Morgan

Christmas Socks, Christmas Slippers, Christmas Headwear is always a fun one too (hats, headbands, etc.)

Belinda- a 50/50 raffle is when you buy a raffle ticket for a certain amount of money, and then at the end of the evening draw the winning ticket. The winning ticket gets half of the money that was collected and the organization gets the other half to do with what they please.

Maybe a 50/50 raffle?

I am not sure if this will help you or not but here is what I do when a couple of my residents are stubborn and reluctant to move from the normal, I have to put my foot down and be stubborn too. I hate to say it, but sometimes thats what has to happen because even after I explain a change, or why something is happening, they still will not budge.

Here is an example: Last month at my facility we had a Tornado Warning and were required to go to our storm/severe weather areas. This was on a Tuesday afternoon, during Bingo, which is played in a room lined with windows, so obviously we had to move. It was right in the middle of bingo, so instead of cancelling, I decided to set up a little bingo parlor in the part of the building we will be safe. I did this with help and collaboration from other staff members. After we had that all set up (it took a whole of 5 minutes) I went into the room they were playing bingo and announced that due to severe weather incoming, we would be moving to the safe area where I had set up bingo. One VERY vocal and VERY stubborn gentleman was raising a fuss and refusing to move, so I had to put my foot down and tell him that the numbers were going to be called in the other area, and bingo would commence in there. He did not have to come if he did not want, but bingo was going to be moving. All of the other residents had no problem grabbing their cards and we paraded down to the safe part of the building. Sure enough, he came too because he did not want to miss out on bingo.

I am not sure if thats what the right thing to do in the situation was, but my residents were in danger and I saw no other choice.

I have one resident who does similar things, they laugh when residents get something wrong, shake their head, and say things like they can't do this or that when they are capable, it just takes longer. They are very rude and kind of a bully to other residents who are a little slower either due to memory or motor skill function. How I handle it is if they are being rude, or scolding someone, I just look at them and say 'its ok (insert name here), I have it handled.' I say this friendly, but stern enough that they know to not do it again. Sometimes it takes them four or five times of me doing this to catch on (they have memory problems themselves that they do not realize they have) but they usually catch on. I have to do this for each activity, and I would do this for each resident who is mean, but thankfully it is only the one I have an issue with. It has gotten very bad before and when that happened, I had our nursing supervisor step in and have a conversation with her letting them know that bullying behavior will not be tolerated. This particular resident does not tend to have the respect for me that if I were to have that conversation with her, it would go in one ear and out the other or she would deny that she does that. Of course she has forgotten the conversation with our nursing supervisor, but I know that administration has my back and is invested in the happiness of all residents and they would step in if I asked them or if they needed to.

I hope that this helps a little bit, I know that bad attitudes and bullying are the worst part of my job, and I imagine it is the same for you.

If they like puzzles, JigZone is a really great app for puzzles. Another great one if they like taking care of things is TinyZoo. TinyZoo is where they build their own mini zoo and feed the animals and take care of their mini zoo. It is an app for a more higher functioning person though. Another good one that I like if they are really low functioning is BabyBubbles. In that one literally colored bubbles float on the screen and you just tap them to make them pop. If you turn the sound on it plays lullabys and baby laughs. I am in the USA, not sure how apps go from country to country if you are not in the USA. Hope this helps!

Hi everyone, I am wondering if anyone has a set day/time for an independent euchre game and how it works. I have several more independent residents who enjoy Euchre, but it is only a 4 person game and I do not have enough residents to have two games for one scheduled activity. I thought perhaps if I could set the table up the group could play independently? I also do not know how to play Euchre, are there different rules based on different card groups, etc. or are the rules solid and steadfast from group to group? Thanks in advance for your input.

Michele,

The order that I work with is the Sisters of Charity Our Mother of the Church. And have you (Michele and Erica) tried service activities? Like making cookies together to bring to the police departments and EMT, or had a clothing drive for homeless shelters? Maybe since the Sisters dedicate their lives to service they would enjoy a service project? Or maybe flower arranging for their chapel as an activity? Making Rosary beads to donate to Catholic Schools in the area?

Just some thoughts, I do not have any Sisters as residents currently, but I do spend time with them as they work at the Manor where I work.

Good luck ladies!
Morgan

Hi Michele! What a small world, I am the activity coordinator in a facility in rural WI that is run by nuns from out East! I wonder if they are connected in some way?

I do not have a lot of specific advice for you, but I just wanted to let you know that it will get better! The same thing happened to me, and it was hard, but we got through it. I was actually able to take more resident feedback that way and incorporate more that they liked and take out what they did not really care for. I currently only have two volunteers at my facility, but they are very quality. One is the daughter-in-law of a former resident who continues to come in for bingo twice a week, and the other is my very well and fit 82 year old grandmother who is very creative, artsy, and handy. They both love coming in because they love the connections that they make with the residents and love to chat with them!