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Earlier this week I shared ideas for activities to do with your residents to celebrate a grown-up version of Teddy Picnic Day. Now let’s look at another little-known national holiday I know your residents will enjoy: Moon Day on July 20.
Reminisce
Ask your residents what they remember about the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969. I’m sure you’ll hear some marvelous stories!
You can also watch this video from NASA of the actual moon landing. (Some of the footage is quite fuzzy, but that was the best technology available at the time.)
Enjoy a meal
Treat your residents to an astronaut’s lunch. According to the Smithsonian website, the first meal eaten on the moon consisted of bacon squares, peaches, sugar cookie cubes, juice, and coffee.
Read a book
Do you have a childcare center at your nursing home? Invite the kids to join your residents and enjoy a few of our favorite moon-themed books:
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin
I Took The Moon For A Walk by Carolyn Curtis
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Host a guest speaker
Invite someone from an astronomy club, planetarium, or the space science department of a university to talk with your residents about the moon. To locate an astronomy club near you, simply enter your zip code on the Night Sky Network website.
Better yet, see if someone can bring a telescope to your nursing home so the residents can get a close-up view of the moon. I recently learned that many public libraries allow you to check out a telescope for a week!
Share moon trivia
Did you know that the temperature on the moon can reach 243℉ at midday and tumble to -261℉ at night? You’ll find a lot more fun moon facts at the alltrivia website.
Sing a song
There’s an amazing array of songs with references to the moon. These are just a few that your residents will probably remember, as well as the performers who made them famous.
You can play these songs for your residents, or better yet, invite a musician to come in and present an entire concert of songs about the moon.
Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra)
Moon River (Andy Williams)
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (Doris Day)
Here Comes The Moon (George Harrison)
Blue Moon (Elvis Presley)
Moonshadow (Cat Stevens)
Dancing In The Moonlight (King Harvest)
Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
Song About The Moon (Paul Simon)
What other ideas do you have for celebrating Moon Day? Please share in the comment section!
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