Sharen

Thank you.

One of my clients wanted to learn Canasta and had difficulty holding all the cards. So i used a piece of polystyrene packaging about 2 feet long and 4 inches wide and put two slits down the length. Works a treat and is a great way to recylce.

i do a daily quote on the white board in our day centre, just to give people something to think about. conversation between clients often happens because of it.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: Mindfulness

We ran a similar activity throughout the month in our day centres. Each week we focused on a different sense. It was simply called 'what is that smell'. the support workers used a scarf to cover the eyes of a client and then would put different thing in their hands for them to smell.
a bottle of eucalyptus oil, various spice containers - curry powder, basil, oregano, a lavender flower etc.
For Sound they played musical bingo, and 'what was that sound" this then started conversations about radio competitions.
When we came to "what food is that" we used seasonal fruit. -
For touch we played with the "feely" box.
For sight we used a picture that had many different things in it and we asked the clients to name an item, we wrote these on a white board so that we could see how many items we could discover.
Most activities will become group discussions as you talk about things you like - the smell of bread baking - or things you don't like - rotten eggs.
With any of these activities i find you are only limited by your imagination, and the time you can spend on them.

Kymberly and Julie i'd love to exchange some ideas with you both. i work in day centres with the over 65's. The average age is eighty two. i have in the past suggested things for the support staff to discuss in group discussions. Things such as the incredible changes in medicine. i had a dear friend who hated the smell of ether, because that was what they used when she was young and needed to have a broken arm reset.
Also with the LGBTI how attitudes have changed over the years, how these people were treated in the past and where not accepted into nursing homes and had electric shock treatment etc. You could talk about Graham Kennedy and Clarke Cable etc.

i have also introduced an activity called "Mindfulness". it is a tool used by psychologist to help people with anxiety, depression and other such ailments. basically what it does is bring people back to the here and now. It stops the mind from worrying about the past or the future and grounds you. Remember the saying - take time to stop and smell the roses. This exercise is an example of that.

This activity uses our five senses, sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. you could do this at your morning cuppa time for example.
1: Ask everyone to please be quiet so that they can hear what is around them, after a minute or two ask them what they can hear.
the wind rustling the trees, a bird calling out, traffic, an aeroplane, a dog barking etc
2: move to the next sense: put their hands around the cup of tea or coffee, how does it feel:
the cup feels warm, hot or cold,describe the texture, smooth, bumpy etc
3: Now smell what you have in your hand - try and describe the smell: They may have a glass of water and not smell anything, so ask them what can they smell in the air - is it fresh air or is it polluted, so on and so on. There may be flowers on the table that they can smell -
4: on to the next sense, taste: take a sip and explain the taste - bitter, sweet, milky etc
5: finally what can they see: i am sure there will be lots of answers, a cup, a saucer, milk jug, sugar bowl, flowers on the table, a table, chairs, people. Then you could make it a little more personal "Mary has a new colour in her hair", "John is wearing brown socks"
While they are doing this exercise they are taking in the world around them and really looking at it, not just living in it.
you could use a white board and write down the answers the clients give you and make a competition out of it. Count how many answers they get to each of the five senses and see if they can beat it the next time you do the activity.

i hope that you enjoy these activities.