As always, there are a number of special days to keep an eye out for this month. Find our tips and activity ideas below. Enjoy!
Purchase your copy of our 2022 Activity Wall Planner here
2nd October: Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (born 1869)
Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement.
- The three wise monkeys (‘see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil’) are associated with Gandhi. Use these as inspiration for your activities today – you could make or paint your own versions to display alongside some of Gandhi’s inspirational quotes.
- Offer a chair-based yoga or relaxation session
4th October: World Animal Day
World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare.
- Organise a fundraiser for your residents’ favourite animal charity. Run a raffle or tombola, or hold a quiz night or tea party.
- Hold an animal-themed music and movement session. Use songs featuring animals, such as Nellie the Elephant or How Much is That Doggy in the Window?
- Watch one of David Attenborough’s wildlife documentaries together.
- Invite colleagues, volunteers or relatives to bring in their (suitable) pets from home. It could be a rabbit, a cat or a small dog.
- Challenge your residents to think of as many famous animals from films or literature as they can (eg Lassie, Black Beauty). Can everyone remember what sort of animal the characters are?
5th October: World Teacher’s Day
World Teacher’s Day is held annually on 5th October to celebrate teachers all around the globe. It is a day to recognise the important job teachers do, but also to reflect on the support they need to really fulfil their roles.
- Sructure your activity provision today like a typical school day.
- Start with assembly – you could sing some well-known hymns and announce the plans for the rest of the day.
- Write name badges for everyone and vote on your ‘Head Girl’ and ‘Head Boy’.
- Hold a fun session of playground-inspired games, such as marbles, cat’s cradle, jacks, clapping games, etc. Staff could demonstrate skipping using a skipping rope.
- Ask your chef to serve a lunch inspired by traditional school dinners. Steamed pudding with custard or semolina would probably be popular choices!
- Arrange a visit from your local primary school. Arrange a session for both residents and schoolchildren to participate in, such as chalk drawing or beanbag tossing.
- End the day with a reminiscence session. Encourage your residents to share memories of their own school days, their old teachers, their favourite subjects and the uniforms they wore. Discuss the changes that have occurred in schools over the years.
3-9th October: National Libraries Week
It would be lovely to arrange a visit to your local library with a small group of residents. Make this the key focus for your volunteers this week – with enough support in place, you could arrange multiple visits over the course of the week.
- Hold a reading reminiscence session. Gather a selection of classic books and use these as prompts for your residents. Ask them to share memories of their favourite books and authors.
- Reach out to local authors, and ask if they would be willing to visit your care setting to speak with your residents about their work.
- Make your own library trolley that can be taken room-to-room. Find our list of book trolley suggestions here.
9-16th October: Sukkot
Sukkot is a Jewish festival commemorating the years that the Jews spent in the desert, and celebrates the way in which God protected them under difficult conditions. It is similar to a thanksgiving or harvest festival. As always with religious festivals and events, it is important to consider your residents. If you have any Jewish residents, please involve them considerately in the planning of Sukkot events. If you don’t have any Jewish residents, you may find it helpful to connect with your local synagogue to gain their advice on appropriate activities.
- Make and paint Jewish stars using lolly sticks and display them as table decorations.
- Make leaf rubbings. Cut them out and thread together to create bunting.
- Use dried grains and pulses to create autumnal pictures.
16th October: World Food Day
Today provides a great opportunity to celebrate the different cultures within your care home or local area.
- Ask each resident to write down their favourite childhood food. It could be a meal they remember their mother cooking, something they ate at a restaurant or what they were served for school dinners. Discuss the meals as a group, and select a few to cook and eat together.
- Bring in different spices to smell as a sensory activity.
- Start planning what to grow next year. You could plant cress seeds or broad bean seeds now, or grow herbs in a pot.
- Write the name of various countries on strips of paper, fold them and place them in a hat. Ask residents to take it in turns to pick out a country, then try to think of a particular food or dish that originates from that country. If you struggle, you could use this as an opportunity to do some research on your digital table or iPad.
18th October: Chuck Berry’s Birthday (born 1926)
Today is the perfect day to introduce rock and roll into your care setting!
- Start by discussing Chuck Berry himself. Print out some pictures of him and play some of his most famous songs.
- Cut out guitar shapes from A3 or A4 cardboard for residents to decorate.
- Use old LP records to make mobiles or window decorations.
- Create musical shakers using cardboard tubes filled with dry rice, peas or pasta. Use these as instruments to shake during a music and movement session.
24th October: Diwali
Please accept our apologies for the incorrect date that was printed on the 2022 Daily Sparkle Activities Wall Planner.
Diwali is the Hindi festival of light. This annual festival takes place between October and November. The exact date is linked to the phases of the moon. It marks the start of the Hindu New Year and celebrates the victory of light over darkness.
Purchase some small, flameless tea light candles today, if your care setting doesn’t already own some. Place these in communal spaces and in the bedrooms of residents who prefer to stay in their room.
Hold a Diwali-themed art and craft session today, using glitter, sequins and bright colours.
Download our FREE Diwali art and craft session plan here
25th October: Picasso’s Birthday (born 1881)
Picasso is a name familiar to most of us. He was a Spanish painter and sculptor who founded the Cubist movement. His style is very distinctive and not to everyone’s taste, but he is a great artist to inspire discussion.
- Download and print examples of Picasso’s work. Use these as talking points. Do your residents recognise any? Do your residents like his style of art? How would they describe each painting?
- Make abstract pictures of your own. Cut up pictures into different pieces, then rearrange the pieces in an abstract manner and glue them in place. Make a display of these abstract artworks in your communal area. Remember there is no right or wrong way to do this – encourage your residents to have fun and be creative.
- Try sculpting using air-dry clay. Make different shapes, such as animals, flowers or objects. This is a very tactile activity so could be adapted into a sensory activity for residents living with later-stage dementia.
- For your residents that enjoy a tricky challenge, print off or write out all the letters from Picasso’s full name – he was baptised Pablo Diego Jose Fransisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Marie de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso! Use these names and letters as tools for tricky games. They could either attempt to remember as many of his names as possible, or they could try making new words out of the letters.
31st October: Halloween
Love it or hate it, Halloween is definitely on everybody’s calendar. Read tips and ideas from our AC mentor, Jan, for celebrating Halloween appropriately with your residents here.
We hope you find these suggestions useful. We always love to see and hear what our readers have been up to – please email photos and stories to for your chance to be featured in our Reader’s Corner!
