Dianne

Hi. I work in an independent living village but i still had to try to come up with ways to stop boredom and depression and loneliness. Some of the ideas i put to them was: write a short story, send in a favourite recipe, write a poem. We also found some charity websites where you can knit squares to make into a wrap (Wrap with love) or the Red Cross would love trauma teddies that are knitted. These are great for those that knit. Also an item called twiddle mitts (a mitten to put both hands in with beads or other items attached) which are easy to make and used in dementia sections to alleviate anxiety. We also downloaded some songs from Spotify and go around our village to each court - play songs for about 10 minutes and dance (residents come on their balcony and join in with big smiles on their face and sing along). I also put together puzzles and give to them each week including find a word - sudoku - word puzzles - mazes - crosswords. There are lots of sites for these. Good luck!

Last week we held a country social at our independent living village. Got in a professional square dance caller and he brought along a few from his group to do demos and dance with residents. Lots of props which I made and some we were loaned. Looked awesome.

Hi. This looks a good idea to use on my high care group. I will make my own (due to budget restraints at centre) and try it out.
Dianne

HI
With most of the beaded necklaces you can get, the beads cannot be taken off and separated....I have found. Which is a shame as this is the cheaper option. Dianne

Hi
We had a hawaiian party recently to thank our volunteers.It was a huge success and the residents had such a great time. There was a lot of work for myself organising it and making the decorations but it was worth it to see their faces. We have 3 poles by the lounge area and i turned them into palm trees. The residents made leis and I hung up some information on the walls about Hawaii.

Hi Robyn,
I leave the aces in but when i call it out I say eg: ace of hearts I will say ONE heart. So if you wish to leave them in just say one instead. But your way is probably easier especially for high care.

Hi all
We have actually used this one too. Its great. Easter time we decorate styrofoam eggs and put them on. Xmas time we make decorations and hang them. It looks great and the residents love to see their own work hanging up.
Dianne

I like the look of this one. Will have to try it. You could probably cut out some shapes into the cardboard/paper and put coloured cellophane behind the shapes. More work but would probably work too.

Hi
A couple of years ago I purchased a very large crossword grid from Lovatts online. I stick it to a board so the group can see it. IT comes with a clue book and the grid is laminated so it can be used over and over. There are 3 types of puzzles and there are many to choose from.Check it out. Dianne (RAO)

We play Hoy each week. But when we do it I hand out 15 cards (amount can change) to each player. When their card is called out they turn the card over until they are all turned over.
Dianne