15 minute read
Signs that Your Loved One May Need Help at Home
AVERA HEALTH
Independence is a natural trait for us – just ask any toddler’s mom. As we age, we never lose that desire to be free from constraints. For adults with aging parents or grandparents, it’s not always easy to know not only how to help – but when.
“Children of elderly parents want to help, and know their mom or dad needs it. But they also know their parents don’t want to go anywhere. They want to remain at home,” said Avera@Home Patient Care Coordinator Kala Cuka, BSN, RN.
Look for Small Signs
Signs that an older loved one needs help may be subtle.
“That’s a tremendous amount of what we do – explain and inform families about tools, services and equipment that might allow their older loved one to have a better quality of life,” Cuka said. “We want to help find those solutions that improve that quality all while they stay where they are most comfortable – at home.”
Cuka offered these insights on signs that may indicate an older loved one need help:
• Medications and equipment: If you notice their pillbox or other medication containers are put away or seem untouched – that’s a warning sign. “It can indicate they have forgotten or need a little help keeping those scheduled medication times squared away,” Cuka said. “When you have a diabetic loved one who stops using a glucose meter, it could be a sign.”
• Eating and cooking: If it’s too hard to get into the kitchen and make supper, older folks may stop having regular meals. If there’s plenty of food in the fridge, but no dishes in the sink or dishwasher, it could indicate the need for assistance. “Home health help for meals and cooking is really common,” said Cuka. “Individuals may feel unstable or worried about making a mess.”
• Bathing and housework: If you have an older parent who is known for his or her fastidiously clean home and now there’s a lot of clutter, it could be a sign that keeping up with housework is harder for them. The same goes for showers and baths – if there are no signs that part of the bathroom is getting used, it might indicate a lack of balance or fear of falls, said Cuka.
The Option of Hospice Care
We all tend to steer clear of conversations about those things that scare us the most – like death, or saying goodbye to those we love. Our death-denying culture can make families wait before they talk about plans for end-of-life care or hospice. The conversations are not easy, but they matter.
While hospice care is covered by Medicare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) statistics show that families who could benefit from it do not use it fully.
When people wait too long to consider benefits, and they go unused even when costs are covered. Hospice isn’t about dying – it’s about making life as comfortable as possible.
A doctor’s order is needed to begin hospice care, but families can reach out for information at any time. Being less-than-familiar with hospice and its focus is not unusual, and the quality of life and comfort it gives families and patients lets them focus on important things.
People associate hospice with the end, but if often happens that this specialized care was needed “yesterday.” Hospice professionals can be your guide and help you find your way so it fits you and your family.
“We can schedule an in-home assessment for care, including hospice, so you receive feedback without a wait,” Cuka said. You’ll also receive an itemized care plan you can trust, and our Avera@Home professionals can meet you at the hospital or at your kitchen table.”
Learn more at Avera@Home.org. You also can take an assessment or find phone numbers online.
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Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids
best books 60 cute kids 62
Submit Your Child’s Photo
best friends 64
Submit Your Pet’s Photo
BY JESS WEISCHEDELThanksgiving Crafts for Kids
Turkey Tape Resist Painting
Materials: A large piece of cardboard or thick paper, painters tape, scissors, washable paint in various colors, paint brushes, glue, and construction paper in white, black, orange, and red.
Begin by finding an ideal spot for your kids to paint on the canvas. You can use a wall, floor, table, or somewhere outside if the weather is cooperative. Just be sure you are prepared for any mess that comes up during the painting process. If you don’t have enough brushes, or if your kids tend to use the same brush for all of the colors, a cup with some water alongside a washcloth is a great way to prevent the mixing of paint colors. Depending on your child’s age, you could demonstrate to them how to rinse their paint brush off and dry it off before dipping it into another color of paint. Tape your canvas down on all edges with painter’s tape. This type of tape is best for easy peeling off once you are finished and your paint is dry . Next, create a semi-circle with tape in the center of the bottom of the canvas. The tape might be a little wide for your canvas, so it might help to cut the tape in half vertically, to create a smaller width. This will be your turkey’s face. Cut from construction paper two white eyes, two black pupils, one orange beak, and one red turkey wattle. Glue these onto the semi-circle on your canvas, then start to prep the feathers for painting. Do this by taping diagonal lines to section out some feathers from the semi-circle. Tape smaller diagonal lines in between these ones, to make the shapes of feathers. Once you are happy with your tape design, it is time to set out your paints. Show your kids where to paint, and let them know to try to stay inside of the tape for each shape they are painting. Also try not to paint the same colors right next to each other. With those simple guidelines, your kids will have fun painting inside each taped shape until all of the feathers are colored in. Let your canvas dry completely before slowly and carefully peeling off the painter’s tape. Display your end result with pride as Thanksgiving decor.
