Leading the Activity Profession through education, standards, and collaboration to enrich lives…

Your Profession. Your Community. Your NAAP.

Welcome to the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP)—the professional home for Activity and Life Enrichment Professionals dedicated to enriching lives through meaningful engagement.

NAAP gives you the education, resources, standards, connections, and professional support you need to grow your career and strengthen your practice.

Whether you work in independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, adult day services, or another care setting, NAAP helps you stay informed, inspired, and connected.

NAAP CENTRAL

Explore NAAP Central for member resources, education, professional tools, certification support, lesson plans, regulations, and activity ideas.

NAAP Central brings key resources into one convenient place to help activity professionals learn, plan, and support quality of life across care settings.

NAAP Education gives members a convenient place to continue learning, refresh their skills, and stay connected to current topics in the activity profession. This area includes access to past webinars, on-demand learning, and course information designed to support activity professionals in many care settings.

Members can check their On-Demand Dashboard, explore available webinar recordings, and visit the NAAP Training site to learn more or enroll in courses. Whether they are looking for continuing education, professional development, or practical ideas they can use in their work, the Education area helps keep those resources easy to find.

View Education Resources

Helping when help is needed

NAAP Education gives members a place to keep learning, build professional knowledge, and stay connected to current topics in the activity profession. This area brings together webinars, on-demand learning, course information, and continuing education resources in one easy-to-access location.

Members can review past webinar opportunities, visit their On-Demand Dashboard, and explore courses through the NAAP Training site. Whether someone is looking for CE credit, a refresher on best practices, or practical ideas to support their daily work, the Education area helps make those learning resources easier to find.

View Lesson Plans

Senior woman smiling while drawing with the group.

Art begins with soul!

NAAP Bookstore gives members access to helpful professional resources, study materials, and practical guides for activity professionals. These books are designed to support certification, department procedures, resident councils, volunteer programs, staff training, and everyday activity services.

Members can find resources such as the NAAP Resident Council Guidelines, Volunteer Guidelines Booklet, Policy and Procedure Manual, certification exam review guide, and professional growth materials. These items can be useful for preparing for certification, strengthening department practices, and supporting quality programs across care settings.

Visit the Bookstore

Caring begins with a smile

NAAP Certification gives members a central place to find information and resources related to professional credentials in the activity profession. This area helps connect members with certification pathways, exam preparation, and continuing professional growth.

Members can explore certification information for NCCAP, NCTRC, and ALEC. Whether someone is preparing for national certification, reviewing credential options, or learning more about the Assisted Living Enrichment Certification, this area helps keep the key certification resources easy to find.

View Certification Information

Sharing memories of a lifetime

NAAP Regulations gives members a place to find helpful information related to activity services, care requirements, and regulatory guidance. This area is designed to support activity professionals as they work to understand expectations and stay informed across different care settings.

Members can access skilled nursing regulation resources, state resources, and regulation-related information that may help with planning, documentation, compliance, and department practices. The goal is to keep important guidance easier to find and use when supporting quality activity programs.

View Regulations

Making connections, friends and knowing they are safe

NAAP Resources gives members a convenient place to find practical tools, ideas, and support materials for their work as activity professionals. This area brings together helpful items that can support planning, documentation, staff development, and day-to-day department needs.

Members can access resources such as 5-Minute Flares, Ask NAAP, forms, policies, blogs, and competency checklists. Whether someone needs a quick idea, a useful form, or a professional reference, the Resources area helps keep these tools easy to find.

View Resources

NAAP Activities to Go gives members quick access to ready-to-use activity ideas and program materials. This area is designed to help activity professionals save time, spark creativity, and bring fresh ideas into their daily programming.

Members can find practical activity resources that can be adapted for different care settings, group sizes, and resident needs. Whether someone needs a quick program idea or a starting point for planning, Activities to Go helps make useful activity content easy to access.

