Recharging Retirees in Retirement Communities

As an activities professional, I am always looking for a new program to add to my calendar. If it is free, that is great. If it is done by a professional, that is better. If it is something the residents can benefit from socially, emotionally, physically, professionally, or spiritually, that is what I want! And, if it can be added to the calendar as a repeating event, then it is a must. My gift to you this month is such a program. It was brought to my attention recently and has just been added to my activities calendar.  The program is called Cane-Fu . It is a program that teaches seniors how to use their cane for self-defense purposes. It includes elements of balance, stretching and defensive moves. Our local police department has a few police officers who are trained instructors in the program, and they contacted us about starting the program in our community. I know that when the residents see a uniformed officer leading the class, that it gives the class some serious clout. 

Valentines Day Movies, that are especially right for my group of senior adults, takes some time to figure out because the residents in my community are pretty conservative and are not interested in casual sex, seeing any kind of "hanky-panky" implied, or listening to too much foul language. With this criteria in mind, I present to you a list of movies that I have shown, or would be willing to show, in my community during the month of February. They are listed in chronological order. Casablanca (1942) An Affair to Remember (1957) Love Story (1970) Somewhere in Time (1980)  An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) A Room with  a View (1985)   Sleepless in Seattle (1993) Emma (1996) Titanic (1997)  Shakespeare in Love (1998) Love Actually (2003) The Notebook (2004) Pride and Prejudice  (2005) Winter's Tale (2014) CLICK ON THE DVD TO STOP THE SLIDESHOW TO ORDER  YOUR MOVIE DIRECTLY FROM AMAZON! Amazon.com Widgets

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”  - Brad Paisley As we begin a new year, and look at the 12 months of planning ahead of us as activities professionals, it can be both overwhelming and exciting!  I'd like to share a few ways that I look at this situation. First, I review last year's successes and add the programs that I want back onto the new year's calendar. This is a good base for raising the bar for your programming because you are starting off with what was well received. Only take the best and leave the other activity ideas in the past.  Next, I take a look at ideas that are sitting on my desk in my to-do pile. These ideas include entertainers that I want to book, places that we should go to, class ideas, etc. etc.  I pull out the ideas that I am really interested in and start penciling them onto my calendar where I think that they will work best. I make a note on the information according to what I pencile