National Assisted Living Week
The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) established National Assisted Living Week in 1995. This week “provides a unique opportunity for residents, their loved ones, staff, volunteers, and the surrounding communities to recognize the role of assisted living in caring for America’s seniors and individuals with disabilities.”
This annual observance has two goals: to encourage communities to celebrate their staff and residents with various activities and events and to educate the public about this form of long term care.
Celebrating Assisted Living Week 2024
Assisted Living Week 2024 begins on September 8th and ends on September 14th. Each year the NCAL gives us a theme. This year’s theme is “Inspiring Generations”.
Since wellness is at the forefront of our planning at Activity Alchemy, here are some activities you could do focused around the domains of wellness.
September 8th, Social Domain - The Generational Gauntlet
National Assisted Living Week’s first day is also National Grandparents Day! So lets invite the families in for the day. They will compete against each other to win the Generational Gauntlet (and bragging rights) by playing different games throughout the day.
Some of our favorite suggestions:
Charades: Teams take turns acting out words or phrases without speaking while the other team guesses. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of items to find around the house or yard. Each grandparent-grandchild team must work together to find all the items first.
Mine Field: One person gets blindfolded and has to maneuver through an obstacle course of soft items like pillows, bean bag chairs or scarves hanging from the ceiling. They do this by following the verbal directions of their teammates. For each bump into the obstacle course the team gets a point. The team with the lowest number of points wins.
Pictionary: One member of the team pulls a prompt out of a hat and tries to draw it. Their teammates have to guess the prompt within the time limit and without verbal clues.
Relay Race: This one is really up to you. Relay races do not have to be all about running. Sure, one part could be, but you could also make a part of the relay a pair matching game, or a bean bag toss or any other challenge you think your participants might enjoy.
The winning team for each game gets five points, second place gets three and third place gets one point. At the end of the day the team with the most points wins the Gauntlet!
September 9th, Physical Domain - Music and Dance Through History
We love music! It is an important part of our individual and generational identity, so what better way to celebrate the week’s theme physically than with a dance party?
Start by providing a brief presentation on the history of music and dance, highlighting key periods and styles (e.g., Classical, Jazz, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hip Hop). Make sure to use visuals and videos to illustrate the different styles and their cultural contexts. Encourage members of the group to share their experiences with the different dances. If they are willing have them teach others the steps! Otherwise you can find video tutorials on Youtube and have everyone follow along.
September 10th, Intellectual Domain - Timeless Trivia
Time for some trivia! The topics are completely up to you but in keeping with the “Inspiring Generations” theme we suggest topics like significant historical events, influential figures in science, politics, art, etc., or even general knowledge from the different decades. Trivia Nerd has lots of topics to choose from and its free to use!
September 11th, Spiritual Domain - Passing Down Wisdom
Ask everyone “If you could give a younger you one piece of advice what would you say?” Hold a sharing circle where your participants share and discuss their answers. Next, have them write their advice on a whiteboard and take a video of them holding it up for the camera. If they are willing you could even have them explain why they chose that particular piece of advice. Now their advice is saved in video to be passed down for even more generations.
As a twist: instead of asking what advice they’d give to their younger self have them give advice to the younger generations (specifically their grandkids). Separately, have the grandkids try to guess what their grandparent will say and why.
September 12th, Emotional Domain - National School Picture Day
Today’s activity is a simple one that focuses on the emotional domain of wellness- reminiscing.
What you need
Old school photos of participants (if available) or stock school photos
Blank photo frames
Journals or notebooks
Photocopier
Discuss the importance of School Picture Day and its emotional impact, memories, and significance in documenting growth and milestones. Invite participants to share their own school pictures or describe them if they don’t have physical copies. Encourage them to share stories associated with those pictures, focusing on emotions and experiences during that time. Highlight the commonalities and differences across generations.
After everyone has shared their stories, invite the participants to write about their feelings related to their school picture, focusing on how it represents a moment in time and what they have learned since then. Make a gallery wall of the school pictures with the journal entries and allow everyone to walk around and read others’ stories, creating an atmosphere of shared experiences and inspiration. You can even recreate their school pictures and display them side by side.
September 13th, Vocational Domain - Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day
One thing that most grandparents and grandchildren have in common is the love of sweet things. Provide your group with sugar cookies, frosting and sprinkles and let their creativity run loose while they decorate and chat.
September 14th, Social Domain - Our Favorites Party
Okay, we had to bring the social domain back to finish off the week. And what better way to do that than a party!
Ask your attendees ahead of time for their favorite recipes/ foods from when they were children, or which holds a significant memory. This could be a favorite candy bar, or a dish that their grandmother only made for special occasions. Provide these dishes at the party with a small description card next to each one. Or the party a pot luck and have the attendees bring the food themselves!
Bonus: Staff Activity
Recognize the staff that help make your community what it is. Have the staff write one piece of wisdom on a piece of paper and put it in a hat. At the end of the week host a raffle and the pieces of wisdom that are drawn get prizes! A note: it is always nice to have something for everyone, so for those who did not win the bigger items make sure to have a small prize, such as a bag of candy, so that they still feel appreciated.
For more ideas check our our friend Shelly’s post over at Life In Color! She has great ideas for National Assisted Living Week themed around inspiring famous people from different generations!