View Activities to Go

NAAP Perks

NAAP Member Perks

We’re excited to bring you exclusive offers from our partners, designed to enhance your activities and support the well-being of seniors. Here are some of the special perks available for the NAAP community, and this area will continue to grow, so be sure to check back from time to time for new offers:

Activity Connection is the leading resource for life enrichment and activity programming, trusted by more than 20,000 senior care communities worldwide. Subscribers receive 500+ fresh activities and resources each month, created by activity professionals to help life enrichment teams spend less time planning and more time creating meaningful engagement.
Salt & Prep your ultimate hub for stress-free senior programming! We provide top-quality, ready-to- use games, puzzles, trivia, and more—all tailored for senior communities. At the heart of your subscription is our SALT – the Senior Activity Learning Terminal – an organized, easy-to- use platform designed specifically for activity professionals.
Dementia By Day Let’s face it: Dementia care programming is very different from programming in any other facet of senior living. How can we as activity professionals plan and execute engaging programming for people living with dementia? NAAP is so excited to partner with Dementia By Day to fill those education gaps.
BirdSong Birdsong’s award-winning platform is now available free for all NAAP members. The Birdsong Web-App offers instant access to brain games, music, videos, trivia, virtual travel, and more—designed specifically for older adults. No account required, no subscription needed.
QUILLT: Quiltt is the senior living platform that introduced a new technology category: the Resident Engagement Intelligence System (REIS). Where traditional activity software placed the calendar at the center, Quiltt places the resident at the center, turning signals like participation patterns, social connection, mood, life story, and life events into intelligence staff can act on every day.

Take advantage of these offers today and continue creating enriching experiences for your community!

Meaningful Engagement Starts with Activity Connection

As the leading resource for life enrichment and activity programming, Activity Connection helps activity professionals create experiences that inspire connection, purpose, and joy.

Trusted by more than 20,000 senior care communities worldwide, our platform delivers 500+ fresh programs and resources each month, along with planning tools, education, and professional support that save time and strengthen resident engagement.

Designed by activity professionals for activity professionals, everything we create helps teams spend less time preparing and more time enriching lives.

Wherever older adults live, Activity Connection is there to support meaningful engagement.

Independent Living
Assisted Living
Memory Care
Skilled Nursing
Adult Day
Home Care

With an Activity Connection subscription, you’ll receive:

500+ fresh, original programs and resources every month
40+ programming categories, with five months of content always available to simplify planning including Daily Chronicles
Ready-to-use scripts, adaptations, and activity modifications
Digital games and interactive tools, including customizable puzzle creators
Calendar Builder and professionally designed calendar templates
Newsletter templates and clip art
Planning tools that help you organize programs with confidence

Additional Resources Available to non-subscribers

Digital Bingo Caller
Marketplace featuring products for senior living professionals
Online CEU courses approved by NCCAP and APNCC
AC Forum, where activity professionals connect, share ideas, and support one another
AC Talks, our educational blog for life enrichment professionals
Nationwide Print Services designed specifically for senior living communities

Activity Connection delivers comprehensive life enrichment resources for less than $1 per day, making it an investment that’s good for both your residents and your budget.

We Are Activities.

Have questions or feedback? Ready to get started? Visit ActivityConnection.com

September 2026 Activity Samples

Game-Can You Spell Misspell

Craft-Button Monogram

Dolly Parton Party

Simplify Senior Activities. Start Making Planning Easier.

SaltandPrep.com is your ultimate hub for stress-free senior programming! We provide top-quality, ready-to- use games, puzzles, trivia, and more—all tailored for senior communities.

At the heart of your subscription is our SALT – the Senior Activity Learning Terminal – an organized, easy-to- use platform designed specifically for activity professionals. With SaltandPrep.com, you can:

Access Curated Content: Explore a wide variety of pre-made games, puzzles, trivia, and themed activities.
Quickly Search: Find activities by category or date in seconds.
Use Ready-to-Go Materials: Download and print instantly, eliminating prep time.
Utilize Comprehensive Tools: Get calendars, schedules, and event planning resources all in one place.
Save Time: Focus on engaging with residents while we take care of the heavy lifting.
Our platform ensures you always have fresh, high-quality activities at your fingertips, making every moment meaningful with minimal effort.
Senior activities made simple – just add seniors. Subscribe today!

Here are some free samples from Salt & Prep to use this month:

Back To School Search

Back To School Search Solution

Red White And True

Round Up Football Fever

Then And Now

Let’s face it: Dementia care programming is very different from programming in any other facet of senior living. How can we as activity professionals plan and execute engaging programming for people living with dementia? NAAP is so excited to partner with Dementia By Day to fill those education gaps.

