Activity Director Blog

Aphasia In-Service Training

Justin Zarb — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:25:27 +0000

A few weeks ago I put together some materials for an in-service training on aphasia. I wanted to share it for those who are looking for an in-service to perform, or for those who would like to learn a little more about it. Understanding and Working...

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See Me!

Justin Zarb — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:12:10 +0000

This is a great poem written by a man living in a nursing home in Platte, Nebraska. A friend forwarded it to me, and it I thought it was such a great example of how often we overlook the great wealth of experience and history that our residents...

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Activity Director Yes, But Are You a Leader?

Justin Zarb — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:42:15 +0000

If you are lucky enough to become a facility's activity director you have a lot of responsibility. Like it or not, you are instantly a leader in your department as well as throughout the facility. Your activity staff will look to you, for better or...

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Patriotic Craft and Dementia Humor

Justin Zarb — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:28:42 +0000

This year we really worked hard on putting together a lot of patriotic activities for our program. Yesterday we had a group of folk singers come by and sing patriotic songs, and we wrote letters to soldiers last week as well. We also have a few...

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The Magical Mystery Pants

Justin Zarb — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:44:27 +0000

There are times when we are unsure if one of our residents needs to change their clothes because they had an accident. A few months ago, I had quite the perplexing situation with one of our men.

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Beading for Adults

Justin Zarb — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:55:37 +0000

Have you ever asked your residents to bead a necklace at your facility? Do you have bright colored plastic round beads that remind you of 1st grade? Here are some tips to make this simple activity more comfortable and rewarding for our residents...

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Card Shoppe: Recycle and Empower

Justin Zarb — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:12:18 +0000

We've held card shoppe activities before, but never empowered our members in this manner.

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A Better Game of BUNCO

Justin Zarb — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:57:54 +0000

I'm sure that every activity director, in every facility, comes across the same problem. Namely, that activities are becoming too routine and mundane for the participants in the facility. Here's an adaptation of a popular dice game.

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Culture Change and Activities

Justin Zarb — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:38:57 +0000

John DeLorean noticed a negative culture at GM decades ago and predicted its demise, in LTC, we have our own culture change to implement!

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Patriotic Activity: Letters to Any Soldier

Justin Zarb — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:35:45 +0000

It seems that every year between Memorial Day and the 4th of July we are always looking for new patriotic activities for our programs. Usually, we end up with some sort of trivia game or a new way to glue an American flag together. This year, we...

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