BALL DAY - This is a theme, not an official holiday.
Ball Quiz – How many balls can you name? Baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, soccer ball, cricket ball, billiard balls, lacrosse ball, tennis ball, golf ball, softball, ping pong balls, marbles, rubber balls, hard ball (slang), balls of fire (slang), snow balls, eye balls, ball bearing, medicine ball, bowling ball, etc. The list can go on and on with slang words or phrases that have the word ball in it.
Game Instruction Ball – Take a large child’s playing ball and write with a permanent marker short instruction on what the person is to do when they catch the ball. Ex. Sing, dance, laugh, stretch, bend, wave, tell a joke, etc. Start by tossing the ball to a resident. When the resident catches it, the instruction closest to their right hand is what they need to do before tossing the ball to another resident. I recommend setting up two lines so the residents can pass the ball with ease and all will get a turn. To make it more challenging then random tossing to keep the residents attention throughout the game, but still try to make sure all get a turn.
Nerf ball baseball – This is the same as baseball, but you use the pool noodles as the bat and they hit a Nerf ball instead of a baseball. This can be played outside or indoors in a large room.
Cooking – Peanut butter balls or snow ball cake:
Peanut butter balls: (I love making these and they freeze well too!)
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (any regular brand will do)
3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz bag of milk or dark chocolate chips
Mix peanut butter, butter and vanilla until well blended. Slowly add powdered sugar mixing a little at a time until all the sugar is mixed in making the dough a little crumbly. Form the dough into large marble size balls. You can either melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or just melt the chocolate chip in the microwave. When the chocolate is melted use a toothpick inserted in the peanut butter ball to dip it in the chocolate until it is covered. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to cool. You can freeze these too and they store for a month. If you don’t want to make the peanut butter balls as a cooking project Google for an easy Snow Ball Cake recipe.
Dance – Teach a dance line dancing that has the ball chain step in it.
Movie – Show any movie starring Lucille Ball in it. Suggestion “Yours, Mine and Ours”
BASKETBALL DAY
In honor of the inventor of basketball James Naismith’s birthday Nov 6, 1861
Listen & Learn – If you have basketball fans in your facility it won’t take much to start this discussion. If you need some help on historical data, then check out the info on-line.
Game – Have a friendly game of Nerf basketball.
Food – Bake cupcakes and let them decorate like basketballs, or decorate with icing the color of their favorite Basketball team and player number. They can enjoy the cupcakes as a treat afterwards.
Exercise – Pass the basketball, bounce it, move it side to side, just want ever they can do to get the blood circulating.
Craft – Let them decorate a plain ball cap or sweat shirt with basketball themes. You could print off some team logos from on line on transfer printer paper that they can iron on to their shirt or glue on a cap with fabric glue.
Game – Make a list of famous basketball players and let the residents match them with their team’s name.
Movie – Suggestion: The Air Up There (1994), Like Mike (2002)
EIGHT MEN OUT - BASEBALL DAY
Based on the baseball movie.
Discussion – History on the 1919 Black Sox Scandal (Ref: Wikipedia.com search Eight Men Out). Or have a list of baseball hall of famers to discuss with the residents.
Baseball game – use the Nerf ball and bat set to let residents play a friendly game of baseball. Ask staff to assist the wheel chair residents to walk the bases. You have to adjust the game a little to make it safe, so walk don’t run.
Social - Serve the all-time favorites: hot dogs boil peanuts, popcorn and cracker jacks.
Card Exchange – Purchase several packages of baseball cards and let the residents’ trade for their favorite player.
Team Match – Get a list of baseball players (old and new) and a list of the team’s name that the players played for to prepare for this game. Ask residents to match the player to the team.
Movie – Eight Men Out
Crafts – Make a picture frame and decorate with the baseball related items (cut out baseballs, bats, mitts).
Special Visit – Contact the local baseball team and ask if one of the star players could come out to meet and take pictures with the residents. After the pictures are printed give to resident to put in their picture frame.
GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES - In honor of Indy 500
Learn & Listen – Check online for information on the Indianapolis 500 aka Indy 500. Discuss the history about the celebrated race. Ask residents how many have ever attended the race in Indianapolis. Do they have a favorite race driver? Did they know women participated in the race? Has any ever driven an open wheel race car? Let them tell their stories and recall memories about races they have seen. Make sure to read some of the history of the Indy 500 race so they will be able to play some of the games later in the day.
