April is the fourth month of the year. By now, spring has finally sprung, and if we’re lucky, the weather will reflect that!
April is Stress Awareness Month. According to the official website, “Stress Awareness Month is a national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.”
You can spring into action with our list of 12 things to add to your April 2022 activity calendars for your residents!
April 1: Yoga for Daily Life Movement
This is no joke – Yoga for Daily Life Movement is here to stay! Join Gina every Wednesday and Friday afternoon for a gentle yoga flow.
This traditional yoga class will lead your residents through diverse movements that focus on a specific part of the body. This is a refreshing practice that gently warms up your body through breath work and stretching. It can be done seated or on the mat.
Click HERE to sign up for Yoga for Daily Life Movement!
April 3: Celebrate National Find a Rainbow Day
Rainbows have always felt somewhat magical. After all, they are beautiful and a little mysterious. For centuries, people of all ages have been in awe of this scientific optical illusion, and some people even consider them to be a symbol of luck. Back in 1304, a German monk discovered the scientific reason for how rainbows form.
Naturally-occurring rainbows require the right conditions, but there’s no reason your residents can’t create their own rainbows! Go outside and try to catch a glimpse of a rainbow in the spray from a water hose. If you’re staying inside, use a glass of water and a small mirror to create mini rainbows. Or try a fun, colorful experiment to play with rainbows while doing a little science!
Click HERE for 15 rainbow experiments from Fantastic Fun & Learning!
April 5: Free Virtual Workshop – EFT Tapping for Stress Relief
Celebrate Stress Awareness Month with an education EFT workshop! Emotional Freedom Techniques, more commonly known as Tapping, are a powerful tool for relieving stress and anxiety.
Tapping can provide relief from chronic pain, emotional problems, and phobias, among many other things. While Tapping is newly set to revolutionize the field of health and wellness, the healing concepts that it’s based upon have been in practice in Eastern medicine for over 5,000 years! Like acupuncture and acupressure, Tapping is a set of techniques that utilize the body’s energy meridian points. You can stimulate these meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips – literally tapping into your body’s own energy and healing power.
Join Sally as she leads us through Tapping techniques that help us manage day-to-day stress.
Click HERE to sign up for our free EFT tapping workshop!
April 9: Weekend Watch Party – The Hunt for Fabergé Eggs | Raiders Of The Lost Art
Each year, Carl Fabergé made a one-of-a-kind Easter egg for the Russian Tsar’s family. But Carl was forced to flee during the revolution and 8 of these priceless Imperial Eggs went missing. With one of the elusive 8 recently uncovered, could the other seven have survived the chaos of 1917?
During the viewing, consider serving your residents egg-themed snacks, such as deviled eggs or homemade peanut butter eggs. Afterward, join our community for a watch party, followed by a live discussion.
Click HERE to sign up for our Weekend Watch Party of The Hunt for Fabergé Eggs!
April 12: Celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day
Grilled cheese is America’s second-favorite cheesy food after pizza. It is easy to see why! This simple sandwich brings back nostalgic memories for just about everybody.
There is lots of debate about the best type of cheese for this melty delight. While many people like slices of American cheese, my personal favorite is a combination of salty cheddar cheese with mild colby-jack cheese. Or sometimes a caprese version with mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil.
There are so many ways to mix it up with grilled cheese! Plus, the health benefits can be boosted by using whole wheat bread and olive oil for grilling. And be sure to make it a balanced meal by serving with some seasonal fruits and veggies!
Click HERE for nearly 30 grilled cheese recipes from HuffPost Life!
April 14: Live Virtual Tour – Khajuraho Old Village in India
The Old Village of Khajuraho is an old part of the city that existed even before the ancient monuments of the town, where a few Chandela families still reside who have constructed the beautiful temples of Khajuraho. The Old Village tour is a unique opportunity to explore the daily life of an Indian village, its lifestyle, and the cultural & traditional aspects of Indian culture while understanding them from its core.
We will explore some magnificent ancient temples of the Old Village while interacting with local villagers and their families, as well as an open-air museum of the village which are many different ancient statues found by villagers and converting them into many small temples all over the village.
It will be your gateway into Indians’ village life while enriching your Indian experience!
