When Is Activity Professionals Week 2023: National Activity Professionals Day is held every year on January 26, which is the fourth Friday in January. This one-of-a-kind day celebrates and recognizes the important work that activity specialists do to make sure that seniors in nursing homes across the country have fun.
As Americans live longer, patient-centered eldercare is becoming more and more popular. Activity providers play this important role by encouraging, motivating, and enriching the lives of people who live in assisted living facilities. Many people who have lived there for a long time say that their efforts improve their quality of life, making their situations more enjoyable and satisfying. Activity workers make a big difference in the health and happiness of older people in our communities by working hard to provide a lively and interesting space for the people they care for.
History of National Activity Professionals Day
The point of National Activity Professionals Day is to honor the creativity, energy, and unshakable commitment of social workers and people who plan activities. Because of their hard work, people who live in care centers across the country are able to live the best and happiest lives possible. Every day, activity managers make a big difference in the lives of residents and their families for the better by planning fun activities and social events and working with care teams.
The National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) was created to recognize the important role that activity professionals play in geriatric settings. It is the only group that speaks for activity professionals who work in these settings. NAAP was created in 1980 after an analysis of action groups across the country. It’s amazing how much NAAP has grown over the years. Sister Pat Murphy was chosen as the group’s first president. In 1984, NAAP created National Activity Professionals Day to honor the important work that these people do to make the lives of the people they care for better.
In later years, NAAP turned the celebration into National Activity Professionals Week, a week-long event. This seven-day event is a chance to show appreciation for and support the great work that activity professionals do. Today is National Activity Professionals Day, a time to show our appreciation and respect for the great work they do to make other people’s lives better.
National Activity Professionals Day timeline
1980s:
A survey of the whole country was done.
Activity groups from all over the country are taking part in a nationwide poll to find out how many people want to start a national union.
1981:
When the NAAP began
Twenty activity professionals from eleven states officially formed the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) in response to the positive feedback and excitement.
1982:
The First Campaign for Political Action
NAAP started its first-ever political action campaign to protect basic services from activities and long-term care that the federal government deregulates.
1984:
The first annual National Day of Activity for Professionals
The first National Activity Professionals Day was held on January 27, 1984. This day is set aside to honor and recognize the important work that national activity workers do.
How to Observe National Activity Professionals Day
Show how much you appreciate them by:
Honor activity professionals for their unwavering dedication on National Activity Professionals Day. A simple gift to show your thanks will go a long way toward showing that you value their hard work.
Make plans for an exciting trip:
Plan a fun tour to honor a person who works in the exercise industry. Plan a fun thing to do with them to show your appreciation and celebrate, like getting pizza or taking them bowling at a nearby lane.
Plan a ceremony to give awards:
Plan an award ceremony that is one of a kind to recognize the hard work of activity pros. There should be a moment of thanks for the residents’ hard work when you give them awards in front of their families. This event is a touching way to honor their hard work and accomplishments.
5 Interesting Facts About Activity Professionals And Elders
Before Bingo:
In spite of what most people think, nursing homes offer a lot of different activities to meet the needs of their residents. In addition to bingo, these events give people a full and interesting experience. They include music, trips, art therapy, workouts, and other things.
More people need skilled care for older people:
Specialized care for older people is becoming more and more important as the number of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia in the US is projected to nearly triple to 14 million by 2050. This shows how much more people want personalized and specialized care for the old.
Give them something to do:
One out of every three men and two out of every three women over the age of 75 don’t do any physical or leisure exercise. In light of this, the dedicated care given by activity experts becomes even more important for improving the quality of life for older people.
Keeping up with activities works:
Being active in old age lowers the chance of getting or handling health problems like diabetes, obesity, arthritis, heart disease, and stroke. The work of activity experts is very helpful in getting older people to live healthy, active lives.
Families who have caregivers:
Caregiving is a common and important part of family life in the United States, where more than 30% of all homes are made up of caregivers. Our help and attention are needed to make sure these workers and the people they care for are healthy.
