Let's Shift The Focus On You !.......For Once Let's Consider Ourselves Dear AC.

Normally I always suggest and advise you my fellow AC's on what we can do for our residents and groups we work with.
Well today as I thought about  to write about, I thought  let me write about you taking care of yourself for a change.
  I want you to be a bit indulgent and think of yourself, yes you heard right, YOU!!!

We get so caught up in planning and thinking of the bigger picture involved in our work , all the time we neglect ourselves and only focus on us when our bodies tell us too, or you feel so ran down and drained.
We are about to start up the busiest time of the year on our calendars  and so as to ensure we give our residents the best possible Christmas, our families  and everyone and the world and his wife.

I want you to stop and shift the focus on you  so you can have a stress free as possible  gearing up to the busy time ahead and here is how you do it- 


1. Make your health a priority-  

Yes, many times some of us don't have time for ourselves to go to the doctor until we are forced too. Please press the pause button on life and if you have niggling health issues go to your GP, do what you have to do. 
If your health is good then do everything you can to maintain it and ensure you have enough rest, have a cut off time with work as most AC's do a lot of prep work for their sessions at home. Stop that, Make sure when you go home you rest , spend time with your loved ones.
If you do have to work from home only allocate a set proportion of your time and  be super strict about it.
When you go home , it's your down time to rest and recuperate.

2. Time management-   

  Have a plan- having a plan will help you utilize your time effectively and productively. If you don't have a plan you will waste your time. When you make time you will get your priorities right. You will be able to divvy up time to things that are important to you and things that need to be done in your AC role.

3. Remove toxic rubbish from your life- 

Do not put up with negative people, people who use you and  toxic people and situations  in life. Cut the ties, draw a line and move on in your life. We all have people or situations that no longer serve us or are no longer a good fit. Don't be afraid to be you and look out for yourself for once and remove yourself from such rubbish.You  will feel much better for it, believe me.

4.Goal Planning- 

Set yourself attainable goals, don't wait until the New Year start now. You will find the things you plan will be well underway if you begin them now and not later. 

5.Be kind to yourself-

Be kind to yourself, treat yourself and forgive yourself if you need too. Set aside days in the diary where you are just going to have me time for you and plan  to  do something you enjoy doing.

6. Tools for the job-

My final bit of advice is please connect with others online in your job role, don't be alone. Also I have created a 2017 wall planner and special AC Diary  for you that has been created to assist you with your job. It is only available to those in my group which you can join if you wish  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup
I also will avail a  free downloadable fun dates PDF document to those in my group to use for 2017.
These tools take the hard work out for you as I have prepared them with all the information you need to inform, assist and encourage you along the way .

Also utilize what you can that makes your job role easier for you. Use what is available online and  recommended of fellow AC's.


I have made some major changes in my own life personally and in my freelance AC business so hence the theme.

Be empowered, take control of your life and live it to it's full potential.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

 Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

What To Do When You Run Out Of Ideas Of What To Do With Your Residents!

What To Do When You Run Out Of Ideas 

So your thoughts of themes and activity ideas for your residents  have ran out  and you scream what do I do? Not to worry help is at hand. 

Firstly, you need to plan. I mention this a lot in the AC Tastic Academy, if you have a plan you will always win and succeed. So the first thing is go with the themes of the year, public holidays and special days. Sit down and plan in advance for the year, yes, the WHOLE year. Because that way you can see the up coming national holidays and themes that maybe of interest to your residents, book any entertainment in advance and plan your sessions you are facilitating and what items you need in advance. 

Use your diary or year planner to plan also to find out international celebration days use https://www.daysoftheyear.com

 Refer to your AC  wall planner if you have one that I created, I done the hard work for you and listed the main days of interest that you and your residents can celebrate. Also take time to talk and ask your residents what they like both as a group and individually. Incorporate this into your weekly or monthly activity schedule. 
So for example, if they like gardening you can plan some plant potting activities for them to do or those who are mobile could take part in an outdoor garden project like planting vegetables and herbs. 

Outside Entertainment 

Do some research and go by recommendation when asking various people offering entertainment for your residents , check them out online, read reviews and check they are DBS Checked. 

You have singers, pet therapy groups, reminiscence, art, pottery, a multitude of people offering activities that your residents would enjoy, contact local groups in advance like dance schools, brownies etc to come in and spend time with your residents and it's FREE. 