Click HERE to sign up for our Live Virtual Tour of Khajuraho Old Town!
April 19: Celebrate National Garlic Day
Garlic is an ancient culinary staple! Egyptians worshiped garlic. Greek warriors and athletes ate it for strength. It was even being traded in the Middle East as early as 3000 B.C. Plus, it can ward off vampires, so you know it is some pretty powerful stuff!
Garlic has a bunch of different health benefits. It is commonly used for conditions related to the heart and blood system. It also works as an anti-inflammatory and helps boost your body’s immune system. Some people even drink garlic tea to help improve blood circulation and detox the body.
If garlic tea doesn’t sound up your ally, consider serving favorites like garlic bread, garlic-roasted chicken, or garlicky pasta. The best thing is that garlic can take on so many different flavor profiles. It can remain pungent and sharp by slicing it raw. It can be sweet through caramelization and roasting. It can be buttery and savory through sautéing. No matter how you cook it up, garlic is a truly multifaceted plant.
Click HERE for 12 great garlic recipes to try from A Couple Cooks!
April 22: Free Virtual Workshop to Celebrate Earth Day – Plant a seed & grow your own veggies
Every year on April 22nd, the world celebrates Earth Day to demonstrate support for environmental protection. From recycling to planting, there are many different activities we can engage in to reduce our environmental footprint and make our planet a happier and healthier place to live.
Join us in our “Celebrating Earth Day” workshop to learn a fun way to grow your own veggies no matter whether you have an outdoor garden space or grow your plants on a windowsill. A supply list will be provided so you and your residents can follow along!
Click HERE to sign up for our FREE celebrating Earth Day workshop!
April 23: Weekend Watch Party – Our Planet | Forests
Experience our planet’s natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope.
Examine the fragile interdependence that exists between forests’ wide variety of residents, including bald eagles, hunting dogs, and Siberian tigers.
Click HERE to sign up for our Weekend Watch Party of Our Planet!
April 27: Celebrate Babe Ruth Day
Babe Ruth was and still is known as one of the best baseball players of all time. While he was quite a troublesome youth, he found his place on the field and became an inspiration to many youngsters. Ruth set record after record, was awarded many accolades, and was even honored by the New York Yankees when they built a new stadium naming it ‘House that Ruth Built’ because he was extremely significant in the team’s success on the field.
Ruth’s professional baseball career spanned 22 seasons! 12 years after his retirement, the Commissioner of Baseball declared April 27 a holiday in honor of the athlete’s outstanding career, and the first Babe Ruth Day was celebrated in 1946. Sadly, within a couple of years, Ruth lost his battle with cancer, but his legacy continues to live on to this day.
Celebrate with stadium fare like peanuts and hot dogs and even the classic candy with a similar name. Host a trivia game with facts about his baseball career and his life (like his real name – George Herman Ruth, Jr.). Watch a movie about his life, like The Babe, or just a feel-good baseball movie, like The Sandlot.
Click HERE to learn 99 cool facts about Babe Ruth from Sports Illustrated!
April 29: Live Virtual Tour – Split, the Jewel of an Empire
This Mediterranean jewel is the second-largest city in Croatia and it has a rich & intriguing history, beautiful monuments, and breathtaking nature. Altogether, this enchanting, unique heart of Split has rightly been declared a monument of zero category and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
If you are interested to know more, join local tour guide, Lea, on this journey through time!
Click HERE to sign up for our Live Virtual Tour of Split, Croatia!
April 30: Celebrate International Jazz Day
Some people consider jazz “America’s classical music.” It makes sense since jazz music began in New Orleans over 100 years ago! The first jazz concert recorded and broadcast by AVRO radio was Duke Ellington as far back as 1933.
International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 “to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.”
To celebrate the origins of this well-loved musical genre, hire a local jazz musician or band to come in and play for your residents. If nobody local can be found, head to YouTube to find a curated playlist. And don’t stop with just music – serve up some classic New Orleans fare. Anything from beignets and chicory coffee to gumbo or jambalaya, these flavors are sure to dance over your tongue!
Click HERE to enjoy a vast variety of jazz music from World of Jazz on YouTube!
Now that spring has officially spring, comment below and let us know which fun ideas you’re adding to your April calendar!