PSW - Bringing Happiness and Companionship to Seniors

Dorothy enjoys our visits at her nursing home

With the advance of medical technology, seniors are living longer in North American.

However, for circumstances beyond their control,  many Canadian seniors are living alone without children or relatives around to visit them regularly.

Dorothy's face lights up when she has visitors

For those seniors who can afford to stay in nursing homes, they may have hospital staff around them and their physical needs are met, but they still need people to visit them and stimulate them intellectually.

Our friend Dorothy is one such senior living in a nursing home with few people visiting her.

Whenever Dorothy sees visitors coming, her face lights up and she beams. I am surprised that a simple visit can bring a senior so much happiness and joy!

A PSW's visit can certainly brighten up Dorothy's day

Thanks to the services of PSW  (Personal Support Worker who are specifically trained
to look after and interact with house bound patients ) , those seniors without family members or relatives close by to visit them regularly can hire private PSW's to go to their residence or nursing homes to visit them on a weekly basis.

The PSW doing finger exercises with Dorothy

Recently, I assisted Dorothy's family to hire a PSW for her.

After some search and screening, I  finally found an excellent PSW who will visit Dorothy twice a week and to interact her socially.

Engaging Dorothy in simple activities

Dorothy was very happy and responsive to the PSW whi is a trained professional and knows how to engage seniors in various activities at their own residences.

Providing companionship to the senior

Ashley, a experienced, kind and compassionate PSW loves her work and enjoys working with the seniors.

With no family around and few relatives coming to visit, tt makes a huge difference when a senior can have someone like Ashley to come to see him/her and interact socially.

Visiting the Aquarium on the ground floor

My husband and I visit Dorothy regularly but cannot do it two times a week. Therefore we are absolutely delighted that Dorothy now has the PSW visiting her twice a week.

It makes us happy when we see Dorothy's smiles and that she is happy. Dorothy looked after her husband and has been kind to other people all her life. She deserves to have someone looking after her and be happy in her old age.

We are glad that Ashley, the PSW will be there to visit, listen, talk to Dorothy and play games and do simple exercises with her!

R.T. Toronto
Jan. 6, 2013

Exercises to Reduce Pain Around the Hamstrings

Building Lower body strength for Boomers

One of the main reasons I have been going to exercise weekly with a personal trainer is to reduce the chronic pains I have in my lower body. I find that doing the right kind of exercises regularly has reduced the pain. However, my hamstrings were hurting during the Christmas holidays as I took a couple of weeks off from going to the gym and working out with my personal trainer.

Last Friday was the first day I went back to my exercise program with Joyce.  I told her about the pain I was experiencing in my hamstrings. She sprang into action and came up with exercises right there for me at the gym trying to reduce my pains.

Warm up with Lunges

Her exercises helped a lot! I felt really good after that one hour of exercises she designed for me. I wanted to write them down so that next time when my hamstrings hurt, I could do them on my own at home or at the gym.

Warm up exercises

Lunging - a. 1 gym length, touch wall and run back to the other end of the gym, 30 seconds rest
              b. 1 gym length, touch wall and run back to the other end of the gym, 30 seconds rest
              c.  lunging with wt overhead to one end of wall, run back

After warm up:

Ab Thruster - lay on back with a mat placed on the ground
                 - put feet up on 3-4 riser steps with heels on the top riser step
                 -a.  thrust hips as high as possible from the ground - 12x, rest for 30 seconds
                  b.  place a weight disk on abdomin, hold weight disk in place with both hands, thrust hips high    away from ground - 12 x
                  c. Repeat as in b, 12x. Rest for 30 seconds between each set of exercise.

Back squat with weight on shoulder  - 30 lbs
Put barbell on back of shoulder, squat down, with backside touching step riser, get up. Repeat 10x

Jumps  - ( really good for activating all the small muscles on the thighs where the hamstrings are)

Riser Steps

a. Riser Jumps - 6 step height
                   -  jump up and land on top riser step distributing body weight evenly, repeat 10x

b. Consecutive Riser Jump - set up two sets of riser steps with different height, one set at 4 steps, the second set with  6 riser step height.  Separate the two sets of steps with some distance in between.
 Jump the two sets of riser steps consecutively, 10x

High Knees

High knees - running on the spot with knees raise up as high as possible, non stop for 1  minute.
                 - rest 30 seconds in between, repeat 3 times, each time for 1 minute



R.T. Toronto
January, 2012

A Lively Boomers' Concert

Mom Getting a Visit from Santa

Everyone gets old eventually and as the people around me are getting older, I become increasing involved in looking after or visiting elderly relatives and friends.

My mother is 86 and she is fortunate that she has four of her seven children living within the city and we each visit her on different days of the week so that she would have company.

The Ringers Performing at the St. Paul's Seniors' Concert

My mother is at St. Paul L'Amoreaux Senior apartment where seniors who are reasonably healthy and are  independent can either rent or buy an unit and be on their own. Mom was reluctant about moving out of her own house but we felt that it was too lonely for her to live by herself and that St. Paul's was a much better option for her.

It took us a lot of convincing for Mom to move to St Paul's and now after a year, she is starting to enjoy what a well run senior place has to offer.

The All Male Choir Dressed to Entertained the Crowd

St. Paul's is an affordable place for seniors as it is heavily subsidized and residents pay their monthly rent according to a percentage of their income only.

For a studio unit well equipped with a private kitchen and bathroom for a single senior, the rent can range from $250.00 to $ 800.00, utilities included.

What makes Mom really happy is her participation in the variety of weekly programs and the special events offered by the centre.

Loved all the Oldies Performed by the Band

During the Christmas holiday, there were a number of dinners and celebrations at St Paul's. I bought the tickets for the turkey dinner and accompanied mom to the concert afterwards at the recreation room.

The concert was a blast!

Mom had a lot of fun watching the performances by the ringers from the local Alliance Church followed by a lively singing performance by an all senior male choir.

The Singers seemed to have a lot of fun performing

Many of the choir members were seniors but they were energetic, enthusiastic and all sang with gusto. They looked like they were having a lot of fun performing.

We loved the oldies they performed, and we often listened along with tapping our feet and clapping. It was a lively performance indeed!

Looking at these group of senior singers, I could not help but admire their zest and energy for living, their determination of going out meeting people and having a good time in their golden years.

I truly believe that what you put in is what you will get out of life.






The singers prove that. They are living an active life, visiting and performing at various senior homes in the city and are having a lot of fun doing it!

 I was very inspired by this group of fun loving senior choir. In another 15- 20 years, I will be like their age. I hope I will be just as energetic, healthy and outgoing as they, so that I would be able to take part in activities and go out to all the seniors' home to entertain others!





R.T. Toronto
Dec. 2012

A Great Workout for Boomers!

I am not an athletic person and I don’t enjoy doing exercises.  But as a retired boomer, I need to exercise regularly as I have found that some of the pains I  experienced recently was caused by my inactivity.

I have been going to a gym every week if possible working with a personal trainer. I don’t really enjoy the experience but I have no choice if I want to control the pains on my body.

Today, I had a great workout session and I truly enjoy the exercises that my personal trainer designed  for me. I did the following exercises in my hour long workout this afternoon:

1.       Warm up with circling my arms – 2 minutes

Eccentric Pull Up

       1. Eccentric movement on the pull up bar

First with underhand grip –  2 sets  of 10

Followed by overhand  grip – two sets of 10

I loved this exercise as I could feel that my grip strength improved after only two sessions  with Joyce.

Clean Weight Exercise While Stepping up on the Risers

      

2   2.   Step up with 6 risers – a set of 10

Step up with weight ,  a 15 lb dumbbell on each hand-  a set of 10

Clean the weight.; step up with weight on shoulder – 2 sets of 10

I was running out of breath by the end of each set of exercise. My coach told me  a short rest of 1 ½ minutes was important and needed to regain my strength.

   

  3    Renegade Row 

   

      First with  a 12 lb dumbbell . alternating hands, a set of 10

Followed by  15lb, alternating hands, a set of 10

Followed by 20 lb, one hand at a time, a set of 10

There was a 30 seconds rest after each set.

      4/   3 sets of Burpee – Each set was 1 minute and I was asked to do this exercise without stopping within the duration. It was not easy. I was a little dizzy after each set and needed more than the 30 seconds of rest allowed.

     5.   Body Weight Squats

     

       A set of 10 squats, as fast as I could do it.

    3 sets of 10 squats, a 30 seconds rest after each set.

 

Instead of feeling exhausted and defeated after some workout sessions, I felt energized and accomplished this time.  I did something that I never thought I could do before. I never thought I could ever pull my own body upward on a pull up bar. But I did! ( With Joyce’s spotting me.)

I really enjoyed my workout session today!!! I never thought I would ever say that. I now look forward to the next workout session with Joyce, my personal trainer.

R.T., Toronto

Dec. 2012

Strength Building Exercises

I have been away for a month from my workout routine and now I am back with Joyce, my personal trainer.
She measured me again today and I was happy to learn that since I started my training program with her a few months ago, I have seen great improvement in my physical strength, a loss of five pound and more than four inches on my waist. The loss of body weight and inches might not be significant, but I have been able to keep them off.

