| The Activity Director's Office Presents Activity Ideas That Work by Gina Salazar, AD |
| MARCH ACTIVITIES |
| Irish Blessings: May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back... May god bless us with happiness, May love and faith abide... May your neighbors respect you, and troubles neglect you... May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, May good luck pursue you each morning and night... Dance as if no one were watching, Sing as if no one is listening, and live each day as if it were your last. |
| March Word Game Ask your residents to name items that are GREEN. Here are a few: ivy broccoli grass cactus celery lime jello frogs shamrocks leaves mint parsley lettece dollar bills apples spinach turtle olives peas beans zucchini |
| BABY FOOD JAR GARDEN: Materials Needed: ASK STAFF AND FAMILIES TO BRING IN BABY FOOD JARS. ONCE YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR EACH RESIDENT THEN YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: SMALL STYROFOAM PIECES (TO FIT IN JARS) HOT GLUE GUN SMALL DRIED SILK FLOWERS Directions: HAVE ACTIVITY STAFF OR VOLUNTEERS GLUE THE STYROFOAM PIECES TO THE BABY FOOD JAR LIDS AND LET THEM SIT OVER NIGHT TO DRY. THEN PASS OUT LIDS TO EACH RESIDENT AND LET THEM ARRANGE THEIR FLOWERS AND STICK THEM INTO THE STYROFOAM PIECE, THEN SCREW THE LIDS ON THE JAR AND FLIP OVER TO SHOW OFF THEIR NEW INSTANT SPRING GARDENS. |
| Leprechaun word game: Have your residents make different words out of the word LEPRECHAUN...... Here are a few that I came up with: preach leap era hen launch hear near peer lunch clear pear nuclear lean ear unreal cheer earn ace run pearl reach cup cheap lap eel chap churn |
| ROOM VISITS: Make a sensory stimulation box for March using the following items: *shamrocks(use different textures,felt,construction paper,silk,etc.) * Irish lace *pictures of Ireland *Irish cream candies *a"blarney" stone(any type of rock) *a C.D. of Irish music *pictures of spring flowers *"gold"coins(they sell chocolate gold coins that look pretty real) from your pot of gold |
| What's Cooking? Scalloped Irish Potatoes Ingredients: 6 potatoes,peeled and thinly sliced. 6 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 1/2 chopped onion 2 cups milk 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese Directions: Place all items in a large, greased casserole dish,stir until all items are mixed in together, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour,remove foil, bake for 15 minutes more. Serves 12 people. Enjoy.... |
| "Green" Trivia : Which one of these is a shade of green? 1.Cerulean 2.Chartreuse * 3.Vermilion A green thumb is: 1.A first time hitch hiker 2.Someone who is good at gardening * 3.A rock group A person who is green around the gills is: 1.A lover of seafood 2.Happy 3.Nauseous * A green horn is: 1.A musical instrument 2.A person with little or no experience * 3.A french pastry Which one is not a green vegetable? 1.Celery 2.Potato * 3.Watercress Which one is not a green fruit? 1.Grape 2.Lime 3.Cantalope * The slang "Greenbacks"mean: 1.Football players 2.A terrible disease 3.U.S.Dollars * |
| St. Patrick's Day Cupcake It's not far to the gold at the end of this rainbow-topped Emerald Isle cupcake, just the thing for your lads and lasses on St. Patrick's Day. • A cooled cupcake • Grass-green frosting • Several flavors of Airheads candies • A pot's worth of gold coins Step 1: To make one, first top a cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with grass-green frosting. Step 2: For the rainbow, use a large, heavy knife (parents only) to cut a long, narrow strip from each of several flavors of Airheads candies (this is sticky stuff, so work on waxed paper). Lay the strips side by side, press them together, then cut the ribbon of strips in half to make two rainbows. Step 3: Curve each one into an arch and trim the ends as shown. Set one rainbow upright on the cupcake (save the other for another cupcake) and deposit a pot's worth of gold coins at one end. If necessary, place a gold coin behind the rainbow for support |
| WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING, SURE IT'S LIKE A MORN IN SPRING, IN THE LILT OF IRISH LAUGHTER, YOU CAN HEAR THE ANGELS SING, WHEN IRISH HEARTS ARE HAPPY, ALL THE WORLD SEEMS BRIGHT AND GAY, AND WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING, THEY STEAL YOUR HEART AWAY. |
March Dates to Celebrate:
AMERICAN RED CROSS MONTH
NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH
NATIONAL NOODLE MONTH
NATIONAL PEANUT MONTH
FOOT HEALTH MONTH
NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD MONTH (see link below)
NATIONAL SAUCE MONTH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
DR.SUESS 3/2 - Website:http://www.seussville.com/
ALEXANDER GRAMM BELL 3/3
LOU COSTELLO 3/6
LAWRENCE WELK 3/11
LIZA MINNELLI 3/12
ALBERT EINSTEIN 3/14
JERRY LEWIS 3/16
NAT KING COLE 3/17(see trivia below)
MISTER FRED ROGERS 3/20
Click on the link below to get some fun history / trivia about Frozen Food:
Green Giant.com
March craft idea:
Shamrock Sprout:
Materials Needed:
small sponge for each resident
shamrock pattern
grass seeds
black sharpie marker
bowl
water
scissors
Instructions:
1. Use the marker to trace the pattern onto the sponge
2.Cut out the shamrock shape
3.Soak the sponge in a bowl of water
4.Sprinkle grass seed heavily onto the sponge
5.Place your shamrock in a bright,sunny spot,check daily and keep the sponge
damp with water
6.Look for sprouts in about 1 week
This activity is very easy for any resident to do. Have fun....
SPRING FRESHNESS
Transform a garden sprinkling can into a
scented room accent. Place a
Renuzit® Air Freshener inside to add
a pleasing aroma to your room.
Materials Needed:
The Dial Corporation Renuzit®
LongLast® Adjustable Air Freshener
7 1/2" tall blue and green garden
sprinkling can
One pair multi-colored, striped
gardening gloves
One child's green spade
One child's yellow hoe
One orange artificial Hydrangea stem
Instructions:
1) CREATING ARRANGEMENT: Referring to photo, arrange gloves, with
"fingers" sticking up out of can top, hoe, rake and flower stem in garden
sprinkling can, leaving center open for
Renuzit® air freshener.
2) ADD AIR FRESHENER: Place opened Renuzit® Air Freshener into a garden
sprinkling can in center of arrangement. When gel is depleted, replace with a
new air freshener.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this quick and easy project, think of all of the possibilities there
are to turn additional containers into decorative as well as fragrant accent
pieces.
Start by choosing a container from around the house, in stores or at garage
sales and flea markets. Keep in mind that the container should be at least
61/2” tall and 3” wide to accommodate a Renuzit® Air Freshener. Containers
could include baskets, boxes, jars, pencil holders, tall mugs, tin cans,
glassware, etc.
Containers can be used, as is, to hold the air freshener or they can be
transformed with paint, paper, beads, wire, raffia, etc.
Place items that coordinate with the container and room setting (silk flowers,
wash cloths, miniature garden tools) in or around container. Tuck an air
freshener in the container and your project is complete.
For additional ideas, check out the “Decorate with Fragrance®” book at www.
renuzitcrafts.com to learn more than 30 clever ways to create fragrant accents
for your home.
Nat King Cole Trivia:
Nat “King” Cole conquered the pop charts in the Fifties and early Sixties as a
warm-voiced singer of orchestrated ballads like “Mona Lisa” and
“Unforgettable” and breezy, countrified sing-alongs like “Ramblin’ Rose” and
“Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer.” Less well known is the fact that he
played a mean piano (in the style of Earl “Fatha” Hines) and led a swinging jazz
trio from 1937 to 1955. Cole’s drummerless trio was an innovation, and no
less an authority than Count Basie marveled at their improvisational interplay:
“Those cats used to read each other’s minds—it was unbelievable.” Early
stirrings of rock and roll can be detected in such swinging, lingo-filled tunes as
“Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” recorded in
1943 and 1946, respectively, by the King Cole Trio. With its three guitars,
honking sax and gritty vocal, the 1957 hit “Send for Me” (#1 R&B, #6 pop) was
formally as close as Cole ever got to rock and roll.
