Posts Tagged ‘free’

Peggy Regnier, LCSW, presents a talk titled, “Happiness Grows,” at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 22, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

The American Geriatric Society proposes that happiness keeps growing as people age. And unlike the way popular culture portrays aging in movies and T.V., people actually seem to develop a higher capacity to avoid stress and utilize personal wisdom in making social decisions. This leads to more satisfying relationships and helps people savor enjoyable experiences.

Research shows that happiness levels are quite high in the 20s, but dip through the 30s and reach their lowest point in the mid-forties. After 50, happiness levels again begin to rise well through the 60s. As long as seniors are in fairly good health, 70 year olds and counting are on average as happy and mentally healthy as 20 year olds.

Some psychologists believe this is in part because of the development of cognitive processes that result in the focus and memory of positive events over negative ones. Those processes, they think, help seniors better regulate their emotions, allowing them to view life more positively.

Regnier’s lecture will explore how seniors are particularly well adapted to common challenges in mental well-being often even surpassing younger populations. The discussion will touch upon other aspects of senior mental health such as how older adults are less prone to let the opinions of others affect them, and are not as easily influenced by criticism and peer judgment.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. And it’s not called “Breakfast with the Therapist” for nothing: Participants who attend will also be served a healthy breakfast.

For more information, or to reserve a seat, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

Members of the Oak Park River Forest (OPRF) Alumni Chorus will perform a concert titled “Sounds of Spring” at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Michael Colin Reed will conduct the OPRF Alumni Chorus in a special spring concert for residents and the public at the Arms.

The OPRF Alumni Association was founded in 2002. Through newsletters, reunion support and special events, OPRF alumni strive to maintain and enhance connections with their classmates and the Oak Park River Forest High School (OPRFHS) community.

In addition, the group offers Summer Enrichment Grants to provide financial support for current OPRFHS students to participate in academic-related summer programs.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. Call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

Students from St. Leonard’s School will perform a concert at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Children from St. Leonard ranging in age from seven to 12 years old will fill the Arms’ ballroom with the harmonious sounds of their musical group “Glorious Glee.”

St. Leonard School in Berwyn instills the values of faith, family and academic excellence in students. As Catholic educators, the faculty of St. Leonard encourages students to achieve their maximum potential in a positive environment. In this way, they hope to teach children to live a life grounded in the values, behaviors and concepts that demonstrate a Christian message of faith, love, truth, peace and justice.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. Call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

A wine and cheese reception will take place for the opening of the Lifelong Learning Center’s Senior Art Show at 6 p.m. Friday, March 22, in the Narrow Gallery, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

The art instillation will feature work from all members of the painting class held at the Lifelong Learning Center and will be presented by Nancy Fong, the painting instructor.

A class is held every Friday that consists of men and women age 50 and older.

“Everyone in my class paints for the fun of it and for the camaraderie,” Fong said.

Fong is an artist member and former vice-president and board member of the Oak Park Art League. She received her BA in Studio Arts from the University of Illinois.

The Lifelong Learning Center, located inside the Oak Park Arms, strives to keep seniors active and inspired within the community. A variety of programs are available, such as ceramics, weaving, lapidary, creative writing, woodshop, quilting, needlecraft and painting.

The gallery can be viewed daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The reception is free and open to the public. For more information call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

Mary Maryland, PhD, RN, presents a talk titled, “Happy Feet,” at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. Dr. Mary, as she’s affectionately called, will present tips on maintaining healthy feet.

The human foot is a marvel of biomechanical engineering, and the average person will walk the equivalent of twice around the world in a lifetime. Feet deserve careful attention.

Ten tips to maintain healthy feet, according to Medicalnewstoday.com:

1. Inspect feet regularly and pay attention to changes in color, texture or appearance.

2. Maintain good foot hygiene including washing and drying between the toes.

3. Hydrate the skin. It is helpful to replace the moisture content by using lotions or creams on a regular basis.

4. Buy proper-size shoes. Purchase new shoes late in the day, when feet tend to be at their largest. Always buy the shoes that feel the best.

5. Don’t ignore foot pain. Symptoms that increase or do not resolve within a reasonable period of time need to be evaluated by your podiatric physician.

6. Cut toenails straight across. Never cut into the corner this could cause an ingrown toenail. Gently file away sharp corners or rough edges with an emery board.

7. Walking is a great way to keep weight under control and is an excellent conditioner for the feet. Be sure to wear appropriate athletic shoes when exercising.

8. Alternate shoes each day. Since the feet have sweat glands, shoes will absorb moisture, so it is important to allow shoes to dry out completely.