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Corn Cobs
Materials: 4 pipe cleaners, and approximately 120 plastic pony beads.
Line your pipe cleaners up so they are even, then twist them together in the middle. Spread the pipe cleaners out until they make the shape of a star, with even spaces in between each one. Start threading the beads onto each pipe cleaner, leaving enough room at the ends for the corn husk. You can use the same color for each pipe cleaner, or you can use various colors for each one you thread in order to create the look of Calico corn. A good rule of thumb is to use about 15 beads per row, but sometimes this can vary. Let your kids use their creativity with the color patterns and sizes of cobs, if they want to! Once all of the pipe cleaners are covered, your corn can be shaped. Bend each end upward, gathering them together so all of the tops of your pipe cleaners line up together. Push down the beads, so there aren’t any spaces in between them on the rows. Twist the tops a couple of times, securing the beads and forming the corn husks. Fan out the ends a bit to make it look more like a corn cob. Make several of these to create a unique decoration for fall!
Best Books
THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE WONDERFUL BOOKS FOR CHILDREN WE HAVE COME ACROSS THIS MONTH. WE HOPE TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME YOU HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE AND ALSO INTRODUCE OTHERS BEING RELEASED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ENJOY.
Crashing in Love
by Jennifer Richard Jacobson Since her parents divorced, twelve-year-old Peyton has known that to achieve happier outcomes in her life, she’s got to focus on eliminating her flaws—and on making sure her first boyfriend is truly right for her. Guided by her collection of inspirational quotes and her growing list of ideal boyfriend traits, Peyton is convinced that this summer will be the perfect summer, complete with the perfect boyfriend! But when she discovers a boy lying unconscious in the middle of the road, the victim of a hit-and-run, her perfect summer takes a dramatic detour. Determined to find the driver responsible, Peyton divides her time between searching her small town for clues and visiting the comatose (and cute!) boy in the hospital. When he wakes up, will he prove to be her destiny? Or does life have a few more surprises in store? With abundant warmth and gentle humor, Jennifer Richard Jacobson offers a novel about searching for perfect answers—and finding that reality is both messier and far more intriguing than anything you can dream up. Ages 10 yrs - 14 yrs candlewickpress.com
Ducks Overboard!: A True Story of Plastic in Our Oceans
by Markus Motum If a shipping container filled with 28,000 plastic ducks spilled into the Pacific Ocean, where would all those ducks go? Inspired by a real incident, this captivating and innovative look at the pollution crisis in our oceans follows one of the ducks as it is washed away on ocean currents, encountering plastic-endangered whales and sea turtles and passing through the giant floating island of marine debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. From the author-illustrator of the acclaimed Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover comes a highly accessible and graphically stylish picture book with an ultimately hopeful message about environmental issues and the state of our oceans. An end map documents the widely scattered journey of the real-life plastic ducks, showing where they have been found, as well as facts about the ways plastic is affecting various parts of the world. Ages 7 yrs - 10 yrs candlewickpress.com
Bake, Make, and Learn to Cook: Fun and Healthy Recipes for Young Cooks
by David Atherton Gather your frying pan, mixing bowls, and rolling pin—it’s time to cook! David Atherton, 2019 winner of The Great British Baking Show, walks readers through delicious and delightful recipes such as banana bear pancakes, tasty tacos, and mega-chocolatey cake. From tomato soup (served in a teapot!) to brownies made with sweet potatoes, David Atherton offers a kid-friendly collection of recipes that feels at once timeless and modern. Accompanied by warm illustrations from Rachel Stubbs that capture the joys of cooking together, Bake, Make, and Learn to Cook features sweet and savory recipes for any time of day, a list of needed equipment, a glossary of cooking terms, and some important tips. Don your apron and grab your favorite little souschef—this will be a first cookbook to cherish. Ages 5 yrs - 9 yrs candlewickpress.com
The Genius Under the Table
Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin Drama, family secrets, and a KGB spy in his own kitchen! How will Yevgeny ever fulfill his parents’ dream that he become a national hero when he doesn’t even have his own room? He’s not a star athlete or a legendary ballet dancer. In the tiny apartment he shares with his Baryshnikov-obsessed mother, poetry-loving father, continually outraged grandmother, and safely talented brother, all Yevgeny has is his little pencil, the underside of a massive table, and the doodles that could change everything. With equal amounts charm and solemnity, award-winning author and artist Eugene Yelchin recounts in hilarious detail his childhood in Cold War Russia as a young boy desperate to understand his place in his family. Ages 10 yrs and up candlewickpress.com
Australian Baby Animals
by Frané Lessac Do you know which Australian baby animal is called a puggle? (Hint: it’s not a designer dog!) Which babies are called joeys? (You’ll be surprised at how many.) Which baby animals from Australia are looked after by their dad? What animal is carried around—gingerly—in its mother’s toothy mouth? Frisky little dingoes may be called pups, but so are a type of bat called flying foxes. There are so many unusual things to learn about Australian baby animals in this simple and satisfying book from award-winning creator Frané Lessac. Ages 0 mos - 3 yrs candlewickpress.com
Dogs Love Cars
by Leda Schubert From the yard to the park, from school to the market, from one end of the day to the next, dogs are full of joy. Ears flapping out the car window! Tug-of-war rope toy! Sprawling out on the couch! Getting those “good dog” treats! Wherever they go, whatever they see, dogs love it all. But what do they love most? Guess! This delightfully chaotic book from Leda Schubert and Paul Meisel portrays dogs of all shapes and colors in a laugh-out-loud celebration of our very best friends. Ages 4 yrs - 8 yrs candlewickpress.com
Ear Worm!
