Senior+Care+Reflections

=Senior Care Reflections= toc

**November 4, 2009**
The kids were in good spirits today; maybe the beautiful Fall weather added something to our walk. I am not sure what it was, but I was very pleased that everyone walked with a sense of purpose and arrived within a few minutes of each other. Today was Board Games, no, not our usual Bingo. Today we had Chess, Checkers, Sorry, Scrabble, Poker, and Uno.
 * Michael**
 * November 4, 2009**
 * Daniel and Lindsay played Poker.
 * I enjoyed playing Poker with two seniors and Dan. We had to teach the seniors how to play but after that I know that one of them got the hang of it. The other one was just lucky since we all would fold or he just had a good hand. I wouldn't mind doing this again.
 * Gabe, Michel, and Heather played Uno with 1 Senior.
 * Diego rotated between Chess and Checkers with 3 Seniors. For chess none of the seniors knew how to play so had to switch to checkers, and then played a few games of checkers.
 * Bobby played Scrabble with 3 Seniors. He had the most challenging game!
 * Megan played Sorry with 2 Seniors.
 * I had a very good time playing sorry with the Seniors. Even though i didn't win it was still a blast just being able to make them laugh and seeing them smile. It brought back some soom good memories about when i would play sorry with my great grandma. I miss her very much. But i got to remember how good it felt playing with her through the nice ladies that I got the chnace to play with them. I hope that I will be able to do so again sometime this year.
 * Jessie: I played Sorry! with 2 other seniors one was blind and the other was hard of hearing. I had to teach them how to play and what the rules were because they had never played it before. I made a few changes to the rules because the deck was missing some cards. We talked about what it was like growing up and I learned a lot about how easy I have it now a days. We laughed and joked but it was a hard thing for me to do because to me seniors are hard to understand. The things that I compared about my childhood to their childhood, in my head, were very different yet a lot alike. But, all in all it was a change of pace and I got to know the seniors who I played with better.

All in all, it was a wonderful day of Community Service. ** =Singing Carols, 12/2/09= Lindsay It was annoying that we were singing Christmas songs. It was too early for them and I stuck rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. Also half the Seniors weren't even singing or doing anything. It was completely unorganized, plus I hate singing.

I played along to a few songs, but I refused to play along to any Christmas or Hannukah songs.
 * Daniel**

I dont think that singing carols was a good idea. The reason is because we did not sound very good and where very off beat. I think that if we were to sing carols again we should read threw the songs before we got to senior care. The seniors also did not know the songs so it did not sound very good. The reason I think this is because I dont think that the Senior's enjoyed our singing and many of the Seniors did not participate in the singing. It almost seemed as if we where forcing them to participate in the activity.**
 * Gabe

For the carols they set out a snare and two stick. The two sticks had yarn wrapped around the tips so that they would make less noise as to not bother the elderly, but in the end the snare drowned out all the other instruments around it so I stopped playing it. They also had a piano, guitar, and other small instruments that the seniors could play.
 * Diego**

It was a bad a idea to sing carols that day. Everyone was just making a lot of noise. Even though the singing was bad it was a good exercise for the elderly. They were dancing,singing and interacting with others. If I was to do it differently I would have them sing songs that they know and was interesting to to them,songs they grew up to**.** It was a fun experience.
 * Michel**


 * Heather**

I am happy that I had the opportunity not only to sing holiday songs, but to play them on the piano too! Even with little notice, I think me and David did a good job playing songs that some of which we never heard of.
 * Eli**

Eli and I played piano accompaniment for a large number of Christmas carols with the seniors. It could have gone better. The chord sheets for the songs were rather sloppily written, making it more of a challenge to accompany. Although everyone sang in their own key and there were people randomly beating on drums, it was still a fun experience. Eli suggested we play some Jewish songs to cater to the neglected Semitic seniors. After our thoughtful addition, we were told that there were no Jewish seniors at the center. Oh well. *shrug*
 * David**

working on an art project was hard. jessie and I had to come up with some thing on the top of our heads in like five seconds. But we did it and it was fun. We made a Christmas trees and painted them. it was fun using glitter and glitter glue. The glitter glue was the hardest thing to use. the glitter in the glue was always getting stuck but somehow we managed to get to work again.
 * Megan

