August 2017 Weekly-Themed Activity Calendar

International Clown Week

(Week of July 30)

Crafts: Clown Hats

Celebrate this International Clown Week with residents by providing fun activities that keep your residents having fun. Start the week off by showing residents how to make their own clown hats to be worn at the Pie-in-the-Face Party. Simply use construction paper, scissors, glue, and a stapler. Encourage residents to decorate their hats with ribbons and large pom-poms.

Reminiscing: Family Entertainment

Reminisce with residents about going to the traveling circus as children. Pass around vintage photos of the circus from the 1920s and 1930s to spark a few memories. Afterwards, pass out peanuts for residents to snack on as you ask them to discuss the job that they always wanted at the circus.

Physical: Can Knock-Down

Set up a fun carnival game of can knock-down for residents to enjoy. Beforehand, recruit a few volunteers to spray empty aluminum cans. Then print out small banners onto colorful cardstock paper that can be cut out and glued to the cans to add more decoration. For the balls, recruit volunteers to make a few popcorn kernel balls by placing kernels into plastic baggies. Then cut off the ends of balloons before placing the plastic baggies full of kernels into each balloon (to eliminate trying to funnel the kernels directly into the balloon) before adding on another cut balloon to secure it.

One-on-One: Jack-in-the-Box

Invite your resident to make a few Jack-in-the-Box toys for her grandchildren. Simply print out the template of the Jack and then print out a template of a small box onto colorful paper (instead of using the Christmas box on the template).

Lower-Functioning: Hot Air Balloons

Blow up lots of colorful balloons and seat residents in a circle to hit the balloon back and forth. Play fun circus music in the background.

Bedside: Top Hat Tricks

Have your resident be amazed by watching a fun magic show. Beforehand, ask your Baking Club to bake a few carnival cookies for your resident.

Outing: Trip to the Carnival

Take residents on a trip to your local carnival to see the sights and enjoy the atmosphere.

Sensory Stimulation: Fish in a Bag

Encourage residents to assist you with making fish in the bag party favors for the upcoming Pie-in-the-Face Party. For the party favors, assist residents with making blue slime using liquid starch and blue Elmer's glitter glue. Have residents mix the ingredients together before pouring into bags and adding plastic fish. Tie the bags and pass them out as party favors for the upcoming event.

Men's: Clown Camp

Have fun with the men as you share a few fun magic tricks with them.

Special Event: Pie-in-the-Face Party

Host a fun pie in the face party for residents to come and throw pies in the faces of your facility's administrators. Make this an annual fun event. For the pies, simply fill aluminum pie plates with whipped cream. Beforehand, recruit a few artistic staff members and volunteers to create a pie-in-the-face cut-out using a large piece of cardboard and paint. After the pie-throwing has ended, pass out cookie and cones ice cream clowns for residents to enjoy. (Please note that International Clown Week is from Tuesday, August 1 to Monday, August 7.)

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Leave a Legacy Week

(Week of August 6)

Crafts: Memory Boxes

Use this week as a chance to help your residents prepare to leave their legacies to their family members. First, begin the week by assisting residents with creating memory boxes (shadowboxes) that feature photos and mementos of their lives. Provide residents with scrapbook paper and materials to decorate their memory boxes before hanging them outside of their apartment doors.

Reminiscing: Gathering Recipes

Pass out recipe cards for residents to recollect and write down a few of their recipes that can be passed down to the children and grandchildren. Use a few of the recipes for the upcoming Family Recipes activity.

Physical: Memory Box Walk

Lead residents on a walk through your facility to visit and admire the memory boxes of their neighbors, which were made during the Crafts activity. Encourage residents to try to learn one new thing about each person whose memory box they visit.

One-on-One: Audio Story

Assist your resident with recording her life story. Ask her questions about her past and record her answers, encouraging her to tell the story as if she were talking to her children. Send the finish recording to her children for safe keeping. (Some examples to listen to.)

Lower-Functioning: Reminiscence Boxes

Encourage residents to revisit their past through the use of reminiscence boxes. Go through each of the boxes and pull out a different item to pass around and discuss. For the activity, have boxes that relate to your resident's occupations (like a military box, office box, or a baking box).

Bedside: Family Tree

Help your resident finally fill out her family tree. Use ancestral charts and family group forms to capture all the relevant data.

Outing: Trip to Historical Landmark

Take residents to a local museum or historical landmark to learn about the legacy of someone else.

Sensory Stimulation: Photo Albums

Invite residents to bring their family photos to glue to pretty scrapbook pages that can be given to loved ones. Use pens to write captions on the paper near the photos. Beforehand, contact family members to gather more photos.

Men's: Writing Legacy Letters

Gather the men and supply them with pens and stationery (envelopes), and assist them with writing a legacy letter to a family member. Encourage them to answer the questions that are most appropriate for the person they are writing the letter to.

Special Event: Family Recipes

Coordinate with Dining Services to bake a few of your residents' recipes for everyone to sample. Beforehand, ask certain residents to provide you with their recipes that you can pass on to Dining Services to make. (Please note that August is What Will Be Your Legacy Month.)

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Aviation Week

(Week of August 13)

Crafts: Paper Planes

With National Aviation Day approaching on Saturday, provide a full week of activities that relate to air travel. Start off by having residents make simple paper planes that can be used in the upcoming Target Landing activity.

Reminiscing: The Golden Age of Travel

Reminisce with residents about traveling by air in the 1950s as you pass around a few photos from that era. Discuss your residents' most recent plane rides as you compare air travel for then and now.

Physical: Target Landing

Use the paper airplanes that were made earlier in the Crafts activity for residents to try to land their planes onto the target. Use masking tape to create a target on the floor and award points according to where the planes land.