Research the Internet, look at Pinterest for inspiration, sign up for newsletters that give you activity ideas, look for freebies of information online. 

Look in my Face book group files section for tons of information and activity ideas! If your not in my group join, it's free and there is tons of FREE activity information available to you. www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup 

It's all in the planning and booking in advance for your activities and not leaving it to the last minute. 

Plan outings- either monthly or quarterly as a group and those who can access the community with you take them out regularly, even if it's just a walk to the local park. Finally make sure that all activities planned are stimulating, enjoyable and person centered. 

Your  Action Plan 

Plan, Plan,Plan!!!! 
Use The AC Tastic Academy Year Planner for ideas. 

Interact with others online or local to you for inspiration. 
Most importantly engage with your residents and find out what they want. 

Whatever your resident's resonate with as an activity, incorporate it into your schedule regularly. 

It's autumn now so we are getting into a great part of the year nature provides lots of activity materials and inspiration for you to do activity sessions with your residents. 
Here are a few ideas-

Go out gather  up beautiful leaves use them as templates for leaf rubbings.

Make a wall tree picture and the leaves could represent something to each resident.

Make leaf wreaths.

Pick blackberries and raspberries and make crumble or jam.

Start to prepare for Christmas  as we go into November as well.

It is always vitally important to ensure that residents are oriented by what season we are in by the activities we do , it helps to orientate them and trigger memories.

Lots to be getting on with.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

 Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

How Take The Scary Out Of Halloween For Your Resident's And Have A Fun Time Instead!

So Halloween is coming up and to be honest in the States and Ireland this is a big holiday  but here in the UK it is something the older generation of elderly folk did not have too much to do with.

All be it, it can be a very scary time with the costumes and scary masks that will be about , especially for people with dementia.
So bearing this in mind, I would suggest that you can include some nice interactive activities that mark the occasion in a befitting manner and gets everyone involved.
Please do not put up grave yard pictures or back drops very in appropriate or scary costumes or masks.
It is of great importance that people in care homes are aware the seasons for their orientation of time and seasons, and that they know where we are in the year.

Here are a few suggested ideas-

Traditions

Share the origins of traditions of Halloween, do your research on the internet.
This is an excellent resource  http://projectbritain.com/Halloween/history.htm

Food

Halloween-themed food is fun, easy to make, and perfect for entertaining groups of elderly people, large or small. Bake cupcakes and have them decorate them with orange and black icing. Provide sprinkles and candy corn for decoration as well to make the project even more festive! You could also bake sugar cookies and have the group cut out the dough with Halloween-shaped cookie cutters before baking and decorating them. Candy apples are even easier; just melt caramel, put some apples on sticks, and dip.

Games

There are plenty of game options for seniors that are amazing for Halloween. Halloween Bingo is a great choice for the elderly. You can cute out Halloween themed pieces and use them for the Bingo card. Memory games are another great option for the elderly. Have you ever played games of concentration with a child? Kids seem to be better at recalling matching cards than adults, and games of concentration can be exceptionally challenging for the elderly. The suits, numbers, or colors can be declared as matches to make the games easier, and an entire deck of cards or partial decks can be used, depending on the difficulty level desired. Two decks of matching cards can be used together to create exact matches and larger memory games. Obviously, the fewer number of cards used in conjunction, the easier the memory games for the elderly players.

Craft Activities

There are numerous activities the elderly community may partake in during the Halloween season. Pumpkin painting is extremely fun and interactive for seniors. Pumpkin painting is a classic Halloween activity for all ages. It works well for the elderly because there is less need to use fine motor skills.

Cards and card making is another great Halloween activity. Set up a Halloween card-making craft activity. Making Halloween cards allows the seniors to connect with distant relatives and friends. Provide card materials in black, orange and purple. Include decorative scrapbook papers with a Halloween pattern along with Halloween stickers, ribbon and scrapbook embellishments.

Providing pre-cut Halloween shapes is a good idea if the participating seniors aren't able to cut easily with scissors. The elderly participants glue the shapes onto the card stock base to create the cards.

Halloween Reminiscence Mat Game

Last year I created a Halloween friendly reminiscence game mat which you can use with groups, each persons has a go at throwing a bean bag onto the mat and it has very non scary questions on it, like did you ever go trick or treaty?

