Dementia activities for spring

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Here are some easy fun, yet mind stimulating activities anyone can do with someone who has dementia.

Connect to nature

In late spring flowers are in bloom. This is the perfect time to arrange flowers and discuss the favorite flowers of all. You can talk about flower colors scents, where flowers grow as well as any other characteristics about flowers that seem appropriate. This discussion and activity will stimulate their mind and give a dementia person a feeling of self worth

The Story of Purim

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two


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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Purim is a fun holiday even if you are not Jewish. Part of the celebration is telling the story of Purim. When telling the story, every time members of your audience hear the name Haman, theu must boo and stamp their feet or make noise with the traditional Jewis noisemaker, the grager.






The Story of Purim


Once upon a time in a town called Shushan, there lived a man called Mordechai.  He was a very good man, and always tried to help people and do the right thing.  Mordechai lived with his niece Esther, and they were Jewish,


In the same town there was a king called King Ahashverosh.  He lived in a big palace and had lots of money, but he was a bit lonely. He needed a new queen to come and live with him in the palace.  He looked everywhere and eventually he decided that the one person he liked most of all was Esther, who was not only pretty but also kind and very smart.


So Esther said goodbye to her Uncle Mordechai and went to live in the palace with the King and become his queen, but she didn’t tell him she was Jewish.


Now there was a man who worked in the palace who was not very nice.  His name was Haman.  He expected everyone to do exactly what he said, and to bow down to him when they saw him, and Haman got angry if someone didn’t do exactly what he wanted.


One day Haman met Mordechai, and Mordechai did not bow down to him.  Haman became very cross and he went to the King and said, “There are some people around here who do things differently from other people, and I think you should make them go away.”


The King didn’t really know what Haman was talking about, but he said “OK, you can tell those people to go away, the ones who do things differently”.


What Haman wanted to do was to get rid of Mordechai and Esther and all their Jewish friends!


The Jewish people were very sad, because they liked living in the kingdom and they didn’t want to go away.  What could they do??  Mordechai sent a message to Esther at the palace, and the message said “Esther we need your help!  That nasty Haman wants to get rid of us all!  Please talk to the King and ask him to stop Haman.”


Queen Esther thought “I must be very brave” and she made a special dinner for the King, with all his favorite foods.  Then she invited the King and Haman to come and have dinner with her.  The King thought dinner was delicious, and he was so happy that after he finished eating, he said to Queen Esther “What can I do for you, to say thank you?”


Queen Esther said “Oh please, I need you to help me and my uncle Mordechai and all our friends, because someone wants to make us go away”.


“That is terrible!” said the King, because he really liked Esther and he didn’t want her to go away. 


“Who wants to get rid of you and your family and friends?”


Esther pointed at Haman and said “It’s him! Haman wants to get rid of us!”
“Oh no!” said the King, and he was very angry indeed.  He called his guards and said “Take away Haman and get rid of him instead!”


Then the king asked Mordechai to come and work at the palace and do Haman’s job – but of course Mordechai was much nicer than Haman! And nobody had to go and live anywhere else if they didn’t want to.


So after that, everyone lived happily in the Kingdom.  Mordechai did a really good job working for the king, and Queen Esther made delicious biscuits called Hamantaschen to remind everyone that the wickedness of Haman is no more..

St. Patrick's day activity for low functioning residents

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Onto St. Patrick’s Day, as promised, here are two simple activities for St Patrick’s Day for lower functioning residents.

The first activity is making oatmeal. Call it Irish oatmeal. You can use instant oatmeal. It is best that you add the hot water and let it cool before giving it to a resident.

Have a variety of food items that can be added to the oatmeal. Give each participant at least one thing to add to her oatmeal. After adding it, have her mix it.

Here are some suggestions for oatmeal mixers: Sugar or sugar substitute, green jelly, green yogurt, green jello, green sugar sprinkles, green frosting, or green dry cereal, just to name a few. If you want, you can use different flavors of oatmeal. Also if you were going to do this activity at another time, you could add other typical oatmeal mixers.

While the residents are eating or preparing the oatmeal, have some Irish songs playing. After finishing the oatmeal, the residents could have an Irish song sing along or a discussion about St Patrick’s Day trivia.

