Back to School Days - Arbor Terrace at Crabapple

Residents of Arbor Terrace at Crabapple went “back to school” last month – by way of favorite, old photos.

Members of the Engagement team invited residents and their families to submit a picture of each resident from his or her school days – between the ages of 5 to 18 – for a fun quiz game that challenged participants to match vintage photos with current ones. Almost 30 residents submitted photos and participated in the game, including assisted living and memory care residents.

“We handed out a new quiz sheet each day that week and everyone got to guess who was who,” said Engagement Director Stephanie Mock. “We also posted the sheets on Facebook, so even a few family members got to join in the fun!”

At the end of the week, the guessing game concluded with the answers presented in a “big reveal” at a back-to-school hallway party, with each resident safely socially distanced in his or her doorway. Staff led a decorated cart through the hallway of each neighborhood, passing out milk and cookies, “because that’s what you get after school,” Mock said. Residents also enjoyed oldies music from the 1950s and 60s.

The guessing game inspired a lot of reminiscing.

“No one got all the answers correct, so it was challenging,” she added. “There was a lot of sharing of stories sparked by the photos. Residents were saying things like, ‘My mom made me wear that shirt on picture day!’”

In recent years, the team at Arbor Terrace at Crabapple has employed similar guessing games for Veteran’s Day, where residents submit photos of themselves during their military service, as well as a guessing game where participants tried to identify residents in their wedding photos.

“These are great ways for residents to get to know each other and find common ground,” Mock said.