I have a few in stock if your interested email me at lovejoycentregmail.com

Pumpkin Carving

You can get a few pumpkins and get the residents to help scoop out the insides and draw on the front of them and then you cut out either a face or a pattern.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

 Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

Preparing For September.. Harvest Festival .Cheat Sheet

It's the time of year that we see the days drawing in and whilst we still seek out the sunshine we are aware of the approaching change in season.

September in England is a month associated with many traditions and particularly Harvest Festival, also known as   Thanksgiving Harvest as well .

I have prepared a cheat sheet for you to help you out as you enter September-

Interesting Facts To Share To Create Reminiscence  Discussion Threads-

Harvest festival use to be celebrated on the 1st of August and called Lammas meaning loaf mass, Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to the local churches who would use them as communion bread during a thanksgiving mass. 


The custom ended when King Henry VIII  broke away from the Catholic Church, and nowadays harvest festivals are done at the end of the season.


Traditionally the end of the harvest was celebrated with a big meal , harvest supper, which would be eaten on Michaelmas Day.

At the start of the harvest, villages would appoint a strong, respected man of the village as their 'Lord of the Harvest'. He would be responsible for negotiating wages and providing workers to work in the field.And the 'Lord of the Harvest' would sit at the head of the table.


Michaelmas Day-

Michaelmas Day is the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, who threw the devil out of heaven.
He is also regarded as the saint of the sea, maritime and horses and horseman. the day is celebrated 29th of September which is harvest festival day.

Michaelmas day is also known as goose day. Goose fairs are still held in some English towns, but geese are no longer sold.A famous Goose Fair is held in Nottingham on the 3rd of October each year.
Goose was the main bird to dine on on Michaelmas day and was a custom.

It is said that Queen Elizabeth I was eating goose when news of the defeat of the Armada was brought to her on Michaelmas day and she declared she will henceforth  would always eat goose on that day and everyone followed suit.  

Superstitions

It is believed that when the devil was kicked out of heaven he fell on brambles and cursed the fruit of the plant and it is believed to be bad luck to eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day.

Also it is believed if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day you will not lack money  all year.

Also if the breast bones of the goose are brown after roasting the following winter should be mild, but if the bones are white or have a slight blue hue  then the winter will be severe.

In Ireland if you find a ring  hidden in a Michaelmas pie it  is meant that one would soon be married.

Corn Dolly

A corn dolly  was supposed to be have been the spirit of the corn goddess and dates back hundreds of years.It is believed in order to keep the spirit of the corn goddess alive and have a harvest next year they would keep back some corn.
Hence corn dolls where created with this belief. 

Some Activity Suggestions For You-

Make A Michaelmas Pie!

If you happen to live where blackberries grow wild, why not take advantage of their abundance at this time of year and gather as many as you can for making crumbles, jam....and Michaelmas Pie!



Ingredients:
12 oz plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 oz white vegetable fat or lard
3 oz chilled butter, diced
3 fl oz chilled water
pinch salt
2 lbs cooking apples
2 oz sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
12 oz) blackberries
1 egg, beaten



Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C, 350 F, Gas 4.
1. Prepare the pastry. Place the flour in a large bowl and stir in the cinnamon and salt. Rub in the butter and white fat with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the chilled water. Bring the mixture together using a round bladed knife. Once it has come together, knead for a brief moment and place in a plastic bag in the fridge. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.

2. Peel and core the apples. Cut them into large chunks and place them in a saucepan with the sugar, cloves and nutmeg. Cover with a lid and gently cook for 5 minutes, until the apples have softened. Fold in the blackberries and remove the saucepan from the heat. Cool completely.

3. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out two thirds on a lightly floured surface. Line an 8-inch metal pie plate. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Strain the fruit, reserving the juices and spoon the fruit mixture over. Roll out the remaining pastry. Lay the pastry over the fruit. Lift back the edge and brush the base with a little egg and seal the edge. Trim and crimp the pastry edges. Brush the surface with the remaining egg and make a couple of slits in the top. Scatter a little more sugar over the pastry and bake for 35 minutes. Serve hot or cold with ice cream or fresh double (whipping) cream.



Create your own Harvest Festival Display-

Ask your residents, their family, staff and friends to create your own Harvest Display by donating   vegetables, tins of food, corn etc.
Once you have finished displaying it you can donate it to the local church or local food banks for distribution.