Here is another activity for the lower functioning residents. Consider this sensory activity. Get material with a special feel or color to it. Of course, green for St Patrick’s Day. Compile pairs of other sensory item for St Patrick’s Day such as: four leaf clovers, lepricons or large gold coins. Have about 20 pairs of sensory items like socks, mittens, artificial flowers, shoestrings, a picture cut in half, yarn or anything you think your residents would like to feel For more ideas go to Actually you should have the at least the number of pairs as half the number of people in the group or the same amount of pairs as people in the group depending on how you want to play the game. Separate the items into two matching piles. Put one of each item in one bag and one of each item in another bag.

Now on to how to play the game. Count the number of participants. Make sure each person will get an item or pieces of fabric. You can have two people get the same item or you have each person get a different item. If you decide to let two people get the same item, go around the room or circle, depending on how you assembled the group, to see if she can find the person who has the same item or the other half of the item as her. Give everyone a turn. After a while, the person with the other matching item will have a turn. This is especially good for low functioning residents because there is more opportunity for success. Give hints, encouragement and plenty of positive feedback. Ask how the items feel and what you might use the item for.

The other way to play the game is to give each participant a different item. Have the other matching items in a bag. After everyone has an item, have each person pick out an item from the bag. Let her see if she can find the participant who has the match to what she has picked out. Again hints encouragement and cheering make this game a lot of fun. To add a feel sensory element, you or the participant describe the item by talking about the way the item looks or feels.

As you can see, this game can be adapted to many occasions or it could just be an any day activity.

Celebrating we are family day

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

March 11 is International We Are Family Day

Here is how we celebrated it in the past. Use some or all of these ideas?

We celebrated it by showing everyone why the residents, family members, staff, volunteers and anyone else who visits make your facility a great family.

Enthusiastically we told everyone involved that there is a special bond and common goals that they all share. Also tell them that they should be proud of this family.  We mentioned that individuals in any good family work together in respectful and cooperative ways to promote a good environment for everyone.

 We played the song, We Are Family. We substituted the names of people or groups of people like CNAs, nurses, activity department employees or whoever you want to mention as being part of the family.

We did this simple activity, especially for lower functioning groups, which is to do the ABCs of peoples’ names. Especially focus on the names of people who are residents, resident family members and/or staff members. Then say that all the people mentioned are part of the facilities family. To make this activity easier, just have residents mention as many random names as they can think of. You can show the residents pictures of familiar people or you can invite staff to make a brief appearance and have them mention their name. You can then repeat their name(s) and invite residents to say the names with you. At the end of the activity, make sure to say that everyone is part of the facility family.

Another activity we did was make a family quilt. Each resident, staff member, volunteer or family member, who wanted to, decorated a piece of cardstock with help if necessary. Even though quilts are usually made up of squares, using an 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock might be easier and less costly. When everyone, who wanted to completed his/her piece, we put all the pieces together. This showed everyone that each person is part of a bigger family. All who want to are to put whatever they want to represent themselves or their family. They used photos, drawings, fabric, paint, words anything they want to that fits on the piece of cardstock. It is amazing to see how it looked after it was all put together.

I hope you have brought warm happy feelings into the lives of your residents, family members, staff and volunteers by celebrating International We Are Family Day.

Here is one of our quilts

How Daylight Savings Time Affects Those with Dementia

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information


Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,


Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire




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First Light Home Care
How Daylight Savings Time Effects Your Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease
Posted by Gina Kaurich in Alzheimer's & Dementia Care, Caregiving, Health & Wellness

Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday March 13.

Read this for some insight as to how daylight savings time may affect your loved one or client with dementia

It occurred to me as I sat at breakfast with my mother in law, Martha, who suffers with Alzheimer’s disease that she didn’t seem quite herself today.  That may sound strange to some of you but even as an individual is progressing through the dementia stages they do retain certain parts of their personality.  Now, sometimes the subtle changes can occur before an illness such as a urinary tract infection or even dehydration.  So I started this morning with running through the gamut of potential problems.  Beginning with the small things such as the lighting being adequate, is she warm enough, does she have her hearing aids in place and are they turned up so she can hear me.  I then moved on to what I call the intermediate of potential issues, such as did she take her medications last night and today, did she seem stuffy or congested this morning, had she had a bowel movement yesterday, or did her unusually quiet behavior reflect something else.  She seemed tired and when she asked what time it was, it hit me; last night was the shift to Daylight Savings Time.

