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Once again Golden Carers has come to the rescue. I live in a retirement village and calling on my years as a Diversional Therapist I constantly use the Golden Carers for new ideas to run my group in the village. I especially love the Read Aloud Audience Participation activity and I always pick a very shy resident to take a part. It is amazing how much it brings them out of their shell. The quiz always helps keeps their minds active and gives them such a feeling of self worth when they get a correct answer.
Christina McDonald
Retired DT
Australia
I've started a new lifestyle coordinators role and would love some advice to setting up new activity rooms and spaces. We just finished renovations and currently have several spaces that aren't really being used to their full potential. They are set up as "living room" type spaces, but I feel that more can be done to make these rooms shine!
What would be your top tips and advice on setting up new spaces or utilizing lounge and activity spaces effectively for your home?
Thanks!!
I assume your residents are fairly high functioning but even if they are they may take things from the room that are not theirs
Therefore I put things in the room that can be easily replaced but yet our fun
I’d like to have decks of cards because they are so versatile and people can play in impromptu game when there’s a bunch of them sitting in there or even if one person is there he can play solitaire
I also like to have dice because they are also very versatile and you can play mini games with them
Paper and writing implements are all so good because people can write letters or whatever they want to do
with the paper they can draw you could have contests
And one room you could have a cart of books that can be like a small library and if the card is on wheels you can bring it to peoples rooms
I was lucky there was a library in our town who donated books to us so we always had a good supply box that the library decided to discard to make room for new books
Perhaps you could put a computer in one of the rooms but make sure no one takes it
Here are some articles that might help you as well
You could have a table with a puzzle started and let each person add a piece when they feel like it
https://www.goldencarers.com/portable-activity-ideas-to-reach-every-resident-everyday-/5745/
https://www.goldencarers.com/comments/23959/
Do you have an recommendations when it comes to the actual set up of a room, eg wall hanging's, furniture and other items in the room?
This depends on the size of the room and your budget
At the very least you need some chairs and a table
If you’re going to have a computer room my advice is to get desktop type computers that you can hang the screen on the wall and have the CPU on the table
That way it will be hard to take
I would have a variety of magazines in every room which probably will be taken at some point
I was lucky I had magazines donated
As far as wallhangings go get ones that are interactive and conversational and stimulating
Also hang up artwork done by the residents such as having the residents color in some of these
https://www.goldencarers.com/artist-impression/ Or any other art project you may do