For over 10 years, Dementia By Day has been educating senior living professionals and designing quality dementia care brands. If you need to brush up on your general dementia education, provide your families with education, or learn about dementia-specific programming, Dementia By Day is your one-stop-shop for all of this and more.

Download their Monthly Freebie HERE!

Get 25% off Dementia By Day’s Program Director Certification course here.

Quiltt is the senior living platform that introduced a new technology category: the Resident Engagement Intelligence System (REIS). Where traditional activity software placed the calendar at the center, Quiltt places the resident at the center, turning signals like participation patterns, social connection, mood, life story, and life events into intelligence staff can act on every day.

Life enrichment professionals are some of the most perceptive people in the building. They notice when someone goes quiet. They carry that awareness home. Quiltt is the system built to receive what they already see, so the worry that someone slipped through finally has somewhere to go.

Benchmark Introduction

Most senior living communities are already observing engagement signals every day. The question is whether those observations are being captured, connected, and acted on.

The Resident Engagement Intelligence Benchmark, developed and validated in collaboration with the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) and Dr. Rob Winningham, a nationally recognized expert in gerontology and brain health, helps communities measure how well they track participation patterns, social connection, mood, life events, and other signals that reveal who needs attention.

The benchmark takes about 3 minutes to complete and provides a Resident Engagement Intelligence Score, along with insights into where your community stands and how ready it is to deliver on the promise that engagement is care.

Take the Resident Engagement Intelligence Benchmark

What is Resident Engagement Intelligence?

Resident Engagement Intelligence is the process of tracking and understanding how residents participate, connect socially, respond emotionally, and engage in daily life within a senior living community. Instead of focusing only on activity calendars and attendance, Resident Engagement Intelligence helps communities identify changes in participation, mood, routines, and social connection that may indicate a resident needs additional attention or support.

Quiltt developed the Resident Engagement Intelligence System (REIS) to help senior living communities organize these engagement signals into meaningful information staff can use to improve quality of life and resident-centered care.

Why Resident Engagement Matters in Senior Living

Engagement is more than attendance at activities. Participation, social interaction, and connection to meaningful experiences are important indicators of resident well-being. Changes in engagement patterns may help identify loneliness, withdrawal, depression, cognitive decline, or changing care needs.

Life enrichment professionals often notice these changes first. Tools that help capture and organize these observations can improve communication between departments and support more proactive resident care.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Quiltt?

Quiltt is a senior living engagement platform designed to help communities track participation, social connection, mood, life events, and other engagement indicators through its Resident Engagement Intelligence System (REIS).

What does REIS stand for?

REIS stands for Resident Engagement Intelligence System.

What is the Resident Engagement Intelligence Benchmark?

The benchmark is a short assessment developed in collaboration with NAAP and Dr. Rob Winningham to help communities evaluate how well they capture and use resident engagement information.

How long does the benchmark take?

The benchmark takes approximately 3 minutes to complete.

Who is the benchmark designed for?

The benchmark is designed for senior living communities, activity professionals, life enrichment teams, and leadership staff interested in improving resident engagement and quality of life.

WHY JOIN NAAP?

Learn. Connect. Grow. Lead.

Access practical, real-world education and resources
Connect with professionals who understand your work
Strengthen your skills and professional practice
Stay current with standards, trends, and best practices
Grow as a leader and advocate for the profession

Your work matters. Your profession matters. Your voice matters.

Join NAAP

And be part of a community committed to advancing Activity and Life Enrichment while making a difference in the lives of those we serve.

National Assisted Living Enrichment Certification (ALEC)

This is a self-paced, online course—so there’s no live instructor, and you can go through the lessons whenever it works best for you. When you successfully finish the course and exam (included ), you will be eligible for Assisted Living Enrichment Certification (ALEC) through the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP).

Click HERE to enroll in the ALEC Certification Course today!

Activity Director Certification (ADC)

Any professional that registers for the Standardized ADC Complete Course will receive:

2 years of NAAP Membership
2 years of NCCAP certification
Coursebook
Course Materials
Certification Exam Fee Waived

Click HERE to enroll in ADC Complete Course today!