Now you would not expect this to create any problems for someone who is not cognitively aware of the time of day any longer; but just like a baby or child, the individual with Alzheimer’s has a sense something is different.  We did not necessarily get her up an hour earlier or make any changes to her routine but she sensed a change.  She asked repeatedly during the day what time it was and finally said she felt tired today.  There are times when she is such a “hoot”!  Her surprised reaction when we told her the time was, “Oh my, how could I have slept so long.”  And when we all laugh, she laughs and enjoys herself right along with the rest of us, it is wonderful.  I love to see her have those happy moments.

Meals were the epicenter of her confusion with Day Light Savings time; she just couldn’t believe it was time to eat again.  This made us all laugh again since Martha is a very tiny woman who weighs about 98 pounds but eats constantly.  Around our house we have candy dishes filled with her favorite “Hershey Kisses” along with bowls of unsalted pecans, almonds and fruit.  Needless to say, she does not go hungry.  However, today her eating pattern has shifted and instead of eating all of those treats between meals, she is eating them about an hour later.  Our grandchildren came over and she helped fix tacos, salad and brownies for dinner and guess who ate her weight in brownies?  It is wonderful to watch how animated she becomes when around children.  You can see she is back to raising her daughter and five boys; her old behaviors to keep them busy kick in.

Once dinner was over and as the sun went down she began to become restless and uncomfortable; not unusual for most people with dementia.  Martha rubs her hands together when she is unsettled which helps by giving us an indicator to her state of mind.  Her bright blue eyes begin to fade.  She asks my husband to take her home which we finally figured out to mean Tennessee, where she grew up with “Momma and Daddy”.  Then she wants to know if the lady of the house cares if she goes to bed.  She and I walk together upstairs to begin her bedtime routine and she says to me that she is so tired and the day has gone by so fast.  I agree and to some degree am always surprised at how much she continues to teach me every day about those living with dementia.

Mount Rushmore Day is coming in March

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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Mount Rushmore Day is celebrated in March . Here are some facts to discuss with your residents

Here are a some Mount Rushmore facts for inquiring minds

• Borglum was 60 years old when he began working on the monument.
• Rushmore's granite faces tower over 5,500 feet above sea level.
• The carvings are scaled to men who would stand 465 feet tall.
• Each President's head is as tall as a six-story building.
• Over 800 million pounds of stone was removed from Mount Rushmore during the construction.
• Imagine climbing 506 steps to reach the top of Mount Rushmore-this was how many steps the workers had to climb each day!
• The president's noses are 20 feet long, their mouths 18 feet wide, and their eyes are 11 feet across!
• Did you know that Gutzon Borglum was a student of renowned French artist Auguste Rodin, and was one of America's most successful artists before even considering Mount Rushmore? His Mares of Diomedes was the first American work purchased by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also has 5 statues on display at the U.S. Capitol Building.
• Here is an astonishing fact: no deaths occurred during the whole period of carving, just a few minor injuries.
• Can you imagine that with all the dynamite used?
• 
  

Learn more about Mount Rushmore with a Mount Rushmore Tour.

Mardi Gras: Making a King Cake

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·         The King Cake

  The King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gras treat, baked and covered with a poured sugar topping in Mardi Gras colors; Purple, representing Justice, Green representing Faith and Gold representing Power. Traditionally, the person who finds the hidden "baby" in his or her slice of cake must provide the cake the next year. Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are consumed at parties worldwide every year and in fact, a Mardi Gras party wouldn't be complete without a King Cake.

This recipe has a lot of steps but none of them are difficult. Now that you know how time-consuming it is to make a King Cake, you can appreciate why many people just order one up from their favorite bakery!

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
31/2 41/2 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup warm milk
5 egg yolks
1 stick butter cut in slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more
1 egg slightly beaten with a tablespoon of milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tiny plastic doll (not more than 1")

Directions

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for 10 minutes until yeast bubbles up. Combine 31/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt and sift into a large mixing bowl.

Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and using a wooden spoon, combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat 2 minutes or until dough can be formed into a medium soft ball.

Place ball of dough on floured surface and knead, gradually adding up to 1 cup more of flour. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.

Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a heavier kitchen towel and allow dough to rise in a warm place for about 11/2 hours or until it doubles in volume. Coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside. After the first rising, place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down with a heavy blow. Sprinkle cinnamon, then pat and shape the dough into a long 'snake' or 'cylinder'. Form a twist by folding the long cylinder in half, end to end, and pinching the ends together. Then twist the dough. Form a ring with the completed twist pinch the ends together. Place the completed ring on the buttered baking sheet, cover it with a towel and allow it to rise for 45 minutes or until it doubles in volume.