This morning Joyce introduced to some strength building exercises that I really liked So I would like to share them with those who are interested in building strength and muscles. Here they are:


1. Ab thruster - 3 sets of 12

I had my feet placed on the surface of 3 riser height. I started with just thrusting my ab as high as I could for about 1-2 seconds, 12 times.
During the second and third set, Joyce added weight for me. With  a weight disc placed on my abdomin, I did the ab thrust 2 sets, each set 12 times.

Step Up with Riser Steps

2a. Riser Step Up

I first started with the Riser Step without weight, but with increased risers after each set of 12 exercise.

Step Up with Weight

2b. Riser Steps with Weight 

 After a warm up on the riser steps, I started stepping up with weight, first with a 15 lb dumbbell on each hand then increased to 20 lbs.  I started stepping up with 6 then increased to 8 riser height. Great exercise for hamstrings if your hamstrings happen to be hurting. Mine were hurting pretty badly, but since I started exercising, the pain has disappeared but it returns when I am not exercising! So I have to keep up the program.

An Eccentric Movement

3. Eccentric Movement on the Pull Up Bar

Since I did not have a lot of strength with my hands and had difficulty pulling myself up to the bar, Joyce tied an eccentric movement band  on the bar to assist me to complete this exercise.

With my two hands on the pull up bar and my right foot on the band, I had to jump as high as  I could and control the descend down to the surface. I have often seen young people especially men doing this exercise but never attempted it on my own. I attempted it today. Though I could not raise myself too high but it was a good start.

This exercise will definitely help me build my upper body strength which mature adults need in order to perform the daily chores and be independent in their daily activities. My goal is to be able to live an independent and productive life without becoming a burden to anyone in my retirement life.

The Burpee - An Effective Cardio Exercise

4. Burpee

This exercise look seasy but it is not.

A cardio exercise - Joyce timed me with her stop watch and I had to perform as many burpees as possible within a 1 minute timing.

 After each minute, I was given a 30 seconds rest. It was a strenuous exercise.  By the time I did the three sets, I was sweating. A very effective exercise indeed!

I paid dearly for each session of exercise with my personal trainer. I hope that by writing down these exercises in my blog, I will be able to remember these exercises and share them with others.

Happy exercising! Hope these exercises will help to ease the pain in your hamstrings like they did for me!

R.T.  Goodlife Gym, Toronto
Dec. 2012

An Ontario Play Based Kindergarten Classroom

I landed  in Toronto, Canada on a Sunday evening and it felt so good when I spotted my wonderful husband's smiling face from among the crowds waiting at the Pearson Airport! It does not matter where I have traveled, the best part is always coming home and seeing my loved ones. It was just fabulous seeing my husband and son again after almost a month away from home.  We had dinner together at an Ethiopian restaurant downtown and we had a lot to catch up! My family was very interested in learning about my trip to Cambodia and I had a lot to tell them!

Working with the Visiting Principals from China

I did not have much time to rest from my Cambodian trip as I was scheduled to work with the visiting principals from China for the next week!

Though I had worked as a public school administrator for the past decade, my passion is still teaching! Therefore, when I was asked to do some teaching for the principals by OPC, I immediately accepted the assignment.

A Pictorial/ Visual Schedule for Kindergarten Students

I love the opportunity of teaching and sharing my knowledge and experience with other educators.

I have had the privilege of  being involved in a program for international principals visiting Ontario schools. I just love it!

A Question / Challenge Posted for the children at the Sand Table

One of the Learning Centers in the Kindergarten Classroom

 I worked with a group of  kindergarten principals from Asia. These visiting principals were here to learn about the Ontario education system and to gain first hand knowledge by visiting schools in the greater Toronto area.

Each time when we receive a group of visiting principals, I could hardly wait to start my seminars with them and exchange ideas about our education systems and schools.


                                                              




These principals were eager and interested to learn about our students, school organization, curriculum, and the problems and challenges facing our school principals. However, nothing could compare to how excited they were when they visited the schools!

Another Question for the Children at the Music Table

The principals were especially very interested to learn about our play based kindergarten program and how teachers use play to teach students in their classrooms.

The principals observed that there were many learning centres set up in each of  the kindergarten classrooms they visited.

The Crafts Table Where Children Experiment Their Art Ideas

They observed that when the children were playing, they were not just playing but learning while doing so.

At many of the learning centres, there was a question or a challenge posted  and children were encouraged to find answers for the question by actively engaging in the playing/ learning process.

Children were encouraged to come up with their own creative ideas and experiment with them while playing /working on their tasks.