One-on-One: Origami Fighter Jet

Provide your resident with a crisp dollar bill as you assist him with folding a fighter jet. Encourage your resident to give the origami piece to a grandchild.

Lower-Functioning: Cloud Dough

Provide residents with cloud dough (baby oil and flour) and molds to shape their own airplanes.

Bedside: Airline Snack

Stop by the kitchen to make a few packets of "airline food" for your resident to snack on as you show him a documentary about aviation history.

Outing: Trip to the Airport

Pack a lunch and take residents to an area near your local airport where they can watch the planes take-off and land.

Sensory Stimulation: Wafer Cookie Air Show

Invite the grandkids to stop by to assist Grandma and Grandpa with assembling planes using wafer cookies. Supply the participants with icing to act as glue. Have a sharp knife on hand, just in case the kids and residents need you to alter a few of the cookies. Display the finished planes to show-off their handy work.

Men's: Paper Jetfighters

Teach the men how to make paper jetfighters so that they can show their grandkids how to make them.

Special Event: Armchair Travel

Host a special armchair travel to an exotic location. Borrow a DVD from your local library, and coordinate with Dining Services to serve appetizers that are native to the place that you are traveling (e.g., egg rolls for China, salsa and chips for Mexico, or éclairs for France). (Please note that National Aviation Day is Saturday, August 19.)

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Celebrating Hawaii Week

(Week of August 20)

Crafts: Kalei (Hawaiian Leis)

Enjoy the week as you celebrate Hawaii's statehood. Invite residents to make beautiful tissue paper leis that can be passed out at the upcoming Mai Tai Happy Hour. Use colorful tissue paper and twine for the project.

Reminiscing: Mokuʻāina (Hawaii's Statehood)

Reminisce with residents about hearing of Hawaii becoming the 50th state in 1959. Ask residents whether they have ever traveled to the state.

Physical: Hula (Hawaiian Limbo)

Recruit a staff member to help you organize a fun limbo party. Invite staff members to join in. Be sure to hold the limbo bar high for the residents so that they can dance under, and hold the bar low for the staff members so that you can see how low they can go.

One-on-One: Kaka (Hawaii Cake)

Assist your resident with baking a Hawaiian cake featuring pineapple and coconut.

Lower-Functioning: Mele (Hawaiian Music)

Pass out instruments for residents to play along to music by Hawaiian musician Don Ho. Encourage staff members to dance with the residents.

Bedside: Ke Kope (Hawaiian Coffee Break)

Provide your resident with a cup of Hawaiian coffee as the two of you travel to Oahu for the day.

Outing: Kīhāpai (Trip to Tropical Gardens)

Take residents on a trip to your local botanical garden or nursery for residents to observe and admire the tropical plants.

Sensory Stimulation: Kahakai (Hawaiian Beach)

Fill a kiddie pool with sand and place chairs around the perimeter for residents to dip their toes in the sand.

Men's: Pahaohao Mai La (Hawaii Shirt Fashion Show)

Invite the men to wear their Hawaii shirts and flip flops for a fun fashion show for your residents.

Special Event: Hauʻoli Hola (Mai Tai Happy Hour)

Host a fun Mai Tai happy hour for residents to celebrate Hawaii's statehood. Serve nonalcoholic Mai Tais and Hawaiian luau meatballs. Afterwards, play a fun game of Pineapple Bowling using real pineapples or covering your bowling pins with yellow felt and adding green leaves. (Please note that Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.)

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Saying Bye-Bye to the Grandkids Week

(Week of August 27)

Crafts: Decorated Pencils

Invite the grandchildren for several intergenerational activities this week before they go back to school so that your residents can give them the proper send-off. As a starter, assist residents with making decorated pencils to give out as party favors at the upcoming Back-to-School Party. Simply use masking tape to wrap around the pencils, before painting the exposed parts. Then remove the tape to reveal the decoration.

Reminiscing: First Day of School

Reminisce with residents about their first day of school. Share a few facts about what it was like for kids to go to school during the Great Depression. Afterwards, ask residents whether they remember any of their teachers' names.

Physical: Schoolyard Ball

Seat residents in a large circle and have residents toss a large beach ball around to one another.

One-on-One: Embroidered Pencil Case

Arrange to have your resident's grandchild assist her with embroidering his own pencil case using plastic needles and colorful thread.

Lower-Functioning: Washi Tape Pen Holders

Use empty aluminum cans for residents to wrap with colorful Washi tape to make pen holders. Fill the finished containers with school supplies and give away as party favors at the upcoming Back-to-School Party.

Bedside: Reading to the Grandkids

Contact your resident's grandchildren and provide your resident with children's books for the grandkids to read to her.

Outing: Trip to Target

Load residents on the bus for a fun trip to your local dollar store for last-minute supplies for your upcoming Back-to-School Party. While there, ask residents to pick out the coloring books and children's puzzles that can be given out as party favors.

Sensory Stimulation: Apple Pencil Toppers

Invite the grandkids to join residents with making apple pencil toppers using red, green, and brown felt, and a hot glue gun. Add the finished toppers to the pencils that are included as party favors for the upcoming Back-to-School Party.

Men's: Fabric-Covered Books

Ask your local library for children's book donations and have the men wrap the books in fun fabric using spray adhesive and hot glue. Give the books away at the upcoming Back-to-School Party.

Special Event: Back-to-School Party

Host a special back-to-school party for the grandchildren of your residents. During the party, play a fun game of Back-to-School Pictionary, in which participants draw words or phrases associated with school. Also at the party, have a photo area set up so that residents can take pictures with their grandkids. Afterwards, be sure to pass out the party favors that were made during the week for the kids to take home with them. (Please note that August is National Back-to-School Month.)

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