Bright Ideas from members,  Short, Simple Activities to brighten your Elders' lives.
"Make Your  Own Find It Game"  submitted by Linda Amoroso
Our Residents really like searching for items in the Find It game. The game is small items in a container with beads and you search for the items within a certain amount of time. We have not been able to find new ones so we have started making our own.  Take a clear tennis ball can or other jar, add either rice that has been colored with food coloring or very small colored beads, and small items to be found.  We have gone crazy with these and have them for all the holidays, kitchen items, office, and others the only limit is your imagination.  You can get a lot of miniature items at craft stores.
"Taste and Teach"Submitted by:Cheryl Price  from  Louisville, Ky.
"Taste and Teach"  About once a month, we have a food activity I call "taste and teach".  I usually do a fruit or veggie that is in season that month, but sometimes I just pick an unusual food or one they like but don't often get.  I research the food and print out info on it- it's origins, where it is grown or made, etc.  If possible, we try several different examples of the food.. either prepared several ways or with another similar food to compare it to: for example, when I did clementines, I also offered oranges and tangerines so that residents could taste the difference.  We eat the food, talk about it, share memories and social time.
Eagle Stamps submitted by Linda Amoroso
Many of our elders remember collecting Eagle Stamps especially during the 50's.  During a 50's theme month we gave our resident Eagle Stamp Books.  When they brought them to an activity it was stamped with and eagle.  At the end of the month they could then "buy" white elephant type items with their eagle stamps.  It was amazing how many more came to the activities, how much spontaneous  interaction and reminiscing occured and just getting the stamps were as important as the gift at the end of the month! click here to download an example of the eagle stamp book
Participation Bingo  submitted by: Natalie Nash  NJ
At our facility, the residents are enjoying a new type of BINGO that I would like to share. “Activity BINGO” is a game where residents are given a sheet of paper with a BINGO grid imprinted on it. Instead of numbers, activities that we offer throughout the week are typed in each box. When the resident attends an activity, they get a stamp or sticker in that box. A BINGO wins a prize or a “facility dollar" that they can use to make purchases at our once-a-month store. This activity is very successful with alert and oriented individuals.
"Soup Social"  by Catherine Wilde  from Richlands, NC
We have weekly soup socials.  The idea was to target those residents in our facility that are on weight loss but everyone loves this.  A member of the Admin team takes soup duty and is given the official soup pot, then they make their secret recipe to share with the residents.  We have had Seafood chowder, chicken tortilla, and many other delicious soups.  We are even thinking of starting our own soup social cookbook