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919 and
christened Nat “King” Cole by a Los Angeles clubowner in 1937. As both a jazz
pianist and pop singer, he made his mark on the middle decades of the 20th
century. Cole’s transformation from jumpin’ jive to pop balladry came in 1946,
when “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” became a million seller for the
King Cole Trio. When his first orchestrated number, the definitive version of Mel
Torme’s classic “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” became a
seasonal hit that same year, there was virtually no turning back. The Fifties and
Sixties found Cole recording with various orchestras, including Nelson Riddle’s
and Billy May’s. While his work from this period shared little with the rock and
roll revolution that was under way, Cole’s broader influence on the idiom as a
musical pioneer and as a popular star is undeniable.
Nat King Cole's Biography...
March 17, 1919
Nathaniel Adams Cole is born in Montgomery, Alabama
1937
Cole forms the King Cole Trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley
Prince.
1940
The King Cole Trio records its first sides for the Decca label.
November 30, 1943
Cole’s first session for Capitol Records yields the classics “Straighten Up and
Fly Right” and “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?”
June 8, 1946
Cole’s recording of “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” enters the R&B chart, where
it will peak at #3. Later that summer, it becomes a pop hit as well, just missing
the Top Ten.
June 10, 1950
“Mona Lisa,” a ballad that Cole initially didn't like, reaches #1 and sells 3
million copies.
August 17, 1951
Cole records “Unforgettable,” which reaches #12. Forty years later, Natalie Cole
overdubs her voice onto the original, creating a father-daughter duet that nearly
charts as high.
July 1, 1957
“Send for Me,” Cole’s most overtly rock & roll-oriented number, enters Billboard’
s R&B chart, which it will top for two weeks.
December 1, 1957
Cole hosts the 64th and final episode of The Nat King Cole Show, a 15-minute
weekly variety show aired on NBC-TV. It ends for lack of national advertisers
willing to sponsor a show hosted by a black man.
September 15, 1962
“Ramblin’ Rose” reaches #2, becoming Cole's highest-charting pop single. It
also hits #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #7 on the R&B chart.
February 15, 1965
Nat King Cole dies of lung cancer.
AMERICAN RED CROSS MONTH
NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH
NATIONAL NOODLE MONTH
NATIONAL PEANUT MONTH
FOOT HEALTH MONTH
NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD MONTH (see link below)
NATIONAL SAUCE MONTH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
DR.SUESS 3/2 - Website:http://www.seussville.com/
ALEXANDER GRAMM BELL 3/3
LOU COSTELLO 3/6
LAWRENCE WELK 3/11
LIZA MINNELLI 3/12
ALBERT EINSTEIN 3/14
JERRY LEWIS 3/16
NAT KING COLE 3/17(see trivia below)
MISTER FRED ROGERS 3/20
Click on the link below to get some fun history / trivia about Frozen Food:
Green Giant.com
March craft idea:
Shamrock Sprout:
Materials Needed:
small sponge for each resident
shamrock pattern
grass seeds
black sharpie marker
bowl
water
scissors
Instructions:
1. Use the marker to trace the pattern onto the sponge
2.Cut out the shamrock shape
3.Soak the sponge in a bowl of water
4.Sprinkle grass seed heavily onto the sponge
5.Place your shamrock in a bright,sunny spot,check daily and keep the sponge
damp with water
6.Look for sprouts in about 1 week
This activity is very easy for any resident to do. Have fun....
SPRING FRESHNESS
Transform a garden sprinkling can into a
scented room accent. Place a
Renuzit® Air Freshener inside to add
a pleasing aroma to your room.
Materials Needed:
The Dial Corporation Renuzit®
LongLast® Adjustable Air Freshener
7 1/2" tall blue and green garden
sprinkling can
One pair multi-colored, striped
gardening gloves
One child's green spade
One child's yellow hoe
One orange artificial Hydrangea stem
Instructions:
1) CREATING ARRANGEMENT: Referring to photo, arrange gloves, with
"fingers" sticking up out of can top, hoe, rake and flower stem in garden
sprinkling can, leaving center open for
Renuzit® air freshener.
