GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY - BROADWAY MUSICAL DAY
In honor of Broadway Musicals Day – 29th
Learn & Listen – Read through the history of Broadway theatre on Wikipedia.org. Share some of the highlights during the history of Broadway with the residents. Ask if the following questions:
• Have you ever been to see a Broadway show in New York?
• What year did they attend?
• What was the name of the show?
• Do you remember who played the starring role? If they have never been to NY, have they ever seen a Broadway show performed by a local theatre group or a movie based on a Broadway show?
Get the residents geared up for a fun day based on Broadway.
Game – Broadway Musical Hits – This is a true or false game. You can either divide the residents in teams or keep score by placing each residents name on a white board when they give the correct answer. However you want to keep score or just do this as a group for a fun way to learn about the hit musicals on Broadway. Below are some questions with answers to start the game with.
• The Broadway musical “110 in the Shade” was based on the 1954 play “The Rainmaker”. (True)
• The musical “13” was based on the life of 13 year old Evan Goldman as he moves from NY City to Appleton, Indiana. His dilemma is when the move conflicts with the celebration of his Bar Mitzvah. This musical premiered in 2007 in Los Angeles and transferred to Broadway in 2008. (True)
• The musical “All Aboard” was a 1974 Broadway musical. (False, the year was 1913, not 1974 when it was on Broadway)
• The year the Broadway musical “All-American” by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams was 1962. (True)
• “Birds of Paradise” was a 1987 Off Broadway musical. (True)
• The 1942 Broadway musical “By Jupiter” music was written by Lorenz Hart and the lyrics by Richard Rodgers. (False, the music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart
• In 1960 “Camelot” the Broadway musical was filmed by Warner Brothers in 1976. (False, this musical was filmed in 1967)
• “Christine” was a Broadway musical in 1960. (True)
• “Cats” opened first on Broadway in 1981 and then in the West End in 1982. (False, is opened in the West End in 1981 and then on Broadway in 1982)
• In 1955 the book “Damn Yankees” was on Broadway as a musical. (True)
• Dr. Seuss “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was not a Broadway musical. (False, it was on Broadway in 2006)
• In the 1982 Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” a notable song is “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going”. (True)
• In 1954 Harold Rome wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical “Fanny”. (True)
• Zero Mostel was cast in 1964 as Tevye in the Broadway musical “Cat on the Roof”. (False, it as “Fiddler on the Roof”)
• The notable song “Comedy Tonight came from the 1962 Broadway musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”. (True)
• In 1939 Marvin Hamlisch wrote music for the Broadway musical “The Goodbye Girl”. (False, he wrote the music in 1993)
Food – Since Broadway is in New York, then cook up some NY food. Here is a list of easy foods that the residents can help make that Wikipedia.org notes as Cuisine Of New York City which identifies its origins with NYC: Hot dogs served with sauerkraut, sweet relish, onion sauce, ketchup and/or mustard, baked pretzels, Italian Ice, Waldorf Salad, Doughnuts, New York-style cheesecake (make the mini version so each resident can make their own to eat).
Exercise – Select your exercise music based on the Broadway musical or Songs about New York.
Creative writing/Craft – Ask the residents to think about their life and make up a title for a Broadway musical which describes their life. Have them draw, paint, or cut out pictures from magazine to paste on poster board along with the title. While they create their posters let them talk about their title and why they choose it to describe their life.
Staff/resident activity – To get your staff involved with the residents or just to have a staff activity to entertain the residents ask them to perform songs or a short skit from a Broadway musical. Their performance can be held during a family night at the facility or during a social hour while serving light refreshments.
Movie – There are so many movies that came from Broadway musicals that there are just too many to list, but here are a few of my favorites: Fiddler on the Roof, Cats, Oklahom, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, Grease, etc.
AUTUMN THEME
Writing class – Start the day reading a few poems, quotes or short stories to the residents, then ask them to write an autumn memory either in a short story, poem or just whatever comes to their mind.
Nature Walk – Take a nature walk around the facility or in a park. Let the residents collect some colorful leaves that can be used for a craft class when they get back.