After the second rising, brush the top and sides of the cake with the egg and milk wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and hide the plastic baby in the cake.

 

Icing (2 parts)

Colored sugar
Green, purple and yellow coloring paste (sold with cake decorating supplies)
12 tablespoons sugar

Divide sugar into three portions (for green, yellow and purple).
Add a tiny amount of the coloring paste to each sugar portion. Try mixing the sugar and colored pasted between your palms for best results. Set aside.

Poured icing

3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
36 tablespoons of water

Combine ingredients until smooth, adding more water if it's too thick. Spoon icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugars, alternating between the three colors. Serve in 2"3" pieces.

Mardi Gras Songs for Long Term Care Residents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGOccHdgpiw

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcareprofessionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire


Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

My Ideas for Mardi Gras Songs for Long Term Care Residents

Songs
Hail, Hail the Gang’s all here

When the Saints Go Marching In

Who else is marching in? -people in the group- soldiers- children

If You Are Happy and You Know It

Clap hands, stamp feet , shout horray etc

Ain’t we got fun

Every morning
Every evening
Ain't we got fun
Not much money
Oh but honey
Ain't We Got Fun
The rent's unpaid dear
We have'nt a bus
But smiles were made dear
For people like us

In the winter
In the summer
Don't we have fun
Times are bum and getting bummer
Still we have fun
There's nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get children
In the meantime
In between time
Ain't we got fun

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Baby Face

The Band Played on

For Me and My Gal

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,
You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore;
When the m-m-m-moon shines,
Over the cowshed,
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door.
K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,
You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore;
When the m-m-m-moon shines,
Over the cowshed,
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door

Oh Susanna

There is a tavern in the town

There is a tavern in the town (in the town)
And there my true love sits him down (sits him down)
And drinks his wine as merry as can be,
And never, never thinks of me.

Fare thee well, for I must leave thee,
Do not let this parting grieve thee,
And remember that the best of friends
Must part, must part.

Adieu, adieu kind friends, adieu (yes, adieu)
I can no longer stay with you, stay with you,
I'll hang my harp on the weeping willow tree,
And may the world go well with thee.

Show Me the way to go home

After the ball is over, after the break of morn,

After the dancers' leaving, after the stars are gone,

Many a heart is aching, if you could read them all—

Many the hopes that have vanished after the ball.

Mardi Gras

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information


Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,


Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire




Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be


Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two


Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

PurpleTrails


Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday".  The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day.  The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent.  Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.
Mardi Gras moves.  It can be anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th.  The date depends on when Easter falls.


French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them.  The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is at New Orleans in Louisiana *wistful sigh*-- I've always wanted to go, not necessarily for Mardi Gras, but just to see it.
But Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world.  Biloxi in Mississipi, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Nice in France, Binche in Belgiun and Viareggio in Italy are just a few examples.


The Tuesday that Mardi Gras falls on is also known as Shrove Tuesday.  The name comes from the custom of confessing on the day before lent.  Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."

Ash Wednesday for Those with Dementia

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Journey to Jerusalem: Scriptures, Meditations, and Prayers From Ash Wednesday Through Easter

Journey to Jerusalem: Scriptures, Meditations, and Prayers From Ash Wednesday Through Easter

