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Do you know or care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease?
Store4caregivers is proud to present
Sunshine and Joy’s activity books help you to overcome your difficulties in engaging and entertaining someone who has a short attention span and a limited ability to communicate. Sunshine and Joy's unique activities are written in a way that makes it easy for those with mid- to late-stage Alzheimer's to respond. Whether you’re an activity director, family member, caregiver, or friend, you’ll find that their books…
Make it easy and fun to stimulate the mind
Bring smiles and laughter
Get your *PAL's active participation
*At Sunshine and Joy, they like to refer to a Person with ALzheimer’s disease,
or People with ALzheimer’s disease, as our “PALs.”
Don’t let your PAL slip into silence! Give them a daily dose of Sunshine and Joy!
Only $35 each including shipping!
Sunshine & Joy's Activity Books
Sunshine and Joy’s activity books are your ideal resource for mental fitness and fun.
They've made it easy for you to get someone with Alzheimer's laughing and participating! Each 125 page volume contains more than 100 activities with a large variety of formats and topics.
While the activities are conversational in nature, it’s important to note that listening, thinking, a smile, a laugh, a nod or shake of the head, a long verbal response, a short phrase, a single word, even a wrong word, are all forms of participation. Most PALs (People with ALzheimer's) will be able to respond verbally. Others may just raise a brow. There is no “wrong answer” in the world of Sunshine and Joy! The goal is participation, not accuracy.
All of the activities are short, so they are perfectly suited for short attention spans. Even those who can only say or nod “yes” and “no” can participate in many of the activities.
PALs’ faces will light up with pleasure when they:
Successfully fill-in-the-blanks of many well-known phrases
Laugh at silly questions and humorous quotations
Marvel over interesting tidbits of information
Give their advice about handling some of life’s little dilemmas
Dream about their ideal homes, jobs, vacations, etc.
Armchair travel to places near and far
Answer questions about familiar subjects
Reminisce about a wide variety of topics
Get noticed with fun, wearable stickers (included)
Are honored with award ribbons (also included)
…and much more.
Who knew there were so many things to talk about! History, popular TV shows, movies, music, sports, literature, art, cooking, nature, travel, and lots more.
Enjoy the activities one-on-one or in a group.
They’ve provided all the material you need. Just sit back and relax, open one of our activity books to any page, and begin.
No need to gather or purchase supplies!
Nothing to clean up afterward!
Use the activities to redirect your PAL during “sundowning,” or to just pass the time pleasantly.
Do one activity or many. Whether you have a few minutes before dinner is ready, or an hour to spend with your PAL in a doctor’s waiting room, their activity books are your flexible and portable resource for distraction and fun.
These books are spiral-bound to make them easy to use at home or away. They lie easily in your lap or on a table. They fold back conveniently when you want to show your PAL a picture, and pages are easier to remove (for certain activities).
Don’t let your PALs suffer from boredom, restlessness, and agitation. Give them a gift that invigorates their lives and brings laughter and smiles! Give them a healthy dose of "sunshine and joy" today!Frequently Asked Questions with Sunshine & Joy
Sunshine and Joy uses the term “PAL” to mean a Person with ALzheimer’s disease.
Question: Can my PAL do the activities alone?
Answer: That’s no fun! Seriously, our activities are conversationally based and as such, they require at least one friend/relative/caregiver and at least one PAL. But the more, the merrier!
Question: My PAL can’t remember what I said to him a few moments ago. Will your activities still work for him?
Answer: Yes. In many activities, each conversational thread or question stands entirely alone. A PAL needn’t remember anything said previously in order to participate. In other cases where remembering the topic would increase the enjoyment, we use redundancy. For example, if the topic was John Wayne, we’d omit many “hes” and “hims” and simply say “John Wayne” so as to eliminate the need for the PAL to work at recalling who you’re talking about.
Question: What are the topics in your book?
Answer: Literally too many to list here!!! However in selecting topics, we aimed for events/people/ideas which would be familiar to the age group most affected by Alzheimer’s. Recent events/personalities/ideas etc. are excluded as they would only draw a blank stare from most PALs. There are a few exceptions, but most topics will appeal equally to men and women. We aimed to tap into long-term memories with a wide spectrum of topics covering history, science, nature, cooking, entertainment (TV, movies, music), sports, reminiscing, familiar inventions and products, and more. We also wanted to veer away from memory at times, and give the PAL a chance to make choices, give advice, and help you plan hypothetical meals, home remodels, trips to foreign countries, etc. In these relaxing, opinion-based topics, there truly is no wrong answer.