by Jo Knowles One summer day, as Little Worm heads out to play, he discovers he has a song stuck in his head. “What’s that you’re singing?” Owl asks, but Little Worm can’t say. He wriggles past, determined to learn who filled his head with “Shimmy shimmy, no-sashay.” Owl flaps along with a song of his own, and before long Chipmunk, Bunny, and Fox fall in line, each contributing an ear worm to the joyful cacophony. Amid all the singing and dancing, Little Worm forgets his musical mystery until later when—surprise!—Papa Worm tucks him in. Hip, vintage-inspired illustrations and whimsical typesetting meet movement, sound play, and comic, cumulative delights in a picture book that will charm media-savvy children and their parents alike. Ages 2 yrs - 5 yrs candlewickpress.com
Building a Home
by Polly Faber This beautifully illustrated picture book shows how an old factory can become a brand-new apartment, step-by-step. Find out all about the people, machines, processes, and tools involved in breathing new life into an old building. With builders, cranes, diggers, cement mixers, and a host of other machinery detailed in bright and contemporary artwork, readers can watch a crumbling old factory on the edge of town as it goes from being an empty shell to something entirely new . . . a home! Ages 3 yrs - 7 yrs candlewickpress.com
Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Defender of Free Speech
by Gattaldo As a little girl, Daphne wanted to be a writer, to be brave and use words and pictures to share important stories about her country, Malta. Growing up, she always had her nose in books, which she said taught her never to let other people think for her. As she got older, when she saw bad things happening in her country, she believed she could change people’s lives through peaceful protest. She would ultimately follow her dream by working for a national newspaper, becoming an influential and courageous political journalist who took on criminals the only way she knew how—through her writing. In the end, despite increasingly dangerous—and ultimately fatal—efforts by her adversaries to silence her, Daphne made a difference and was an inspiration to all who believe in freedom of speech and the power of the press. Ages 7 yrs - 9 yrs candlewickpress.com
Bizzy Bear: Pizza Chef
Bizzy Bear is trying his hand as a pizza chef in this novelty book full of tabs to slide, push, and pull. Watch Bizzy Bear gather ingredients, cook the pizzas, and deliver them to hungry customers. Perfect for little ones who love to help out in the kitchen. Ages 0 mos - 2 yrs candlewickpress.com
EACH MONTH WE WILL CHOOSE & FEATURE NEW CUTE KIDS. YOUR CHILD COULD BE NEXT, SO SEND YOUR PHOTO TODAY. Email your photo to etc.mag@sio.midco.net – just one per child. Please include the following information in your email: child’s first name, age, birth date, parents or guardians names, address, email address and phone number. Please make sure they are high-resolution photos (the highest setting on your camera). Parents must own the rights to all submitted photos. Email your photo to etc.mag@sio.midco.net
Remington :: 2 YEARS
Maizy :: 3 YEARS
Georgia :: 7 YEARS
Each month we will choose and feature cute pets. Your pet could be next, so send in a picture today.
Email your photo – just one per pet – to etc.mag@sio.midco.net. Please make sure they are high-resolution photos (the highest setting on your camera). Include in email: pet’s name and owner’s name. Pet owners must own the rights to all submitted photos.
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