Heart Activity

Heart Activity

• Paper
• Crayons

I did this activity for our dementia unit, but it could work for the general wing as well. This activity is to get them talking and reminiscing. I started by drawing a heart. Then asking them their favorite color to write their name in the middle. I like to ask them how to spell it and just play dumb. I am pretending I know absolutely nothing about them so it gives them a chance to tell me. Some of the residents can't draw themselves, or even know anything that they like. You can just use yes or no questions to help them along. They really enjoy these. Who doesn't like to be asked questions? 

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Picnic Outing

Picnic Outing

It's really important that your residents are able to go out each week. Can you even imagine being stuck somewhere never able to leave? It would be maddening. We took our residents to 2nd Dam and had a picnic. We brought our guitars and sang together too. After we wandered around and took in the beauty of the world. You should have seen their faces! :) Perfection.

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Rock Cactus

Rock Cacti

• Round Rocks (all different sizes)
• Pots
• Little Fake Flowers
• Green, White, and Red Paint
• Fake Grass or Dirt
• Paper Plates
• Paint Brushes
• Hot Glue

This was a really fun craft for the residents! Who doesn't want a plant that would never die? We cleaned, and painted the rocks. Then added little designs that look like spikes. Then hot glued a little flower on one of them. Added them to our pot. Super darling! Just make sure no one eat the paint! (I may or may not be speaking from experience.)

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Fishing Trip

Because of HIPPA I only choose a few photos that don't show any of the residents faces. But a few weeks back we took the residents to a trout farm. Was absolutely perfect! They were thrilled beyond words! Especially for those who are die hard fishermen! After we caught our fish they weighed and gutted them. The next day we had a fish fry! It was so exciting and very tasty!! (Don't forget hats, water, and sunscreen for your residents!)

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Minute To Win It Games

Minute To Win It Games

This game was such a hit with our residents! Also I have never laughed this hard before. I was drooling and crying all in the same moment!! It was so fun! Here are a few different games that we played. Pick and choose!

Ping Pong Bounce:

• 10 or so Ping Pong Balls
• A Box (The size doesn't matter, but the bigger the easier)

All you do is have the residents bounce the ball into the box. You can time it for a minute, or you can just go until all the balls. It's an easier clean up if you have a lot of hands to help, or have them face a wall so the balls don't go EVERYWHERE! Residents really enjoyed this one! Not much skill needed!

Cookie Face:

• Nilla Wafer Cookies
• Your Face :)

This one is a hoot!! You have to set the cookie on your forehead and try to scrunch your face (WITHOUT HANDS) to get the cookie to move into you mouth! In under a minute or just whoever is first in line full of people! Very simple, but tough! Our residents LOVED it! Some were so determined but fell asleep with a cookie on their faces!

Cotton Nose:

• Vaseline
• Cotton Balls
• Paper Plates/Bowls

This was another hit! You put a big blog of Vaseline on your nose and have to dip your nose into the bowl of cotton balls and get some to stick and put them in the other bowl without your hands! So funny! Some residents we held the plates for them. They really liked that! Not too messy! :) Make sure to time it for a minute!

M&M & Straws:

• M&Ms
• Straws
• Paper Plates

You have to suck with the straw and hold the M&M's and transfer them to the other plate. And do as many as you can for a minute! I demonstrated and it was very difficult and I got super light headed! You can try it (the residents didn't seem to bothered!) but I think depending on the cognition and physical ability of your residents I would use something softer like the mini marsh mellows!

Cup Pyramid:

• 42 Plastic Cups

It calls for 2 people going against each other. You start the timer or either a minute or whenever someone is done. Then they build a pyramid starting with 6 cups at the bottom, then lessen by one until it's a pyramid! Super easy and fun!

Cup Stacking:

• 20 (ish) Cups
• 1 Different Colored Cup

You have a pile of plastic ups and you have to one by one take them off and pile them into a different pile until the last different colored cup is on the top. This is all about speed, and most of the residents with the use of their hands could do it! They really liked to race. We had 2 people going at the same time!

These are just a few! But after we got through everyone it killed a whole hour! So if you need more ideas, Google some! There are SO many you can do! These are just some of the ones that worked for us! Please Comment & Share!

