Caregiver’s Artbox™
Adaptable art lessons and creative engagement resources for activity professionals and caregivers working with older adults.
Art lessons for Activity Professionals. Class-tested with Seniors in Care Communities.
Downloads include: leader guide, participate handouts, user tips, resource lists, templates and more.
Visit the Caregiver’s Artbox Store on ADPAD (Activity Directors Pay Activity Directors)
Helpful guides and creative supports delivered to your inbox.
Download the 5 Art Activity Hacks for teacher tips and practical tools you can use today.
Professional Development for activity professionals and caregivers.
Join me at the PAPA Conference to learn the P.E.E.P.S Framework 10/5/2026
Julie Mader during a hands-on workshop at the 2025 PAPA Conference
About Julie
Julie Mader is a teaching artist, artist-in-healthcare, and curriculum developer who creates meaningful visual art experiences with older adults. Drawing on more than a decade of teaching in senior living and community settings, she develops field-tested, adaptable art lessons that encourage creative choice, build skills, spark conversation, and support lifelong learning. Through Caregiver's Artbox, Julie puts that experience into the hands of Activity and Life Enrichment Professionals, helping them confidently lead engaging art experiences of their own.
Featured Lessons
Community ID Group Art Project
Create a layered watercolor composition of Liberty Bells using washable markers and simple techniques -designed for a wide range of abilities.
Printable Galleries for Creative Choice
Printable “galleries” that offer an open-ended space for conversation and discovery. Participants to choose, arrange and display.
Participants discover how an ordinary bunch of celery creates beautiful flower prints. Two complete art lessons with flexible teaching options.
Easy Printmaking with Older Adults
The P.E.E.P.S. Framework
A simple, repeatable approach that transforms art-making into meaningful moments of connection, dignity, and joy.
At the center of Caregiver’s Artbox® is the P.E.E.P.S. Framework — a simple, adaptable model for creative engagement in elder care.
Each stage - Prepare with Purpose, Engage with Empathy, Encourage Expression, Personalize the Process, and Share & Sustain - offers clear, practical steps that make art sessions easy to lead and deeply rewarding to experience.
This framework empowers Activity Professionals to guide groups of participants with confidence, creativity, and ease, ensuring that every resident feels included, valued, and capable.
FREE GUIDE
5 Art Activity Hacks: Time & Budget Savers for Activity Professionals
Reduce frustration and build confidence with teacher tips and practical tools you can use today.