Craft – Leaf press (this is a two week project) – You will two pieces of 1/4 inch plywood about 2 feet by 1 feet, heavy duty cardboard, blotter paper, newspaper, and several bricks. Take the colorful leaves the residents gathered from their nature walk and make sure they are clean and dry. Stack on table in this order one piece of plywood, cardboard, blotter paper and newspaper. Place the leaves on top of newspaper in order making sure to include a small name tag next to each leaf with residents name, date and location where the leaf was found. Add another sheet of newspaper on top of leaves followed by blotter paper, cardboard and plywood. Place the bricks on top of the last piece of plywood to keep it pressed down. The blotter paper will need to be changed every day for two weeks. This project needs to stay in a warm, dry area with good area flow. If you leave it on a table in the corner of your craft/activity room then that should be fine. Assign a high functioning resident to change blotter sheets each day. After about two weeks the leaves are ready to use to decorate note cards, or preserve them in a small picture frame with the tag so the residents will remember their nature walk. If you took pictures that day you can include a picture too and show case the leave behind as a decorative boarder.
Game - Rake the leaves - If you have trees around your facility do this game outside, if not then you can do it in your activity room. Divide your residents into teams.
• Purpose of game is to promote team work and physical activity
• Give each team a broom, trash bag, straw hat and two or three pairs of garden gloves
• Scatter leaves in a line about four yards long. It does not have to be a great deal of leaves, just enough to have a line to the finish line.
Check out these great Autumn-themed puzzles, coloring books and crafts |
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• Instruct the residents to do the following:
*Have one member of the team sweep the leaves to the finish line with the broom dividing the leaves into two or three separate piles.
*The second member will wear the straw hat and carry the trash bag to the finish line as fast as they can.
*The next member wearing a pair of gloves will go as fast as they can to collect the first pile of leaves into the trash bag that the second member is holding. Once they get their pile of leaves in the bag then the bag holder will take off the hat and wave the next member to come collect their pile of leaves in the bag. This will be repeated until all the members wearing garden gloves collect their pile of leaves.
*The first team to finish putting all their leaves in the trash bag wins.
If you have a lot of residents then reset the leaf lines and let the next set of teams play while the other cheers them on. This is more or less a relay race with props, so adjust so your residents can have fun while getting some exercise.
Social – Serve warm apple cider with/without cinnamon stick. See if any of the residents would like to read their poems or short stories to entertain everyone with their writing skills.
SCHOOL DAYS
Take pictures of the residents throughout the day so you can compile an “Activity School Daybook”. Make sure you take pictures of all the School Day activities, including the prom so you can add them to the daybook. This can be done very easy on your computer or by using a color copier machine. Organize the developed photos (take to one hour photo place) in order of the day’s activity making sure to add comments, names, dates, times and any funny quotes, poems or short stories read during the day. Once it is set up how you want it then make color copies. You can either staple or bind the pages together. If you use a digital camera then you could compile your page on a Word doc after each activity so by the end of the day it will be ready.
Discussion – Talk to the residents about their school days. What school did they go to? What was their favorite subject in school? Do they remember going shopping for school clothes or did their mother make clothes for them? What was the saddest thing they remember about school? What was the happiest thing they remember about school? Did they finish school? Did they have a graduation ceremony? Did they attend a dance or prom?
Spelling and Math game “Word Up” – Use blank index cards and write a letter of the alphabet on one side of each card, adding two extra cards with a large question mark (?) on them. Mix up all the cards face down so you cannot see the letters. Once the cards mixed well then with the letter side down and without looking at the letter side start writing numbers on the blank side. Now to play the game: Divide residents into groups. Let each group select eight cards from a box without looking. Turn the cards to the letter side and try to make a word from their letters. The cards with a question mark (?) on them can be used as any letter they may need to complete their word, but only as one letter. Set a timer giving them a set time to complete a word. When they successfully form a word they need to call out “Word Up”. Then turn the letters over and have them add up the numbers on the back to see what their score is. Each team will have a score and if they need a volunteer or staff member to help them out then they can elect to ask for their help. Try to let them get the words first on their own as a team. Once the time is up then collect all the cards in the box and play a few more rounds. The team with the highest score gets an extra special prize, but gives everyone a prize for making an effort and doing a good job.
