february 2020 program calendar presented by february 2020

01 02 03 04 05 06 07

groundhog day i do haiku movie date night name that love song framing a loved one cards for soldiers hunt the heart no bake cookies

08 09 10 11 12 13 14

the language once upon a find your match valentine’s crossword/word words to the young valentine’s day of love love story made in heaven day bingo chocolate tasting search race

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adventures of love bug puppy love black history month presidents’ day zen coloring museum outing huckleberry finn exercise program

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

fall in love an overview of the is this cubist? cubist perspectives be a cubist artist create diy spa day planet naming game with spring impact of cubism identifying cubist art make your own still life your own art

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leap “frog” into march 01 i do haiku 02 groundhog day no bake cookies February is often seen as the month of love which can conjure up images While not a public holiday, this popular tradition takes place every year on of flowers, chocolates and poetry. In this workshop, teach residents about February 2nd and determines whether spring will come early. To celebrate, haikus and share a few examples before asking residents to create their own. have residents make Punxsutawney Phil cookies to enjoy while watching the Showcase different types of nature images for residents to gain inspiration from ceremony (no baking necessary!). Have residents make predictions for their while writing their haikus. At the end, host a reading. own predictions for the year and track until the spring season!

Instructions: How to write a Haiku Instructions: Groundhog Day Cookies

03 movie date night 04 name that love song From chick flicks to romantic dramas, everyone enjoys a good movie night. Love songs are just like relationships, some good some bad and just some Use this movie night to incorporate reminiscent activities from movie dates you can’t live without. Play Name That Song using iconic love songs from your your residents have taken. Whether that is the drive-in or an old cinema, have residents’ generation. To make this game less formal, open up a discussion to residents vote on the movie marathon. No need to limit yourself to love stories residents and whether they have any memories they would like to share when and for an added bonus, create your own “drive-in theatre” by decorating they hear the tune. Distribute prizes to the winners. This program can be hosted chairs to look like cars. by genre, such as Love Songs of the 50s, Heartbreak Ballads and more!

Resource: Love Songs of The 50s/60s

2 05 framing a loved one 06 cards for soldiers Buy wooden frames from the craft store, dollar store or from your local One of the most important things in life is to feel a connection to community. thrift store and have residents decorate them. Put in a photo of someone In this activity, have each resident make 2 cards for a soldier either in your they love. Have residents mail the frames to their loved ones. To make this community or who is currently serving overseas. For each mailing, include a activity more affordable, have residents make paper frames and send via handwritten card from residents and a blank one so that soldiers can send one a stamped envelope! home to their family!

Instructions: Cards for Soldiers

07 hunt the heart 08 the language of love Cut out hearts drawn on cardstock or paper. Residents can help with this as Do you know your love language? Made famous by Gary Chapman in his it will help with recognition when they go to hunt for the hearts. Write clues on famous book from 1992, the 5 love languages are the ways people express and where the hearts are hidden or simply number the back of the hearts to keep feel love. Encourage your residents to learn there with this printable quiz. Hold a track of how many are left. Hide these hearts around the community or around discussion with residents around the results, and what it means. a large activity room. Have residents go searching for love! Resource: Printable Love Language Test

3 09 words to the young 10 once upon a love story Create a worksheet or sign-in sheet that asks each resident’s name and age. This activity lets residents create their very own love story from the timeless Have them fill out a piece of advice for someone younger along with a picture tales of Disney or a classic romance like Casablanca. Begin the activity with a if you want to include arts and crafts. Display them in your community or take review and discussion of some of the most timeless love stories. Ask residents to photos and post them. For a fun family newsletter, compile each piece of work together and come up with one sentence at time, for example “once upon wisdom and email it to residents’ grandchildren. a time….”. To make this activity a comedy, use this Mad Lib sheet and read the short love stories aloud.

11 find your match made in heaven 12 Valentine’s Day bingo The goal of this game is to figure out who your match made in heaven is by This simple variation, a popular activity, uses pieces of candy in lieu of chips or asking yes or no questions to the group. Place the name of one member of a bingo markers. This is a quick and easy spin that can make the game feel more popular duo or couple on the back of each participant for them to guess who festive without having to do any extra work. they are and to find their match. Tell participants that they can only ask “yes” or “no” questions to find out who they are. For a nursing facility, use classic Old Hollywood couples like Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, and Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. If residents are less active, turn it into a card matching game by printing out the duos.

4 13 valentine’s day chocolate tasting 14 crossword/word search race Everything pairs well with chocolate, but how well do you know your chocolate? Print out the same large print crossword or Word Search for each table of Residents will become con issuers in this chocolate tasting test. There are residents and have them race to complete them! If you want to do multiple two ways to set this activity up. The first involves residents tasting different rounds, have the puzzles get harder and harder. Have a small prize for each chocolates, rating them on their card and then guessing the type of chocolate. round or space out the contest over a few weeks. The second variation involves a one by one tasting and explanation of each chocolate’s profile. After residents rate their favorite! Resource: Free Crossword Puzzles

15 puppy love 16 black history month Bake some treats for your favorite furry friends! First, contact a local shelter to Black History Month is rich with culture, and should be celebrated with activities ensure they will accept homemade treat donations. Then, try out one of these throughout the month that recognize the influence of African-American recipes. Ask the shelter take pictures of the dogs with their treats so they can culture in our day-to-day. A great way to celebrate is to share poems or short later be shared with the residents. stories from the list of famous authors below. Have residents discuss their interpretations.

