There are many fun observances throughout the year that recognize animals! Be sure to add in a few animal-themed activities to your monthly activity calendars for your animal-loving residents.
- March 23 – National Puppy Day
- April 11 – National Pet Day
- July 10 – National Kitten Day
- Aug 8 – International Cat Day
- Aug 26 – National Dog Day
- Sep 17 – National Pet Bird Day
- Oct 4 – World Animal Day
- Oct 29 – National Cat Day
Here are a few animal-focused activities to consider.
Painting Animals
Supply residents with aqua paintings that only require a paintbrush and water to reveal beautiful nature images or wildlife images once the water is brushed on the paper.
Provide residents with ceramic piggy banks or puppy banks to paint in fun designs. Encourage residents to gift the finished banks to their grandchildren.
Collaborative Sticker Mosaic
This cat themed collaborative project is a great way to bring seniors together for a low-pressure, social activity. Participants work at their own pace placing color-coded stickers to build a large, eye-catching cat mosaic, supporting fine motor skills, focus, and conversation along the way. Once finished, the 40” x 36” design makes a cheerful display for common areas.
Coloring Animals
Provide residents with animal adult coloring pages to fill in with markers or colored pencils. Encourage residents to frame their finished pictures to hang in their rooms.
Jigsaw Puzzle Animals
Set out animal selfie puzzles for a fun competition for residents. For the activity, supply each participant with a different puzzle to see who can put their puzzle pieces together first!
Stuffed Animals
Assist residents with assembling stuffed animals to donate to a local children’s hospital. For the activity, simply fill the bears with the kit’s polyester stuffing before closing the opening and tying on the ribbon.
Find more ideas from Notjustbingo on the S&S blog here.
About Not Just Bingo:
Not Just Bingo is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of assisted living facilities. They have been providing fun activity ideas online since 2009, and continue to assist activity professionals across the country by creating meaningful and engaging activity ideas for their residents that go “beyond bingo.” Not Just Bingo feels privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior’s quality of life can actually improve when they move to a senior facility!
Want even more ideas each month? Visit www.notjustbingo.com for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the Notjustbingo Membership to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!