For Ash Wednesday, I thought I would share a special Ash Wednesday spiritual circle which is sure to bring peace, comfort and joy to those with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, and to other long term care residents.
Begin with an opening hymm. I like:
Blow Ye Trumpets Blow
Other hymns I suggest are:
Ashes to Ashes and
Lay Aside Your Passing Pleasure
Secular songs I suggest are:
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Always
I Love You Truly
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
You are My Sunshine
Talk about this reflection
God will deliver His promises as we are able to receive them.
What He is doing is right for us. We should listen to His messenger.
Instead of a story, read this poem
Marked by Ashes Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
     halfway back to committees and memos,
     halfway back to calls and appointments,
     halfway on to next Sunday,
     halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
     half turned toward you, half rather not. This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
   but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
     we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
       of failed hope and broken promises,
       of forgotten children and frightened women,
     we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
     we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.We are able to ponder our ashness with
   some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
   anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death. On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
   you Easter parade of newness.
   Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
     Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
     Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
   Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
     mercy and justice and peace and generosity.We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.
For over thirty years now, Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933) has combined the best of critical scholarship with love for the local church in service to the kingdom of God. Now a professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, Brueggemann has authored over seventy books. Taken from his Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), pp. 27-28
Questions for Discussion:
Q: What is Ash Wednesday?
A:Ash Wednesday is the day Lent begins. It occurs forty days before Good Friday..
Q: Why is it called Ash Wednesday?
A:Actually, Ash Wednesday is its colloquial name. Its official name is the Day of Ashes. It is called Ash Wednesdaybecause, being forty days before Good Friday, it always falls on a Wednesday and it is called AshWednesday because on that day at church the faithful have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross
Q: Why do they have their foreheads marked with a cross?
A: Because in the Bible a mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s ownership. By having their foreheads marked with the sign of a cross, this symbolizes that the person belongs to Jesus Christ, who died on a Cross..
Q: Where do the ashes used on Ash Wednesday come from?
A: They are made by burning palm fronds which have been saved from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, they are then blessed by a priest
More Prayers
Father in Heaven,
Let Us Pray
[for the grace to keep Lent faithfully]
Lord
Protect us in our struggle against evil.
As we begin the discipline of Lent,
make this season holy by our self-denial.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
one God, for ever and ever.
International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL)
Penitential Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ’s sake, Amen
St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian 
O Lord and Master of my life,
give me not the spirit of laziness,
despair, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration)
But give rather the spirit of sobriety,
humility, patience and love to Thy servant. (prostration)
Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own transgressions
and not to judge my brother,
for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen (prostration)
St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 305-373)
End with the song
This is the Day

Facilitating a discussion about Presidents' Day and other items

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire


Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

For those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, you may have to be the facilitator in a discussion.

Today we are going to discuss how to facilitate a discussion about the “good old days” as you talk about United States presidents.

You can start out by mentioning the names of 3 or 4 presidents from the thirties forties or fifties depending on the age and mental abilities of your audience.

Let’s say most of the group members remember the late forties and early fifties. You could say that you remember Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower.

Then you could mention that when (the president most responded to) was president around 1950 I was……

Use this stategy for other discussions as well

President's day trivia

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information


Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,


Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire




Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be


Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two


Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Who was the first president of the United States?


Which president cut down the cherry tree?


Which president was the father of our country?


Which president freed the slaves?


Which president was called,"Honest Abe"?


Name two presidents that had the same last name.


Hint: Adams, Roosevelt


Who was the oldest president?


How long is a presidential term?


How many terms can a president be elected for?




Which president said "Ask not what your country can do for you? Ask what you can do for your country?"


This question lends itself do a discussion about things persons can do for their country.


Which party starts with the letter D?


Which party's symbol is a donkey?


Which party starts with the letter R?


Which party's symbol is an elephant?


For more check this book out

A Rose Mandala to Color and Rose Facts

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is some information to help you celebrate Rose Day which is in February

Interesting Facts about Roses 

• The rose is the favorite flower of 85% of Americans.

• In 1986, then President Ronald Reagan signed legislation making the rose the official National Flower of the United States.

• George Washington bred roses at his home.

• A fossilized rose, which was 35 million years old, was found in Florissant, Colorado.

• Over 900 acres of greenhouse roses are harvested in the United States every year. 60% of these are grown in California.

• Florists sell millions of roses each year in the United States. The two biggest days for sales are Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Christmas is the third highest day for rose sales.

• Columbus’ crew picked a rose branch out of the ocean on October 11, 1492. This signaled the presence of land. The very next day, Columbus discovered America.

• Rose hips contain more Vitamin C than any other fruit or vegetable.

• Ancient Romans believed that white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell when she was mourning Adonis.

• Shakespeare referred to roses over fifty times in his works.

• Mythology says that roses grew thorns when Cupid accidentally shot an arrow into a rose garden.

• The oldest rose in the world has flourished for over 1,000 years on the wall of Hildeshiem Cathedral in Germany.

• Copy this mandala rose picture or have your group create their own mandala art

Flowers, fresh ideas are in bloom

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Here is an idea for your facility or home

By VICTORIA DUGGER, Sentinel-Tribune Editor

For residents and staff of Wood Haven, everything's coming up roses. And petunias. And zinnias. And geraniums.

That's because a concerted effort to beautify the grounds and involve residents came into bloom this spring. The KaBloom program, thought up through a group effort by programming staff and administrators, saw well over 300 flowers and vegetable plants planted at the care facility, 1965 E. Gypsy Lane Road, Bowling Green.

