JUNENational Candy Month Have a heavy sweet tooth? Well you’re in luck; June is National Candy Month so you have an excuse to celebrate your favorite sweets with your residents! Our residents have a lot of good memories that involve candy. This may sound silly, but stop for a moment and think about it! When they were growing up, there was penny candy and they would spend a good half an hour in the store making their selections very carefully. Take advantage of this fun candy month and organize activities that bring back fond memories for your residents!

Some SWEET Ideas:

Fill a treasure box with candy, hide it and have a treasure hunt

Leave fun scavenger hunt clues around the community along with pieces of candy along the way

Set up a candy taste testing event at home with various different candies from a specialty store and let the kids try a small amount of each. You could even vote on favorites.

Buy a few different candies from your local bulk store and have the residents decorate cupcakes or a bowl of ice cream with the candy

Try a blindfolded candy testing game where children have to guess what the candy is just by tasting it – be sure to have some fun sour options as well!

National Fresh Fruits & Vegetables MonthJune is also fresh fruits and vegetable month! Isn’t that ironic? To balance out the health of your community, make sure to celebrate the importance of a healthy diet with fresh fruits and veggies!

Visit a Farmer’s Market- have resident’s be on the lookout for a certain colored new fruit or veggie to try or make a scavenger hunt to find a rainbow of produce.

Make Fruit Wands- Stack a variety of cut up fruits on a kabob stick and top with a slice of star fruit for a magical and tasty treat.

Plant a Veggie Garden- Planting vegetables can be a great way to increase your resident’s interest in trying new, healthy foods. Take a look at some of our tips here for getting started.

Father's Day is a celebration of fathers inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting. Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd, who was born in Arkansas. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there. After hearing a sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them

Father’s Day—June 16th

TIE COOKIESPreheat oven to 350 degrees6 cups flour3 tsp. baking powder2 cups butter2 cups sugar2 eggs2 tsp. vanilla extract1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to butter mixture.Mix well.Roll to desired thickness* and cut into tie shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or just until beginning to turn brown around the edges.

Icing Recipe (makes about 3 cups)3 3/4 cups sifted ( I rarely do) confectioners(powdered) sugar3 T meringue powder(I buy at Michael's)6 T warm waterBeat 4-5 minutes, until smooth

Father’s Day Family Barbeque

Invite family, friends, and staff for a special Father’s Day barbeque to celebrate the male residents! Work with your Chef to develop a BBQ menu for all the guests! Hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, lemonade are great options. Have fun and organize some family friendly games like corn hole or horse shoes! This is a great opportunity to get outside and enjoy the June summer weather!

Men’s Health Month The purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. This month gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury. The response has been overwhelming with thousands of awareness activities in the USA and around the globe.

Plan a “Wear Blue Day” to help spread the knowledge of Men’s Health Month. Wear BLUE was created by Men’s Health Network to raise awareness about men’s health issues. There is an ongoing, increasing and predominantly silent crisis in the health and well-being of men. Due to a lack of awareness, poor health education, and culturally induced behavior patterns in their work and personal lives, men's health and well-being are deteriorating steadily. A Wear BLUE event can educate men, women, and their families of the need to raise awareness of this silent crisis in men’s health.

Flag Day (U.S)—June 14th

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

Flag Day Fun Facts to Share with Your Residents

1. To the original members of the Continental Congress, red stood for hardiness and courage, white for purity and blue for vigilance and justice.

2. 13 stripes represented the 13 American colonies which rallied around the new flag in their fight against the British for self-governance

3. The 13 colonies included Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

How to Celebrate!

Wave the flag at the facility entrance, apartment balconies, windows, and hand out small flags throughout the facility or attend a local Flag Day parade!

Hold an open house or backyard barbeque and decorate the area in red white and blue. A Flag Day menu might include lots of American favorites like hot dogs and hamburgers!

Play patriotic music! Do the pledge of allegiance in the

morning before breakfast or at your first activity of the day.

Invite staff and residents to wear red white and blue!

Ice Cream Soda Day—June 2oth

It’s National Ice Cream Soda Day! Take the time to enjoy this frothy drink, comprised of a few scoops of ice cream in any carbonated beverage. It’s the perfect thing to cool you off on this June day.

Ice cream sodas were invented by Robert Green in 1874 during Philadelphia's sesquicentennial celebration. Legend has it that Mr. Green added vanilla ice cream to the soda he sold after he ran out of ice (though Mr. Green claims he had dreamt up the innovation prior to the event). Intentional or not, it was a delicious way to keep the sodas cold, and they were an instant hit. Green was so proud of his creation that he even had the phrase “Originator of the Ice Cream Soda” engraved on his tombstone!

It’s National Ice Cream Soda Day! Take the time to enjoy this frothy drink, comprised of a few scoops of ice cream in any carbonated beverage. It’s the perfect thing to cool you off on this June day.

Ice cream sodas were invented by Robert Green in 1874 during Philadelphia's sesquicentennial celebration. Legend has it that Mr. Green added vanilla ice cream to the soda he sold after he ran out of ice (though Mr. Green claims he had dreamt up the innovation prior to the event). Intentional or not, it was a delicious way to keep the sodas cold, and they were an instant hit. Green was so proud of his creation that he even had the phrase “Originator of the Ice Cream Soda” engraved on his tombstone!

National Aboriginal Day (Canada)—June 21st

Tools and Materials

Assorted baking pastel baking cups and mini pastel baking cups, wilton.comGrease-proof baking cups, vikingimporting.comHand-drawn circle templateScrew punchBendable straws, ikea.comGreen glassine sheets, nycentralart.com.Double-sided tape

1. Fold 1 baking cup in half, then again, and then a third time. Use circle template and a pencil to mark

June Fun Floral Straw’s Craft

With BBQ season in full force, spice things up with fun straws for your residents! These summertime straws go perfectly with fresh lemonade and give the residents a fun activity for the day! Give this craft a try—June is the perfect month to do it!

Perfect Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)

1 cup water (for the simple syrup)

1 cup lemon juice

3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

METHOD

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan