Sharon

We had our mini-Olympics last Thursday. I played music CDs of popular Latin American songs while everyone did the Conga dance around the lounger prior to participating in the events. Like, Alzheimer's Australia (above) we also used straws for javelin and paper plates for discus. We used small bean bags for shot put, and did beach volley ball with a rope down the centre of the lounge and a team sitting opposite on each side. Lots of fun and laughter. We had the Olympic quiz the following day and are keeping a record of our country's medals on a white board. The residents watch the events unfolding on the television in the lounge after breakfast, lunch and dinner. It makes interesting and fun conversation and keeps everyone interested.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: Sporting Terms Quiz

About how many balls does this recipe make?

Thank you so much for the Olympic quiz, my residents will love it.

Will you be posting an Olympic quiz or trivia?

What temperature do you have the oven?

I work as an activities Coordinator at a rest home. We have a few female residents, with mild dementia, who believe there is nothing wrong with their minds. I have found that giving them more meaningful tasks to do, involving sorting, is very successful. This has included: sorting buttons by colors (supervision is necessary if the people tend to put items into their mouths); sorting cotton reels in the sewing box; and sorting and winding balls of wool. This is also helpful to me as the cotton reels and balls of wool quite often become tangled with frequent use.

I discovered another pairing activity that was highly satisfying for some of our dementia residents. I gave them a basket or box of clean socks (obtained from the laundry) and asked the residents to "help me" by sorting and pairing the socks. I had previously separated and mixed the socks up. Sorting socks is a familiar task for most women who were mothers and housewives so participating is natural for them.

I work as an activities coordinator at a rest home in Whangarei, New Zealand. When I first announced to the residents that we would be celebrating Australia Day, they were not very enthusiastic. However, I went ahead using the ideas on this website and started the day by asking the residents, "who has been to Australia?". All the reminiscing of trips and holidays brought some positive energy. Then we had the Australian inventions, jokes and slang meanings which brought a lot of laughs. During morning tea I played a Slim Dusty CD with all the well known Aussie songs on it. Afterwards we played the beach volley ball game, followed by throwing Jandals (thongs). The residents really got into the action. I finished off the morning's activities with the Aussie quiz. After lunch we watched a DVD about the Great Barrier Reef and I handed out copies of the Word Search puzzle for the residents to do later on in their own time. Everyone really enjoyed the Australia Day celebration. Thanks for all the great ideas.