For Hippa's Sake we added only us demonstrating! :)



Flower Arranging

Flower Arranging

• Different Fake/Real Flowers
• Ribbon (optional)
• A Jar/Vase/Basket

Let's be real here everyone. If you work at an nursing home or assisted living you have fake flowers. Somewhere someplace! Shall we put them to good use? I really enjoyed this activity! It allowed them to use their creative side and make something completely their own! I laid out all the different flowers and asked them to help me make a bouquet! (If you have enough have everyone make one and have them on the dining room tables! You can even add stones to the bottoms to look more full if in a jar or vase!) This was a perfect hands on activity. Most all of the residents knew exactly what to do!

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Flower Recognition

Flower Recognition

• Printed Pictures of Flowers

This is an extremely easy activity! (I work for a non profit! & help out mainly with the dementia residents) This week I am doing activities about flowers. All I did was print out fairly large and colored pictures of well known flowers. I cut them out and had them name each one. We even talked about what one was their favorite. And we could sort them with color, similar looks, etc... It's a perfect 1 on 1 activity! It worked very well!

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Early Hollywood Celebrity Trivia

Early Hollywood Celebrity Trivia

Trivia is always a good thing! Can't go wrong! Not only does it test their knowledge and get their gears turning it also helps them reminisce! Which is a very important part of the older generations lives. Today we had a cancellation of an activity and through this activity together pretty quickly. We gathered information on old celebrities, split our group into two teams, and played a good game of trivia!

Here is a list of trivia questions:

• Humphrey Bogart
• Actor- "Casablanca"
• Dark Hair
• Bow Ties
• Born in NYC
• Wealthy Surgeon
• Addicted to opium
• Nickname: "The Last Century Man" or "Bogie"
• Cary Grant
• Actor- In Romantic Comedies "North by North West" "His Girl Friday" "House Boat"
• Good Looks
• 1904-86
• Jimmy (James) Stewart
• Actor
• "It's A Wonderful Life" "Mr. Kroogar's Christmas"
• James Dean
• Actor- "Rebel w/out A Cause" "East of Eden"
• Nickname: JD
• Slick Back Hair
• Played Angry Youth Roles
• Squinty Eyes
• Gene Kelly
• Actor/Singer/Dancer
• "Singin In The Rain"
• Scar on Left Cheek from a childhood tricycle accident
• Marilyn Monroe
• Convinced to have 2 plastic surgeries on her face. (nose and chin)
• Known as a dumb blonde persona & hated it. Was actually very smart with IQ of 168
• Sang "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend" but only owned a pearl necklace and a wedding ring.
• Married to Joe DiMaggio
• Owned her own production company
• Clark Gable
• Actor- "Gone With The Wind"
• 1901-60
• Powerful Voice
• Pencil Mustache
• Charles (Charlie) Chaplin
• Writer
• Most Pivotal Star In Early Hollywood
• Silent Film Era
• Toothbrush Mustache/Bowler Hat/ Bamboo Cane
• Funny Walk
• Rock Hudson
• Actor- "Pillow Talk"
• Good Looks
• Western/Sob Stories/Comedies
• Good Looks
• Died of Aids
• 1925-1985
• Kirk Douglas
• Actor- "Spartacus" "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea"
• Cleft Chin
• John Wayne
• Actor "The Searchers" "True Grit"
• King of Westerns (Hundreds of Movies)
• 1907-79
• Mickey Rooney:
• Actor: (many many movies) "Breakfast At Tiffany's" "Pete's Dragon"
• Funny
• Short
• Nickname: "The Mickster"
• Frank Sinatra
• Singer "This Love of Mine" "I'm A Fool To Want You"(many others)
• Italian Blood
• Leader of Rat Pack
• 1915-98
• Had damage to his left earlobe, cheek, and neck from birth
• Married many times
• "The Best Is Yet To Come"
• Bing Crosby
• 1903-77
• Famous for Christmas Music "White Christmas" Album
• Baritone Voice
• Singer
• Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
• Actor- "The Thief of Bagdad" "The Black Pirate" "Robin Hood"
• Hosted first Academy Awards in 1929
• Does all his own stunts
• Dark Hair
• Harpo Marx
• 1888-1964
• Actor "Duck Soup" "A Night At The Opera" "A Day at the Races"
• A Marx Brother
• Big Poofy Curly Red Hair/ Top Hat/ A Horn
• A Mute
• Barry Fitzgerald
• 1888-1961
• Actor- "The Quiet Man" "Bringing Up Baby" "The Naked City"
• Short
• David Niven
• 1910-83
• Actor- "Pink Panther" "The Guns of Navarone"
• Fancy Dresser
• Thin Mustache
• Slick Hair
• Paul Newman
• 1925-2008
• Famous Blue Eyes
• Actor- "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" Voice in Disney's movie "Cars"
• Fred MacMurry
• 1908-91
• Actor- "My Three Sons" "The Caine Mutiny" "Follow Me Boys"
• Suffered many health problems  for 13 years (Throat Cancer, Leukemia, Strokes)
• Many Disney Movies
• Wholesome Character
• Deadpan Delivery (had to ask my residents what this meant!)
• Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
• Actor- (Didn't plan on being an actor. Became one because it was in his blood)
• "Little Caesar" "Angels Over Broadway" "Safari" "Having A Wonderful Time"
• Elvis Presley
• 1935-77
• "The King"
• Buried with his pink Cadillac (residents told me this)
• Died at 42
• 600 million singles and albums
• Ronald Regan
• Actor & Politics
• Presidential campaign 1980
• Nickname: Rawhide
• Photographic Memory
• Dean Martin
• 1917-95
• Singer-"Ain't That A Kick In The Head" (many more)
• Known to have a cigarette and glass of alcohol (really apple juice)
• In the Rat Pack
• Dany Kaye
• 1911-87
• Comedian/Actor
• "The Court Jester" "White Christmas"
• Could twist is tongue
• Had his own CBS Radio Show
• Red Hair
• Doris Day
• "Pillow Talk" Movie
• Animal Lover
• Singer/Actress/Dancer
• Popular in 50's & 60's
• Had own show
• "Que Sera Sera" Song