Resource: Short Stories from Famous African-American Authors

5 17 presidents’ day 18 adventures of Huckleberry Finn Celebrate President’s Day with a little food and fun! Make log cabins from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published on this day by Mark Twain in 1885. peanut butter and pretzels that symbolize the pioneering spirit of America. This classic novel can be a great addition to your community’s book clubs. As an This craft is affordable and uses items in your community. During the crafting activity, have residents watch this quick synopsis and discuss the novel’s major session, share fun facts about each President. After, host a quick trivia game or theme. If you have the time or space on your calendar, space this activity out play this fun card game. and read or listen on audiobook to this American Classic.

Instructions: DIY Pretzel Log Cabins

19 zen coloring 20 love bug exercise program Coloring has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. As part of your wellness Mix up your normal exercise class with some festive moves! Have residents program, incorporate a coloring workshop where residents can drop-in. Play make “Hearts” with their arms and “XOXOs” with their bodies. Heart arms work calming music, using Eversound for those that need it, while having residents out shoulders, and involve residents reaching overhears and forming a heart color mandalas, a popular motif for relaxation. by touching the top of their heads with the tips of their fingers. The XOXO’s movement works out arms and legs by making an “x” shape like the starting Resource: Free Printable Mandala Coloring Sheets position of a jumping jacks and the “o” by moving arms above the head to form a large “o”.

6 21 museum outing 22 fall in love with spring Every February, lots of museums have special exhibits to showcase black history. March is the first month of spring! Get residents excited about the change in Celebrate Black History Month with a visit to your local museum! Bring Eversound season by creating tissue paper flowers together. These beautiful decorations with you to coordinate your outing and ensure all your residents can experience can welcome spring into the community and keep residents busy while waiting the trip. for the spring flowers to blossom! Mix and match colors and patterns for unique blooms. Resource: Museums Near Me Instructions: Create Your Own Tissue Paper Flowers

23 DIY spa day Scrub off the dry winter season in this fun workshop that allows residents to make their own hand or foot scrub using supplies in your community. This activity is extremely cost-effective and allows residents to use what they make immediately. Offer residents a variety of scents or essential oils, or use common extracts like vanilla or lemon. At the end of the workshop, have residents use their scrubs and wrap their hands in warm towels.

Instructions: Homeable DIY Hand Scrubs

7 monthly themed program: art history – cubism This month’s themed program combines art therapy with art history and adds a dash of Cubism for a look into one of the most famous styles of art.

download the entire program here

24 monthly themed week 25 monthly themed week an overview of the impact of cubism is this cubist?

The Cubist revolution set off a wave of change, and not just in the art world. identifying cubist art Learn the history and the elements of Cubism using a video and discussion time Can you identify cubist art? After this art history program, residents will! in this part of this themed activity program. Compare different types of art and answer a great art question–can Pooh Bear be Cubist? In this Eversound Program, residents see Cubist art side-by-side with other forms of art and learn how to identify the cubist elements in each work. Furthermore, residents will learn about the artists who sparked this art revolution.

26 monthly themed week 27 monthly themed week cubist perspectives be a cubist artist make your own still life create your own art

Get ready to create a Cubist masterpiece! Residents will create their own Still The photographs taken from multiple perspectives combine to become Life and combine photos taken from different perspectives to create their own Cubist art. Residents engage with art history by becoming Cubist artists. In this work of art. In this Eversound Program, residents build their own Still Life which Eversound Program, residents combine the images they created in the previous will become the subject in their Cubist masterpiece and then, take photos of the section of the series. A simple craft activity for some, perhaps. But others will see subject from several angles. through to the art history lesson behind the cut and paste activity.

8 28 planet naming game 29 leap “frog” into march In this program, use a memory trick to learn the names of the planets, and Do you know why there are leap years? If we didn’t add a leap day on February keep them in order. Using mnemonic devices as a memory tool helps for 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every specific knowledge, but it also helps the brain make connections. After learning single year. To acknowledge this tradition, have your craftier residents who can the planets this way, residents often find their confidence increases as they sew create this DIY frog bean bag. If this is not suitable for your residents, buy approach learning new things. Then, once the names and the order of the a frog stuffed animal. Then play hot-potato with the frog! Play music and have planets are memorized, various household items represent the planets to residents toss the frog around, whoever is holding the frog when the music stops illustrate the relative sizes. is out. Continue playing until only one resident remains!

Instructions: Planet Naming Game Instructions: DIY Frog Bean Bag

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