9. Avoid walking barefoot to help protect feet from injury and infection.

10. Put sunblock on feet while wearing sandals during the day to avoid sunburn.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

Visitors are welcome at the next meeting of the Mills Investment Club at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. New members are always welcome to join or visit.

For more than 30 years the investment club has come together to learn how to follow economic trends and use that information to expand its portfolio. With guidance from club President Pat Koko, club members jointly purchase stocks and make decisions as a group.

The club provides a fun and easy way to learn about investing by combining camaraderie, education, buying power and confidence.

“Our year-to-date is 9.7 percent right now which puts us ahead of the Dow,” Koko said. “We’ve got a variety of stocks, and we’re doing really well.”

To make the best financial choices, a special presentation is given by a different group member each month. In addition, each member is in charge of following one stock throughout the month and presenting a report of the stock’s activity.

There are currently 15 members. To formally join, attendance to at least three meetings is required, and the final decision is voted on by the group. However, anyone can attend as often as they like without becoming a member.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. Call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

The public is invited to an afternoon of movement-based learning with Brain Gym® with Aimee Edwards at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Brain Gym movements, exercises or activities refer to the original 26 Brain Gym movements, sometimes abbreviated as “The 26.” These activities recall the movements naturally done during the first years of life when one is learning to coordinate the eyes, ears, hands and whole body. There are four categories: midline, energy, deepening attitudes and lengthening.

The 26, along with a program for “learning through movement,” were developed by educator and reading specialist Paul E. Dennison and his wife and colleague, Gail E. Dennison.

For more than two decades, clients, teachers and students have reported the effectiveness of these simple activities. Although it’s not yet clear why these movements work so well, they often bring about dramatic improvements in areas such as:

•    concentration and focus
•    memory
•    academics: reading, writing, math, test taking
•    physical coordination
•    relationships
•    self-responsibility
•    organization skills
•    attitude

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

Roberta Kulik will teach an Irish dance workshop at 11 a.m., Thursday, March 14, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. Kulik will teach user-friendly Irish folk dance steps and choreography.

Irish dancing is a cultural form of dance, rich in tradition and ethnicity, which originated in Ireland hundreds of years ago. Irish dances are traditional group numbers that can either be divided into performance dances or social dance, and going even further, into solo, pairs and groups.

Although step-dancing is often the dance form that comes to mind when thinking of Irish dance, it is in fact only one of a number of styles. Other Irish dance styles include Ceili (pronounced KAY-lee), Sean-nos and set dancing.

Step dancing is a highly skilled art form focusing entirely on footwork. Arms are held tightly at the sides and the torso remains rigid. While it is unclear exactly why the upper body does not participate in this dance, the most intriguing theory is that because when Irish dancing was banned by the British, dancers only used their feet so they would not appear to be dancing if seen through the windows.

Ceili involves several couples dancing together in a set pattern and is usually performed in a line or circle. Dancers either learn the steps in advance or listen to a caller announce them. Sometimes partners are exchanged in this type of social dance.

Sean-nos, meaning “low down,” is an old-style solo form of Irish dance. The movements are low to the ground and often improvised. Similar to tap dance, the arms move freely and are sometimes incorporated into the steps.

Set dancing resembles ballroom dancing and employs steps such as the waltz, polka and swing. In recent years it has become very popular in Ireland and is gaining in popularity in the United States.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The workshop is free and open to the public. For more information, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

The Oak Park River Forest Garden Club of America presents “Garden Therapy,” at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Club members will guide and assist participants in making beautiful floral arrangements with seasonal flowers and greens. These arrangements can be taken home.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. For more information call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.

The Monday Night Concert Series continues with composers Shandling and Coyle at 7 p.m. Monday, March 11, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

Rick Shandling and Ray Coyle have put together original jazz compositions and arrangements for residents and the public, featuring an unusual lineup of French horn, trumpet, sax, vibraphone, bass and drums.

Shandling, a drummer and composer, is regularly featured in the Chicago area jazz circuit and has presented his own original music and arrangements in multiple concerts. He has also participated in educational school programs focusing on progressive jazz forms. In fact, Shandling and his jazz group have received grants for educational performances from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and the Lake County Arts Council, in addition to a variety of suburban cultural arts commissions.

Raised in England, Coyle has wide musical experience having worked in Europe and the United States both as a drummer and mallet player. He started playing the drums at an early age and began his career working in clubs backing singers. Coyle later gained degrees in jazz and classical percussion from Newcastle College of Arts and Technology and Trinity College London.  He immigrated to the Netherlands where he earned a masters degree specializing in mallets and composition. In addition, he has experience teaching music at a collegiate level.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The event is free and open to the public. Call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.