Phy Ed 101 – Space out the residents and lead them through some basic exercises and don’t forget to stretch to warm up the muscles. You could even set up an easy obstacle course to have them walk through. Example: Walk around a small table and sit in a chair where they have to do four to five knee pull ups or try to lift their leg one, then get up and walk around a long table and then to another chair where they will have stretch bands to pull for arm movement. You get the idea, we all had to do this in gym class, just think what you did and alter it to make it do able for your residents. You may even want to tell them to wear their Tee shirts and stretch pants like they did in gym class. If you have a good budget have T-shirts made up for each resident with the facility name and under it put gym class and today’s date. They can only get a T-shirt if they sign up to do this activity. This might promote more residents to come out if they know they will get a T-shirt. If you short on budget, then make your own. There is lots of computer iron on transfer paper that is inexpensive and T-shirts are cheap at the dollar stores. If you have knitting company or T-shirt companies close by call and ask them for donations. The T-shirts may not be the same color, but they are free. Some will sell you same color shirts for a very low price, but you have to ask.
Writing and Reading – Ask the residents to write a poem or just a short story about a memory from their school days. If some have difficulty in writing, then ask a staff or volunteer to assist them. Give them a set time to finish the writing. Afterwards as each one to read what they wrote.
Geography “Map Quest” – Get a large map of the world. Ask basic questions about each country, state or oceans and see if the residents get the answers right. After each question mark off by using a pen or flag to show a question has been asked about that area and no further questions will be asked again concerning that area. When you are finished there should be a flag or X on all countries or oceans.
Science 101 – Pick a science experiment that you can do with your residents. You can Google or check out reachoutmichigan.org where you can find a great list of experiments that are easy and safe to do. On the home page click on Alphabetical List of Activities for a complete list of experiments. I suggest #22 – “Are All Liquids the Same?”, because it can be done with in a short time period. There are lots of cool ideas on here and you could try #74 – “Colorful Bouquet”, however this will have to have a follow up class to see the results, but still do able.
Prom – Yes, every school day has to end with a prom just like the school year. This is your social event for the day. Let the residents dress up, serve up the punch, turn on the music and dance! Don’t forget to take pictures to add to the Daybook.
CLASSICAL MUSIC MONTH
Listen and learn – Review information on Wikipedia on Classical Music. Ask if they have ever seen a classical music concert. If they have let them talk about their experience. How did it make them feel, what do they remember about the concert hall and did they ever want to attend another classical concert?
Stretch to classical music – Play classical music and lead the residents through some basic stretch exercises.
Feel the Music – Select some popular classical music pieces. Don’t play the entire piece, just enough to invoke feelings. Ask the residents; How does the music make you feel after listening to the musical piece? Does the music bring back a memory? Can you feel the rhyme of the music?
Dance to the classics – Ask a dance studio come and lead the group in some Ball Room dancing, like the waltz to some classical music. Encourage residents to try dancing and/or wheelchair dancing.
Cooking – Make a classic recipe of any kind. Check out retrofoodrecipes.com for some tasty recipes from 1960’s to 1970’s and from different countries. Or just make the residents favorite. It is all about classics!
Social – Have a wine tasting social complete with classical music to listen to while they enjoy the samples. You can contact a local winery or wine store to see if they will bring out wine for the residents to sample. I would also suggest serving some cheese and crackers.
Movies – There are several movies based on the famous musical composers to view.
SWAP IDEAS DAY - September 10th
This is a day to get your residents, staff and family involved, and network with other local AD’s and their residents. You will have to talk to the local AD’s in other facilities at least a month in advance to have a united afternoon activity at a local park. Maybe a simple picnic for all the residents so they can socialize and talk about activities they like at their facility. Have lots of staff and volunteers to take notes on ideas they want to do in your facility (the other AD should do the same).
Idea Exchange morning –Have a gathering of your residents, staff and family members. Ask them to suggest ideas for the following to participate in the next few months. Outline to discuss:
New activity ideas, family gathering ideas, community projects for the facility, outings ideas, social ideas, craft ideas, sing-a-long suggestions etc.
You can make this a morning social time and serve muffins with coffee or tea.
Afternoon Outing – Load up the activity van, pack the picnic and take the residents along with some staff/volunteers to the park for the Facility Picnic and Idea swap. If you want you and the other AD can take a turn at doing a simple activity like; sing-a-long or parachute volleyball. What or how you do the outing with the other facility is up to you and the other AD. This will allow your residents to socialize with other residents they don’t see every day. It can also help promote communication with another facility that you can partner with to have joint activities several times during the year. Have fun and most important swap ideas!
Swap places with another AD for one day. You go to their place to do the activities and they come to yours. You will have to discuss this idea with the facility director, but it might be fun to have a change of scenery and the residents might like a change of pace for a day.
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CHRISTINE'S THEMES: 