Jessie** Megan and I worked with a few seniors and painted Christmas trees on construction paper. I decided to do something with paint because I love paint. Megan decided we should do something for the holidays. I went and got Mary, she works with us on arts and crafts to do with the seniors, and she approved our idea. I sketched out a stencil of a evergreen tree and cut it out. I cut the pieces of red and green construction paper in half and traced it on to the paper. Then we told the seniors to paint the trees on the green paper red and paint the trees on the red paper green. Then after they finished painting them Mary put silver Christmas balls on the ends and I put gold Christmas stars on top of the tree. The seniors seemed to like painting! =General Observations= I noticed that nearly all of the seniors at the senior care are senile and/or have altzeimers. They seem to learn slowly, forget where they are, and often follow us around. I feel pretty bad for these people, because they used to be young and vigorous. Now they are excited when we play one of their favorite songs from long ago. It is pretty bad that they are able to be entertained by bingo once a week, but I guess it could be good to be entertained easily though. I really like that we are doing some other things than bingo now, so it is more entertaining for both us and the seniors. well it is always fun hanging out with the senors. I have a good time making them laugh and playing different games. There is always a new game to learn how to play that i would want to teach my friends and family. listening to the music being played is also a joy. it makes me feel like my back with my great grandmother. who I lost six years ago during Christmas. I miss her very much and it makes me feel good being with people who are around the same age as her and being able to talk to them. overall I have a good time. Most of the time at senior care there are a few seniors that are actually into the activity and participating, but most of them are just in their own world doing mostly what they feel like. It's always surprising how serous the seniors get about bingo. Many of the seniors can be energetic one week and then the next week they are falling asleep. Also, it seems that one week the will remember you but the next week they have no idea who we are. When Megan and I do crafts and games with them, some of them are energetic about playing and some do not want to sit still and play. We seem to always have to have a prize or some candy to motivate the seniors to play and finish the game. Many times we will play The Penny Ante, where there are cards and if what the card says applies to you you get a penny and whoever has the most pennies at the end you get a quarter for every penny. We play other games like giant dominoes and card games. At the end of the day I feel like I have done something to help someone. =Suggestions=
 * Daniel**
 * Megan**
 * Diego**
 * Jessie**


 * A suggestion for something to do with the seniors is to watch movies that they would find interesting. Some movies to watch would be Forest Gump, Casablanca, 12 Angry Men, Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful Life, Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.

Reflections from January 20, 2010
**Heather:** I like when I come here and some of the elderly recognize me and say hello. It makes me feel I am doing something good if they remember who I am each week. I really enjoy doing bowling with them.

I thought it was fun helping elder people. I enjoy playing bingo with them. It’s hard to think of things to talk about with them.
 * Bobby:**

It is very nice to come here. When I come here I laugh with seniors and they share stories with me. I like coming here because I have fun and I am not interacting with people who are in my age group, which is different for me. This is a good experience that I will always remember.
 * Michel:**


 * Jessie:

Megan:** I had a good time bowling today. I got to be very helpful. I would have to say that I was a little scared that the seniors would fall and hurt themselves. But everything went well. It was a great learning experience. After all patient is a virtue.

When I come here I think a lot about my grandmother. I feel like when I come to senior care ever Wednesday I am doing something good for not only the people who go there but also the seniors families. I think that there should be more activities that we should have to interact with the seniors.
 * Gabe:**

It’s always nice to come to the senior home and the passion for bingo is unparalleled. The crafts we make here are always appreciated by the seniors and are always seasonal. It always feels good to give back to the community.
 * Diego:**

It is very enjoyable to come to senior care. The seniors have come to remember the music that we improvise, and it feels good to brighten one’s day.
 * Eli:**

It is very rewarding to visit the senior center on a regular basis. After a few visits, some of them were able to recognize me. I have gotten to know each of their personalities and memorized all the different brands of bingo chips.
 * David:**

Senior care is okay, I don’t like walking here. I’m really indifferent about. They don’t talk much and it can be hard to talk to some of them.
 * Lindsay:**

Senior care is pretty boring for me. I could lie and tell you that it is extremely meaningful and fun for me, but it’s not. I do my best to pretend that I enjoy the company of the seniors so they can be happier, but I only do that out of respect for them, not because I actually enjoy their company.
 * Daniel:**

= = = **Reflections for February 3, 2010** =

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. The fashion show was pretty bizarre. I walked a few of the seniors down the runway, and it was kind of uncomfortable, especially describing their clothing. Some of the seniors got really into the fashion show, and I was surprised how many seniors participated in it.
 * Daniel

** a. The clay art was pretty fun. I made a few things for some seniors, and I think that they really appreciated my efforts. I don’t like arts and crafts, because I don’t want them for myself, but when I have someone to make them for, it definitely motivates me to make a good product. I made a football, a star, a coffee-cup with a flower on it, a plate with a butterfly on it, and 2 hearts.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** **
 * Lindsey (absent)
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. I think that the fashion show was a great activity. It was long and everyone had fun. I think that the reason it worked so well is because the music that they played was enjoyable for both student and seniors. Unlike some of the activities it lasted the entire time and even as we were leaving they were still walking down the runway, laughing, and having a good time.
 * Gabe

