Nikole

I live with IBD and am also sometimes sick in the mornings. I am lucky to have an assistant however he is not always there so I have coffee and news every weekday morning. The kitchen makes a pot of coffee for me and our RA's (resident assistant) simply put the newspaper in the activity room with the coffee. Attendance was slow at first but now I have residents that come every morning and talk and enjoy coffee with other residents. This is mostly resident lead and is a great way to get residents out of their room and socializing. I now offer donuts on Friday's and that always brings a bigger crowd.

I use what I call sittercise...slow stretching movements in a chair making it easy for everyone. My residents love it but I don't want them to get bored with the same video over and over...I will definitely look into this chair Zumba. Thank you for sharing!

Hello Joanne from Oak Ridge, Tennessee

You may need to sit with your residents and start the conversation yourself with the hopes that they will get to know each other a little bit more each day, making conversation among them easier as time goes on. You can find out the backgrounds of your residents (i.e. Sates they were born in or jobs they have had) and try to match residents with common interests.

We do coffee and news every weekday. I have the newspaper to look over and we talk about the headlines. We also do crossword puzzles and just chat. I offer donuts on Friday (which brings a larger crowd). It is a great way to start their day off with conversation and coffee with others.

Try "housework": get a small basket and put different color socks in it. They can match the colors of socks to each other. I also have a basket with nothing but hand towels in it to be folded. It seems to help out with anxiety and makes the residents feel useful again. Hope this helps.

Door to Door reminders have helped with attendance to activities at my facility as well. I also put small reminders in their mailboxes. I use bright yellow paper so that it is easily seen. If you could walk around and remind them face to face-that helps too.

If you can get a small laundry type basket and some different socks you can match the socks. I also have a small basket with nothing but hand towels in it. My residents will "help me fold laundry" for hours. She enjoys it and it makes her feel useful.

I have a morning coffee and news session. We drink coffee/hot tea and chat about the news. I suggest having donuts to offer as well. I offer donuts on Friday's. It seems like if there is a type of snack offered I have a better turn out. Some days are slower then others. That is when we do crossword puzzles or word searches. My residents also love Sudoku. Hope this helps you a bit.

Scrap booking has been a hit! I have family members that are coming and helping their loved ones get involved and bringing family pictures to put into scrap books. The conversations and stories have been funny and amazing!