4 Activities to Celebrate Earth Day with your Senior Loved One
4 Activities to Celebrate Earth Day with your Senior Loved One
This year, Earth Day is Saturday, April 22. Since 1970 it is a day on which many people around the world will show support for environmental protection. There are events in many communities on that day and throughout the week. Unfortunately, many seniors are unable to get to these events; they may not have transportation or physically cannot participate. But that that does not mean they can’t be involved in their own way!
Here are 4 activities you can do with your senior loved one this week to help them celebrate Earth Day:
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Our Members help plant our garden in the spring and enjoy the fruits of their labor throughout the summer!
Plant a garden. Who doesn’t love fresh-picked produce?! Think herb garden, or maybe a couple tomato plants. An herb garden would be perfect for indoors and could easily be transplanted outside next month. If you are handy, you could build a small, raised planter box where your loved one could comfortably sit or stand to help plant the garden. Not only are the herbs and vegetables good for them, they will appreciate being involved. Farm to table would be about 10 feet. It doesn’t get any more ‘local’ than that!
- Recycle. Think about all the items in your own home that you haven’t used in years. Now think about all the things in your parents’ home that they haven’t used for decades! Why wait for something to happen to them before you go through some of these items with them? At that point, the process will be a lot more stressful because you will have suffered a loss and some things might wind up in the garbage instead of being donated or sold.
Don’t try to tackle the whole house at once; it can be too overwhelming. Pick a closet, drawer or corner of a basement and go through these things with them a little at a time. Give them the chance to tell a story about the item, if there is one. Then determine if the item should be given to someone in the family, donated or sold. If there are old family photos, see if your loved one remembers who is in the picture, when it was taken or the reason for it. Save that information somewhere and scan the picture(s) so they are safe digitally.
- Plant a tree. This might not be something your senior loved ones can do themselves, but they can still be involved. Find out what their favorite tree is (hopefully something that grows well in your zone). If they still live in their own home, find a spot to plant a tree, even a little one, where they can see it. Maybe they could help water it from time to time. They can take pride in seeing something grow and live on for a long time, knowing that they were involved with its growth. If they live in a community where you cannot do this, maybe you can plant their tree by your house. When they come over to see you, point out the tree they that picked out – their ‘favorite’ tree.
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Spring flowers are in bloom!
Take a walk. Especially this spring, the trees and flowers are in full bloom and the weather has been warm. Get your loved one outdoors to enjoy the beautiful scenery. If they can only go a short distance, walk down their street to see the tulips and daffodils that are in front of their neighbors’ houses. If they can go walk farther, check out the beautiful scenery in your town or neighboring towns.
Plant a tree. This might not be something your senior loved ones can do themselves, but they can still be involved. Find out what their favorite tree is (hopefully something that grows well in your zone). If they still live in their own home, find a spot to plant a tree, even a little one, where they can see it. Maybe they could help water it from time to time. They can take pride in seeing something grow and live on for a long time, knowing that they were involved with its growth. If they live in a community where you cannot do this, maybe you can plant their tree by your house. When they come over to see you, point out the tree they that picked out – their ‘favorite’ tree.In the Naperville area, the flowers and trees along the Riverwalk and in the Morton Arboretum are in full bloom. There are plenty of trails, parks and preserves in the area to walk and enjoy the sights.
The last 2 years we have had our own raised garden where our Members help to plant, water, pick and eat the wonderful vegetables we grow. We are looking forward to having that garden again! Our farm to table distance is only about 20 feet!
When they are not gardening, our Members socialize, verbalize, improvise, evangelize, visualize, exercise, have fun, and a host of other activities to provide mental and physical stimulation.
Call to action: to learn more about how NSC can provide a respite for you and a great social environment for your loved one, contact us at 630.857.3017. You can also schedule a tour to see what we have to offer and understand the Naperville Senior Center experience, “Home Away From Home.”
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Tour our adult day services facility.
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Learn more about Naperville Senior Citizen services and upcoming events.
April 7 is World Health Day. The theme for World Health Day 2017 is Depression: Let’s Talk. Although depression is not a normal part of aging, it can be common among older adults. Even though the CDC estimates that approximately 7 million seniors in America suffer some type of depression each year, most seniors are happy with their lives.
Other symptoms of depression include:
Invite your loved one out. Take them out for a meal, a visit to a park, or to your house to see the grandkids. Get them out of their home where they are alone and into another environment where they can interact with other people.
Bring them to Naperville Senior Center. At NSC, we provide the social interaction that seniors need. From gaming to exercising to singing and dancing, we let our Members express themselves throughout the day. We also provide a hot, healthy noon-time meal.
Our charter Member, Charlene, started with us the week after we opened and she still brightens our day and provides us with lots of laughs with every visit.
In June 2016 we hosted our second annual mini Walk for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society, and raised $4,590 to fight cancer. We want to be sure our Members continue to exercise, even if it is small steps, and being able to do it for an important cause was great motivation. Some of our Members’ families even joined in on the fun!
We provided fun activities for our Members including pet therapy, dressing up on 
Talk Like a Pirate Day, and having children come by before Halloween for a costume parade and to get treats and play games with our Members.
throughout the year including a bagpipe concert on Bagpiper Appreciation Day, DJ Karl Knutson singing standards, and Christmas concerts from the Young Naperville Singers and The Samuel Edgar Band.
We have hosted several Continuing Education (CEU) Workshops after hours for nurses, therapists and social workers. We are happy to provide this amazing venue for the community when they need to come together to gather and learn. If you know of a group who needs a meeting or socializing space, let them know about Naperville Senior Center!
Along with our friends at Aurora Business United, we hosted a Business After Hours event with the Lisle Chamber of Commerce in August. We had a fantastic turnout; thank you to everyone who came to network, socialize and check out our facility.
Go to Midnight Mass. There’s something about the midnight Mass that is special. It’s dark and the lights in the church are shimmering. Many times there will be a special choir singing classic Christmas songs where everyone can join in and some special ones like the Hallelujah Chorus. When done well, you can get chills down your spine! Did you know that the tradition of the Midnight Mass began as far back as the early 400’s? Centuries ago, Midnight Mass might last for hours, to the point where church goers would have an early morning feast following the Mass! At our church, the Midnight Mass is at 10:00 pm.
Continue (or start) a family tradition. Every Christmas, the Coopers, and any overnight guests, settle into the family room, crank up the blaze in the fireplace and watch the Christmas movie, “Die Hard.” Hans and his merry band of misfits once again will be thwarted by Officer John McClain. Throughout the movie, someone will say the next line before the actor and all will crack up. “Shoot the glass.” “This is Agent Johnson. No, the other one.” “Glass? You got beat-up on National TV and you’re worried about glass?” “We’re going to need some more FBI guys.”
These caregivers help their loved ones maintain a decent quality of life, without having to go to a nursing home or other facility. But the strain on caregivers can be great. According to AARP, the ‘typical’ caregiver is a middle-aged female who is married (or living with a partner) and works outside the home. It is likely that this caregiver also has children. So she is caring for her parents or other loved one, her spouse, her children and maintaining a job. That is a lot to ask of anyone!
Caregivers should not feel guilty leaving their loved ones at Naperville Senior Center. We truly are their “home away from home.” Our Members can socialize and make new friends, overcome obstacles, walk longer distances, improve hand eye coordination, increase muscle strength, increase endurance, and improve their quality of life!