Game – If you have a Wii race game put it in and let the race begin. If not then see if any staff or family member has a race car set to set up so residents can take turns racing. No matter how old you are everyone loves racing a model card.
Food – Divide the residents up into groups. Each group will be given a bag of the following food items: gumdrops , Oreo cookies (the minis work the best) , graham crackers, can of frosting or icing in a tube, pretzel sticks, various candys, gumdrops, sprinkles or any cake decorating candies, toothpicks, plastic knife.
Each team will be a pit crew and during this activity they will need to build and decorate their own race car. Allow them a specific amount of time to build their car. Make sure you put extra candy/cookies in the bag so the residents can snack on them while they create their racecars. Afterwards take pictures of the team with their created car to show off in the newsletter or let the staff members vote on the best decorated car. Give the winners awards or Hot Wheel cars as their prize.
Exercise – During your exercise routine play some car songs to go with the theme today. Try some of these songs to get them in racing crew shape:
“Little Old Lady From Pasadena” by Jan and Dean
“Shut Down” by The Beach Boys
“Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys
“Fun, Fun, Fun” by The Beach Boys
“Beep Beep” by The Playmates
“409” The Beach Boys
Craft – You can either get wooden car kits or model car kits for the residents to put together and paint.
Game – Gather up small toy cars (like Hot Wheels) you can find to fill an oversized plastic jar (glass might break when you drop them in, so use clear plastic). Make sure you count each one as you put them in the clear container so you will have a total count of all items in the jar. Show the filled container to the residents asking them to guess how many cars are in the jar. The resident with the closest guess to the number wins. If you want include the staff as well. Instead of toy cars you can use any object relating to cars that are small enough to fit in the jar. Example: nuts, bolts, or wheels.
Movie – Besides watching the race on TV your residents might like a good race movie. Here are some suggestions and as always preview the movie to determine if it is appropriate for your residents: American Graffiti – 1973, Cars – 2006 (my favorite), Grand Prix – 1966, Thunder Road – 1958, etc.
MARCH MADNESS
Learn & Listen – Review the history about March Madness on marchmadness.org under history and share this information with them. Ask residents what they know about basketball rules, plays or just the game in general? Talk to your residents about how March Madness got started and how it has changed over the years since it began. Ask residents if they have ever attended a regional game. Get them talking about their high school basketball teams. Did any of them play high school basketball? Ask them to name off some high school teams in your area. Did their children or grandchildren play the basketball? Ask any questions that will get them interested in the game of basketball.
Game – Basketball Slang
What on earth does that mean? Play a guessing game with residents to see is they know or can guess what the basketball slang means. Give them three answers so they can have answers to choose from.
Here some to get you started:
Rock
a) The name of a throw
b) The couch
c) The ball
Answer = c
Glass
a) Something the players drink from
b) The backboard
c) A players position
Answer = b
Board
a) The score board
b) The name of the player sitting on the bench
c) Rebound
Answer = c
Downtown
a) Ball thrown from 3 point range
b) A place the game is held
c) A dance the player does when he scores
Answer = a
Paint
a) Another name for the team colors
b) Something the fans use in support of their team
c) A free throw lane on the court
Answer = c
Air ball
a) When the ball is in the air
b) A shot attempt that misses the rim
c) A new type of basketball
Answer = b
Hops
a) The name of the basketball rim
b) A nickname for the game
c) What they call a player that can jump especially well
Answer = c
Camped out
a) A player that stays in one spot on the floor for a long period
b) Another name for a bench warmer
c) What fans do to get in line to buy tickets for the game
Answer = a
Flop
a) A play gone wrong
b) A player that goes down with little contact in order to draw an offensive foul
c) The loosing team
Answer = b
Brick
a) What it feels like when hit by a basketball
b) A type of basket ball shoe
c) A shot with terrible form which results in a miss
Answer = c
Prayer
a) What the team has before a game
b) What fans do if they made a bet
c) A shot attempt from outside the normal range of a player right before the clock runs out
Answer = c
Schooled
a) What they call a player that has excellent grades
b) A successful offensive play that makes the defensive player look bad
c) What they call teams that hang out together
Answer = b
Packed
a) A blocked shot
b) A sold out game
c) When all the players grab for the ball at the same time
Answer = a
Hack
a) When a player is mad
b) Usually an intentional foul
c) A special play to win the game
Answer = b
If you know other slang terms then add them to the list. Have fun with your residents and help them to learn about the game of basketball so they can enjoy March Madness.