** a. I think that this was a good activity the only thing is that the arts and crafts activities don’t last the entire time because both students and seniors get tired of the activity.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. The seniors loved the fashion show and you would be surprised about how much some of the seniors moved. For the show we walked a senior down the “runway” and they showed off what they were wearing at the time. It then turned into a dance party starring anyone.
 * Diego

** a. The seniors got into the clay and made some very artistic things. Such as pots with flowers on it. For my table I made a cup with a flower coming out of it.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. I was absent last week.
 * Michel

** a. It was kind of boring. The seniors did not seem too into this project. We need more interesting projects for them to do, like the fashion show.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** **
 * Heather
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** **
 * Megan
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. I thought that the fashion show was an eye opening expierience. We got to see them have fun and see the eldery strut their stuff. Some of them can really do that while some have trouble walking the distance. We announced their name and told everyone what they were wearing.
 * Jessie

** a. I had a lot of fun working with the clay. I got to see what the elderly made and see a lot of creativity and ingenuity.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** Today was the senior fashion show. I was a little apprehensive at first, but once things got started, it became interesting watching elderly show off their wares, and even tried to dance. Although I didn’t want to do it, it took very little time and from watching everyone’s responses, this was a very encouraging day for the elderly. ** a. While everyone else (except for David) was making clay figurines, I was improvising on the piano. It was a rewarding experience.
 * Eli
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

1.** ** Fashion Show ** a. I pushed senior in wheel chairs down an aisle in time with rap music. It was strenuous at first because the wheel chair to my first senior had jammed wheels, and it was very heavy.
 * David

** a. I played piano while sitting on a bench. It was comfortable.
 * 2.** ** Clay art time

=Reflections from March 3, 2010= //We took an in-school day due to the inclement weather, and we watched videos related to aging, sleep, eating, and the brain.//

Aging I think that aging can be fun and long lived depending on how you treat your body during your life. But according to this new research people can get people to live longer according to changing just one or two genes. These genes are activated in two major ways. One way is to eat less calories but the other is to drink more red wine. ~Jessie Kottmeyer

Of Mice and Memory There is research being done using mice. They put a mouse in murky water and the mice had to find a platform. They could be trained to find the platform with time. But if their brains were messed with the could not find the platform and had to be rescued. But if the mice that were messed with were in a mouse "disney land" they could find the platform than they could before. ~Jessie Kottmeyer

A mind for music A man went under a cat scan while listening to Bach and Beethoven. During the first scan he could tell the difference between the two and said he liked the Bach and his brain reflected this. But during the second scan he could not tell the difference between the two but his brain could. ~Jessie Kottmeyer

Stem Cells Breakthrough Thee are researchers who have found a way to cure sickle cell anemia by just using your own skin cells. This shows that we can even cure things that were thought to be uncurable. ~Jessie Kottmeyer

Mice Gabriel Osorio-Soto I think that the experiments that scientist are doing with mice is very interesting. The reason I think this is because memory loss is a very sad thing that effects many elderly people. The use of drugs to bring back memories is something that I think I would buy and something that could change the way people think of brain health.

Aging Lindsay Mergner I don't want to get old. I don't like the idea of losing my memory and not being able to move as well. so i don't want pills that will make me live longer.

Aging, Mice, and Music on the Brain, and picky eaters, stem cells Daniel Sloane I hope I can live to be a very old age. I am Azkenazi, so I hope that may help me grow old, healthily, as the show implied. I hope I can keep my memory at old age, and having fun should help me do just that. I try to have fun a lot. I love heavy metal, and some of it is very powerful for me. For instance, Agalloch makes me have a chilling emotional response, which feels very good. Other music just sounds good to me, and less emotional for me. I dislike brocolli, but I don't hate it. Stem cells are cool, and it's immoral to not allow testing to be done with them.


 * Aging, Mice, Music on the Brain**

I thought that all three movies were very fasinating. to know that they are working on medicain that will be able for us to live longer or for our memory to be stronger is pretty unbelivable. Also that our brain know what kinds of music that we like and dislike even when we really can't figure it out ourselves. ~Megan Schmon


 * Aging, Mice and Memory, Music on the Brain**

These videos were very interesting because I never knew that genes had so much effect on how much a person lives. Probably medicine is going to be developed for purpose of extending lifespan in my lifetime, so it's pretty exciting. Also, I forget things easily, so I am probably going to spend more time with people now. ~Eli Halpern