Make your own Fab Wall Display-

Make something like this picture example, using leaf prints, paper, paint etc. This could be done over a few sessions with your residents.

Make your own harvest wheat sheaf !

YOU WILL NEED:

A large baking tray ( the biggest your oven can take anyway)

A pair of scissors

That is all

INGREDIENTS

700g strong white bread flour

10g instant dried yeast

10g salt

5g sugar

450ml cold water

3 egg yolks ( for glazing and sticking)

METHOD FOR DOUGH:

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then gradually beat in the water until you get a nice firm dough and the bowl is clean with no dough sticking to the sides, if your dough feels too wet or tacky add a touch more flour, if it’s too dry and not very malleable add a bit more water.

Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until you have a nice clean ball of dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes somewhere cool, then split the dough into two, keep one-quarter for the base and three-quarters for the decoration on top.

Thanksgiving Service-

Hold your own thanksgiving service with hymns and share poems and get the residents to share why they are thankful.

Hope you have enjoyed this and can use this to prepare for the month of September .

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

 Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

Christmas Count Down.Tips For You On How To Prepare From Now For Your Best Christmas Ever ...........

 Hello, I know it's only August but those of you fairly new to the AC role  or even if your a seasoned veteran, Christmas is one of the BUSIEST times on the AC activity calendar.
So to stop heart ache, tears, stress and disappointment I have put together a little sheet of what you need to think about booking NOW and how to plan your Christmas for your residents so you have the best one ever.

From all accounts last year I do recall a lot of AC's getting very stressed and some feeling a bit lost as to what to plan and do.
 Firstly can I say it's not a competition and you know what works with your residents best and a great deal of the time it is down to money.
Work with what you have and you will be amazed at what you can do. You can do this!

Let Plan-

 Activity Schedule Plan- Planning is key to your success, you will always hear me harp on about this. Always have a plan. Here is my suggestions for you that you can do with your residents and things you need to do know-

1. Panto - Have you booked your Christmas entertainment? If not NOW really is the time to do this. They get pretty booked up fast and the earlier the better. Plan when you are going to have your Christmas main resident's party or theme and BOOK and PLAN exactly what your going to be doing.
2. Carol Service- You can approach local schools or church choirs to come in and lead you in a carol service concert and this can be done anytime in the run up to Christmas, as the month of December is Christmas themed, plan your activity sessions out and the main highlights in the momentum leading up to your main Christmas event.

3. Activity Count Down Suggestions- What I have planned with my groups I work with on a weekly basis is to do planned activity sessions leading up to Christmas as follows, this is just an example -

Week 1- Salt dough Christmas tree decorations.

Week 2- Christmas paper angels and Christmas cards.

Week 3. Putting up the Christmas tree and home decorations.

Week 4. Do a ginger bread house.

Week 5. Carol Service for residents and relatives.

Week 6. Christmas Service for residents.

Week 7. Panto and Christmas party.

4. Include Everyone- Remember to factor in everyone in all the festivities especially assign time for those who choose to remain in their rooms through choice or cannot get out due to mobility issues.

5. Learn to Delegate- You are not superman or super woman. So what you can delegate out to others to help you with, do it. I know it can be hard for AC's to do this but you might find that your colleagues will want to help. Don't burn yourself out.

6. Making use of relatives- Ask the resident's relatives to get involved to assist you on large projects, you would be surprised that they actually want to help. So ask. Ask early for your Christmas donations and  Always great to have extra hands to help.
7. Gifts- Buy practical gifts for your resident's, what you know they will use and appreciate, set a realistic budget amount.

6. Finally remember YOU. Yes, you. Your important and you have to pace yourself and do your own personal Christmas shopping and planning. So make sure you
   make time for yourself and do not put unnecessary pressure and expectations on yourself. Enjoy your time with your family, leave work at work and give yourself permission to switch off and relax when you celebrate your own festivities at home.

Planning from now will help you no end and let you know well in advance what your doing  and also help you budget as well not only money but your time, you could start prepping early for your home made Christmas decorations etc.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared?  Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

Help it's the Olympics, I don't know what to do!

Help it's the Olympics, I don't know what to do!

My lovely AC's it's the Olympics on Friday (05/08/16) and you can see everyone is going on about it and even making to die for displays and crafts.

Things like this can often make you feel overwhelmed and compelled to do your own little shindig of activities. But where do you start?

