blessed1 0 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 forgive my lazy type, i hate the shift key, love the backspace key. I'm a new act. coordinator in an alzheimer's unit. i have previously worked in another facility running an experimental program for early onset alz. residents. i was just the assistant though. now i am a coordinator, with many more responsabilities and in need of some excellent suggestions for easy yet not juvinille activities, and moral support. i have to make my first calendar soon, so any suggestions would be helpful. of course i already have an arsenal of ideas, but one can never have too many. aparently i have champagne ideas on a beer budget. i need cheep ideas too. look forward to hearing from you all Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tinki Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hello and Welcome, First take the time to search the posts- there is tons of info on this site so get to reading!! then us ask questions!!! Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles 0 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 forgive my lazy type, i hate the shift key, love the backspace key. I'm a new act. coordinator in an alzheimer's unit. i have previously worked in another facility running an experimental program for early onset alz. residents. i was just the assistant though. now i am a coordinator, with many more responsabilities and in need of some excellent suggestions for easy yet not juvinille activities, and moral support. i have to make my first calendar soon, so any suggestions would be helpful. of course i already have an arsenal of ideas, but one can never have too many. aparently i have champagne ideas on a beer budget. i need cheep ideas too. look forward to hearing from you all Beth Beth, I have champagne ideas too, but my budget pretty much fits my taste. Having said that, one of the ways I get supplies for acitivities is by putting a "wish list" in our monthly newsletter. I list most of the supplies I need for the month along with staples i.e. paint, glue, paper, scissors, coloring pencils, etc. that we use regularly. This has been so successful, that I usually don't use all my annual budget. I've found that when you ask for something most people will give, and if they don't someone else will. Good luck! pickles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed1 0 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 thank u karen and pickles. pickles, that's a genius idea!!! i will suggest it to my supervisor. i'm not sure we have a newsletter, but maybe when i get settled in better, i can start working on that too. i just started working on my first calendar the other day. afraid i didn't get too far yet. i have lots of support from my super though. they hired me for my personality, not my experience, so they r understanding! karen, looks like i have some reading to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogreen 0 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Beth,I have champagne ideas too, but my budget pretty much fits my taste. Having said that, one of the ways I get supplies for acitivities is by putting a "wish list" in our monthly newsletter. I list most of the supplies I need for the month along with staples i.e. paint, glue, paper, scissors, coloring pencils, etc. that we use regularly. This has been so successful, that I usually don't use all my annual budget. I've found that when you ask for something most people will give, and if they don't someone else will. Good luck! pickles What type of programs are you looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imzoop 0 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Beth, Arthur C. Clarke said, "I don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about." Thank you for starting this thread, it gave me pause to stop and think about something from my calendar that I could share with you in my way of saying WELCOME. Your enthusiasm will be a strong asset to you as a new AD. I remember developing my first few calendars (many years ago) and the challenge of coordinating all of the different facets of the Activity Schedule. That was back in the days of pencil paper and a typewriter. I went through lots of pencil erasers back then. There is a lot more that goes into an Activity Calendar than many people realize. As a matter of fact, it had such an impression on me that it became the inspiration for one of my Activity based inservices. When I give my Activity inservices I provide the staff present with all of the criteria for developing the calendar. I give them the State regulations (simplified to basic requirements) the Federal regulations (simplified) the volunteer names and scheduled time frames, resident preferences, and the time frames that the dining room is available for group activities etc... I explain the criteria that they have been given and the requirements/importance of each, and then divide the staff up into four groups. Each group is responsible for putting together one week of activity programs. The groups are to spend the next 1/2 hour or so putting together their week of activithy programs and the time frames for those programs. We use a large wipe off board with lines and squares like a calendar has. The staff ask lots of good questions during this exercise, giving me the opportunity to share more of what we do in the Activity Department. After 30 min or so we stop and discuss the exercise. Through this exericse the staff become aware of the various programs that we are required to provide, why we do some things we do, and the challenges that the Activity Department faces. It opens up many topics of discussion. The staff participating usually leave the insevice with a whole new perspective of the Activity Program. As for the beer budget, I am so grateful for the dollar store and I find unbeleivable supplies at yard sales. Pickles, I love your idea of using the newsletter to request donations of supplies. Thank You for sharing. Welcome again Beth, and thank you for your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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