Nursing Home Activities Ideas

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and caregivers, here is something you may find interesting by
lovetoknow

by katep

Types of Activities
Activities can either be self-directed or operate in conjunction with volunteers.

Self-Directed Activity Ideas
There are a number of self-directed activities that can take place within a nursing home. They can be informal arrangements between residents or a more structured program can be developed. Ideas include:

Celebrating birthdays – Organize parties including making cards, baking and decorating cakes.
Musical events – Sing-a-longs, mini shows or even guest events are always welcome.
Gardening – Gardening need not mean strenuous outside activities. Window gardening, small herb gardens planted in plant pots and hanging baskets are all accessible hobbies.
Activities Involving Volunteers
In addition to self-directed activities, other programs can be introduced that involve volunteers and other members of the community. Inviting outside community members into a nursing home is important and there are many willing volunteers who would like to participate in events and projects.

Interaction With Young People
Many residents of nursing homes have limited contact with young people. Perhaps grandchildren live a long distance away or have their own busy lives and cannot visit. Consequently, many youngsters have limited contact with seniors. Encouraging schools, youth groups, young people´s church groups and other organizations to visit nursing homes offers multiple benefits to both demographics.

When young people visit nursing homes there are a number of activities that can take place. These include:

Telling of stories. This encompasses many different things. Of course, young people can read to residents of nursing homes. However, an interesting alternative would be for the seniors to tell their own story to the youngsters. Many children are fascinated by the history and are amazed that there was life before Gameboys and mp3 players. Therefore, hearing stories of life after a war, watching a television for the first time, the advances of technology and so on are eagerly received by children. Every person has a different story to share and these precious personal histories deserve retelling.

Crafts: While many residents of nursing homes make crafts for charities and good causes, another variation of this is for residents to teach youngsters how to knit or crochet. There is a huge resurgence in needlecrafts and yet many youngsters do not know how to knit or crochet and parents are often too busy to teach them. Offering an activity whereby residents teach youngsters crafts gives a huge amount of pleasure to both parties. Working with children is a stimulating and rewarding activity for residents.

Musical events: Youngsters will often be delighted to put on a show for residents. An alternative musical activity would be for residents to teach the children songs and tunes that were popular in the past. Again, this can be very rewarding and great fun to do.

Activities with Adult Volunteers
There are many activities that adult volunteers can run in nursing homes. The staff in nursing homes often welcome volunteers to run activity programs, as they are too busy with the day-to-day nursing aspects of operating the facility. Volunteers might be from a charitable organization, a local community group or simply individuals looking to get more involved.

Groups of volunteers can run different activities than individuals. For instance, a group of people can chaperone and organize day trips or outings, whereas individuals can offer more personal activities such as reading to people, personal shopping services, spa treatments, or simply be someone to talk to.

Tips for Successful Nursing Home Activities Ideas........read the whole thing

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