Question: I’m not good at making conversation. Is that going to be a problem?
Answer: No, you don’t need any special conversational skills whatsoever. If you can read and listen, you’re in business. You don’t need to do any preparation or think up things to say. We’ve done all the work for you. Just open the book, read to your PAL, and listen to the responses. If the conversation wanders or gets off-topic, don’t worry! Just go with the flow. Your PAL is engaged and you’ve succeeded in providing them with some pleasant mental activity, not to mention the all important human connection that lets them know someone is still interested in what they have to say.
Question: Are the activities for groups or individuals?
Answer: All of the activities work in a one-on-one setting (caregiver and PAL), and nearly all of the activities will also work with a group.
Question: My PAL has a very short attention span. How long are the activities?
Answer: Activities are short, i.e., minutes rather than hours. You may do one, or string several together to fill any amount of available time.
Question: My PAL can’t do craft activities. Are there many craft activities in the book?
Answer: Of the 100+ activities, 3 or 4 are art-related (not requiring any special supplies beyond pen/pencil, etc). Craft activities usually rely on doing things in a particular sequence. For those having trouble with short-term memory, following instructions can be a problem, even with continual prompting from a caregiver. It’s a recipe for disaster - or at least extreme frustration. Many such craft activities end with the caregiver doing the activity while the PAL sits passively and watches. The bulk of our activity books consist of conversational activities and no preparation – or clean up will be required!
Question: Do the books need to be purchased and used sequentially?
Answer: No. Each book has a similar format but with entirely different topics. You may use the books in any order. Just sit back, relax, open any book to any page, and you’re ready to begin.
Question: Do any of the activities require physical activity?
Answer: We’ve included only one activity that involves mild exertion. We understand outings can be physically taxing for PALs. Also, unfamiliar surroundings can sometimes bring on feelings of disorientation and anxiety. None of our activities require PALs to leave home. If you DO leave home though, our activity books can provide a welcome distraction - in a doctor’s office, for example, alleviating anxiety, restlessness, or agitation.
Question: My PAL is in a wheelchair. Can she still do the activities?
Answer: Other than one activity which calls for mild exertion, all of the activities can be done from an armchair.
Question: My PAL has partial paralysis from a stroke and can’t speak very well. Is this a problem?
Answer: No. As long as your PAL can hear you, the fact that she isn’t responding verbally doesn’t mean she isn’t engaged in what you are saying. She may even nod, shrug, wink, shake her head or in other ways let you know that she is engaged in the conversation. And even if she can’t respond verbally, she’s probably at least thinking about what you’ve said. Some activities in our book are designated as “listening” activities and are meant to entertain without requiring a response. They can be used on days when even the most vocal of PALs is tired or for some other reason doesn’t feel very talkative.
Preface from Author Jill Hernandez My father lovingly cared for my mother during the first years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When his own illness prevented him from caring for her any longer, he made the difficult decision to place her in a nursing home.
Two years later, my mother suffered a debilitating stroke. My husband and I decided to bring her home to live with us. I was confident I could manage her physical needs, but I felt overwhelmed by the task of stimulating her mind and amusing her during the long days at home. I began searching for books with activities appropriate for those with Alzheimer's disease. I was to be disappointed in the quest. I found many books with activity suggestions that sounded good on paper, but which failed when I attempted them with my mother.
To begin with, the books often contained activities unsuited to the abilities of a PAL (a Person with ALzheimer's). Craft and recipe activities, for example, generally contain a sequence of steps. Following a sequence requires something PALs lack, namely, a good short-term memory. Even a simple "Cut out a square, then paste it here" can be confusing. In the nursing home, I watched many craft activities rapidly reach a "passive observer" stage where caregivers were doing the craft while PALs merely looked on.
Activities That Don't Work for PALs
Secondly, many of the books suggested activities which required effort on my part. As anyone who has done it knows, caregiving is exhausting work. Gathering up materials for an activity involves extra time, expense, possibly a trip to the store, and clean-up. I particularly remember one book which suggested I organize a treasure hunt for my mother. First I would have to gather up the "treasures" (and later I would have to put them all away). The author of this book failed to recognize that every day with a PAL is already a treasure hunt of sorts. Searching for misplaced items such as glasses, keys, articles of clothing, etc. more than satisfies our primitive hunting and gathering instincts.
