Happy February from all of us at The Gardens! We will try to stay warm and busy, with some fun activities that we have planned this month. Hopefully before we know it, warm weather will be amongst us!
This month we will be Traveling the Underground Railroad celebrating Black History month and will reminiscence about this important time in American history. To celebrate Groundhogs Day, we will discuss, Well-Grounded, the story of how Groundhogs day came to be, and trivia. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we will make conversational door decor, discuss ‘do opposites attract’, make crinkled heart art, decorate valentine’s cards, discuss love lines and Italian poetry, remembering love songs, and we will craft a pom pom bouquet. We will read a short story, Last Flower in Toronto, have you ever forgot to get a Valentines Day gift? It is Bird Feeding Month, many of the residents love to feed and watch the birds. We will make our own DIY bird feeders. In celebration of the Chinese New Year, we will make scratch off fortune cards. This President’s Day we will celebrate with exercise and learn about the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. We will celebrate Mardi Gras with this fun, finish-the-line game, Fat Tuesday Fill-In.
We cannot forget Random Acts of Kindness Week! “Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.” It is easy to feel down when you are going through something that is difficult whether that is a change in health or bad news. Everyone copes with challenges differently, but you never know what a small gesture or simply listening could mean to another person. I challenge you this month to try to take the time to listen to one another and lift each other up with your words. We all need a little more kindness in our lives and why not start by helping someone else see the light in theirs. Wow, did you know there was so much to celebrate in the month of February?
Ashley Gerlach, Recreation Program Director