"It's been known that gardening has been able to lower blood pressure and increase brain activities and give a good general feel to whoever is doing it. We are doing all kinds of different activities. The KaBloom program pretty much came out of getting the residents outside on nice days in May and to get the employees involved and the families involved," said Jeff Orlowski, Wood Haven's administrator. "We're completely different than we were three years ago at Wood Haven. We wanted to get more colors outside and show this is an inviting place and wanted everybody to take pride in living here, working here and visiting here."

The residents continue to take care of the plants that have been installed, and some tend to elevated beds that eliminate the need to stoop and kneel when they garden. Orlowski said some of the raised beds contain herbs and vegetables that the residents can take care of and eat. KaBloom is also spurring more activities beyond planting and tending, and some residents are making garden stones to be placed throughout the grounds.

"The whole focus of these activities, and this is our overall goal at Wood Haven, is providing an outstanding experience, and activities are so much a part of that," Orlowski said. "We brainstormed with a bunch of ideas and kind of used the inspiration of a cruise ship. On a cruise ship, there are nonstop activities for all ages to enjoy, and we kind of wanted to use that as a guideline. We asked, 'what can we do to get more people involved, to have more activities' and so forth."

Many staff members and numerous residents and their families were involved in the initial effort this spring. The plants that can be seen around Wood Haven include mock roses, petunias, geraniums, zinnias, daisies, impatiens, basil, lavender, thyme, chives, parsley, tomatoes, green peppers and sunflowers, "for Bob," Orlowski said.

Community Relations Director Chris Stearns notes resident Bob Boyer is very involved in the KaBloom program and he also requested hollyhocks to add an additional punch of color.

"He's very into the courtyard, the flowers and the vegetables out there," Stearns said, "He told them he wanted hollyhocks out there. I haven't seen any flowers yet, but they did plant some hollyhocks out there for him."

Stearns said the plants, which are a mix of perennials and annuals, were obtained from Joseph's Greenhouse for a discount. Orlowski said the KaBloom program will be repeated annually.

"We'll invite families, staff and community to come out and get their thumbs dirty," he said.

The flowers and vegetables are just part of what's currently blooming at Wood Haven, which has been in existence in its current location since 1971.

Orlowski said that a host of renovations to update the facility are underway, and they are in phase three of five phases.

"We are scheduled to be completed in September. They are currently working on phase three. Phase three and four involves redoing the hallways and phase five will be the main lobby. We are doing the main lobby, the hallways, the dining room and we have already painted the residents' rooms," he said. He has a long history with Wood Haven, as he used to volunteer at the center while attending Bowling Green State University in the mid-90s, and noted the building needed updates.

"We've updated the residents' rooms," Stearns said. "It's more modernized."

One feature that Orlowski is particularly excited about is the upcoming transformation of the facility's dining room. In an effort to give residents more choices, the dining room will become two restaurants.

"We're actually going to be turning our dining room into two restaurants. One will be called the Wood Haven Grille where you can get traditional meals and the other one is going to be called Le Cafe Au Bois, which is going to be a French cafe concept. That will be open for breakfast and lunch, and on nice days, residents can eat on the cafe's patio outside, which I think is a first in this area," Orlowski said. Families and visitors will be able to eat meals with their loved ones at the restaurants with residents.

Orlowski notes the support of the Wood County commissioners as being a key help in bringing the updated vision of Wood Haven to fruition.

"It's great that the commissioners are 100 percent pushing this and supportive of this. We are very fortunate that they really care about the residents here at Wood Haven and making it a success," Orlowski said.

Wood Haven is a skilled and intermediate nursing facility that offers both long-term care and short-term rehabilitation. The 95-bed facility is both Medicare and Medicaid certified and accepts most private insurance. Wood Haven Health Care is owned and operated under the Board of Wood County Commissioners.

It's history in the community is long. In 1868, the Wood County Board of Infirmary Directors purchased a 200-acre farm on which to build a three-story building to house the county infirmary. Additions in 1892 included a barn, staff quarters and a new resident wing. In 1913, the governing powers were transferred to the county commissioners, and the Infirmary became the Wood County Home in 1919.

In 1971, the county home was relocated and replaced with a modern 125-bed, single-story brick building and dedicated as the Wood County Nursing Home. The original building and acreage was turned over to the Wood County Historical Society in 1973 and currently houses the Wood County Historical Society and Museum.