Fear not , I have put together a sheet with  the most cost effective activity ideas for you that cost next to nothing to help you out .

Activities that you can do-

What to do if you have no budget or it's very limited-

Okay, there are a few craft activities that you can do which are age appropriate for your residents which are-

Make an Olympic torch- Either use brown sugar paper, plain painted paper or card or silver /gold glitter paper, role it into a cone and for the flame effect use red, yellow and orange tissue paper.

Or kitchen foil wrapped around your cone shape.

Scrunch the paper into the cone and cut with scissors to create a flame effect.

If you do not have tissue paper use normal paper that has been painted and you can cut into flame shape.

The Olympic Rings-

You can either paint your own or use paper plates that be painted and the centres cut out.

Or-Olympic ring printing

You will need:

5 cardboard tubes

Paint in red, green, black, yellow and blue
Glue stick
Sticky tape
Scissors

Instructions:

Paint each tube in a different colour and leave to dry.

Dip the end of each tube into one of the colours and print onto paper. Make sure you look at a picture of the Olympic Rings so you can print your colours in the right order.

Olive Crowns

You will need:

Green construction paper

Cut a strip of paper about 1 1/2 inches wide. Measure it around the child’s head and cut to size. Cut out lots of leaf shapes and glue them along the length of the strip, leaving a couple of inches at either end. Tape the two ends of the band together.

Word Searches-

You can download word searches for free at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/olympic-games-word-search

for your residents to do.

Olympic themed Hang Man-

Play the game as an activity but all words used must be Olympic themed.

Indoor Olympic Challenge-

You can make up your own armchair based Olympic sports competition such as bean bag toss into a bucket.

Make your paper target game – draw the Olympic rings onto paper and do a few of each ring, decide how many points each ring is worth and spread around on the floor and get the residents to throw a couple bean bags each turn and tally up the scores and whoever gets the most is the winner.

Quiz- Download quiz question sheets off the internet here to use with your residents-http://www.paulsquiz.com/sports-quizzes-mainmenu-326/202-free-quiz-questions/71-sports-quizzes/2905-olympic-games-quiz-3

Reminiscence – Use the Olympics to discuss the sports and sporting traditions of residents and ask about what people remember of the 2012 games when London hosted the games.

Ask people to share what sports they enjoy doing and their favourite sport to watch at the Olympics.

There is so much more that you can do but it's the fact that it is marked and we keep our residents up to date in a interactional, enjoyable way with what is current.

Hope this has helped.

Love,

Ann Marie xx

How To Build Your Resident's Self Esteem

Apart from ensuring that the physical, mental, social, physical and spiritual needs are being met of residents that AC's provide activity sessions for we also need to remember that the promotion of self esteem is vitally important.

When anyone first moves into a care home setting they feel  very vulnerable and they are at the  mercy of a those around them.If they are used to living at the Home and have a strong personality then they will feel reassured about speaking out and having self-esteem. But if they are new to the nursing home, or have a change in their care plan needs because of their own health then it is most likely that their self esteem will need to be reassessed.

To take away their independence and to take over their care takes time for them  to adjust to their new way of life. It is a lot sometimes for the aged person to get used to. Most times the Elderly person was very independent at home and moving around freely but then end up needing care because their health changes, their eyesight changes or they have a fall and break bones. Once they feel like they are no longer able to take care of their daily living then their self-esteem is soon affected. It will become obvious that they have low self-esteem, and it will become very important for their well being to have their self esteem built back up.

Five Easy Steps To Build Self Esteem-

 1. Ask the resident to help make decisions about their day-to-day living as much as possible. So instead of making choices for them, ask how them how they would like to be assisted.

 2. Give them a small task that they are able to complete. Even something as basic as folding the face washers or the towels make them feel important.

3. Ask  what they used to like doing. Did they like gardening? Or painting? Or maybe sewing. Set up activities that the person is able to take part in and enjoy. You will soon see their self esteem boosted.

4. Show the person you care about their thoughts, opinions and their history. Get involved in their earlier life and share their memories. If they have photos of their life then ask if you can sit and look through the photos together.

5. Use the Elderly person name every time you speak with them in a conversation. Try to remember that person’s name so that they can feel important and loved.

I do hope this has been useful to you. Do you like what I have shared?  Let me know.

 I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. Why don't you take a look and join www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth.

Love,
Ann Marie x