every week in the good weather. I alternate between assisted & alzheimer's groups as I plann activities for both. Also, we have a small airport with a cafe where we go for breakfast & the guys love to watch the planes take off & land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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