Thirdly, many books merely stated the obvious. One suggested putting on some music for my mother. Another recommended she make her bed every morning. I stifled a yawn as I waded through pages of suggestions to fold clothes, collect fallen leaves or seashells, watch television, go for a walk, bake a pie, etc. We had already "been there, done that." Quite frankly, we had long ago grown bored with chores and other ordinary activities of daily life. I needed books with fun and stimulating activities to lift my mother beyond the routine.
Lastly, there were books suggesting visits to a zoo, museum, or park. (At the latter place, "Go fly a kite" was the suggestion as well as my reaction.) Caregivers know that outings can be physically taxing for PALs. Moreover, feelings of disorientation and anxiety are often exacerbated by new surroundings.
Thus, with the shortage of material containing practical activities, a project was born. My goal was to develop activities that would truly engage and entertain a PAL, and could be done at home with little to no additional effort on the part of caregivers. My books are filled with conversational activities. Whether you have half an hour before dinner comes out of the oven, or several hours of idle time to fill on a rainy day, there are plenty of activities to challenge your PAL and entertain you both. When you leave home, the books become a portable resource. You can use them, for example, to while away the time in a doctor's office.
As a footnote, I'm happy to say my mother made a complete recovery from her stroke. We recently passed the six-year anniversary of her move "home." I'm convinced that keeping her mind active played a great role both in her recovery and in her continuing interest and participation in life. It is to her that I owe the inspiration for these books.
How Sunshine & Joy is Helping Healthcare Providers Activity Directors...
Their books are ready to go, right out of the box. There is no prep time and no need to gather or purchase additional supplies. Just pick up the book, turn to any page, and begin. No special skills or creativity are needed. If you can read, speak, laugh, and listen, you're in business! The books contain a variety of activities. Many of them can be done in a group setting. We've made the activities short enough that you can easily cluster them together to suit any available time frame. Mix and match! Even those who are only able to say or nod "yes" and "no" can participate. The books contain a wide variety of topics, something for everyone. As with any of Sunshine and Joy's activity books, there are plenty of "feel good" opportunities to praise and reward your residents.
Administrators / Corporate Officers...
When you have their activity books on site, it lets family members know you are doing everything possible to ensure their loved ones are stimulated and engaged in fun activities designed specifically for those with Alzheimer's disease. Give family members a way to "connect" and pass the time pleasantly when they visit their loved one. Our books have also been used as welcome gifts for new residents. They last far longer than flowers... and you'll never find one melted in someone's pocket! We offer discounts on bulk orders.
Caregivers...
Whether you are working in a nursing home or caring for someone with Alzheimer's at home, we understand your wish to keep them happy and active, or perhaps to redirect someone who is restless, anxious, or withdrawn. These books were developed BY an Alzheimer's caregiver FOR Alzheimer's caregivers, with a full understanding of the limitations imposed by the disease. For caregivers in nursing homes, our books are invaluable resources, especially useful after the Activity Director has gone home for the day (usually about the time "sundowning" symptoms are just beginning!) You'll reap the same benefits as Activity Directors (see above). You can easily tailor the activities to suit different stages of Alzheimer's. (We show you how.) Best of all, get to know your residents one-on-one (and let them get to know you!)Customer Comments about Sunshine & Joy...
"Love your book! It truly has brought sunshine to my mother's life."
~ Liz - Mesa, AZ
"This is the only book I've found so far that I can really get my Dad to respond to."
~ Pete - Lakewood, CO
"I really like "Mark Your Calendar." I try to make every day a little different and this has given me a lot more ideas."
~ Jonelle - St. Petersburg, FL
"...really appreciate that the activities are of short duration since we rarely have a big block of uninterrupted time during core hours."
~ Carol - Springfield, IL
"The residents LOVE the fill in the blanks and we get a lot of participants. Looking forward to more of those!"
~ Beverly - Dayton, OH
"Wonderful resource. Its everything I hoped for and then some."
~ Diane - Irvine, CA
"On the day we scheduled to do the Greece activity, we also planned a separate Greek themed lunch. A couple of caregivers AND residents showed up in their "togas." It was a hoot!"
~ Sophie - Syracuse, NY
Sunshine & Joy Books
