Summer has come in swinging with such a hot start to July! We really enjoyed watching the tall ships festival and fireworks for 4th of July. We hope you and your residents are enjoying the summer and World Cup games.
Looking ahead to August, it’s a good month to beat the summer heat with beach and water themed activities as well as listening to a good book! Here are some ideas for you to bring to your residents:
Celebrate Lucille Ball’s Birthday on August 6th: Give a presentation from History Makers Volume 2 on her life. You can also learn more about her from the Lucy Desi Museum: A Legacy of Laughter – Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. Watch some of her iconic episodes. Discuss what their favorite episodes or scenes from her show were. Did anyone enjoy other shows that she helped support: Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, That Girl, or The Dick Van Dyke Show?
Beach Sing Along: Pass out sunhats and set up a beach umbrella with beach balls, a sunchair and other summer/pool/beach decor. Take some photos of your singers for the beach party. Songs you may choose to play for the sing along:
- “Surfin’ U.S.A.” – The Beach Boys
- “Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina and the Waves
- “I Want to Hold Your Hand” – The Beatles
- “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” – Manfred Mann
- “Under the Boardwalk” – The Drifters
- “Rock Around the Clock” – Bill Haley & His Comets
- “You Are My Sunshine” – Traditional / Bing Crosby
- “Margaritaville” – Jimmy Buffett
- “Take Me Home, Country Roads” – John Denver
- “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” – Doris Day
Go “snorkeling”: Print photos or make a presentation of fish and other animals you would find on a snorkeling trip (Galapagos or Great Barrier Reef searches will have lots of great fish and other animals to choose from). Play or stream ocean sounds while passing around the photos/playing the presentation. See how many the group can identify. Reminisce: Has anyone gone snorkeling or scuba diving? What animals and fish were you able to see? What were your favorite places to snorkel or scuba dive? What do you wish others knew about the hobby that they might not know?
Beach Listening: Play different sounds you would hear at the beach: waves crashing, water lapping on a boat, sounds of sailboat rigging, seagulls calling, sand crunching, whale calls, sea lion barks, and dolphin clicks. Can the group identify each sound? Who has seen each thing in real life? Reminisce: What were your favorite activities to do in the summer at the beach? Who did you go with? Do you prefer to swim in the ocean or stay in the sand?
Play a beach ball game: Inflate a beach ball. Seat the players in a circle. Toss or hand the ball to another player. They must name something you can find at a beach or in the ocean, then pass the ball to another player.
Sandcastle Building: Set out trays of kinetic sand or clay on a table along with small molds, seashells, and little flags for decorating. Have your residents build their own mini sandcastles or one castle together as a group. Reminisce: Did you build sandcastles growing up? What’s the most elaborate one you ever made or saw?
Postcards from the Shore: Give your residents blank index/note cards along with beach-themed stickers, stamps, and markers for them to decorate the cards. Have your residents write (or dictate to a staff member helping them) a message for a family member or friend describing an imaginary day at the beach or a treasured memory of a beach day from their life.
Have a Frankenstein Day on August 30th, Mary Shelley’s birthday: Listen to some excerpts from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or watch one of the many film adaptations. Discuss some of the philosophical issues raised by her writings: Who is the true monster in the story: Victor or The Creature? What makes someone human: their biology, empathy, ability to communicate or something else?
LUCILLE BALL TRIVIA
1. What year did I Love Lucy first premiere on CBS?
Answer: 1951
2. What was Lucy Ricardo’s onscreen husband’s name, played by Lucille Ball’s real-life husband?
Answer: Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz
3: What was the name of the production company Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz founded together?
Answer: Desilu Productions
4: True or False: Lucille Ball was the first woman to appear visibly pregnant on a major TV network.
Answer: True. Lucille Ball was the first woman to appear pregnant on one of the three major television networks, a major milestone that Lucy and her husband had to fight for.
5: What famous product did Lucy struggle to pronounce in one of the show’s most iconic episodes?
Answer: Vitameatavegamin from “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (Season 1, Episode 30), which first aired on May 5, 1952.
6: Who played Lucy’s best friend and neighbor, Ethel Mertz?
Answer: Vivian Vance
7: Which real-life event happened just hours before Lucy Ricardo gave birth to “Little Ricky” on the show?
Answer: Lucille Ball gave birth to her real son, Desi Arnaz Jr., just 12 hours before the on-screen birth aired.
8: How many seasons did I Love Lucy run for?
Answer: Six seasons, totaling 181 episodes.
9: What was Lucille Ball’s real hair color? (Hint: it wasn’t red!)
Answer: Brown. She tried several different hair colors over her lifetime including blonde, platinum, red, pink, and orange.
10: Besides I Love Lucy, what other sitcoms did Lucille Ball go on to star in during her career?
Answer: Here’s Lucy, Life with Lucy, and The Lucy Show
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” —Lucille Ball
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” —Lucille Ball
“Sun, Sand, and Lucille Ball” was written by Emily Wang. Copyright 2026 Emerald Workshop LLC. All rights reserved. Visit us at www.eldersong.com
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