Activity Ideas

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Sadly, many people think of nursing home residents as simply biding their time. But everyone deserves opportunities to grow and learn, no matter what their age.

This week, I hope you’ll help your residents explore their goals and dreams, then create a couple of resolutions for the new year. Here are some possible categories as well as tips you can use to help your residents keep those resolutions.

• Exercise more

This common New Year’s resolution offers a myriad of benefits to nursing home residents. These include improved circulation, fewer falls, increased endurance, more flexibility, and improved mood—just to name a few.

You can make exercise fun by offering sample classes featuring a variety of exercise options. Consider chair yoga, balance exercises, dance, stretching, strength training, or a walking group. Let the residents choose their favorites, then offer them regularly.

[Read more…] about 7 Top New Year’s Resolutions For Nursing Home Residents

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

Isn’t it amazing how acts of kindness often benefit the giver just as much as the receiver? That’s why I hope you’ll give your residents lots of opportunities to be kind to other people in 2019.

Over the next year, I plan to write a monthly article describing ways you can help your residents experience the joy of spreading kindness. Let’s begin with 7 ideas for January.

1. Provide supplies so your residents can create beautiful cards for residents at another nearby nursing home. Then drop off the cards with a request that they are distributed to any residents who could use a bit of encouragement.

[Read more…] about Creative Acts Of Kindness For January

My posts may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

In this day of smartphones and social media, old-fashioned letter writing seems like a lost art. Nonetheless, I’ll bet many of your residents would enjoy the opportunity to send words of encouragement to people through letters and cards.

Today I’m introducing you to two organizations that welcome participation from nursing homes and other care facilities.

 

Soldier’s Angels

This nonprofit organization supports military families, deployed service members, and veterans. These are just a few of the many services they provide:

• Care packages for deployed soldiers
• Visits to hospitalized vets
• Adaptive technology for injured vets (ex: voice-controlled laptops)
• Box lunches and hygiene kits for homeless vets

[Read more…] about How Nursing Home Residents Can Encourage Others

My posts may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

Do you ever start to feel a bit burned out by all of the holiday activities at the nursing home during December? I know I’ve felt this way.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love celebrating the beautiful Christmas season. But when we have nonstop Christmas activities, it starts to feel a bit overwhelming.

That’s why I like to toss in a few activities that are completely unrelated to Christmas. One example is World Monkey Day on December 14.

Apparently, Monkey Day started as a joke at the University of Michigan in 2000. Over the years, it expanded to become a day to raise awareness about protecting monkeys as an important part of nature.

Check out these ideas for activities your residents are sure to enjoy on Monkey Day:

[Read more…] about Let’s Celebrate Monkey Day

My posts may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

Some of you will be mortified by what I am about to tell you. Okay, here goes. I never told my children that Santa Claus is real.

And you know what? They turned out just fine. In fact, they turned out better than fine.

What I told my children was the true story of St. Nicholas. We hear little about St. Nicholas these days, but I’ll bet some of your residents can share fond memories from when they were children.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with St. Nicholas, here’s a brief history.

The man we came to know as St. Nicholas was born in the third century in what is now the country of Turkey. He became a monk, and later a bishop, and was known as a very kind man who helped people who were poor or sick.

[Read more…] about How To Celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6