Staying active is an important factor in feeling independent. Nursing home residents benefit from activities that exercise their bodies and their minds, while providing entertainment. Valuable activities may include physical exercise, crafts and various social events that help seniors feel vital and useful. Providing numerous activities allows residents to choose those that are best suited to their abilities.
Daily & Weekly Activities
Day-to-day activities will brighten a resident's stay in a nursing home, especially if the activity occurs on a regular basis, giving the resident something to anticipate. Such activities might include daily discussion groups with other residents and an occasional guest speaker. A morning coffee hour offers a social activity to start the day, and a weekly book club meeting encourages reading, as well as discussion time.
Allowing residents to take part in food serving and cafeteria cleaning, as well as allowing them to help with other daily tasks, imparts a feeling of usefulness and autonomy.
Physical fitness is an important part of regular activities, and it should be fun for all involved. Offer various levels of activity, including dancing, walking, swimming, gentle aerobics and yoga to keep the mind alert and the body flexible. Even residents in wheelchairs can take part in deep breathing exercises.
Craft activities provide a time when residents can use their creative skills to make simple projects to decorate their rooms, or they can refurbish used toys to donate to local tots.
Publish a monthly newsletter with a calendar of upcoming events for residents to post in their rooms. Provide ample and varied reading materials by joining a rotating book and magazine program at the local library.
Off-Site Excursions
Mobile residents may enjoy tending a community garden spot or going on a group excursion with other residents to shop or to visit a library or a museum. Weekly or monthly off-site activities keep residents in touch with the rest of the world and help them feel important. Be aware of local events such as concerts, plays or a ballet, and reserve a block of seats for interested residents.
Holiday & Religious Activities
Keeping with tradition offers a feeling of security to nursing home residents who may miss family celebrations. Special events such as recruiting a children's choir to sing Christmas carols and decorating the nursing home to reflect the changing seasons may lift residents' spirits.
Encourage residents to celebrate their own religious observances by providing clergy in a variety of denominations and hosting services for each. Some will attend only their own service, but others will enjoy attending other services.