Though the children were working on the same theme, they were not asked to produce the exact picture, therefore no two pictures made by the children were exactly the same.

Children Placed Their Movable Teddy According to Instruction

In the area of reading and building up new vocabulary, the teacher made it fun and interactive by asking the children each to make a story book with a movable teddy bear.

After the children cut and paste the book together, they each had their own story book and were asked to place where Teddy should be by reading and following the instructions as stated on the pages.

A Math Question for the Kindergarten Children

The visiting principals gained an understanding of how the play based program and were very impressed how well disciplined and focused our students were when they were playing/ learning in the classroom.



R.T.  Toronto, Canada
Dec. 2012

If You Only Had an Evening in Hong Kong

The Famous Night Scene of Hong Kong

 Since there was no direct flight from Cambodia to Canada, I needed to stop over in Hong Kong and make a connecting flight to Toronto.

I boarded the DragonAir with Candy and Henry at the Phnom Penh International Airport and after a 2 1/2 hour flight landed in Hong Kong a little after 3:00p.m., local time.

Bilingual Signs are Everywhere - No Worry of Getting Lost

Both Candy and Henry had family members in Hong Kong so we said good bye and parted our way. I was grateful that I had them as my traveling companions and they looked after me really well helping me with everything.


The Hong Kong International Airport is a huge and modern airport with bilingual signs everywhere so foreign travelers with knowledge in English will have no problem navigating their way there.

Looking Out from My Room at the Kowloon Regal Hotel

My husband booked a hotel room for me at the Kowloon Regal Hotel and they ( and a number of hotels) even had their own counter set up right on the Arrival Floor at the airport.

Hong Kong has a very well developed public transit system. Passengers can easily take either the airport/ downtown express bus or subway train that would take the travelers right into the downtown district of Hong Kong at a reasonable cost.

The Regal Hotel has its own shuttle bus, not free, but very inexpensive at HK$ 130.00 ( around US$ 20.00.

 Many Christmas Decorations on the Streets of Hong Kong

The hotel staff kindly informed me that it would be  faster taking the subway as the hotel shuttle bus would be stopping at all the other Regal Hotel stops and dropping off passengers. Since I had no family members or friends in Hong Kong, therefore I was not in a hurry, I decided to take the one and a half  hour scenic route and waited for the shuttle bus.

The shuttle ride was comfortable and it took the passengers through many streets of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong - A City of 7 Million People ; Skyscrapers Everywhere

 Hong Kong is a modern, clean city with many skyscrapers scattered throughout the entire area.

Its population is around seven million and the public transportation system is efficient, accessible and very reasonable in cost.

One can pretty well get to anywhere they want to go with the public transit system.  No wonder it has been voted as the most livable city in the world recently.

Avenue of Stars - A Nice Walk Along the Waterfront

As the bus took us into the city, it passed by mountains and green areas. I did not realize that Hong Kong is so mountainous.

It is also a very busy seaport with many loading stations, huge cranes busy loading and unloading huge containers from numerous cargo ships.

As I observed sitting in the Shuttle bus, the streets were very clean, traffic was busy but very orderly. There was no crazy driving or vehicles going in all directions.When we were near the downtown area, I saw few people walking on the streets. In fact, I was wondering where did all the pedestrians go? Ah, as I looked around, I realized pedestrians used many of the walkaways built and dedicated specially for them high above ground. This way, it is much safer for pedestrians as they do not have to compete with the huge volume of traffic on the road.

Avenue of Stars - A Nice Walk Along the Harbour

I walked around the area, then along the harbour and visited the Avenue of Stars where it explained the movie history of Hong Kong through a series of sculptures and concrete hand prints of famous Hong Kong movie stars.

Honouring Bruce Lee in the  Movie History of Hong Kong

Bruce Lee, one of the most famous stars in the 1970's and was hnonoured by a bronze lifelike sculpture was the most popular spot where people paused, imitated his actions and took pictures.

10p.m by the Harbour - Lots of People Walking Around

                                           
  I strolled and shopped on the streets of Hong Kong for the entire evening and I actually felt quite safe being alone. There were a lot of countries and cities where I visited and did not feel comfortable walking at night even with friends around.

 In Hong Kong I felt  fine walking around by myself at night. It could be I was in a tourist area and there were a lot of people. People looked happy and everywhere I went, it was well lit so that I knew there was nothing lurking behind somewhere.


It was a fun evening enjoying the night scene and the harbour view of this famous city. I found people here were friendly and polite. Even if they could not understand you, they would at least make an effort to help you. It was a very pleasant experience for me indeed.

R.T. Hong Kong,
Dec.1, 2012