These are just some to get you started! I found a wonderful link with more: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls002380108/?start=101&view=detail&sort=listorian:asc

Feel free to get more and any!

The residents really enjoyed this activity!

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Counting Fuzz Balls

Counting Fuzz Balls

For this game you need:

• Different Colored Fuzz Balls
• Printed Pictures On Computer
• Printed Numbers

This is also a very simple game! Perfect for a low budget or a non-profit organization! I printed out different pictures. (I looked up coloring pages for certain subjects on Google Image) To save on colored ink I colored them myself. It works either way, but I wanted my residents to know what they were. I showed them a picture and asked them what it was. Then asked them what was missing. Most of the time they knew! I put a number down on the page and had them add the fuzz balls (as the missing item) to match the number.

I also had a empty fish bowl and a dog! They really enjoyed this hands-on activity! It got them counting, thinking, and feelings. Most of the residents picked the color they thought would go best. Others grabbed whatever one they want. Be careful they don't eat them!

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Puzzle Dice Game

 Puzzle Dice Game

At my new job I help with the normal scheduled activities. I also hold my own activities for our dementia patients. They are by far some of my favorite activities! Because of their cognition levels I generally do simpler activities. I also make sure there is enough sensory factors. I make it so they use and rotate their senses each day. This game is very easy and always a hit. You will need:

• Paper (Red, Black, Brown, & White)
• Permanent Marker
• Paper Plate
• Dice

Very easy! With the paper I cut out eyes, noses, tongues, & ears to make a dog. I also made a reference card showing what each number on the die means. As you roll you get to add a piece to your puzzle. Eventually getting a dog in the end. Make sure to have them determine what number they receive. Let them place the piece where they want as well! It's important to let them take over.

I also made a flower puzzle which I will try next week! I made it out of paper plates. I painted petals and the middles of each flower different colors to allow them to choose their favorite. I have pipe cleaner stems too! It's the same concept! The paper plates allows them to grasp each piece better.

• Green Pipe Cleaner
• Paper Plates
• Different Colored Paint
• Dice
• White Paper
• Permanent Marker

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Attention All Activity Directors!

Welcome! I have decided to describe and show all the many activities I have done for my old folks. Many internet sites have brought me to dead ends, or lack of instruction! If you are a struggling activity director, assistant, or just would love some ideas for grandparents I will be your guide to help you! Feel free to ask questions, steal ideas, you name it!! I hope this will help you! Please comment! Give me advice to help better them! You are amazing for what you do!