Food – Doughnuts for dunkin
Make some Doughnut shaped into either balls or stick form for a “Slam dunk” food snack. You can find super easy recipes on allrecipes.com and search “Super Easy Doughnuts”. You can also use a can of sweet rolls, cut a hole in the center, fry until golden brown, let drain on paper towels and before it cools completely sprinkle confectioner or cinnamon sugar on top of doughnuts. You can also add a thin glaze made from confectioner sugar and milk. This glaze will be thin and harden after it sets up. Serve with coffee so residents can make their own “Slam dunk” to enjoy.
Exercise – Get out the balls (basketballs if you have them, if not plan balls will work just fine).
• Dribble the ball for several minutes
• With ball between their knees squeeze several time to work their legs. For those that can not work their legs have them to hold the ball on their lap and squeeze between their hands.
• If you have a basketball hoop then let the residents shoot some hoops. If not then use a hula hoop instead.
• Any ball related exercise on this day should get the residents moving.
Demonstration – Contact your local high school to see if some basketball players could come out to do a demonstration for the residents. You can also invite the cheerleaders to do a half time dance demonstration.
Craft - Let residents help make basketball cut outs from orange construction paper. Use black markers to make the lines that are typically found on a basketball. In the middle of the basketball cut out write the name of a local high school team that is participating in the March Madness games. These will be for your next activity game. If you are planning to do an entire week of March Madness then make sure to do this craft on the first day.
Game - Using the basketball cutouts made in your craft activity, pin or tape them up randomly around the facility. Just for fun have the residents to search for the team that won the game that day and the resident that finds it first has to bring it to you to collect their prize.
Do the old office style basketball game of throwing rolled up paper (use used newspapers) and see if they can get it in the wide mouth trash can. Hey, it’s quick, cheap and almost everyone has done this either at home, school, or while at work. It seems to be a favorite pass time at some point in our life.
Other ideas include:
Make up a word search game with the local teams names or if you have a Wii, play a basketball game on it.
Movie - These are some I found, but have not watched myself, so please review any movie listings to see if it is appropriate for your residents.
• The Pistol – 1990 – Rating G – starring Nick Benedict, and Boots Garland
• The Heart of the Game – 2006 – Rating PG13 – Ludacris, and Joyce Walker III
• Glory Road – 2006 – Rating PG – Josh Lucas, and Derek Luke
Instead of a movie have a March Madness game viewing since some of the games are shown on TV. Make sure to have popcorn, and other snacks for all residents to enjoy while they cheer on their favorite team.
SOAP BOX DERBY DAY
Officially held yearly in July, so dates will change each year. The official 2009 race date is the 25th; however a lot of the test run date is on the 23rd so this day is celebrated in honor of the test date.
Craft – Get all involved by making a Soap Box Derby Car out of soap boxes. Easy instructions are available online.
The Great Race – Now is the time to rally the teams for the soap box car derby with the cars the residents made during craft time. Ask the staff to help cheer on the residents on to victory in their race.
Movie – The Great Race movie 1965 is funny and worth watching.
WINTER OLYMPICS
Learn & Listen – Read about the Winter Olympic Games online to discuss with the residents. Suggested questions to ask the residents:
- Has anyone attended the games in the past and where?
- Has anyone participated in any sport that is featured in the Winter Olympic such as cross-country skiing, ice hockey, figure skating?
- How many like to watch the Winter Olympic Games?
- Which sport is their favorite?
Game – Play some air hockey or create your own version of ice hockey to let the residents participate in.
Food – Let residents make hot chocolate and marshmallows to celebrate the winter sports.
Exercise – During your exercise activity play some Olympic inspired music such as: Olympic Hymn, Chariots of Fire and other inspirational songs to encourage the residents to rev up their exercise today.
Craft – Make International flags with construction paper, or gold medals. They can wave the flags for their team while watching the games and the gold medals can given to the winner of the trivia game or scavenger hunt.
Game – Try an Olympic history trivia game creating your questions from information found online OR set up a scavenger hunt to find Olympic Gold (candy wrapped in gold foil).
Movie – Suggested movies:
Chariots of Fire (most famous movie about running)
The Cutting Edge (a romantic comedy about figure skating pair)
Cool Runnings (funny movie about the Jamaican Bobsled Team)
Miracle (about a US Hockey Team)
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CHRISTINE'S THEMES: 