Atria Park of Ann Arbor

We are so excited for sunflower season! What's your favorite flower?

🌟 Ann is so talented!

Did you know she's a skilled artist? 🎨 She has discovered over the years that she has many talents. She specializes in dot painting, needle felting (shown below), crafting journals, leather work, and is an author! When asked where she learned all her skills, she said, "My grandmother was an artist, so she was a part of my inspiration. However, people these days don't experiment as much as I did - that's how I learned how to do all I can do! The trick is to keep experimenting until you figure things out. Be creative and don't be afraid to play with it until you like the results."

We have the best residents, and we love to learn from their passion and talent. Check out this snapshot of Ann in action, adding color and beauty to our world!

We think very highly of our staff and a story last week confirmed why that would be the case. To encourage staff to participate in an Employee Feedback Survey, we raffled off a 55" television! Desiree (left) was very excited for the raffle and really hoped she would win. However, when Mary (right) won the TV, she felt someone else deserved it more and gave it to Desiree. It's simple things like this that help our staff stand apart. They support and appreciate each other, which is exactly what we strive for here at Atria - a team of people all helping each other and working together. ❤️

The Olympics are here! We watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics together today while we enjoyed food from some of the countries our residents are from. It was fun to celebrate together!

Who won the Recipe Showdown? Our taste testers agree that Angela, our Life Guidance Program Specialist deserved to take home the title of Macaroni and Cheese Champion! 🧀🏆

We had a wonderful turnout between residents and staff sampling the cheesy goodness and the staff and residents preparing delicious Macaroni and Cheese for us. It was hard to make a choice for the ratings, but Angela's particularly stood out with the shredded chicken in it! Resident Sharon, brought us an incredible recipe and taught us how to prepare it earlier this afternoon. The secret is all in the types of cheese - you'll have to ask her about it!

What a wonderful culinary celebration. All residents and staff were able to participate in our panel, as we took an average of all the votes. Thanks to our chefs, panelists, and everyone who helped whisk up some fun!

We tried something new today! Napkin Origami was a big hit and made our dining room so festive and fun!

Intergenerational programs touch a sweet spot in many of our residents souls. One of the best times of the week is when Kayla, our yoga instructor, brings in her sweet son, Zion during class! Each week, he walks around and greets everyone in class, along with giving them a big hug. ❤️

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
Blank Slate Creamery Ann Arbor quickly became a fan-favorite when we saw their unique flavors and experienced the deliciousness! It was suggested that we make it a weekly trip after getting a taste of their homemade ice cream.

Each of our residents brings something unique to our community!

Did you know that Ellie has an incredible collection of China dishes? Ellie moved to the United States from Germany when she was in her twenties. Since then, she has a tradition of buying China when she goes on vacations to remind her of the trip. "I've been doing it since the first time I went back to Germany. It's what I'm known for in my family! I love looking at my beautiful collections and remembering the wonderful trips I've been able to take."

We’re so grateful Elonia chose our community to call home!

Congratulations to one of our Medication Technicians, Maya! We had a baby shower for her recently and we just got an update that she had the baby and they are both doing well. Congratulations! 🎉

To all of our Classic Car Owners - we need your help! We are hosting a Classic Car Show as a part of a nostalgic day here at Atria Park of Ann Arbor. If you would be able to come show off your cars to our residents on September 5th from 2:30-4pm, please email [email protected] to reserve your spot, as our parking lot has limited spaces.

Please feel free to share this and spread the word! Thank you!

Thank you to comedian, Chris Young, for providing lots of laughs to us last week! We all had a great time!

Thank you, Diamond Jack River Boat, for hosting us for a wonderful afternoon! We had lunch and a cruise on the Detroit River, and got to team up with Atria Kinghaven and Vista Grande Villa to connect with new friends that we made. What a perfect day to be on the river!

Meals wouldn’t be the same without the energy that the kitchen staff brings to the dining room.
Always ready with a smile, a fist bump, or a hug, our wait staff and cooks make sure that every meal is accompanied by their wonderful energy.