Why National Activity Professionals Day is Important
A Day to Honor the Heroes Who Are Not Noted:
National Activity Professionals Day is a time to recognize the unsung stars of the industry and show that activity professionals do a lot more than plan fun activities. On this day, we honor the many hours that these workers put in to keep people interested. Their work is only sometimes recognized for what it is.
Making the world a better place:
The purpose of the day is to honor and praise the hard work and kindness of people who work in leisure to make other people’s lives better. By celebrating their important work, National Activity Professionals Day gives people a chance to be inspired to make real changes for the better in the world.
Getting Happy:
This one-of-a-kind day honors the work of activity workers all over the country, but it does more than honor them; it also actively spreads happiness. It gives them a place to show off their work, which makes the people they help happy and gives them ideas. Today is National Activity Workers Day, a time to honor their hard work, happiness, and thanks.
What is activity professional week?
The fourth Friday in January was designated to celebrate Activity Professionals annually and later on it was expanded to include the entire week. As an Activity Professional, you are part of a vitally important profession that helps people live a life that is full of fun and meaningful activities.
Activity Professionals used to have their yearly party on the fourth Friday of January, but now it takes place all week long.
Being a professional in the field of activity means making a big difference in people’s lives by giving them fun and useful things to do. Your way of caring for our older people in a complete and person-centered way is truly impressive. You are what your businesses are made of. Give yourself praise for the great work you and your team have done. Take the time to understand this. More attention is being paid to our elderly and disabled population, and those who provide caring, hands-on care are being praised for their work.
This week is National Activity Professionals Week, which is a good time to recognize and honor the important work that Activity Professionals do. This event, which takes place from January 20 to January 26, 2019, is called “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” which says it all.
A one-of-a-kind booklet from the National Association of Activity Professionals tells both staff and citizens about events and activities that are meant to honor them. You can look at the media packet at www.naap.info. It has news releases, proclamations from the mayor, and a page with goods that you can use to help celebrate. NAAP is having a membership drive called “Oh the Places You’ll BOGO” this week to celebrate. The first person you invite to join NAAP this week will get a free registration, too.
How do you celebrate activities week?
Some additional ways to celebrate at a low-cost include:
Feature a different team member on a hallway board each day.
Throw an “award ceremony”
Ask residents to make thank-you cards.
Plant a tree in honor of activity team.
Feature activity team on social media and/or newsletter to residents and families.
Are you ready to celebrate National Activity Professional Week with your staff this year? It takes place from January 19 to January 25. Here are six fun ideas from notjustbingo.com that you can use to show your events staff how much you appreciate them.
Show how much you appreciate them by:
To truly honor Activity Professional Week, all you have to do is say “thank you!” to every activity staff person. Both residents and managers should sign each employee’s card. For a more interesting method, get the residents involved in a craft project and tell them to use colored pencils or markers to make their cards. You can also make beautiful watercolor birthday cards with watercolor sets.
Everything You Need for Breakfast:
As a fun way to say thank you to your events staff, give them breakfast treats every day of the week. Every day, surprise them with a new breakfast treat. Take a look at these choices:
Spend a day at the spa in your game room:
Enjoy a “Spa Day” with your workers in your activity room. Set up a time for a manicurist to give your employees free manicures throughout the day. Please set up a place in the activity room where residents can make appointments with staff to get their nails done by professionals. A diffuser and an aromatherapy stand for essential oils will make the space better.
It would help if you gave swag to:
Talk to your facility’s leaders about getting shirts or mugs with the logo on them. Make swag bags for the people who are in charge of your events. If not, have people work on craft projects with you, like making t-shirts with a tie-dye kit or designing mugs. Tell your employees to wear or use their gear with pride during the job.
How the award is given:
Honor your workers by giving them awards in front of other employees, residents, and family members. Find the workers who really stand out (for example, the most energetic, the best karaoke leader, etc.) and make certificates that will be given out at the event. Remind the workers to thank the people who help the residents with activities and the people who take charge of activities when needed. Inform their bosses about their hard work to make sure that their great contributions to the exercise program are noticed.
What are professional activities?
Activities you undertake which contribute to the research environment or provide examples of peer esteem can be recorded in Elements as Professional Activities. Editorial roles, news items, awards, interviews, fellowships and keynotes are examples of the types of activities that can be added.
