Recreation For Seniors In Nursing Homes – Many factors come into play when considering nursing home activities. It is important to consider not only physical limitations, but also cognitive abilities. Thankfully, some fun and engaging activities such as games, gardening, and ice cream socials are perfect for nursing home residents.
The greatest challenge for recreational therapists is matching appropriate activities to each resident’s individual physical and cognitive abilities. Recreational therapists should also work closely with nursing staff to select activities that are most beneficial to the needs of each individual resident.If a particular activity is suitable for a large number of residents, it may be suitable for individuals or groups. can be done with The following list contains a wide range of activities that fall into three basic categories. There may also be some crossover between categories so that a particular activity meets multiple needs or goals of care.
Recreation For Seniors In Nursing Homes
These activities are designed to keep residents engaged and entertained, but many also provide physical and mental benefits.
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There are many opportunities for activities here. Some residents may want to participate in decorating the room for fellow residents’ parties. Others may want to help bake and decorate the cake. Parties can be set up as private events for residents and their families, or they can include fellow residents according to the birthday honoree’s preferences.
This is always popular with residents. Along with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, you’ll want your favorite toppings such as hot fudge, strawberry sauce, and whipped cream, along with extras such as sprinkles, crushed Oreos, peanuts, and cherries. You can make a delicious sundae.
If the weather permits, we’ll close off part of the parking lot, recruit staff and volunteers to park the cars together, and set up a cooking area for grilling kids, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Coordinate with kitchen staff to serve side courses such as potato salad, baked beans and coleslaw. Set up a table for the residents to eat and return everyone to the day room to watch the game on TV.
This includes many things. Of course, young people can read to nursing home residents. An interesting alternative, however, is to tell young people your story. Many children are fascinated by history and are amazed that there was life before the Game Boy and his MP3 player. Stories about life after the war, watching television for the first time, and technological advances are therefore enthusiastically received by children. Each person has a different story to share. The histories of these precious individuals are worth retelling.
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Consider a group chorus of songs from different eras. Ask residents what their favorite songs are and include them. Invite choirs and musicians to recitals. Take residents on excursions to concerts. Also, consider gathering residents in the day room to watch concert DVDs or popular musicals.
Residents can be grouped according to their cognitive ability to play games at different levels, from Candyland to Yahtzee to Poker. Bingo is very popular with residents and can be played for small treats and prizes.
“You can also try some innovations in nursing homes using memory games on tablets adapted for cognitive impairment.”
Consider frosting cookies or baking brownies for the dessert of the day. Baking bread is another activity that doubles as physical activity because it requires manual dexterity. Making popcorn, coloring Easter eggs, and making fresh garden salads all provide opportunities for residents to interact as they prepare the food.
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Holiday ideas include hosting a Labor Day picnic or an early Thanksgiving celebration, inviting resident families, and offering Halloween trick-or-treating to children from the surrounding community. This includes allowing the eldest to go from room to room and collect treats, and hosting and trimming a Christmas decorations party. wood. Other ideas include holding an Easter egg hunt for the resident’s grandchildren and a Fourth of July celebration that might include watching a local fireworks display.Hold a New Year’s Eve celebration You can consider this, but many establishments have parties in the afternoon or evening rather than letting residents sleep until midnight.
This may include gentle exercise adapted to the resident’s physical abilities. Bouncing, throwing, and kicking a beach ball also provide physical activity and mental stimulation. Some facilities use the Wii game system to facilitate resident activity. For example, a wheelchair-bound resident can use their arms to simulate movements like rolling a bowling ball or swinging a baseball bat.
These activities often involve having the resident use large elastic bands to stretch, tone, and strengthen their arms and legs. It can be a great morning activity.
These activities are appropriate for bedridden residents with cognitive decline. Aromatherapy, audio stimulation such as listening to CDs of nature sounds, and tactile therapy, which allows residents to feel various textures from soft to soft using their fingers. rough.
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“What do you do with people who don’t want to do anything (angry/excited), who can’t do anything (palliative care ward, etc.), or who don’t talk because of mental health issues?”
This activity provides a great opportunity for residents to interact with trained volunteers who bring certified therapy pets to the facility. Cuddling a guinea pig or stroking a dog or cat can be very therapeutic for animal lovers, and can even pull more modest residents out of their shells.
The activity is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Some residents enjoy growing herbs in the window garden or planting flowers in pots. While many nursing home residents can no longer adequately care for traditional vegetable gardens and flower gardens by themselves, in some facilities volunteers can work alongside or under their direction. , supports residents. At the very least, this activity provides residents with fresh air, sunshine, and mental stimulation. These are sorely needed to keep boredom and depression at bay.
Crafts not only provide residents with entertainment, but also promote manual dexterity. It can also provide a sense of accomplishment and purpose that is very beneficial to the resident’s mental state. Consider the following crafts. However, do not hesitate to ask the residents themselves what kind of crafts they are interested in.
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While this may involve simple hand-sewn projects, some facilities hold regular quilting sessions where residents work on handmade quilts and later on fund other activities. You can put it up for auction.
This is a great activity that is very easy to do. Residents can work on small individual projects, but you can also consider group projects where residents work together to complete a larger rug.
This activity may be more suitable for residents with cognitive decline, but it also works as a tactile therapy.
Residents who have enjoyed these kinds of crafts before and still have the dexterity to do them will spend hours creating hats, scarves, throws, and many other useful items. can also be spent.
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Male residents may prefer such crafts to make purses, coin purses, and other items.This activity is generally more suitable for those with greater physical and cognitive abilities.
You can find easy-to-make ornament kits at your local craft store or online craft stores such as Oriental Trading.
Recreational therapists should tailor activities to each resident’s abilities, but it is important to hear what residents would like to do. It’s no secret that people tend to engage in activities that match their interests, and who knows where the next great activity idea will come from. it gets. Traditionally, nursing homes have fallen short in the field of activity and have relied on old standbys that are not meaningful or particularly enjoyable. But change and innovation have come, and the senior citizen is listening to karaoke one night and watching comedy on her YouTube the next.
“We’re just trying to fill the time,” says Natalie Davis, a Dallas-based consultant who specializes in gerontology and teaches a course on developing activities for long-term care recipients. . “We want to enrich their lives.”
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Of course, the pandemic has necessitated changes in many activities in nursing homes. Some are temporary, some are entrenched. Technology is playing a big new role. Below are some examples of innovative (or permanent) nursing home activities.
What fascinates one resident puts another to sleep.The best nursing homes are individually rated by residents’ likes and dislikes, says Alisa Tagg, president of the National Association of Activity Professionals.
“It helps us match their interests with what we offer,” she adds. In that case, the Activities Director can set up a gardening club and invite other interested people in addition to those people.
Updated December 14th,
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