Our kitchen staff features some incredible people. Among them, are Cooks Jajuanna and Abdul, who have been working here at Atria for 7 and 22 years respectively. We appreciate all that our kitchen staff does and the positive impact they have on our residents. If you see some of our kitchen staff this month, be sure to wish them a Happy Culinary Arts Month! Thank you for all you do!

Let freedom ring! 🇺🇸🎆

We celebrated the 4th of July with a luncheon full of patriotic festivities, patriotic music and American history, and cupcakes, cookies, and Popsicles.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in making this year's celebration one for the history books!

This week, we've been preparing for our Independence Day with wreath making and tie dying! Our residents are so crafty!

What a perfect day for a picnic and a walk through Gallup Park! ☀️

We participated in a game of Kickball today and had childhood memories flowing through us. It's so good to relax and have fun!

Did you know we have in-house therapy available at Atria Park of Ann Arbor? While residents are free to choose any provider, through FOX Rehabilitation, they can receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy without leaving the community.

Fox has been a wonderful addition to our building. Our therapists fill our community with positivity, creative thinking, and of course, strengthening! Not only do our therapists do one-on-one work with our residents, but each month, our Occupational Therapist, Julia, leads a health program with our residents in a group setting.

This month, our health topic was about memory. Julia gave us good tips on how to strengthen your memory, asked the residents what they're noticing about their memories, and found solutions. The conversation was flowing!

Thank you, Fox Rehabilitation!

"Grateful" would be an understatement. Recently, we connected with our local Trader Joe's in Ann Arbor who will be donating flowers to us each week! Our residents were so excited to arrange them into beautiful bouquets to bring joy to everyone around the community. We even had enough to give some to our wonderful staff! Thank you, Trader Joe's, for bringing joy and smiles (and fantastic floral smells) to our building! ❤️🌸

We celebrated Father's Day with all the dads, grandpas and father figures at Atria Park of Ann Arbor today. Family, friends and employees came together to share what they love and appreciate about the special guys in their lives.

We got to do a Root Beer sampling with our loved ones, then bonded over memories we had of our fathers and for some of us, what memories came along with being a father. Cheers to our fathers!

Happy Flag Day! The local Boy Scouts came today to teach us about the folds of the flag and what each fold symbolizes.

Our Art Impression Club has been busy this week! At the club, they share their love of the various forms of art and get together to connect.

Yesterday, we got to meet our Pen Pals after months of writing to each other! Our first grade class was full of energy and enthusiasm. We all enjoyed being able to see each other's faces and hear them tell stories. It has been fun getting to know these kids over the last semester through letters, and we wish them the best as they move to second grade!

We embraced the spirit of nature with our Great Outdoors Social Series! 🌲🦅🗻

We mixed things up at the trail mix bar and learned about local natural landscapes and wildlife from an expert. Stephanie, from Huron Mills Metropark, talked to us about "Backyard Birding." After the presentation, we're ready to be able to distinguish the birds in our area - she gave us great tips and resources to identify birds.

While at the Michigan Flight Museum this week, there was a resident who had a special connection with the large aluminum planes. Connie said, "I remember collecting pop cans to help with the war efforts. They needed extra aluminum to make the planes, so I jumped into action! I went door-to-door in my neighborhood with my little cart, and collected as many pop cans as I could to send to the factories building the planes. Some of this aluminum might have been from my neighborhood! We all had to play our parts to serve, and as a six-year-old child, I was so proud to do my duty and help where I could."

How beautiful! Thanks for sharing, Connie!

Today was the perfect day to see the peonies blooming at the Arboretum in Ann Arbor! Sunshine, flowers, and friendship. What more do you need? 🪷

Our residents have been very hard at work this week because we have a mission. We're in the process of hosting Atria's first Atria 500 race for a staff competition. The residents have been designing the cars for staff to race in tomorrow and Friday. Stay tuned for the final results of the competition and car designs!