Professional development events for teachers are very important in middle schools, high schools, and elementary schools with eight periods. These responsibilities include a range of professional and routine tasks carefully chosen from the list of duties set out in the instructor’s contract.
Because education is always changing, these professional development events give teachers a chance to interact in a structured way that helps them grow and makes the learning setting better. These tasks are meant to make learning better for both teachers and students. They are specially made for middle schools, high schools, and elementary schools with eight periods.
As part of their personal development, teachers take part in a wide range of events, which shows that they are dedicated to ongoing growth and progress. Depending on the needs of each grade level, these jobs could include making lesson plans, creating tests, and doing administrative work.
With the contractual menu as a guide, teachers can choose tasks that meet their professional goals as well as their students’ changing needs. Middle schools, high schools, and eight-period grade schools can create lively and useful learning spaces thanks to teachers who do these planned activities in addition to doing their contracted work.
What is an example of a professional learning activity?
Good professional development activities and ideas for your employees include talent management, onboarding, negotiation skills, team building, public speaking, visual thinking, leadership development, and diversity and inclusion workshops, among others.
Teachers go to a variety of professional development classes to learn new ways to teach and to encourage students to keep learning throughout their lives. These types of activities include inquiry-based, experiential, and action learning. In these types of activities, teachers take part in studies or hands-on experiences to learn more. Professional conversation between parents, students, coworkers, and other professionals encourages working together to learn and share ideas.
To keep up with changes in education, teachers do a lot of professional reading and study. Educators can use research ideas in their situations by leading or taking part in action research or practitioner inquiry, which encourages a mindset of always getting better.
Teachers should think about how they teach and make their lessons better by examining reading and learning and how these things affect their work. Peer support, like coaching or mentoring, makes it easier for teachers to work together to learn and share knowledge while getting helpful feedback.
Through mentoring and assistance, probationer support programs help new teachers deal with the challenges of the classroom. To learn from each other’s methods, teachers can watch each other, observe each other at work, visit each other’s classrooms, and have other professional conversations.
Blogging and online learning platforms that offer materials and discussion boards can help with professional growth. Teachers can work together to create a cooperative or team setting where students can learn from a variety of points of view.
Lastly, making or joining a working party or task group lets teachers work together on specific issues or tasks, which promotes a sense of shared responsibility for ongoing improvement in the school community.
How teaching is a professional activity?
Teachers must often respond immediately and intuitively. This relates to a fourth feature of professional activity, namely that it involves skillful action that is adapted to its context. Through repeated practice and reflection on practice, the professional has developed various specialist and ‘knowledgeable’ skills.
Different models, metaphors, and comparisons can be used to help people understand how complicated teaching is. One way to describe the goal-setting and problem-solving part of teaching is as a reflective and thought-provoking process. By comparing teaching to other jobs like business management, design, law, and medicine, this metaphor brings out important parts of teaching. Because of this, teaching as a job is another common image.
In this image, teachers know certain things because they have been trained and gained experience. Similar to how a doctor knows about anatomy and physiology in school and also knows how to deal with difficult patients and their behavior, educators gain experience in education, teaching methods, subjects, and how children behave. You can get this skill by using a variety of tools and talking to kids in a range of settings. Like people in other jobs, teachers use this information in their daily work.
Objective thinking about customers is another part of professional work. Doctors want to heal their patients, lawyers want to protect their clients’ rights, and builders want to build buildings that meet the needs of their clients. When it comes to teaching, defining a client’s personality can be trickier. More than most professionals, teachers have to answer to a lot of different people, such as parents, administrators, consultants, inspectors, employers, politicians, and bodies that make the curriculum. Even if they spend a lot of time teaching kids, this is still the case.
Now is Activity Professionals Week, a great time to thank your activity professionals for their kindness, creativity, and drive. Give your team and the workers who generously give their time unique gifts that aren’t too expensive to say thank you. Think about getting your activity leaders personalized clothes, mugs, bags, and other items that won’t break the bank and are made with them in mind. We also have a variety of thoughtful, reasonably priced gifts that you can use to show your appreciation for your hardworking nursing care staff.