2) ADD AIR FRESHENER: Place opened Renuzit® Air Freshener into a garden
sprinkling can in center of arrangement. When gel is depleted, replace with a
new air freshener.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this quick and easy project, think of all of the possibilities there
are to turn additional containers into decorative as well as fragrant accent
pieces.
Start by choosing a container from around the house, in stores or at garage
sales and flea markets. Keep in mind that the container should be at least
61/2” tall and 3” wide to accommodate a Renuzit® Air Freshener. Containers
could include baskets, boxes, jars, pencil holders, tall mugs, tin cans,
glassware, etc.
Containers can be used, as is, to hold the air freshener or they can be
transformed with paint, paper, beads, wire, raffia, etc.
Place items that coordinate with the container and room setting (silk flowers,
wash cloths, miniature garden tools) in or around container. Tuck an air
freshener in the container and your project is complete.
For additional ideas, check out the “Decorate with Fragrance®” book at www.
renuzitcrafts.com to learn more than 30 clever ways to create fragrant accents
for your home.
Nat King Cole Trivia:
Nat “King” Cole conquered the pop charts in the Fifties and early Sixties as a
warm-voiced singer of orchestrated ballads like “Mona Lisa” and
“Unforgettable” and breezy, countrified sing-alongs like “Ramblin’ Rose” and
“Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer.” Less well known is the fact that he
played a mean piano (in the style of Earl “Fatha” Hines) and led a swinging jazz
trio from 1937 to 1955. Cole’s drummerless trio was an innovation, and no
less an authority than Count Basie marveled at their improvisational interplay:
“Those cats used to read each other’s minds—it was unbelievable.” Early
stirrings of rock and roll can be detected in such swinging, lingo-filled tunes as
“Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” recorded in
1943 and 1946, respectively, by the King Cole Trio. With its three guitars,
honking sax and gritty vocal, the 1957 hit “Send for Me” (#1 R&B, #6 pop) was
formally as close as Cole ever got to rock and roll.
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919 and
christened Nat “King” Cole by a Los Angeles clubowner in 1937. As both a jazz
pianist and pop singer, he made his mark on the middle decades of the 20th
century. Cole’s transformation from jumpin’ jive to pop balladry came in 1946,
when “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” became a million seller for the
King Cole Trio. When his first orchestrated number, the definitive version of Mel
Torme’s classic “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” became a
seasonal hit that same year, there was virtually no turning back. The Fifties and
Sixties found Cole recording with various orchestras, including Nelson Riddle’s
and Billy May’s. While his work from this period shared little with the rock and
roll revolution that was under way, Cole’s broader influence on the idiom as a
musical pioneer and as a popular star is undeniable.
Nat King Cole's Biography...
March 17, 1919
Nathaniel Adams Cole is born in Montgomery, Alabama
1937
Cole forms the King Cole Trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley
Prince.
1940
The King Cole Trio records its first sides for the Decca label.
November 30, 1943
Cole’s first session for Capitol Records yields the classics “Straighten Up and
Fly Right” and “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?”
June 8, 1946
Cole’s recording of “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” enters the R&B chart, where
it will peak at #3. Later that summer, it becomes a pop hit as well, just missing
the Top Ten.
June 10, 1950
“Mona Lisa,” a ballad that Cole initially didn't like, reaches #1 and sells 3
million copies.
August 17, 1951
Cole records “Unforgettable,” which reaches #12. Forty years later, Natalie Cole
overdubs her voice onto the original, creating a father-daughter duet that nearly
charts as high.
July 1, 1957
“Send for Me,” Cole’s most overtly rock & roll-oriented number, enters Billboard’
s R&B chart, which it will top for two weeks.
December 1, 1957
Cole hosts the 64th and final episode of The Nat King Cole Show, a 15-minute
weekly variety show aired on NBC-TV. It ends for lack of national advertisers
willing to sponsor a show hosted by a black man.
September 15, 1962
“Ramblin’ Rose” reaches #2, becoming Cole's highest-charting pop single. It
also hits #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #7 on the R&B chart.
February 15, 1965
Nat King Cole dies of lung cancer.
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